SINGAPORE – From July 8, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) will be known as the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.
Announcing the name change on May 13, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement: “The new name reflects the ministry’s role in driving our national digital agenda.
“The ministry will also continue to oversee information policy and strategy, media development, and public communications efforts.”
During a press briefing on May 13 to announce his new Cabinet line-up, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that the change is not just a renaming exercise but also marks a significant change in mindset orientation.
Specifically, the change is meant to give a strong signal and push on Singapore’s digitalisation efforts, he added.
“Digital technologies will be a big enabler for us to transform our economy, and also to improve our lives, for everyone in society,” said DPM Wong.
Singapore’s national digitalisation strategies include artificial intelligence and many other technologies that cut across sectors and agencies.
“So rather than do it separately, we thought it was better administratively to bring these efforts together as part of a coherent national digital strategy,” he added.
The name change is the latest in a series of moves over the last decade.
In October 2023, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) merged with the digital development functions of MCI to form an enlarged Smart Nation group.
The rationale for the merger: to better position Singapore to respond effectively to new opportunities and challenges in digital developments. Given the cross-cutting nature of digital developments, SNDGG and MCI have had to work closely to design and implement national and government digital strategies.
The SNDGG was initially set up under the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office in May 2017 to drive and coordinate smart nation and digitalisation efforts in the Singapore Government.
Meanwhile, MCI’s formation dates back to 1985. It was formed to incorporate the information division of Singapore’s then Ministry of Culture.
In 1990, MCI was renamed the Ministry of Information and the Arts (Mita), absorbing the cultural affairs division of the Community Development Ministry.
In 2001 Mita was renamed the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (Mica) after taking over the information and communications technology functions under the former Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), which was formed two years earlier.
The move was part of a bid to attract foreign investors by bringing the various agencies looking after the local infocomms sector under the ambit of a single ministry.
In 2012 it was rebranded as the Ministry of Communications and Information, following the restructuring of Mica, as well as the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.
Then Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim had said that one of the aims of the reorganisation was to boost the local media landscape amid the growth of the Internet, in addition to overseeing public communications and promoting the Republic’s infocomms sector.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
