special issue - epunjab summit 2016...sukhbir singh badal deputy chief minister, punjab the central...

SPECIAL ISSUE - ePUNJAB SUMMIT 2016

SPECIAL FEATURE

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EDITORIAL

February 2016February 2016December 2015December 2015

5ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

unjab, the land of �ve rivers, has since ages been known as the ‘food bowl’ of the country and popular for its diverse range of cuisine and culture. However, with the Central Government acknowledging the State as the one leading in eGovernance and asking the rest of the states to emulate its model, Punjab has also come to be known as a State that ensures its citizens access various government services in a

hassle-free manner.

In fact, a silent revolution of sorts has been sweeping the Punjab administration, making it tech-savvy, citizen-centric, advanced and e�ective in its day-to-day governance. Today, the State Government is o�ering a number of services through electronic mode of service delivery. It has launched many ICT-led initiatives, which reach signi�cant bene�ts to both citizens and businesses, and also bring transparency and e�ciency in the government functioning.

Currently, the focus of all the departments is on backend digitisation, which includes providing computing infrastructure in the �eld o�ces, connectivity through Punjab State Wide Area Network, data digitisation, capacity building, et al. Moving beyond mere digitisation of documents in the name of eGovernance, the State is about changing people’s mindset, procedures and the way the government functions.

�e framework for eGovernance in Punjab was laid out in 2002. Ever since, it went on to e�ectively implement eGovernance in �elds such as Education, Health, Food and Civil Supplies, which have together translated into an enviable rate of the State’s GDP growth. With continuous improvements throughout its e-journey in various phases — starting from informative to interactive to transactional to transformational, Punjab has come a long way. In other words, the State is all geared up to make its eGovernance mission a success by aligning with the Government of India’s ambitious “Digital India” programme.

With a view to showcasing its achievements and its unique initiatives, Elets Technomedia, in association with the Government of Punjab, is organising “ePunjab Summit 2016” in Chandigarh on February 26. �e Summit will see State’s policymakers, senior government o�cials from Punjab and outside, and experts in eGovernance converging on one platform to deliberate, discuss and suggest the path for better governance, not just for the State but for the country at large. �e meet will also feature various enlightening sessions on Digital India, Smart Cities, eGovernance and mGovernance, Financial Inclusion, Make in India, IT in Education, IT in Health, etc.

We hope this Special Issue of the magazine brings you an over-all view of eGovernance as unfolding in Punjab and elsewhere in the country.

RAVI [email protected]

PDigital Punjab

6 ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Dr Ravi Gupta

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SPECIAL ISSUE- ePUNJAB 2016ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON E-GOVERNANCE

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ePUNJAB SPECIAL COVER STORY

From serpentine queues in dusty government offices and endless wait for government files to move,

to swanky SUWIDHA centres, SAANJH centres and swift action on file, where a citizen enjoys efficient

service delivery as his right, Punjab has come a long way. The country’s food bowl is now known more

for its effective and innovative governance reforms than its verdant fields and sun-kissed ripened wheat,

reports Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN) from the land of five rivers

From serpentine queues in dusty government offices and endless wait for government files to move,

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COVER STORY ePUNJAB SPECIAL


ntil sometime back, Punjab was considered essentially an agrarian state, but steadily it is now wearing a new look and assuming a di�erent identity. �ere has been a silent revolu-

tion of sorts sweeping its administration that is leaving it more tech-savvy, citizen-centric, advanced and e�ective in its governance.

�is is evident from the fact that the past year alone has seen the central government acknowledge and honour the State for lead-ing in eGovernance and asking the rest of the states to emulate the example it has set. In April 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred the “Best Governance Practice” award on the Punjab Government for its “unique citizen-centric initiative to abolish non-statutory a�davits in the state”.

Punjab pipped states, such as Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka, to win the honour. �e award was received by Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on the occasion of the 9th Civil Services Day.

�e portfolio of Governance Reforms has been with the dynamic Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has been tirelessly introducing initiatives to engage citizens in governance. “�e main focus of these reforms is to restore citizen’s trust in institutions. For this we brought about reforms particularly in police administration, revenue collection agencies and district administration. �ese reforms have provided digni�ed and easy access to services for citizens and have made administration transparent and accountable,” says Sukhbir Badal.

In fact, what prompted the change was the fact that even a�er 63 years of Independence, citizens have to prove their identity; for dec-larations regarding their profession, income, caste, residence proof, etc., a�davits are to be given on stamp papers and sworn before a magistrate or a public notary.

“We, in Punjab, in 2009 decided to do away with �ling of a�davits except in cases where it is mandatory by law. It is encouraging that ini-tiatives like rationalisation of a�davits, intro-duced by Punjab, have been adopted by the Government of India well,” says the Deputy Chief Minister.

Apart from the government, its agencies, like Punjab Governance Reforms Com-mission, have been pressed into service and

working towards the cause of welfare of the disadvantaged, marginalised and deprived sections in the State, so as to achieve good governance based on high ethical standards, according to the Chairman of Punjab Gov-ernance Reforms Commission (PGRC), Dr Pramod Kumar.

