The cabinet deliberated on Tuesday on the rollout of the new version of the Government E-letter Management System (GEMS)—GEMS Workspace—and revisions to the messaging and correspondence guidelines. The cabinet meeting was held on 28th March at the President’s Office.
Deliberating on a paper presented to the cabinet by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, the cabinet members stressed the significance of upgrading GEMS to stay up-to-date with technological advancements of the day. The cabinet decided to roll out the new version of GEMS in four phases.
The new GEMS Workspace software is distinct from the current version and is designed as a stand-alone option that does not require any support software. It features message templates and electronic signatures and eliminates the need for printing. With the full rollout of the new software, businesses, non-governmental organisations, and individuals would all be able to use the software to exchange correspondences with the government.
The current version of GEMS was released in 2010. According to the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Energy, the GEMS framework and technology needed to be updated, as management and support were challenging.