Mumbai: The Maharashtra government will launch an online platform to enable citizens to purchase government publications and have them delivered to any address in the country through India Post, marking a major step towards modernising and providing wider access to government literature and services.
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The Industry, Energy, Labour and Mining Department issued a government order on Monday approving the development of an "Online and Counter Book Store Application" and operationalising the dedicated portal https://mahapublications.maharashtra.gov.in to facilitate online sale and doorstep delivery of government publications.
The initiative forms part of the modernisation of government libraries functioning under the Directorate of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, it stated.
Government publications are currently sold offline through cash transactions at government libraries and during book exhibitions.
The government noted that while private publishers have been offering online home delivery of books, similar access to the state government's publications was not available. The new system seeks to bridge this gap by making official publications available online in a citizen-friendly manner, the order said.
Initially, the facility will be introduced on a pilot basis through the Government Library in Mumbai.
According to the order, the portal will support online sales for deliveries within India, as well as counter and exhibition sales. Government printing presses and libraries in Pune, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur will continue with counter and exhibition sales through the same platform during the initial phase.
MahaIT Corporation Ltd will develop the application, and two computer operators will be deployed round the clock at the Directorate of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications to operate the system.
For home delivery, postal charges will be calculated based on the publication's weight and the delivery distance.
India Post will raise monthly postal charge bills by the 10th of the following month, and the Directorate will pay the postal department from the amount collected from citizens for delivery charges.
The initiative aims to make government publications easily accessible to citizens through a transparent, technology-driven, and efficient delivery mechanism, the order stated.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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