Ministry of Digital Development and Information

Ministry of Digital Development and Information
	Former logo of MCI until 2024
Agency overview
Formed	8 July 2024; 3 months ago
Preceding agencies	Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA); Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI);
Jurisdiction	Government of Singapore
Headquarters	140 Hill Street #01-01A, Old Hill Street Police Station, Singapore 179369
Motto	Knowledge is Meant to be Shared
Employees	2,651 (2018)
Annual budget	S$1.04 billion (2019)
Ministers responsible	Josephine Teo, ; Minister & Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation; Janil Puthucheary, ; Senior Minister of State, Minister-in-charge of GovTech; Tan Kiat How, ; Senior Minister of State; Rahayu Mahzam, ; Minister of State;
Agency executives	Joseph Leong, ; Permanent Secretary, Digital Development and Information; Chng Kai Fong, ; Permanent Secretary, Information and Development; Augustin Lee, ; Second Permanent Secretary, Smart Nation; Foo Kwok Jee, ; Chief of Government Communications; David Koh, ; Chief Executive of CSA and Chief of Digital Security and Technology; Poon Hong Yuen, ; Deputy Secretary, Digital Economy and International; Sim Feng Ji, ; Deputy Secretary, Digital Government; Gwenda Fong, ; Deputy Secretary, Digital Society and Development;
Child agencies	Cyber Security Agency; Infocomm Media Development Authority; National Library Board; Personal Data Protection Commission; REACH;
Website	mddi.gov.sg
Agency ID	T08GA0017L

1°17′26.61″N 103°50′53.31″E / 1.2907250°N 103.8481417°E / 1.2907250; 103.8481417 The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI; Malay: Kementerian Penerangan dan Pembangunan Digital; Chinese: 数码发展及新闻部; Tamil: தகவல், மின்னிலக்க மேம்பாட்டு அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for overseeing the development of the infocomm technology, media and design sectors, as well as the government's information and public communication policies. It is also responsible for maintaining the national library, national archives and public libraries.

History

On 5 June 1959, the Ministry of Culture came into being with the swearing-in and appointments of ministers of the new Government of Singapore. On 1 February 1980, the Broadcasting Division of the Ministry of Culture became a statutory board, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.

1985 saw the dissolution of the Ministry of Culture. Its Information Division came under the new Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). Its arts promotion component was assimilated into the Ministry of Community Development (MCD) as the Cultural Affairs Division.

Five years later, on 28 November 1990, the Information Division of the MCI and the Cultural Affairs Division of MCD, together with other associated departments and statutory boards, reunited to form the Ministry of Information and the Arts (MITA).

On 1 September 1991, the Festival of Arts Secretariat, Singapore Cultural Foundation, the Arts Division of MITA, and the National Theatre Trust merged to form the National Arts Council (NAC).

On 1 October 1994, the Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA) was formed as a statutory board under MITA to oversee and promote the broadcasting industry in Singapore.^[2]

On 23 November 2001, the information and communications technology (ICT) functions under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology came under MITA. The expanded Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, but retained the acronym MITA. In that year, Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) became one of MITA's statutory boards.

On 1 January 2003, the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, Singapore Films Commission and Films and Publications Department (previously under the MITA headquarters) merged to form the Media Development Authority (MDA). On 13 August 2004, the Ministry's acronym was changed from "MITA" to "MICA".

On 1 November 2012, MICA was renamed the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). The move followed the restructuring of two previous ministries – MICA and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) – into MCI, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). REACH (Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home) was assimilated into MCI while the resilience, arts and heritage portfolios became part of MCCY. MCI oversees the development of the information and communications technology, media and design sectors, public libraries, and the Government's information and public communication policies.^[3]

On 18 January 2016, MCI announced that the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Media Development Authority (MDA) will be restructured into two new entities: The Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Government Technology Organisation (GTO) (now Government Technology Agency; GovTech), in the second half of 2016.^[4] The new statutory boards were formed on 1 October 2016.

On 8 July 2024, MCI was renamed the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI). It aims to recognise a landscape where digital solutions will become more common.^[5]

Organisational structure

MDDI has two statutory boards, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the National Library Board (NLB).

MDDI also manages the Cyber Security Agency, a national agency overseeing cybersecurity strategy, operations, education, outreach, and ecosystem development and the Personal Data Protection Commission, Singapore's primary data protection authority.

Ministers

The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Digital Development and Information, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent minister is MP for Jalan Besar GRC Josephine Teo from the People's Action Party.

