The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated an Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) in Rashtrapati Bhavan and launched a Mobile App ‘Monitor’ for transformation of President’s Estate into a smart township at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (May 19, 2016).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said thatPresident’s Secretariat follows a value-oriented governance model that is based on the core civilizational values of compassion and service to others. Such a model relies on happiness to come not from material well-being but from following values that are the highest principles of human existence. Its approach to welfare in the President’s Estate is on these lines. He stated that if he is to use a word to describe a human emotion associated with this ongoing transformation of quality of life in the township, it will be happiness. It is happiness that holds the key to the well-being of people and for the development of human society. He said that recognizing the smiles on the faces of his people, from now he would like to add one more ‘H’ to the existing model of 3H, and that is ‘Happiness’. From now, Smart President’s Estate will work around the ‘4H’ theme of a Humane, Hi-tech, Heritage and Happy Township.

The President said that the Smart President’s Estate can be a replicable model which can be adopted in other parts of the country through citizens’ engagement, public and private sector participation and deployment of intensive technologies. He said that Rashtrapati Bhavan is in the process of replicating its experience of Smart Township by applying and transferring knowledge and expertise to five villages in an adjoining state. We will try to convert these villages into model smart villages by following a convergence model. We will facilitate the establishment of linkages between expert bodies, administrative agencies and relevant state/ district level organizations. This will lead to the leveraging of different stakeholder expertise in finding unique solutions to the varied problems at the village level.

On the occasion, Secretary to the President announced institution of awards to keep the Smart President’s Estate a dynamic and inclusive platform. The President said that measurable performance parameters to judge the performance of the different departments under the Secretariat will help in the incentivization process. He said that this approach in urban governance where President’s Secretariat recognizes stakeholders for their contribution to public causes is noteworthy.

The President said that the scarcity of natural resources as well as trained and skilled manpower poses a challenge in governance. There is enough on this Earth to meet the need of the society as a whole, but over exploitation and greed could lead to disasters and catastrophe. In this context, technology is a powerful enabler to optimize the utilization and management of resources. Government’s programmes like Digital India, Swachh Bharat, and Skill India are transformative in nature and their successful implementation will alter the governance landscape of the country. He called upon the citizens of India to dedicate themselves to the cause of the nation and society through constructive contribution to these programmes in all possible ways.

This release issued at 1945 hrs.