E-Governance Updates : 6/5/10

HIS TO MAKE HOSPITALS SMARTER
Shailvee Sharda, Lucknow
The Times of India

The quintessential sarkari face of government hospitals in UP is in for a major change. And the tool behind this transformation is information technology. The state family welfare department has decided to install hospital information system (HIS) in its hospitals under the national rural health mission. As many as 15 hospitals have been shortlisted to begin with. The selected ones in Lucknow are Ram Manohar Lohia, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civil, Veerangana Avanti Bai and Veerangana Jhalkari Bai hospitals.

UID AUTHORITY CLEARS AIR ON COST OF IRIS SCAN
New Delhi
Hindustan Times

The Unique Identification Authority of India expects the cost of the eye scan process for issuing unique identification to be 30-50 percent less than fingerprint matching software. In a status paper on iris scan issued on Wednesday, the authority the cost of the scan had been a concern.

“However, the current high prices for iris technology are a result of low volume and its use in cost insensitive security applications. Considering the large demand that will come from India for iris devices and software, the UIDAI expects the prices for devices and software to fall rapidly,” the paper said.

 

E-Governance : 4/5/10

BU STUDENTS TO GET SMART CARDS
Bangalore
Deccan Herald

The Bangalore University syndicate approved a proposal to introduce smart cards for students as part of its e-governance initiatives on Monday.

The syndicate also approved in principle, an initiative to incorporate IT based security-enhancing system for undergraduate examinations and evaluation. The varsity has already issued a tender notice inviting IT companies interested in implementing the smart card system. The smart card will primarily be a single window system of access for students.

GOVT TO INTRODUCE BILL TO REGULATE UNIQUE ID PROJECT
Bangalore
The Economic Times

India plans to introduce a law for regulating the ambitious programme of giving unique identity numbers to nearly 1.2 billion citizens, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani confirmed last week. “It’s happening. The UIDAI would be proposing a UIDAI Act to provide for statutory powers and responsibilities to the authority. This Act would address the issues of privacy and data security of the UIDAI database,” Nilekani said.

In fact, the authority was formed last year with a road map to be established by an act of Parliament. The proposed law will authorise the UID to collect identity information, such as name, gender, date of birth, parents’ name, address and fingerprints, from people voluntarily seeking a unique identity number.

E-Governance Update: 3/5/10

ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGE TO AADHAAR, SAARC
Anil Padmanabhan
Mint

Last week, two good ideas with potentially enormous consequences for India were facing rejection.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), the long neglected multilateral body for this region, was, just ahead of its 16th summit meeting in Thimpu, Bhutan, being passed off as “dead at birth” and hence only fit to be buried. Similarly, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), or Aadhaar (its brand name), faced its first serious challenge after a group of non-profit organizations came together and warned that they would make out a legal case to spike it as they perceived it to be a threat to individual privacy.

Aadhaar is barely a year old. Its role is to develop and implement the requisite infrastructure that will enable UIDAI to allocate unique identity numbers to Indian residents—it’s very important to understand that it is not just meant for citizens. The idea is that UID can be verified online. Imagine what it will do for the economically disenfranchised —who don’t even possess birth certificates to enrol their children in a school.

 

RS 97 LAKH GONE, PROJECT STILL NOT ON
Gurdeep Singh Mann, Bassi Pathana
The Tribune

While the Centre has announced to introduce the first National Population Register and provide every Indian with unique identification number, the State of Punjab had spent whopping Rs 97.5 lakh on Multi-Service Card (MSC) Project three years ago that has failed to see light. Besides, 66 government officials from the district were deployed to gather information and project details of the scheme. But, all efforts have gone futile.

E-Governance News: 29/4/10

ID PROGRAMME FACES FIRST CHALLENGE OVER PRIVACY, DATA
Venkatesha Babu & Karen Leigh, Bangalore/New Delhi
Mint  

In the first significant challenge to the government’s ambitious programme to give more than one billion Indians a unique identification number, a group of NGOs are planning to take the government to court over a range of issues, including concerns over privacy and the safety of information. About 100 NGOs, including Alternative Law Forum, Centre for Internet and Society, have come together to oppose the implementation of the project in its current form.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) “is not a statutory body, not having been created by any Act or under any law, but by executive fiat”, he said. “It is set up as an appendage to the Planning Commission. It cannot be scrutinized either by Parliament or the Comptroller and Auditor General.” In what had been expected to become a hurdle to the project, those against it are citing data protection and privacy, factors that led to the failure of a similar initiative in the UK.

IT ROAD MAP FOR GOA IN 6 MONTHS
Panaji
The Hindu

The Goa government will form an IT Task Force to create an IT road map for Goa within six months. Chief Minister Digambar Kamat made this announcement here at an interactive programme with the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Tuesday.

IT TRAINING COS VIE FOR UID DEAL
New Delhi
The Economic Times

The announcement by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) of a large IT and biometrics training tender to train over 1 lakh enrolling agents on Wednesday has thrown up new opportunities for large training companies like NIIT, Aptech and Jetking, spread across the country.

The UIDAI plans to train about 1.04 lakh agents and will need about 430 centres across major capitals in the country over the next four years. Each enrollment centre would have to complete at least 60 enrollments to complete the massive target of enrolling 1.2 billion people by 2014-15.

India’s largest IT training company NIIT is already is making plans to bid for the project. Second largest IT training company Aptech CEO Ninad Karpe said that his company would bid for both testing and training components of the project.

