Kolkata, June 5 (APAC Media): The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), becoming the final State Legislature in the country to join the digital platform under the “One Nation – One Application” initiative.
The agreement was signed on June 4 in the presence of Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Dr. L. Murugan, and West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari participated in the event virtually.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Satya Prakash, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Mission Leader of NeVA, on behalf of the Centre, along with Soumendra Nath Das, Principal Secretary of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, and Sampa Dhar, Special Secretary in the Parliamentary Affairs Department of the West Bengal Government.
West Bengal Completes Nationwide NeVA Rollout
With the signing of the agreement, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has become the 33rd legislative body in the country to be integrated into the NeVA platform, according to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
The development ensures that all 31 State and Union Territory Legislative Assemblies, including those of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry, are now part of the common digital legislative platform.
The six Legislative Councils in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh have also been integrated with the platform.
Digital Transformation of Legislative Functioning
NeVA is a Mission Mode Project of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs aimed at digitising legislative operations across the country.
The platform facilitates end-to-end digital management of legislative business, including questions, bills, notices, assurances, committee reports, business schedules, and official bulletins.
It also serves as a permanent digital repository of legislative records while promoting paperless, transparent, efficient, and citizen-centric governance in line with the Digital India initiative.
According to official data, 21 legislatures have already transitioned to fully digital operations through the NeVA platform, with the Centre providing financial assistance, technical support, and capacity-building measures to participating legislatures.
CM Highlights Previous Delays in Adoption
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that the previous Legislative Assembly had continued to rely on paper-based voting systems and lacked several digital features, including electronic voting mechanisms and live streaming of proceedings.
He said the adoption of NeVA would help improve transparency and modernise legislative processes in the state.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to supporting West Bengal in its transition towards a fully digital legislature and assured continued technical assistance for the successful implementation of the platform.
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