West Bengal Legislative Assembly Signs MoU for Implementation of National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA)

A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly was signed today in the august presence of Shri Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs; Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs; Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs; and the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Sh. Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Minister, West Bengal joined the occasion virtually by connecting through Video Conferencing.

Key Addresses

Addressing the gathering, Shri Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, highlighted the importance of digital transformation in legislative institutions and reiterated the Government of India’s commitment towards supporting the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in its journey towards becoming a fully digital House.

Shri Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Minister of West Bengal welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the State Government’s commitment towards modernising governance institutions through the adoption of technology.

Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, emphasised the role of digital platforms in strengthening legislative functioning and enabling Members to access legislative information in a timely and efficient manner.

Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, highlighted the importance of technology in strengthening citizen engagement, improving transparency and enhancing accessibility to legislative information.

Sh. Rathindra Bose, Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, expressed confidence that the implementation of NeVA would strengthen the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of legislative functioning in the State.

Shri Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, in his welcome remarks highlighted the significance of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly joining the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) initiative. He asserted NeVA will help the assembly to function with greater transparency, punctuality and efficiency. 

Shri Satya Prakash, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Mission Leader (NeVA), in his address, assured that all necessary assistance would be extended by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Central Project Monitoring Unit (CPMU) under the NeVA Project to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in its journey towards becoming a fully digital House.

Signing of MoU

The MoU was signed by Dr. Satya Prakash, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Mission Leader (NeVA), on behalf of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India; Shri Soumendra Nath Das, Principal Secretary, West Bengal Legislative Assembly, on behalf of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly; and Smt. Sampa Dhar, Special Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal, on behalf of the Government of West Bengal.

With the signing of the MoU, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly becomes the 33rd Legislature in the country to join the NeVA initiative, bringing the nation another step closer towards the vision of “One Nation – One Application” for legislative governance. 21 Legislatures have successfully transitioned to fully digital functioning through the NeVA platform.

The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a Mission Mode Project of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs aimed at digitising and modernising the functioning of Legislatures across the country through a common digital platform. The initiative is aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India and seeks to promote paperless, transparent, efficient and citizen-centric legislative governance.

The NeVA platform facilitates end-to-end digital management of legislative business, including Questions, Bills, Notices, Assurances, Committee business, List of Business, Bulletins and other House-related activities. It also provides Members with seamless access to legislative information and creates a permanent digital repository of legislative records and proceedings.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs provides financial assistance, technical support, capacity building and implementation assistance to participating Legislatures under the project.