 

E-Governance : 28/4/10

I-T DEPARTMENT, UIDAI AGREE ‘IN-PRINCIPLE’ TO ROLL OUT PAN CARDS
New Delhi Business Standard  

The Income Tax department and the Unique Identification Authority of India have agreed “in-principle” to come together for rolling out PAN cards with unique 16-digit Aadhaar number. Official sources said both the UIDAI headed by Nandan Nilekani and the finance ministry has held series of meetings on the subject and are now in the process of working out the modalities.

This collaboration might pave the way for the delayed biometric PAN cards, an initiative proposed by the then finance minister P. Chidambaram in 2006 to counter the problem of duplicate PAN cards which were uncovered during IT searches and raids by police and other enforcement agencies. It could also, however, cap the plan as the UID number itself will cut out the duplicates.

SPENDING ON E-GOVERNANCE MUST FOR GOVT DEPARTMENTS
Mumbai
Hindustan Times

The state government has asked all its departments to spend one percent of their annual outlay on e-governance. The government said that the reserve fund will help departments offer people easy access to administration and also enhance governance. This step has been taken to keep the state ahead in e-governance. The Centre has also adjudged the state as a leader state while complementing it for implementing e-governance in its 'India e-readiness assessment report'.

BIOMETRIC PASSPORTS
The Tribune

Forged documents, especially those used in international travel, are a major security breach since monitoring people after they have disembarked is very difficult in any democratic nation. As such, it is a matter of concern that according to the Home Ministry, 865 such cases were detected at international airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Amritsar in 2008. The government’s comfort bid regarding issuing of machine-readable passports, installation of passport-reading machines and immigration control system software to verify the details of passengers and to prevent impersonation notwithstanding, there is an urgent need to be more alert at our airports, which are effectively our borders for international travellers.

 

E Governance Updates: 8/4/10

SYNDICATE BANK'S E-STAMPING FACILITY
Mangalore
The Hindu Business Line

Syndicate Bank will launch ‘e-stamping' facility in Mangalore on April 8. A bank release said here that initially the facility will be launched at the Kadri branch of the bank in Mangalore. The facility will be available in 19 branches in Dakshina Kannada and Chikmagalur districts thereafter.

 

PR MINISTRY TO USE IT FOR PLANNING PROCESS
New Delhi
The Pioneer

The Panchayati Raj Ministry is all set to use information technology for decentralisation of the planning processes at different levels. The Ministry, in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC), has developed a software that will help strengthen decentralised planning process. The Plan Plus application software developed for the purpose is generic and open to customisation by States, line department and local bodies.

"It is a decentralised planning tool which aids various participants through the planning process so that informed decisions can be taken by the participants in preparing, vetting and approving the Plan," an official release said.

GPS FOR POLICE VEHICLES ON HIGHWAYS
Gurpal Kaur, Patiala
Hindustan Times (Chandigarh edition)

Punjab Police have decided to install satellite-linked Global Positioning System (GPS) in highway patrol vehicles in six cities. A senior official of police's Department of Computer and Telecommunication said GPS would be installed in the preliminary phase in Patiala, Bathinda, S.A.S. Nagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.

S.A.S. Nagar-based HCL would work on the project with- in a month. It is expected to be functional in May, IG Jagdish Kumar Mittal said.

COME MAY, GET HINJEWADI PROPERTY REGISTRATION DETAILS ONLINE IN 15 DAYS
Nisha Nambiar
The Indian Express

Property buyers in Hinjewadi, the IT hub of Pune that sees up to 100 property registrations a day, are set to witness a change. The buyers who normally have to wait six-eight months for documents will soon get access to them online within 15 days of the registration. The Hinjewadi sub-registrar office is part of a pilot project for online property registration, beginning next month.

Additional chief secretary M Rameshkumar said the initiative would ensure better transparency besides guaranteeing accountability by the officers. The state plans to introduce better online connectivity and inter-linkages between the city survey office and the sub-registrar/tehsildar office for urban and rural area registrations. Here, each officer will be under scrutiny for the time taken for issuing the notices as well as updating the records. Rameshkumar said the project, for which the National Informatics Centre would provide the software, would be rolled out in all districts once the Pune pilot succeeded.

E-Governance Update: 26/3/10

GOVT NOD TO SET-UP KNOWLEDGE NETWORK AT COST OF RS 5990 CRORE
New Delhi
Hindustan Times    

Government on Thursday approved a project to connect 1500 educational institutes across the country through high-speed data communication network. A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the establishment of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) at an outlay of Rs 5,990 crore to be implemented by the National Informatics Centre over a period of 10 years, an official spokesperson said. The network is expected to encourage sharing of knowledge, specialised resources and collaborative research.

 

PUNJAB TRANSPORT DEPT TO GO ONLINE
Chandigarh
The Pioneer

As a part of the campaign launched to ensure proper implementation of governance reforms in all the departments of Punjab, the Transport Department would issue online registration certificates on July 1. Computerisation of these two areas would bring transparency and efficiency in the functioning of the department.

DS Jaspal, Principal Secretary, Transport, said that Punjab would be the first State in the country to go online. Equipment worth over Rs 2.20 crore has already been delivered in the offices of district transport officers for computerisation of the district offices. Adding further, Jaspal said about 15 officials of the transport department from the districts have been given training during a workshop on computerisation of issuance of driving licenses and RCs organised by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) at Mahatma Gandhi

 

NOW, COMPUTERS IN ALL RURAL SCHOOLS
Sarang Dastane, Pune
The Times of India

In a bid to increase computer literacy among students from rural areas, the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) has announced a special project for 100% computer facilities at all ZP schools. Under the project, every primary school in rural area will receive two computers and a computer trainer in the next year. The ZP has allocated Rs 1.10 crore for the project under its annual budget for 2010-11. The total cost of the project will be around Re 3.25 crore.

