Fact Sheet: U.S.-India Partnership on Open Government
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
November 8, 2010
Fact Sheet on United States and India Announce Partnership on Open Government
Today, President Obama and Prime Minister Singh entered into a formal partnership on open government. The two great nations of the United States and India share strong democratic foundations as well as an enduring commitment to transparency and innovation as foundations for responsive and accountable government in the 21st century. In his first day in office, President Obama signed the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, calling for unprecedented transparency, participation, and collaboration as a hallmark of his Administration.
In 2005, India enacted the Right to Information Act similarly adopting a national commitment to openness as a means to make government more effective and accountable. Both nations believe that democratizing access to information and energizing civic engagement through the use of new technologies are critical to delivering better services, especially to those at the bottom of the pyramid; fostering greater entrepreneurship and economic opportunity; and improving our ability to collectively solve problems.
To that end President Obama and Prime Minister Singh announced:
The Creation of a U.S.-India Dialogue on Open Government
Recognizing both nations' commitment to making government information available to the end of improving government effectiveness and efficiency, the two countries agreed to establish an Open Government Dialogue with designated senior officials from each country. In addition to the exchange of best practices in support of our own domestic efforts, the Dialogue will produce, a joint action plan to harness the shared values of both countries which will offer great potential for synergies moving forward. Examples include the identification of best practices in open governance, the use of prizes and challenges to encourage the creativity of citizen innovators in developing web-based and mobile tools for better delivery of citizen services and citizen empowerment; and e-governance initiatives to promote data transparency and citizen engagement.
A Commitment to Work Together to Advance Open Government Globally
The United States and India agreed to work jointly, as part of the Open Government Dialogue, to develop approaches to facilitate the advance of open government, including mechanisms to share best practices, encourage collaborative models, as well as to spur innovations that empower citizens, and foster effective government in other interested countries. Both governments agreed to support public/private partnerships which will allow the engagement of public, private and philanthropic sectors and resources in bringing innovation to government and strengthening democratic institutions.
Sam Pitroda, Innovation Advisor to the Prime Minister and United States Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra will lead the Open Government Dialogue. To celebrate the partnership, they invited a group of leading innovators to St. Xavier's College in Mumbai to showcase cutting-edge Indian technological innovations that foster better citizen services and citizen empowerment.
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. )
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