The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Thursday took a significant step towards digitising its legislative processes by signing a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), a flagship initiative of the Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs aimed at modernising legislatures across the country through a common digital platform.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the event virtually.
Addressing the gathering, Kiren Rijiju described the adoption of digital technology in legislative institutions as a transformative step and reiterated the Centre’s commitment to supporting the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in its journey towards becoming a fully digital House.
“Digital transformation is essential for strengthening legislative institutions and making governance more transparent, efficient and accessible. The Government of India remains committed to extending all necessary support to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for the successful implementation of NeVA,” Rijiju said.
Welcoming the initiative, Chief Minster Adhikari said the state government was committed to modernising governance institutions through technology-driven reforms. He noted that digitisation would help improve efficiency and accessibility in legislative processes while aligning governance systems with contemporary technological advancements.
Arjun Ram Meghwal emphasised that digital platforms such as NeVA could significantly strengthen legislative functioning by ensuring timely and seamless access to information for legislators. “Technology-driven legislative systems can enhance efficiency, improve decision-making and ensure that members have access to legislative business and records in a timely manner,” he said.
L. Murugan highlighted the broader impact of technology on democratic governance, saying digital initiatives improve transparency, strengthen citizen engagement and make legislative information more accessible to the public.
Speaker Rathindra Bose expressed confidence that the implementation of NeVA would improve the efficiency and transparency of the Assembly’s functioning. “The adoption of NeVA will strengthen legislative processes and enhance accessibility to information while ensuring greater transparency in the functioning of the House,” he said.
In his welcome remarks, Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, described West Bengal’s inclusion in the NeVA framework as an important milestone. He said the platform would enable the Assembly to function with greater transparency, punctuality and efficiency.
Satya Prakash, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Mission Leader of NeVA, assured the Assembly of continued support from the Ministry and the Central Project Monitoring Unit. He said technical assistance, capacity-building programmes and implementation support would be provided to ensure a smooth transition to a fully digital legislative ecosystem.
The MoU was signed by Satya Prakash on behalf of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Soumendra Nath Das, Principal Secretary of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, on behalf of the Assembly, and Sampa Dhar, Special Secretary in the Parliamentary Affairs Department of the Government of West Bengal, on behalf of the state government.
With the signing of the agreement, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has become the 33rd legislature in the country to join the NeVA initiative. According to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, 21 legislatures have already completed the transition to fully digital functioning through the platform.
NeVA, a Mission Mode Project of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, has been developed to digitise and modernise legislative functioning across India under a common digital architecture. The initiative is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India vision and seeks to promote paperless, transparent, efficient and citizen-centric governance in legislative institutions.
The platform enables end-to-end digital management of legislative business, including questions, bills, notices, assurances, committee proceedings, lists 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.
Officials said the inclusion of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in the NeVA framework marks another step towards the national vision of “One Nation, One Application” for legislative governance, strengthening efforts to create a modern, technology-enabled parliamentary ecosystem across the country.