 

POST OFFICES TO AID CENSUS, EARN RS 30 CRORE FROM SERVICES
Mansi Taneja
Business Standard

The Department of Posts (DoP) has tied up with the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India to offer logistics and distribution support for the census project. National Informatics Centre (NIC) would deploy web-booking, and project management and tracking software with the postal department for the project.

E-Governance News: 16/3/10

UIDAI RECEIVES OVER 3,000 LOGO DESIGNS, DECISION BY APRIL
 Business Standard  Mail Today  

The UIDAI, which aims to provide a unique 16-digit number to all residents of the country by next year, has received over 3000 entries from across the country for its logo competition. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will select a logo from the lot, which will become face of the ambitious project by April.

As part of its public partnership, the UID has also opened up a number of jobs for the general public who wish to be part of the project. The government has proposed Rs 1,900 crore in budgetary allocation, nearly a 16-fold increase, to the Authority for the period 2010-11

 

UNIQUE IDENTITY CARDS FOR TRANSGENDER
Reji John, Mumbai
Financial Chronicle

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will allow a million-plus transgender community in India to register their identity as `Transgender' or `T' when the UIDAI begins the process of issuing unique identity numbers.

According to proposals made by the demographic data standards and verification procedure (DDSVP) committee, headed by former central vigilance commissioner (CVC) N Vittal, one of the key goals of this system is "to be inclusive and ensure every resident is able to establish their identity". Ease to access, no harassment, no discrimination, no corruption and no exclusion are the key principles to be followed.

 

LEARNER'S LICENCE TEST ON COMPUTER
Megha Suri Singh, New Delhi
The Times of India

Delhiites may finally get some respite from touts and corrupt Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials to get a driving licence issued. Starting Monday, the process of issuing learners licences, the first step for a licence to drive, was made fully computerized, minimizing human interface in the testing. The change has been initiated at the Vasant Vihar RTO and will be extended to 12 other RTOs in a month's time.

Now, about 1,400 people who go to different RTOs in the city to get licences issued will have to undergo a computerized test. Unlike the existing process where tests are taken on paper by officials, who reportedly pass candidates even without sitting for it by accepting bribes there have also been complaints of deserving candidates getting the red mark because they have refused to pay bribe, the new process has little human interface. Once a person has taken the test and passed it, s/he will be granted a licence.

 

FDI PROPOSALS CAN NOW BE MADE ONLINE
Business Standard

Making foreign direct investment proposals will be a lot more hassle-free now since that can be done online now. Any investor planning to enter can file his or her investment proposal on www.fipbindia.com, which was launched by Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla on Monday.

 

WHY WE NEED WIKI `SARKAR'
Sriram Raghavan
The Asian Age

In 2003, the government launched what was meant to become the mother of all e-Governance initiatives in the country. Titled the National e-Governance Plan, its purpose was to bring the gamut of scattered and disorganised e-Governance initiatives under the common purpose of ensuring efficiency, transparency and reliability in the delivery of Government services to the common man.

Yet, after several targeted Mission Mode Projects and costs now running into millions, reality is unchanged for the layperson and turning further bleak for the poor who are acutely dependent on the government for all their fundamental needs. The primary reason why I believe e-Governance projects have failed to make an impact on people's lives is because the end beneficiaries (the people) are usually pushed to the background.

Technology platforms apparently built to ease government-citizen interaction never include citizens as an integral part of the design. Today's e-Governance does not inform us about whom to approach, how our requests are being processed or when we will receive our service.

E-Governance : 2/3/10

E&Y SELECTED AS CONSULTANT FOR UIDAI
New Delhi
Mint   

Consultancy firm Ernst and Young (E&Y) was selected as a project management consultant to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

 

E-GOV PUSH IS MAJOR OPPORTUNITY
Mumbai
The Hindu Business Line

“The Budget has been quite a mixed one. The demand in the e-governance sector is a major opportunity for IT companies. There were greater expectations in terms of reforms in higher education and physical infrastructure. There was no mention of mirroring of SEZ benefits for STPI units. There will be some impact seen on tax due to increase in MAT to 18 percent. There has also been a large outlay on rural development. However, we could have done something more for achieving 10 percent growth in next two years,” says Ashank Desai, the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman, Mastek Ltd.

 

E-Governance Update: 24/2/10

UIDAI GETS CORPORATE HEADS ON BOARD
New Delhi
Mint  Financial Chronicle 

Infosys Technologies Ltd's founder Nandan Nilekani headed Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has roped in corporate heads to advise it on awareness and communication strategy.

E-TRANSFER SYSTEM TO BE INTRODUCED FOR PENSIONERS
Rajendra S Markuna, Haldwani
The Pioneer

Now the senior citizens, widows and differently-abled people would be able to get their pensions in banks as in a bid to ensure prompt delivery of the said financial grant to the beneficiaries, the social welfare department of the State Government is going to introduce e-transfer system with the help of nationalized banks in the State.

 

LMC PLANS TOLL-FREE NUMBER TO ADDRESS CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS
Neha, Lucknow
The Indian Express

The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is planning to introduce a centralised grievance management system to address the complaints of the customers. The timeframe for the proposed system is yet to be decided. The civic body has asked for a proposal in this concern from a Delhi-based firm, Vayamtech Technologies Limited. The estimated cost of the system is around Rs 3 crore.

COOPERATIVE BANKS TO BE FULLY COMPUTERISED
Jaipur
The Hindu

The central cooperative banks in 13 districts of Rajasthan will shortly go hi-tech with full computerisation under the integrated cooperative development project

ERNST & YOUNG SELECTED CONSULTANT FOR UNIQUE ID PROJECT
Adith Charlie, Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee
The Hindu Business Line

The Unique Identification Authority of India has selected Ernst & Young as consultant to develop the technological roadmap for its ambitious UID project, according to officials associated with the project.

