The opening ceremony of Ministry of Industry and Trade's electronic portal. The ministry was ranked as the most well-prepared for information and communications development and application among all ministries last year . — VNS Photo

HA NOI (VNS) — Less than 2 per cent of ministries and localities across Viet Nam were rated "Good" in information technology (IT) application last year, according to a report of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The ministry's annual report examined IT progress in 22 ministries, eight Governmental offices and 63 provinces and cities.

The assessment was based on their performance on five major criteria. These consisted of IT infrastructure, application processes, information security, support policies for IT application and human resources and financial investment.

According to the report, no significant progress was made in IT applications last year compared to what had been achieved in 2011.

The ministry rated 20 per cent of the offices "average" in IT application and the majority of them at a lower level.

It also noted that the gap between offices at the top and the bottom was quite wide.

Since the Ministry of National Defence launched its portal last December, all ministries have gone online.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has jumped six notches to reach the top of the list of Government ministries effectively using information technology.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong (first left) chairs a meeting on software development. — Photo thongtincongnghe

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) are second and third.

The SBV improved the most, rising from the 12th place last year to the third this year, while the Ministry of Education and Training, which occupied the top spot in 2011, fell to the seventh in 2012.

In the rankings of provincial authorities, Da Nang maintained its top position, followed by Ha Noi and central Thanh Hoa Province.

Tra Vinh Province in the south took the lead in IT infrastructure investment while An Giang was named the most effective user of IT applications to serve the public and enterprises.

In terms of information security, Da Nang City and Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Thai Nguyen, Lao Cai and Bac Lieu provinces are at the top.

Improved IT applications can help promote e-public services publicise administrative procedures on websites (level 1); allow service users to download application forms and submit paperwork (level 2); and submit and receive application forms online (level 3) - and accept online payments if required (level 4).

According to the report, the number of public services at level 3 increased last year. In 2011, 38 cities and provinces offered 829 public services at level 3 and two cities provided eight services at level 4.

Last year, 49 cities and provinces offered more than 1,600 public services at level 3 and two cities – Ha Noi and HCM City – provided five services at level 4.

The ministries of finance and foreign affairs plus Da Nang City and Thanh Hoa Province have the biggest number of administrative procedures received and solved online.

Director of the Ha Noi Department of Information and Communications To Van Dong told the Government's online newspaper that last year, Ha Noi jumped 17 notches to reach the second position among provinces and cities, which evidenced for the city's efforts in applying IT in governance.

He said that now, 20 out of 24 departments under the municipal People's Committee and all of its districts had portals, offering 52 e-public services at level 3 and one service at level 4 relating to land tax collection.

In the latest move, as of this month, the People's Committee started granting land-use rights certificates for organisations online.

Dong said that the city would give priority to improving its information security (now in the 11th position) and IT development policies (now in the 7th position). — VNS