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office		Cabinet
Minister for Culture (1959–1985)
	S. Rajaratnam MP for Kampong Glam (1915–2006)	5 June 1959	12 August 1965	PAP	Lee K. I
	S. Rajaratnam MP for Kampong Glam (1915–2006)	5 June 1959	12 August 1965	PAP	Lee K. II
	Othman Wok MP for Pasir Panjang (1924–2017)	12 August 1965	15 April 1968	PAP	Lee K. II
	Jek Yeun Thong MP for Queenstown (1930–2018)	16 April 1968	25 September 1977	PAP	Lee K. III
					Lee K. IV
					Lee K. V
	Ong Teng Cheong MP for Kim Keat (1936–2002) Interim	26 September 1977	6 January 1981	PAP	Lee K. V
	S. Dhanabalan MP for Kallang (born 1937)	6 January 1981	1 January 1985	PAP	Lee K. VI
Minister for Social Affairs (1963–1985)
	Othman Wok MP for Pasir Panjang (1924–2017)	19 October 1963	30 June 1977	PAP	Lee K. V
	Toh Chin Chye MP for Rochore (1921–2012) Interim	1 July 1977	4 September 1977	PAP
	Ahmad Mattar MP for Brickworks (born 1940) Interim until 31 May 1984	5 September 1977	1 January 1985	PAP
		5 September 1977	1 January 1985	PAP	Lee K. VI
Minister for Communications (1968–1985)
	Yong Nyuk Lin MP for Geylang West (1918–2012)	16 April 1968	31 July 1975	PAP	Lee K. III
	Yong Nyuk Lin MP for Geylang West (1918–2012)	16 April 1968	31 July 1975	PAP	Lee K. IV
	Lim Kim San MP for Cairnhill (1916–2006)	1 August 1975	30 June 1978	PAP	Lee K. IV
	Lim Kim San MP for Cairnhill (1916–2006)	1 August 1975	30 June 1978	PAP	Lee K. V
	Ong Teng Cheong MP for Kim Keat (1936–2002)	1 July 1978	8 May 1983	PAP	Lee K. V
	Ong Teng Cheong MP for Kim Keat (1936–2002)	1 July 1978	8 May 1983	PAP	Lee K. VI
	Ong Pang Boon MP for Telok Ayer (born 1929)	9 May 1983	6 September 1983	PAP
	Yeo Ning Hong MP for Kim Seng (born 1943) Interim until 31 May 1984	7 September 1983	1 January 1985	PAP
Minister for Communications and Information (1985–1990)
	Yeo Ning Hong MP for Kim Seng SMC (born 1943)	2 January 1985	27 November 1990	PAP	Lee K. VII
	Yeo Ning Hong MP for Kim Seng SMC (born 1943)	2 January 1985	27 November 1990	PAP	Lee K. VIII
Minister for Information and the Arts (1990–2001)
	George Yeo MP for Aljunied GRC (born 1954) Interim until 30 June 1991	28 November 1990	2 June 1999	PAP	Goh I
					Goh II
					Goh III
	Lee Yock Suan MP for Cheng San GRC (born 1946)	3 June 1999	22 November 2001	PAP	Goh III
Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (2001–2012)
	David Lim MP for Aljunied GRC Interim	23 November 2001	11 May 2003	PAP	Goh IV
	Lee Boon Yang MP for Jalan Besar GRC (born 1947)	12 May 2003	31 March 2009	PAP	Goh IV
					Lee H. I
					Lee H. II
	Lui Tuck Yew MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC (born 1961) Interim until 31 October 2010	1 April 2009	20 May 2011	PAP	Lee H. II
	Yaacob Ibrahim MP for Moulmein–Kallang GRC (born 1955)	21 May 2011	31 October 2012	PAP	Lee H. III
Minister for Communications and Information (2012–2024)
	Yaacob Ibrahim MP for Moulmein–Kallang GRC & Jalan Besar GRC (born 1955)	1 November 2012	30 April 2018	PAP	Lee H. III
		1 November 2012	30 April 2018	PAP	Lee H. IV
	S. Iswaran MP for West Coast GRC (born 1962)	1 May 2018	14 May 2021	PAP	Lee H. IV
	S. Iswaran MP for West Coast GRC (born 1962)	1 May 2018	14 May 2021	PAP	Lee H. V
	Josephine Teo MP for Jalan Besar GRC (born 1968)	15 May 2021	7 July 2024	PAP	Lee H. V
	Josephine Teo MP for Jalan Besar GRC (born 1968)	15 May 2021	7 July 2024	PAP	Wong L. I
Minister for Digital Development and Information (from 2024)
	Josephine Teo MP for Jalan Besar GRC (born 1968)	8 July 2024	Incumbent	PAP	Wong L. I