FIVE COS SUBMIT BIDS FOR RS 100-CR 'E-MIGRATE' AUTOMATION PROJECT
Adith Charlie Mumbai
The Hindu Business Line

Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Spanco are among the five technology companies that have submitted bids for ‘e-migrate', a Rs 100-crore automation project envisaged by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

The companies are positioning themselves as the ‘implementation agency' for the project, which includes electronically linking the offices of the Protector-General of Emigrants (PGoE), creation of a centralised data repository, and deployment of information kiosks in international airports. Mahindra Satyam and Prithvi Information Solutions are the other companies in the fray for the project, two persons with direct knowledge of developments told Business Line.

 

E-Governance: 23/2/10

UID AUTHORITY LIKELY TO GET RS 2,000 CRORE IN BUDGET
New Delhi
Financial Chronicle

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is likely to spend Rs 200 per head for providing a 16-digit number to people as the allocation for the ambitious project may see a 20-fold increase in the 2010-11 Union Budget.

The UIADI, for which government had earmarked Rs 100 crore in the last fiscal, may get an allocation of nearly Rs 2,000 crore in this year's budget, official sources said.

The authorities are planning to rope in vendors in all the cities who would be paid Rs 200, half of which will be spent on opening a bank account of the resident who is to be issued the unique 16-digit number, the sources said.

UNIQUE ID FAUX PAS IN PRESIDENT'S HINDI SPEECH
Aloke Tikku, New Delhi
Hindustan Times (Delhi edition)

A faux pas by the government officers in President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's address to the joint session of the Parliament has resulted in red faces in the government.

Patil -- who read her speech in Hindi -- said the unique identity number would be given to all citizens though the government's stated policy is that every resident would be given the unique number. The English version, however, said the card was for all residents.

The Unique identity would leave out lakh of people under its coverage if the unique number is restricted to citizens, as they would have to produce documentary evidence of their citizenship.

BIOMETRIC SURVEY IN PANCHKULA
Chandigarh
Hindustan Times (Chandigarh edition)

A biometric survey of all unauthorised slum dwellers in Urban Estate, Panchkula, will be carried out by February 27. A spokesman of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) said that slum dwellers who were encroaching HUDA /government land in Urban Estate Panchkula could join the biometric survey.

He said any claim in this regard would not be entertained after February 27.

MCA TO ISSUE NEW FORM TO HELP E-FILING
Chennai
The Times of India (Chennai edition)

To ease problems faced by companies in e-filing, the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) is planning to issue Form 68, a top official said on Monday.

“Stakeholders were facing problems in the online process, the ministry is planning to issue Form no 68 by March 15,” said R Bandyopadhyay, secretary, MCA, at the sidelines of a meet organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Bandyopadhyay said the e-stamp facility has received great responses from the state governments including Tamil Nadu. e-stamping is helping companies speed up registration.

 

 

E Governance News: 18/2/10

UNIQUE ID SOFTWARE TESTED
Sangareddy
The Hindu

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Director-General R.S. Sharma has expressed satisfaction with the software developed by Hyderabad-based 4G Identity Solutions.

He, however, suggested conducting of a pilot test covering about 30,000 persons in 20 villages in the next phase. Sharma, along with a team, visited Veluru village in Wargal mandal and examined the functioning of the software.

The software was developed to take two iris impressions two eye balls at the same time and 10 finger prints. Based on the date of the ration cards the tests were conducted.

PASSPORT APPLICATION TO GO ONLINE FROM MARCH 22
Kozhikode
The Hindu

Only online applications will be accepted for passport and re-issuing of passport from March 22, passport officer K.P. Madhusoodhanan informed in a release here on Thursday.

This is applicable in cases of submission of passport applications through District Passport Cells and other authorised speed post centres. www.passport.gov.in is the website address to submit the applications.

The applicants have the option to avail the online registration facility from the facilitation counter at the passport office premises here on payment of Rs. 50.

FARIDABAD COPS TO SEND SMS ALERTS ON DIVERSIONS
Prabhu Razdan, Faridabad
Hindustan Times (Delhi edition)

A day after Delhi Traffic police blocked Surajkund road for 10 days, Faridabad Police announced to provide free SMS alerts, informing about traffic diversions and many other useful information to the citizens.

"We have decided to launch an SMS alert service through which we would provide information related to traffic diversions/restrictions, general security, crime and eve-teasing," DCP Central, Faridabad Shashank Anand said.

Mobile subscribers interested in receiving free SMS alerts would have to get them- selves registered. The registration process would begin from Friday.

" The interested mobile sub- scribers can provide his/her information--mobile number, name, address etc at dcp.centralfbd@hry.nic.in," Anand said.

E-Governance Update :16/2/10

BARTRONICS EYES RS 500 CRORE FROM DELHI CITIZEN PROJECT
Narayana Krishna, Hyderabad
DNA

Bartronics India Ltd is expecting to earn at least Rs 500 crore per year revenue from its 'Aap ke Dwar' citizen services project, once it becomes fully operational, Sudhir Rao, MD, said.

The project, awarded by Municipal Corporation of Delhi, involves setting up 2,000 kiosks in the capital that will provide a single-window for services like bill payments, tax collections and others that a normal citizen needs from various government departments and private service providers.

Rao said the company rolled out the project on February 1 and currently 40 kiosks are operational. "Our aim is to install 2,000 kiosks by July, at least a quarter ahead of earlier schedule of October," he said.

The Aap ke Dwar project is on build-operate-transfer basis for a period of 9 years. The company expects minimum revenue of Rs 4,500-5,000 crore over the project period.

