Websites of govt bodies, ministries to be refreshed with updated info and access for differently abled

An official letter that was sent to all Central Government ministries, departments and autonomous bodies directed them to make large-scale updates to websites so as to ensure that they showed the latest information regarding their work, according to a News18.com report. The agencies were also told to maintain quality control on content so that differently abled people could access the information.

The official letter was sent from the office of Alkesh Kumar Sharma, secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology after a meeting was held to chalk out the details, the report said. Sharma assumed office in May this year.

Government websites are often flagged for showing outdated information and as such, it was necessary to update the websites of all government bodies and related agencies, the report said. The letter asked the departments and ministries to update websites keeping in mind the information layout and everything else that was required for the smooth running of the portals.

A web information manager equal to the rank of a joint secretary has been entrusted with checking and updating website content but secretaries have also been directed to keep track of the information and review the content at meetings. The websites should also be certified under the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, the letter said.

The STQC Directorate is an attached office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which provides quality assurance services in the areas of electronics and IT through a countrywide network of laboratories and centres. The services include testing, calibration, IT and e-Governance as well as training and certification for public and private organisations. The labs have national or international accreditations and are recognised in the areas of testing and calibration.

To ensure that the websites are regularly updated, the letter also provided a form from the National Informatics Centre (NIC) that has to be completed every 15 days so as to deliver updates on the status of the portals. The NIC form says that managers will be responsible for fixing or removing broken links when required and deleting older documents that are no longer relevant.