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Central Government, Policy

Bhutan government goes online

By Alice Kok | 5 May 2009

The Bhutanese government has decided to bring public administration online. Department of information and technology (DIT) director Tenzin Chhoeda said that the online system will link every police station in the country with the ministry of home and cultural affairs.

The system is expected to go online this year. DIT expects the move to make it easier to get, for example, a security clearance certificate, which is “an arduous affair today”; and an applicant’s information could be obtainable at the time of request within a single day.

The police will also be transferring crimes records, investigations and other tasks online. Currently, these are stored only on paper. This will link all the police stations, making police services faster and more efficient.

Another e-governance project is the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital’s information system. A patient’s medical history will be kept in a database that will be available, at the click of the mouse, to the relevant doctors.

“This will not only reduce the burden placed on a limited number of medical specialists in the country, but also improve their delivery of healthcare,” says Chhoeda.

The government also wants to reduce paper use by transferring letters and files online.

Once these documents have been transferred online, they will be tracked and every action will be monitored, says DIT. This tracking mechanism, on the status of documents and employees responsible for the documents, will ensure efficient performance by the management.

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