Digital filing launched to 'improve govt decision-making'

The government is upgrading its document filing and transfer system to improve its decision-making process, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said in his budget speech today.

"The D-Nothi [digital filing] system, the most recent version of the current E-Nothi [electronic filing], has been introduced to improve transparency and efficiency in the government's decision-making process," he added.

The minister also said its usage will gradually be introduced across all government agencies.

Contacted, Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir, project director (additional secretary) of Aspire to Innovate (a2i) programme, said, "During the Covid lockdowns, the use of E-Nothi for official communication between government offices proved beneficial.

"D-Nothi is its upgraded version, though their interfaces are nearly identical. The only difference is that now the data will be kept in cloud storage."

"So far, 15,000 offices have been added to the D-Nothi system, and by July of this year, we hope to increase this number to 19,000," he continued.

The government is also introducing a digital infrastructure to speed up service delivery along with improving the skills of the officers.

While highlighting how the government is working to bring both qualitative and quantitative changes to public administration, Dewan said two mobile apps, "my Gov" and "ek seba", have been developed to provide access to government services.

"Government officials and employees are being trained at home and abroad to enhance their efficiency and to help cultivate a service-oriented mindset.

"The expansion of merit-based government scholarships for higher education has also been contributing to the overall efficiency of the government staff.

"From 2009 to March 2023, 7,50,441 posts of various grades were created in the revenue sector and 40,471 officers were appointed through BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) exams to fill important vacancies in public administration."

"We are currently working on The Public Service (Amendment) Act, 2023 and in the midst of drafting the Government Servants Conduct Rules, 2023," Dr Dewan said.