(Image source from: nationalheraldindia.com)
The government of India to start an own instant messaging service for mobile phones in order to improve the confidentiality in official communications.
The instant messaging service platform is said to be named as GIMS which stands for Government Instant Messaging Service and it is being undergoing pilot tests which are being conducted by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY). the instant messaging service platform is said to be rolled out later this year.
The sources said that the platform can be used by the State government if the desire to apart from the Central government.
National Informatics Center (NIC) is said to develop the Government Instant Messaging Service being a unified messaging platform, which is said to set up the e-mail service for the government departments.
GIMS is said to be a multilingual platform that contains over 11 local languages and it is said to be started with English and Hindi and will be followed by other languages.
A senior government officials has said that the app will be supported by Android as well as iOS platforms and is currently undergoing beta testing which is being done by a total of 17 government organizations that include ministry of external affairs (MEA), ministry of home affairs (MHA), CBI, MeitY, Navy and railways and the states like Odisha and Gujarat have also been participating in the testing. The official has said that the platforms has around 6,600 users currently and around 20 lakh messages have been generated.
the message service platform is said to be important by the former government official who has handled threats regarding to cyber security against the government as he mentions a light software like Pegasus which can be used in disrupting the privacy in the conversation in WhatsApp.
He has added saying that the messaging apps like WhatsApp, We Chat etc will be used by almost every ministry in order to discuss the strategic and sensitive issues related to the government and this information can be hacked by cyber criminals and therefore it is important for the government to start its own instant messaging service for the effective and efficient administration.
By Shrithika Kushangi
