LUCKNOW, Jan. 20 -- Calling for greater use of technology, stronger accountability and capacity building in legislatures, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Tuesday said state assemblies must compete on benchmarks of excellence, innovation and effective governance.

He was addressing plenary deliberations on the second day of the three-day 86th All-India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC), which focused on three key themes: leveraging technology for transparent, efficient and citizen-centric legislative processes; capacity building of legislators to enhance efficiency and strengthen democratic governance; and accountability of legislatures towards the people. The session was moderated by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh.

Birla commen...