Bartronics is expecting steady growth during the January-March quarter and sees reaching then Rs 1,000 crore revenue mark for the current fiscal, as projected earlier.

CENTRE’S HEALTH SCHEME GOES PAPERLESS
Soma Das, New Delhi
The Financial Express

The Central Government Health Scheme, a health ministry arm which serves over 4 million beneficiaries in 25 cities, has managed to break free of the alleged net of local chemist cartelisation by going paperless.

In what marks a turnaround in the manner in which this government organisation procures its medicine, the Delhi arm of CGHS (serving almost half of total beneficiaries), which bought over 75% of the medicine from local chemists till 2007, now procures over 75% of drugs directly from the manufacturers, through its centralised system, mainly by outsourcing the task to public sector undertakings like HSCC.

While local chemists offer a discount of around 10-12% to the government organisation, the companies give a discount in the range of 25% to 30% on the same medicines. This was possible only after the CGHS adopted the online documentation and monitoring of the end-to-end supply chain and has been able to project the demand of medicines, after analysing the consumption pattern. The online initiative is gradually being expanded to all cities. “This has also resulted in reducing the time taken to deliver the medicine to the beneficiary. Earlier, CGHS would have to start the process of procurement only after the medicine has been prescribed in dispensaries, so that the patients in most cases had to make two visits, once to be diagnosed and second time to collect the medicine.

The online documentation has helped the organisation forecast the need of medicines and thus stock drugs according to the projected demand in advance,” a health ministry official told FE. “Apart from saving over 10% of procurement costs on account of higher discounts, quality issues can be better tackled when medicine is procured directly from the manufacturers. Firstly, medicine brands can be monitored and secondly, in case of any problem with the drugs, the accountability can be fixed on the manufacturer directly and immediately,” the official added.

A Comptroller and Auditor General Report in 2007 had noted that out of the total expenditure of Rs 460 crore on purchase of medicines for CGHS dispensaries in Delhi during 2002-06, the value of purchase of medicines made through local chemists was Rs 366 crore, which constituted 80% of the total purchase in Delhi. Similarly, the percentage of locally-purchased medicines in CGHS Hyderabad, Bangalore, Allahabad, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Guwahati during 2002-07 accounted for 74 to 91% of the total purchases.

TN TO HAVE BIOMETRIC RATION CARDS
Jayaraj Sivan, Chennai
The Times of India

The TN food department is working on a biometric system to weed out bogus and duplicate ration cards.

The biometric card, to be introduced in June 2011, will have photos, prints of all fingers and high-resolution images of the iris (pattern-recognition techniques are used to identify high-resolution images of the iris, which is unique to every individual) of all persons listed in the card. Going by the number of cards in use, the exercise is expected to cover close to two crore families. Now, the card carries only the photo of the family head.

To avoid duplication of work, the food department is thinking of working on biometric identification along with the census department, which will collect household data in May-June for updating the population registry.

IT FOR ERROR-FREE POLL ROLL
Bangalore
The Times of India

There’s always a positive side: had the controversy-ridden BBMP elections been held on schedule in February, at least 3 lakh voters would have returned from the booths, disgusted at not finding their names on the poll roll.

Not so now. On Monday, around 3,000 names attached to four booths were corrected in just a half-hour, thanks to the new software introduced by Smartvote and Pluma Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd, to enable a clearer online search. It has come as a relief as the voter list is plagued by discrepancies.

Banaswadi had the worst voter turnout during the parliamentary elections and this might have continued through to the BBMP election too. Four polling booths in this area were found to have the same names on their voter lists, adding around 3,000 voters to the main list.

There are at least 252-odd booths in the city with similar problems, says Smartvote. “We introduced the software mainly to enable voters to start an easy search for their names on the voter lists online. However, in the process, we found that a number of names were exactly replicated. That set us thinking — what happened to the 3,000 names originally on the list?” asks Prithvi Reddy, co-founder of Smartvote.

TRAFFIC COPS LAUNCH ONLINE FEEDBACK FORM
New Delhi
The Times of India

The next time you have an unpleasant experience with a traffic cop who asks for a bribe or demands more than the challan amount, log on to the traffic police website and lodge a complaint. In an initiative aimed at bringing about more transparency in the police’s interactions with the public, a new online complaint facility has been started.

‘‘Thousands of people come into contact with our ground staff on a daily basis and a lot of the experiences are unpleasant. People can now post their opinions on our website and necessary action will be taken against the officials concerned after verification of complaints,’’ said Satyendra Garg, JCP (traffic). The feedback form can be accessed at www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in.

 

E-Governance News: 15/2/10

NILEKANI SAYS ' BIJLI- SADAKPANI' IS PASSÉ
February 15, 2010
Mail Today  DNA (Mumbai edition)  

The slogan of bijli, sadak, pani is passé. Virtual things like Unique Identification (UID) number, bank account and mobile phone are the in- thing, says chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI) Nandan M. Nilekani.

The information technology veteran said that in India, the model has changed, from roti, kapada, makaan (food, clothing, shelter) in the 1960s and 1970s, to the slogan in the last several years of bijli, sadak, pani (power, roads, water).

" Today, it's all virtual things — it's about UID number, mobile phone and bank account," Nilekani, bestknown for his role in building Infosys, said after the event of Citizen Extraordinaire Award 2010, instituted by the Prestige Group in association with Rotary Bangalore Midtown.

" If we can get everyone to have UID number, then we are giving them tools of opportunity.

With that, they can access services, benefits and their rights. We have gone from (the earlier slogans) physical things to abstract things (UID number, bank account, mobile phone)," Nilekani said, adding, though they look abstract, they really are very, very important and real foundation. " We believe soft infrastructure is as important as hard infrastructure," he added.

