India E-Governance Update: 29/05/09

 

ENTER E-STAMP FOR SAFER DEALS
Amit Gupta, Ranchi
The Telegraph

A bill, cleared by the governor’s advisory council yesterday, will now allow all registration offices to use e-stamps — a computer-based application to put the state seal on property documents and a secured electronic way of ensuring that the government gets stamp duty.

While registration offices will generate online stamp duty certificates, financial institutions can install franking machines that will help emboss a stamp of required denomination on a dummy paper.

Result: Property dealings that require stamp duty of more than Rs 10,000 will no longer depend on vendors and be less affected by scarcity of non-judicial stamp papers. Easy accessibility and faster processing — stamp duty certificates can be generated in minutes — will make e-stamps user-friendly and cost efficient.

Officials said e-stamping would be ensured through a special window in registration offices. The Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL) has been made the service provider for five years. It will get a commission of 65 paise for every thousand e-stamps sold.

Financial institutions (FIs) such as nationalised banks and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will press into service franking machines for which an advertisement will be posted soon.

The FIs will have to purchase an approved brand and obtain permission from the registration department.

 

 

E-PROCUREMENT CENTRES PLANNED
Senthalir S, Bangalore
DNA (Bangalore edition)

People confused over e-procurement process will get effective guidance from help centres which the state government is planning to set up this week.

"We will set up a centre like Bangalore-One with eight to ten computers in a room. Professionals well-versed in e-procurement will help those applying for tenders. People in need of help can walk in any time to these centres. Once we get space, we can set up such centres within a week," said BL Sridhar, principal secretary, e-governance and chairman of Centre for e-Governance on Thursday.

People, who find it difficult to apply for tenders, can approach these centres for proper guidance, he said. Under e-procurement system, the process of tendering becomes computerised to speed up work on the field.

Sridhar's announcement came after KV Raju, economic adviser to the chief minister, suggested to set up the centre during the inauguration of a workshop on e-procurement.

Although e-procurement was started only two to three years ago, transaction up to Rs 200 crore was achieved under the system last year, Sridhar said. "This year, it has increased to Rs3,000 crore. We are aiming to take it up to Rs30,000 crore," he said.