Shillong, Jan 21: Meghalaya’s use of data-led governance, particularly in healthcare, has emerged as the key factor behind the state winning three national honours at the 6th Digital Transformation Summit and Awards held in New Delhi. The awards recognised measurable improvements in public outcomes across health, service delivery and planning, rather than isolated technology pilots.
The most notable recognition went to the National Health Mission (NHM), Health Department, Government of Meghalaya, for its MOTHER app—an integrated digital platform that tracks pregnancies and maternal care in real time. According to officials, the system has played a decisive role in reducing maternal deaths by nearly 60 per cent and lowering the infant mortality rate by 34 per cent between 2020 and 2025. By continuously monitoring pregnancies and flagging high-risk cases early, the platform enables health administrators to intervene in time while also improving accountability across health facilities.
Meghalaya also received an award for innovative public service delivery through Meghalaya ONE, a unified digital platform developed under the Planning, Investment Promotion and Sustainable Development Department. The system consolidates multiple government services, schemes and grievance redressal mechanisms into a single interface. Designed to be accessible beyond urban centres, citizens can use the platform online, through physical service centres or with assistance from village-level data volunteers, significantly expanding its reach.
The third award highlighted the state’s growing reliance on geospatial technology for planning and infrastructure development. The Meghalaya State GIS and UAV Centre, under the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, was recognised for the Meghalaya State Geo Portal, or GeoHub. The platform uses AI-driven analytics and time-series data to support decision-making in areas such as urban planning, transport networks, deforestation monitoring, weather forecasting and water resource management.
Officials said the national recognition underscores Meghalaya’s broader shift towards integrated, data-driven governance, where digital tools are directly linked to on-ground outcomes and policy decisions. The awards were presented at the summit organised by Governance Now, a publication focused on public policy and governance, which evaluated initiatives based on impact, scalability and cross-departmental integration.