UID TO BE ROLLED OUT IN AUGUST: NILEKANI
Bangalore
The Economic Times

The much-awaited Unique Identification Number scheme is likely to roll out pilot projects by August 2010, Nandan Nilekani said after receiving the Citizen Extraordinaire Award 2010 on Saturday. The award function was organized by Prestige Group in association with Rotary Bangalore, Midtown.

Chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Nilekani said his link with Bangalore dates back to his birth at the Vani Vilas Hospital and early education at Bishop Cotton School.

"Nearly 75 million people in the country are still homeless and don't have an address. This is why they lose out on a host of benefits. Identity has created a barrier. At the same time, migration is increasing," he added.

Nilekani said more and more money is being spent on public welfare. He cited projects like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, on which Rs 39,000 crore has been spent, and the right to education on which Rs 1.71 lakh is being spent. The right to food, which is about to be implemented, also involves crores. "As India develops, social programmes targeted at individuals will increase. We need a robust way of identifying individuals who are genuinely poor and not getting any benefits," he said.

The first part of the UID project involves enrolling everyone at stations where people can give thumb impressions, get their iris scanned and photograph taken. In the next 5 years, around 600 million people are likely to be covered.

DIGITALISATION OF LAND RECORDS GATHERS PACE
Chandigarh, February 15, 2010
The Financial Express

Punjab's ambitious project of digitalisation of land records being implemented under public-private partnership paradigm and under Build, Operate, Own and Transfer (BOOT) basis has gathered pace.

By the end of this year, there will be online access to the land records, which will benefit NRI population of the state. Besides, all 153 tehsils of the state would be computerised and the project will cost Rs 115 crore.

The project of land records is being implemented through Punjab Land Records Society. The BOOT operators CMC Limited are handling the work for Sangrur and Barnala while other districts are being looked after by CMS private Limited. These operators are supposed to implement data entry and validations of all revenue records. Operation and maintenance of service centres (Fard Kendras) and registration of documents will also be done.

Anurag Verma, secretary, Revenue department of Punjab said, "There are few shortcomings in the software and we have decided to get new software developed from Microsoft. This will be integrated with land records, deed writers, stamp duty and Geographic Information Systems ( GIS) module.

ONLINE RTI APPLICATIONS FOR NRIS!
New Delhi, February 15, 2010
Deccan Herald

To make it easy for NRIs to file RTI applications, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has asked government departments to provide a link on their websites for receiving online applications and appeals.

The ministry has written to Department of Personnel and Training, nodal department for RTI affairs and Ministry of External Affairs to make guidelines in this regard and make necessary changes in the Act. Its website has a link facilitating reception of online applications.

According to the proposal mooted by the ministry, an NRI will now be able to deposit Rs 10 as RTI fee in the equivalent local currency at the Indian Mission abroad and send their application through email to the concerned public information officer informing about deposit of fee.

"NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) are entitled to seek information from Ministries/Departments of Government of India/States under the RTI Act. In the absence of appropriate arrangement of deposit of requisite fee, they are finding it difficult to seek information," G Gurucharan, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs wrote to DoPT.

It was a difficult task for the NRIs to file RTI applications seeking information, as there is no mechanism for online applications. The deposit of fee was also a difficult matter as there is no provision in the Act for submitting it in the currency of any other country.

Now, NRIs submit their RTI applications at Indian missions abroad which forward it to officials concerned but fee was accepted only in Indian currency. The fee can be paid either in cash or in valid instruments like postal order, demand draft etc.

It was difficult for NRIs to arrange such instrument abroad leaving them no option but to physically go to the Indian mission and submit fee in cash along with application. An RTI applicant Commodore Lokesh Batra made a complaint before the Central Information Commission highlighting the plight of NRIs.

Batra had also raised the issue during the annual convention convened by the Commission in October last year, which elicited positive reaction from activists and commissioners. After getting complaint from Batra, the Commission had sought views of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs.

The Ministry of Overseas Affairs in its submission said, "payment of fee for seeking information has to be decided by the Ministry of External Affairs...As regards first and second appeal from abroad, matter has been taken up with the Department of Personnel and Training".

FOR ACCURATE DATA, GOVT PLANS TO MAP SLUMS
New Delhi
The Times of India

Aiming to meet ambitious target of making India slum-free, the government has embarked on a plan of remote mapping to get a ''reliable figure'' of people living in slums by collecting foolproof data on both notified and non-notified slums across the country.

While the current estimate of slum dwellers is based mostly on surveys of notified slums, most non-notified slums have been left out. Maps of cities prepared through remote sensing would give a clearer and more authentic picture of slums in a city and would include non-notified slums. Housing minister Kumari Selja said: "Most of the time the plans are based on projections rather than hard data. We plan to map the entire country so that we know about slums in each town and city. This would also include non-notified slums which are usually not accounted for."

The ministry, which has set a target of making India slum-free in the coming five years with the launch of the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), expects to get the exact figure by GIS mapping and including non-notified slums too. With involvement of Isro in this project, the land-mapping and slum surveys are being done through remote sensing with GIS-enabled software.

The ministry has also asked states to develop a Slum Information System and the Centre has provided them funds for the purpose. "We want the mapping to be completed in two years," Selja said.

COME 2011, EVERY COP WILL BE COMPUTER LITERATE
Mysore, February 14, 2010
The Times of India

The year 2011 could revolutionize the way police work. From filing FIRs to investigations, everything will be computerized. In that process, all 2,500 police officers in the city from the rank of constable to the top cop will be made computer literate by the end of 2010.

