Maharashtra Cabinet Goes Paperless: Ministers Now Equipped With iPads

Mumbai: In a significant move to digitalise India, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to go completely paperless. All the ministers were given iPads to help them perform their routine official tasks efficiently.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal told PTI that cabinet agendas, notes and minutes of previous meetings will now be shared via email with ministers and the Chief Minister. These documents can be accessed directly on the provided iPads.

The ministers were then given a briefing on how to use the iPad effectively by the state's Information Technology Department.

Each minister received login credentials, including passwords for the devices and their official email accounts.

Presentations (PPTs) made during cabinet meetings, as well as records of past cabinet decisions, will also be available through their emails.

To implement an e-cabinet system, the state government had decided to distribute iPads to the ministers for 1.6 crore.

However, earlier, the government had cancelled the work order to buy 50 Apple iPads after the supplier said that the iPad was not immediately available.

RTI Activist Vijay Kumbhar had also criticised this move.