Goa Assembly Likely to Introduce iPad HD Screens in India

Cyclostyled paper having questions and answers was a common sight in most of the state legislatures in India. Now, these papers are likely to be replaced with HD screens during Goa Assembly. The High Definition screens are expected to act like a TV prompter in the assembly. The Governor of Goa himself will read his opening address session through an HD screen.

This step will be carried out for the first time in a state assembly held in India. The Speaker of Goa State Legislature is behind this technological innovation, who states that the HD screen introduction can be regarded as the first step to avoid the use of papers for assembly functioning.

According to the official, the HD screen will show up the questions asked currently and the members can read those questions by looking at the screen instead of browsing through the papers in hand. At the same time, the minister can answer the questions using the HD screen set up. The HD screen and its accessories will be placed in the assembly during the question hour in a five-day session. The estimated cost of this set up is about Rs. 2 crores. It is expected that nearly 800 queries will be raised during the five-day session.

It is also planning to provide iPods to all members during the budget session in late March. The legislatures will be able to connect their iPods to the HD screens though Wi-Fi. The cost for the iPods in total is expected to be around Rs. 50 lakh. The records for the proceedings in assembly will be maintained with transcripts. These transcripts will be uploaded to the website of the assembly on the next morning.

In addition to these developments, the regular speakers in the assembly are also being replaced by surround sound speakers. The forty legislators in Goa assembly will be getting their iPads soon from the Chief Minister. As per the Chief Minister, costs incurred for iPads is low compared to that of continuous supply of papers. Saving trees is of course another advantage.