With a strong belief that computer training would ensure effective services, over 60 officers above the rank of sub-inspector are undergoing training at the city police headquarter since mid-January. Classes are being organized by a private computer-training firm at the commissioner of police office premises.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Rajendra Prasad told STOI that computer knowledge is mandatory to tackle the modern day challenges. Most of the criminals are well versed in use of mobiles and computers. If the investigation officer lacks computer knowledge, it hinders probes, he said.

The officers are also being trained for the police information technology (Police-IT), an initiative by Karnataka police for computerization of the administration across the state. This will bring transparency and help officers professionally, Prasad, a nodal officer to Police-IT for Mysore city, stated.

 

E-Governance News: 2/2/10

UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION’ LOGO CONTEST OFFERS RS 1 LAKH
Rakesh Ranjan, Ranchi
The Pioneer

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has given citizens of India an opportunity to win Rs one lakh in cash. A member of the public can win the prize if he or she is able to suggest an appropriate logo for the UIDAI, the ambitious project of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by IT czar Nandan Nilekani.

The UIDAI has organised a logo competition. The last date for submitting suggestions is February 28, 2010. The UIDAI has also announced a consolation prize of Rs 10,000. The suggested logo can be sent by email (logo@uidai.gov.in) indicating name, email and contact details of the sender.

The role of UIDAI is to issue a unique identification number (UID) to the citizens of the country to eliminate duplicate and fake identities. The UID would become single source of identity verification in the country. It would be based on biometrics containing details of face and fingerprints. It will also provide the opportunity to the citizens to get rid of using supporting identity proofs like passport, driving license and voter identity cards. It will become single source of identity and will be recognised and accepted across country.

The UIDAI has also planned to connect the project with various schemes launched by the Centre for poor and unprivileged communities to bring them under UID system. Interestingly, the UID can help create a level-playing field for the masses irrespective of State, language, caste, creed, gender, age, geography, experience, social hierarchy.

 

KERALA IT LAUNCHES BLOG FORUM
Kochi
The Hindu

Kerala IT, a State government initiative offering a single-window service to usher in information technology (IT) companies, professionals, investors and service providers to the State’s IT world, has launched a blog forum on its official web site.

The service, said to be part of a concerted effort to increase Kerala IT’s online reach, can be assessed on www.keralaIT.org/blog

The stated objectives of the blog forum include creating a platform for the online community to know about Kerala IT’s various initiatives and projects, projecting the State as a strong contender among the destinations attracting investments in IT and IT-enabled services, and eliciting opinions and suggestions from citizens in general on how to increase the State’s visibility worldwide.

It has been perceived as a channel facilitating interaction between IT professionals and companies and Kerala IT. To ensure that the purpose for which it has been launched is served, the IT facilitator has urged Netizens to sign up and become contributors to turn the platform into a vibrant online community benefiting everyone involved. As a contributor, one can blog about the events and updates about his or her company as well as provide insights to other bloggers through meaningful comments. The Kerala IT team behind the initiative has requested the visitors to inform it about the additional features they like to see on the blog platform to turn it into a truly interactive community.

Besides, the online community has been requested to e-mail vital information or events to be posted online, which will enhance the utility of the web site. The new link offering space for blogs adds to the links, such as those on IT parks, investment opportunities, IT enablers and careers, on the official website.

 

 

NOW, BUY GIDC PLOTS ONLINE
Gandhinagar
The Times of India

If you are an entrepreneur wanting to buy a plot in a Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) estate, all you need to do is click a mouse.

By April 2010, purchase of any of the 50,000-odd plots spread over 181 GIDC estates will be possible online from anywhere in the world. The GIDC unveiled the first-ever online allocation of plots programme on Monday. A complete list of every plot, including a geographical map showing its location, roads and infrastructure facilities, ownership detail, accounting, cost and the latest status will be put online.

“It is single window clearance system in action. We plan to increase the area of GIDC estates by adding another 35,000 ha,” said minister of state for industries Saurabh Patel, who clicked the master computer button to make the allocation at the GIDC office.

The Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics is working on installing a visual information system. “We want to minimise human interface and eventually eliminate it as part of our e-governance initiative for all the GIDC estates,” GIDC managing director Arvind Agrawal said during the online plots allocation ceremony. “Immediately, online applications will be received and plots allocated for 19 large GIDC estates. We plan to expand it for all the estates.”

 

E-Governance: 25/1/10

FOR UNIQUE ID, PHOTO NO ALTERNATIVE TO FINGERPRINT
Subrahmanyan Viswanath, Bangalore, January 25, 2010
Deccan Herald

If you are expecting to see your photograph on the Unique Identity card, whenever it is issued to you, forget it. For, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) committee on biometrics believes fingerprints would better serve as biometrics data than facial recognition systems.

The UIDAI’s perception stems from its belief that while photographs may visually testify who you are, they will not reveal your true identity because, in this day and time of digital morphing, you may not be who you say you are.

The ten-member committee, chaired by Registrar General of India (RGI) C Chandramauli, has observed in its report, accessed by Deccan Herald, that a fingerprints-based biometric system shall be the core of UIDAI’s de-duplication efforts.

Arguing that while face is the most commonly captured biometric and frequently used in manual checking, the committee has noted that stand-alone automatic facial recognition does not provide high levels of accuracy.

Therefore, fingerprinting will be at the core of vetting duplications as UIDAI goes about its task of providing unique IDs to India’s billion-strong population. The panel noted face recognition can only be used to supplement a primary biometric modality. Over 250,000 fingerprint images were sourced from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa, for this exercise. It was undertaken by a four-member fingerprint sub-committee.

According to the committee’s submission, despite the agencies involved in the exercise were different and disparate, quality of fingerprint obtained were as good as seen in developed countries providing for 99 percent accuracy in de-duplication. Nearly all images were from rural regions and were collected by different agencies using different capture devices and through different operational processes.

