SINGAPORE: People are not necessarily aware of how smart Singapore already is, said Minister-in-charge of the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) Janil Puthucheary as he took stock of the year's progress in advancing the country's Smart Nation ambitions.
Citing the example of the National Library Board (NLB), Dr Puthucheary highlighted how users can look at and reference the entire collection of books from the comfort of their home via their mobile devices, or that one can reserve a book and pick it up from a locker after work hours. Such features are testament to how technology has already been tapped to deliver services to people.
“The infrastructure, the connectivity, the planning and the software in order to make these happen, it’s phenomenal,” he added. “But to us, it’s just how our NLB is. It’s just like that, right?”
Dr Puthucheary, who is also Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Education, also pointed to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore’s (ICA) application for passport online electronic system (APPLES) as another example.
“You can apply for a new passport essentially by taking a selfie,” he pointed out.
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-a-smart-nation-govtech-minister-says-9481988
Citing the example of the National Library Board (NLB), Dr Puthucheary highlighted how users can look at and reference the entire collection of books from the comfort of their home via their mobile devices, or that one can reserve a book and pick it up from a locker after work hours. Such features are testament to how technology has already been tapped to deliver services to people.
“The infrastructure, the connectivity, the planning and the software in order to make these happen, it’s phenomenal,” he added. “But to us, it’s just how our NLB is. It’s just like that, right?”
Dr Puthucheary, who is also Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Education, also pointed to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore’s (ICA) application for passport online electronic system (APPLES) as another example.
“You can apply for a new passport essentially by taking a selfie,” he pointed out.
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-a-smart-nation-govtech-minister-says-9481988