E-governance initiatives benefit printing solution firms

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E-governance initiatives benefit printing solution firms
Bangalore: Printing solution companies are turning out to be one of the beneficiaries of the e-governance initiatives in India. The government is using the solutions provided by these firms to modernize the administrative process in the country. The government has started using digital technology for various purposes ranging from printing a birth certificate to digitizing land records. According to Business Line, government agencies are now using basic hardware to multi-function machines that integrate copier, printer and scanner into one unit. "There is a shift in government mindset towards offering citizens the best of information services," says Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice-President, Canon India. Canon's 25 percent of the total revenue is from government contracts. "The government is investing even in tier two and three towns on machines. The priority growth areas for us are power, education and health services," adds Bharadwaj. Canon, which works both with the central and state governments, supplies printing equipment ranging from 45,000 to 6 lakh. Canon has also appointed 'Special government managers' in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Another printing solution company that has seen good traction from the government is Xerox. "About 50 percent of Xerox India's revenues this year (from January-June) came from the government," says Princy Bhatnagar, Director - Office Business, Xerox India. Earlier, the government contribution to Xerox was 25-30 percent. "As national e-governance initiatives that are part of the government's Mission Mode Project progress, increased use of printing technology is needed," says Puneet Chadha, Director, Graphics Solutions Business, Hewlett Packard (HP). HP works with both state and central governments for printing office and election ID cards, ration cards and toll slips, and digitizing old records and maps.

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