Digital Family Issue 89 November 2013 November 2013 | Page 5

1 to 30th November 2013 Government Actively Looking at Cloud Based Services as First Option Given the huge requirement of services for citizens, the government is actively looking at cloud based services as first option. A significant step in this direction is MeghRaj - National Cloud Computing Initiative, which sets basic standards for all cloud services for Government of India as well as evangelising projects through Cloud First policy. This information was given by Shri J. Satyanarayana, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (Ministry of Communications & Information Technology), while unveiling the 4th edition of ‘CII Cloud Summit 2013’ her today. The theme of the Summit was: Developing Cloud Strategy. Shri Satyanarayana said, “Cloud is culturally suitable for India as there is a preference for shared infrastructure and service, penchant for recycling & reuse and less concerns over piracy of data”. Taking a step further, he said that Government of India has developed the first Data Center for public cloud through National Informatics Centre (NIC) and an App store where citizens can access more than 40 services. He also demonstrated a recently created web portal for dissemination of e-Transactions statistics of National and State level e-Governance Projects including Mission Mode Projects(PIB). Vodafone M-Pesa launched in Goa Panaji, Goa: Telecom major Vodafone India launched its ‘M-Pesa’ service, which facilitates money transfer through mobile phone, in Goa. This service empowers the unbanked and under-banked sections of the population gain access to financial services through mobile phone. Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have tied up for this service, which is already present in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi since December last year. In Goa, Vodafone has 6.4 lakh customers, of which 2.54 lakh are migrants states a press release. To use the service Vodafone customers need to visit an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs and deposit a minimum amount along with it, to open their ‘M-Pesa’ account. The MCSL Mobile Wallet gets activated immediately and the customer can do a variety of transactions like cash deposit, transfer money to any bank account, money transfer to any other ‘M-Pesa’ customer, recharge mobiles & DTH, pay mobile and utility bills. Once the documents are verified and approved by MCSL and ICICI Bank the customer can do other transactions viz. cash withdrawal and sending money to any mobile number.