21 State/UT Legislatures Conduct Business in Digital Mode through NeVA, 7 More at various Stages of Implementation

I have enough facts to write the note.

1. At a Glance

National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a unified, cloud-based "One Nation – One Application" platform to digitise Legislative Business of all State/UT Legislatures, turning them into paperless Digital Houses [S1][S2].
Implemented by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme; signals India's e-Governance push under Digital India and cooperative federalism [S2][S3].
Relevance: GS-II governance/e-governance, federalism, and Parliament/State legislature functioning [S1].

11 March 2026 PIB release: 21 State/UT Legislatures now conduct business digitally via NeVA; 28 have signed Tripartite MoUs; remaining 7 at various implementation stages [S1].
Recent inaugurations: Puducherry Legislative Assembly on-boarded by MoS Dr. L. Murugan on 09 June 2025; Delhi became the 28th legislature to sign the MoU (2025) [S2][S4].

Originated as e-Vidhan pilot in Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha — India's first paperless legislature [S2].
Repackaged as NeVA, a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the Digital India Programme [S2].
Public Investment Board (PIB) approval: 15 January 2020 with outlay of ₹673.94 crore [S2].
Governed by a Tripartite MoU among Government of India, concerned State Government, and the State Legislature [S1].
Linguistic inclusivity added via integration with BHASHINI (MeitY) for AI/ML real-time translation [S2].

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) [S1].
Technology partner for language stack: BHASHINI under MeitY [S2].
Scheme type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme [S3].
Cost-sharing pattern [S3]:
NE & Hilly States: 90:10 (Centre:State)
Other States: 60:40
UTs with Legislatures: 100% Centre
Total outlay: ₹673.94 crore (PIB-approved 15 Jan 2020) [S2].
Coverage status (Mar 2026): 28 MoUs signed; 21 operating digitally; 7 in implementation [S1].
Vision tagline: "One Nation – One Application" [S2].
Goal: Paperless conduct of legislative business; unified data depository across 37 legislatures [S2].

Administrative / Governance
Eliminates paper notices, questions, bulletins, bills, reports — improves turnaround and archival access [S2].
Tripartite MoU mechanism balances Union assistance with State legislative autonomy [S1].
Legal / Constitutional
Legislatures are autonomous under Articles 168–212; NeVA respects this by requiring State + Legislature consent via MoU [S1].
Supports Rule-making power of each House (paperless rules of procedure) [S1].
Federal / Cooperative
Differential funding (90:10 / 60:40 / 100%) recognises fiscal asymmetry of NE/Hilly/UT regions [S3].
Scientific / Technological
Cloud-hosted generic software; multi-device; AI/ML translation via BHASHINI for regional languages [S2].
Environmental
Paperless model reduces stationery consumption, aligning with LiFE / sustainability goals [S2].

11 Mar 2026: PIB confirms 21 legislatures live, 7 in pipeline, 28 MoUs signed [S1].
09 Jun 2025: NeVA launched for Puducherry Legislative Assembly [S2].
2025: Delhi became the 28th legislature to sign MoU [S4].
2025: BHASHINI-NeVA integration for real-time multilingual translation operationalised [S2].

NeVA nodal ministry: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (not MeitY) [S1].
NeVA is a Mission Mode Project under Digital India [S2].
PIB approval date & outlay: 15 Jan 2020, ₹673.94 crore [S2].
Tagline: "One Nation – One Application" [S2].
First fully paperless legislature in India: Himachal Pradesh (e-Vidhan pilot) [S2].
Cost-sharing: 90:10 for NE/Hilly, 60:40 for other States, 100% Centre for UTs with legislatures [S3].
Implementation instrument: Tripartite MoU (GoI + State Govt + State Legislature) [S1].
MoUs signed (Mar 2026): 28; Live: 21; Pending implementation: 7 [S1].
Language inclusivity partner: BHASHINI (MeitY) [S2].
Delhi = 28th legislature to join NeVA platform [S4].
Puducherry NeVA inaugurated by MoS L. Murugan on 09 June 2025 [S2].

GS-II: e-Governance applications, models, successes, limitations; Functioning of legislatures; Cooperative federalism.
GS-III: Digital infrastructure; awareness in IT.
Probable stems: 1. "NeVA exemplifies the convergence of cooperative federalism and e-governance." Examine. 2. "Digitisation of State Legislatures can deepen legislative accountability." Critically analyse with reference to NeVA. 3. Discuss the role of Mission Mode Projects under Digital India in transforming legislative business in India.

Digital India Programme — parent umbrella for NeVA Mission Mode Project.
BHASHINI (National Language Translation Mission) — language backbone for NeVA.
Articles 168–212 — Constitutional framework for State Legislatures.
MeitY Mission Mode Projects — comparative e-Gov projects (e-Courts, e-Office).
Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) reform — for differential funding patterns.
Parliamentary Privileges & Rules of Procedure — affected by paperless conduct.
e-Sansad — Union Parliament's parallel digitisation initiative.
DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure) philosophy — NeVA as legislative DPI.

Confusing NeVA (MoPA) with e-Sansad (Lok/Rajya Sabha Secretariats) or e-Office (MeitY).
Mis-stating nodal ministry as MeitY — it is MoPA; MeitY only supplies BHASHINI integration.
Funding ratio confusion: NE/Hilly is 90:10, not 80:20; UTs are 100% Centre, not 90:10.
Treating NeVA as a Central Sector Scheme — it is Centrally Sponsored with cost-sharing.
Crediting Himachal Pradesh vs. claiming Nagaland/others as first paperless — HP's e-Vidhan was the pilot precursor.

[S1] 21 State/UT Legislatures Conduct Business in Digital Mode through NeVA — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2238092 — (tier 1)
[S2] National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) / Puducherry inauguration — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2134494 — (tier 1)
[S3] Tripartite MoUs with 28 State/UT Legislatures for NeVA — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2238093 — (tier 1)
[S4] Delhi becomes the 28th Legislature to join NeVA — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2114104 — (tier 1)