Besides fingerprints, the panel notes that demographic data is also used for improving de-duplication processes.

The committee, which has recommended that ISO 19794 series of biometrics standards for fingerprints, face and iris set by International Standards Organisation as being most suitable, has said that besides photograph, ten fingerprints of the person being enumerated must be obtained for enrolment.

 

MEET ON E-GOVERNANCE
Jaipur, January 25, 2010
The Hindu

The Rajasthan Government’s Information Technology Department will organise the 13th national e-governance conference in collaboration with the Union Government’s Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances Department here on February 18 and 19.

State Additional Chief Secretary S. Ahmed, addressing a preparatory meeting for the conference here over the week-end, said the two-day event would promote good governance while ensuring a qualitative improvement in the delivery of services to the people at large.

IT Secretary Tanmay Kumar said the conference would provide a useful platform for exchange of views among the policy-makers, academicians, entrepreneurs and industrialists.

According to an official release here, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Cabinet colleagues and senior officers from the Centre as well as different States would be among the 800 participants expected to turn up in the conference.

 

SOON, AN E-COURT IN KARKARDOOMA
Abhinav Garg, New Delhi, January 24, 2010
The Times of India (Delhi edition)

After the Delhi High Court, Karkardoom court complex in the capital is all set to become the first lower court in the country to get an e-court.

Sources said that Karkardooma courts will be e-court enabled very soon — perhaps as early as next week — with Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Garg likely to become the first judge to preside over a paperless court

The high court has two functioning e-courts, presided by Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Muralidhar respectively. While the high court’s experience with the facility has been one of trial and error, both for judges as well as for lawyers, it will be interesting to see how succesful the concept of e-court turns out to be in a sessions court, where the foundation of a trial is laid.

According to highly placed sources in the high court, trials are already on to launch the phase-II of the ambitious e-court project, led by the high court. ‘‘Training is already being given to the staff of lower courts, including those of Karkardooma, so that they become adept at handling a paperless environment,’’ said a high court official who is closely associated with the project.

In order to overcome a technical glitch which leads to the e-court server taking a long time to load legal files, the high court administration also has plans to lay down a separate Local Area Network (LAN) line for the lower courts to make processing of files in the computer a lot swifter and smoother.

 

E-Governance: 20/1/10

EASTERN RLY E-PROCUREMENT
Kolkata
The Hindu Business Line
The electronic procurement system in the Stores Department of Eastern Railway (ER) was launched at ER's headquarters at Fairlie Place here on Tuesday. With this, the uploading of stores bulletin tender to EPS will help reduce the lead time for making the items available and save the expenditure. Inaugurating the system, V.N. Tripathi, General Manager of ER, stressed the need for achieving early the targeted procurement and sale of scraps through the new system, according to an ER release.

NSPOT, PEC TO SELL IMPORTED PULSES THROUGH E-AUCTION
Chandigarh
The Financial Express
To galvanise sale of pulses imported by state-run PSUs, NSPOT, promoted by leading commodities exchange National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) and state-run trading company PEC will now expand their operations by selling pulses and other imported agri-commodities through e-auctions.

NSPOT and PEC had earlier successfully traded urad and tur on an electronic platform on a pilot basis.

This new effort aims at helping traders and processors from satellite locations apart from the main trading hubs to actively participate in the e-tendering system and get accessibility to PEC.

NSPOT is the only spot exchange to have traded pulses successfully on spot exchange platform.

By this association, NSPOT and PEC hope to bring in price transparency, convenience and efficiency to traders and bring the PEC, pulses traders and Dal millers/processors on to a common trading platform where varied market participants can buy directly from PEC.

This particular welcome move has enticed and brought in lot of enthusiasm among the pulses trading community.

AVAILABLE FROM JUNE: ONLINE ACCESS TO CENTRE-FUNDED STATE SCHEMES
Tarannum Manjul, Lucknow
The Indian Express
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) Uttar Pradesh is working on a website linking project that will enable one to access the progress of Centrally-funded state schemes on the click of a mouse.

The linking will enable any state to not only see Uttar Pradesh's progress chart on the scheme, but will also make accessible the good practices being followed by the state. Uttar Pradesh is the second state being linked with the Government of India (GOI) websites after Karnataka.

This forms part of the National E-Governance Programme (NEGP) that has been undertaken by the state. The GOI schemes that will be under focus in the linking project include: National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Janani Suraksha Yojna under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) and the Rural Drinking Water Mission.

GOVT'S E-GOVERNANCE POLICY BIASED, SAY OSS LOBBYISTS
Harsimran Singh, New Delhi
The Economic Times
India's open source software (OSS) lobbyists allege that popular software solutions from large companies, such as Microsoft, are being favoured in the proposed draft recommendations for the country's e-governance policy. The policy aims to adopt open technology standards and software for automating different government departments and functions.

It intends to guide the billion-dollar e-governance purchases and tenders, across government departments, for software and hardware over the next few years. The government has already allocated about $6 billion for various projects under the national e-governance plan.

According to people familiar with the draft recommendations, a meeting of the apex body on standards for e-governance was held last week, and the policy is close to being approved. ET was shown a copy of the proposed recommendations by one of the persons who requested anonymity.

"The recommendations given by an expert committee would make the policy very weak and would not favour open standards," said G Nagarajan, chairman, Free Software Foundation of India, which advocates that software should be free and open for all. The draft is also not clear on whether it will also impact existing e-governance projects or only new tenders. The draft policy, in its preamble, recommends that standards that are 'mature and have a large proliferation' will be considered. This is being contended by the OSS community that says that it will favour proprietary standards that have large proliferation amongst masses.