The key target before Noufal K.P., coordinator of the Kerala State Information Technology Mission, Department of Information Technology, Government of Kerala, is to make the state completely “digital”. In line with this, he spearheaded the Kerala e-district project under the National e-Governance Plan. “It aimed at delivering high-volume citizen-centric services provided by the Kerala government at the doorstep of each citizen. This was achieved via common service centres and online portals. This undertaking is very close to my heart, as I was instrumental in its roll-out on a pan-state basis. In fact, Kerala was the first state to plan and execute such a project,” he says.

Although the timeline of the project was two and a half years, it was implemented across the state within four months, he notes. “The project was a huge hit at the national level, owing to its unique approach to public service delivery. It bagged several awards and accolades.”

While the project was a step towards increasing the coverage of telecom services in the state, he says a lot more needs to be achieved. “The Indian telecom market has tremendous growth potential,” he says. “The government is doing its bit to enhance connectivity in the state, particularly by providing high speed connectivity through optic fibre cable up to the village level. Kerala’s goal of achieving the status of a completely digital state will depend on a robust telecom and IT backbone. This will provide lucrative business opportunities for telecom service providers and I am sure they will capitalise on the same.”

An assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, NAM College, Kannur, he assumed his current role in 2011. His responsibilities include spearheading the state government’s strategic initiatives in the telecom field. These include the e-district project, Malayalam Computing, establishing a citizen call centre and the eKrishi initiative.

Noufal says he is “in love with his work”. He counts his professional strengths as effective planning and execution, and the ability to work well with people. “I aim to complete all tasks within the prescribed time frame. Executing a plan has always come easy to me. Luckily, I also manage to work well in a team, by leveraging the strengths of each individual to ensure optimal results,” he says.

Although spare time is limited, he spends it travelling and keeping himself updated on current affairs.