At the fifth edition of the Global Conference on Cyberspace in New Delhi, the government of India has taken another significant towards digitization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took center stage at the event to formally unveil the all-in-one e-governance app, UMANG for Android, iOS and Windows users.
UMANG, which basically stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance, is a centralized platform for netizens of the country to access prominent government services. It unifies more than 162 services from across the state and central government departments, providing a seamless integration with popular consumer-centric services. The Information Technology Minister of India, Ravi Shankar Prasad, marked the released of the app with this tweet:
The UMANG app, which has been under development since 2016, provides you access to core government services like Aadhaar, DigiLocker, Rapid Assessment System, and Bharat Bill Payment System. This means you can use the UMANG app to not only pay all your utility bills but also know your CBSE exam center, book your gas cylinder, file income tax, know details of Provident Funds, register and apply for the PMKY programme, book OPD appointments at government hospitals and much more.
The UMANG app has been developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD). After you’ve installed the app, you need to create a user profile and digitally complete KYC verification by providing your Aadhaar number when required. UMANG can be accessed by anyone in the country as it is available in 13 languages, namely English, Hindi, Assamese, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telegu, and Urdu.
This app fulfills the promise that PM Modi, who has embraced technology with open arms, made in his first Independence speech in 2014. He wants the countrymen to feel closer to the government and the UMANG app would help attain just that, as part of his vast Digital India vision for the future of the country.
UMANG bridges the gap we’ve always felt with the government services, which has been a tiresome affair in the past
