Page 7 - GIGW2

PREFACE

Over the years, the contribution of digital technologies towards the
growth of economy and empowerment of citizens has increased. Today, these
technologies are being used by everyone in their day-to-day activities and help
citizens avail different services from their homes. Different government bodies
have established their web presence through different websites and mobile apps.
These websites and apps offer information and services to one and all. However,
varied nomenclatures, different layout standards, navigation strategies as well
as different technologies have defeated the very purpose of these websites.

National Portal of India, a mission mode project, provides single
window access to information & services offered by different entities of the
Indian government at all levels. National Portal of India has a vision to promote
engaging digital initiatives. This portal was set up as a single point access to
government information and services and it aggregates the content from more
than 8000 websites of Indian Government. With the goal of improving the
inherent quality of government websites, a Content Advisory Committee
was constituted to look into the means to enhance the intrinsic quality of
Government Websites. On the basis of the advice of this committee, NIC
formulated the first version of ‘Guidelines for India Government Websites’ in
2009, which were adopted by Department of Administrative Reforms and
Public Grievances (DARPG). This was also included in Central Secretariat
Manual of Office Procedure.

With the advent of Digital India Program and focus on multimodal
delivery of citizen services, there has been a need to align these guidelines with
the latest technology and trends. Based on this, DARPG, in association with
the National Informatics Centre (NIC), has formulated the revised version of
Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW). The new version of the
guidelines are an outcome of feedback and consultations with industry, society,
government departments and diligent reference to evolving standards set by
International bodies like W3C. Additionally, guidelines pertaining to mobile
apps have also been included in the new version. The revision makes these
guidelines easier to adopt, and at the same time being comprehensive, and help
to include latest enhancements in technology.

It is expected that with the support and cooperation of all of the
stakeholders these guidelines will go a long way in improving the quality of
Indian government web space.