When it comes to agriculture market reforms to enhance farmers’ income, the success story of Karnataka’s Unified Market Platform (UMP)* stands out. By seamlessly connecting all 157 mandis (APMCs) in the State through the UMP and introducing the ‘Unified License’ – a single trading license for purchase and sale of agricultural produce through any APMC in the State – Karnataka has pioneered in successfully creating India’s first State Agriculture Market (SAM).
With ‘One Nation, One Tax’ becoming a reality in the form of GST, India has now taken a firm step towards realising its goal of becoming ‘One Nation, One Market’ for Agricultural Commodities. However, Agricultural Marketing being a State subject, special attention needs to be given by the States to be part of this grand vision. A good example is the market reforms undertaken in the State of Karnataka through the Unified Market Platform (UMP) – an Online e-Trading Platform for Agricultural Produce. Continue reading “UMP: The Next Game Changer After GST?”
In July 2015, the Union Govt. Of India under the leadership of Hon. PM Narendra Modi embarked on an ambitious mission of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Titled ‘Digital India’, this initiative is centered on 3 key areas – Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen, On-demand Governance & Services and Digital Empowerment of Citizens, and is aimed at transforming the entire Public Services ecosystem through effective use of Information Technology.
As the clamour for Digital Transformation began earnestly in various Centre and State departments, it became critical to identify the most successful eGovernance projects as an inspiration and benchmark for others. The concept of ‘Gems Of Digital India Awards’ was thus conceived to identify and felicitate the best of the best eGovernance projects in India.
