TNeGA to audit all websites of State govt

CHENNAI: As many of the portals have been inactive and outdated for a long period of time, the state government has decided to conduct a functional audit of its more than 500 websites to identify the current status and user friendly interface. The state-owned Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) has been entrusted to conduct a comprehensive functional audit of all government websites.

A senior official from the TNeGA, seeking anonymity, told DT Next that the decision to conduct an audit on its websites came against the backdrop of reports that many websites have outdated information and were not upgraded for years together. “At present, only a little more than 50 websites are very active and user friendly,” he said.

“Introducing a standardised framework for Tamil Nadu government websites and conducting a comprehensive functional audit of the existing sites are vital measures aimed at delivering a seamless and user-friendly digital experience to the citizens,” he said.

Stating that the audit initiative aligns with TNeGA’s objective to improve governance through effective e-governance initiatives, solidifying Tamil Nadu’s position as a technology-forward state deeply dedicated to efficiently serving its people, the official said to improve the overall user experience, TNeGA intends to hire an agency to undertake the audit activities.

“The agency will develop a standardised framework incorporating best practices in website design, accessibility and user experience to create a consistent and visually appealing interface,” he said adding “the framework will be as per the website guidelines of Union government.”

Stating that a detailed functional audit of all 500 plus government websites must be conducted to assess their current state, identify issues, and document their strengths and weaknesses, he said the experts will compile an “as-is” report detailing the current status of each website, highlighting areas that require improvements.

The official said that all the sites will be integrated for accessibility features, such as alternative text for images, keyboard navigation and proper labelling of form elements, to ensure compatibility with assistive technologies.

“Support for payment gateway and SMS gateway integration, support for social media integration, archival and retrieval mechanism and provision to add links to other government departments will be available in the government websites,” he said.

He said other features including availability of dashboard, user and visitor statistics, provisions to customize the pages as required, sitemap generator, compatible with major databases available in the market, optimised for hosting in any environment and supporting multilingual content.