Want to do your bit for the nation? Develop a mobile app for the PMO

With an aim to eliminate digital divide in India, while addressing a NASSCOM event on March 1, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that there is immense potential for the Indian IT sector to innovate and provide mobile applications to deliver citizen- centric services and mobile governance. PM Modi has advocated the use of technology for bringing a positive change in people’s lives.

Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister said that he was planning to invite ideas from the public for developing a mobile app for his office.

And today (March 2, 2015) MyGov, which is the citizen engagement platform of the Indian government, has announced the launch of a nationwide contest to build a mobile app for the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The contest will invite participation from people across India. In order to select the best ideas to develop the mobile app for the PMO, MyGov has collaborated with none other than the tech giant Google. The contest will open up for the public at 5:00 pm on on MyGov.in.

The contest has been divided into three phases:
· The first phase will seek ideas from the public on what they would like to see in the mobile app for the PMO
· The second phase will involve building wireframes
· The final phase will include short listing, judging and building the app

Commenting on the initiative, Rajan Anandan, vice-president and managing director, Google India & South-East Asia, said, “We announced about five months ago that we will contribute on the Digital India initiative and the app development contest is a step in that direction.”

“We are very excited to be a part of the Prime Minister’s vision and would urge every Indian to come forward and participate in the app development contest and become a cohesive part of governance and decision making in the country,” added Anandan.

Talking about the announcement, Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, MyGov, said, “We want to provide every citizen access to the PMO through a mobile device. And since this is an app for the people, we are inviting people to submit ideas on the features they would like to see in their PMO’s mobile app.”

The contest will be judged by an external jury. You can also participate in the contest by visiting MyGov.in at 5:00 pm on March 3, 2015.
(Image: www.prismetric.com)