Speaking about various initiatives that the State is taking, Kaushal says, “Punjab, during the last seven years, has emerged as a lead-ing State in eGovernance and has also taken pioneering steps in mobile governance. �e prime task before the government is to ensure acceptability of new tools of mobile gover-nance amongst the citizens by focusing on data and �nancial security.”

�e Chief Secretary has been seeking par-ticipation of o�cers at all levels to popularise eGovernance tools, and feels that this can be done by ensuring transparency and quick delivery, besides maintaining the credibility of the system.

“�ere is a need for the departments to come forward with innovative ideas for e�ec-tive mobile governance for the bene�t of the citizens. In order to build adequate and rel-evant capacities at all levels, so as to achieve goals of eGovernance and mobile governance, it is important to follow eGovernance Compe-tency Framework,” says Kaushal.

�is Framework speaks about bringing India’s eGovernance planning, management and human resource aspects on par with global standards and practices. Since the

purpose of this framework is to enable gov-ernment departments to “Deploy Right and Develop Right”, there is a need to make use of this framework and deploy right people to implement various eGovernance initiatives.

Punjab Government’s endeavour to make administrative reforms a reality achieved another milestone with the Central Govern-ment ranking the State’s eGovernance project

as the best in the country. �e Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India, in its quar-

terly ranking released on October 31, 2015 rated the e-District project of the State as the number one such project in the country.

DeitY assessed e-District projects of 36 states and Union Territories for this ranking and had considered several parameters for assessment. While Madhya Pradesh ranked second, Uttar Pradesh was adjudged third in the country. Chandigarh stood at 15th posi-

U

The main focus of reforms is to restore citizen’s trust in institutions. We brought

about reforms particularly in police administration, revenue collection agencies and district administration. These reforms have provided easy access to services for citizens and made administration transparent and

accountable.

Sukhbir Singh Badal Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab

The Central Government has honoured the State for leading in eGovernance. It was conferred with the ‘Best Governance Practice’ award for its ‘unique citizen-centric initiative to abolish non-statutory affidavits in the State’. Punjab pipped states, such as Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka, to win the honour



tion, Haryana and Delhi shared 11th rank, Himachal Pradesh ranked 14th, while the State of Jammu & Kashmir �nished second-last at 35th position. Bihar remained the laggard at the last 36th position. Punjab’s e-District pilot project had also won Skoch Award and CSI-Nihilent Award for its best implementation last year.

�e e-District Punjab project was adjudged as best for its e�ective pilot project implementation, backend computerisation of maximum number of services among all states, on-time selection of system integrator, delivery of hardware and connectivity in more than 1,000 �eld o�ces, robust governance structure in the form of District eGovernance Society, Punjab and other features. A�er suc-cessful launch and operation of pilot imple-mentation in Kapurthala and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Punjab has now replicated the e-District project across the remaining 20 districts of the State as part of phase-II of project implementation.

Under phase-II of the project, the required IT infrastructure of more than 2,000 desktops, 1,200 network printers, 1,400 scanners and other basic infrastructure have now been provided across 959 locations covering 1,500 government o�ces at district, tehsil and sub-tehsil level across 20 non-pilot districts. All these o�ces have been provided internet con-nectivity and more than 9,000 o�cials have been trained as part of capacity building for enabling service delivery under this project.

numbers, approximately 90 per cent of the services have already been made live and are running successfully across the State, and the Punjab Governance Reforms Commission been asked to achieve 100 per cent rollout at the earliest.

Until now, more than 1.3 lakh service requests have been received through e-District application in 20 non-pilot districts and are in various stages of processing. Currently, these services are delivered through Suwidha centres, and in the near future, the same shall be provided across all the counters at Sewa Kendras being established in the State.

Apart from the government, its agencies, like Punjab Governance Reforms Commis-sion, have been pressed into service and are working towards the cause of welfare of the disadvantaged, marginalised and deprived sections in Punjab and achieving good gov-ernance based on high ethical standards, says PGRC Chairman Dr Kumar, an eminent social scientist himself.

Only recently, the Commission recom-mended or 35 per cent reservation for women in government jobs – a decision which is set to have far-reaching implications in upli�-ment of women in the State, and it has been approved by the State Government. A practi-cal shape to this decision will be given when the government starts �lling 1.14 lakh vacant posts in 41 departments. In November last year, the government had announced to start the process to �ll the vacant posts, mostly in the school education, water supply and sanita-tion and agriculture departments. �e deci-sion to reserve 35 per cent jobs for women will account for 40,000 of the 1.14 lakh jobs.

�en there are initiatives taken by the Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP) that have been acknowledged by the World Bank in its recent report where it pegged Punjab at 16th position in ease of doing business across India. However, the State topped in the area of setting up of a business, stealing march over other so-called business-friendly states. Punjab scored 81.48 per cent against the national average of 31.91 per cent.

“Remarkably, Punjab is the only State in which the single-window system allows appli-cation for all of the licences studied in this assessment, although some others come very close,” the report said.

�e “Assessment of State Implementation

During the last seven years, Punjab has emerged as a

leading State in eGovernance and has also taken pioneering steps in mobile governance. The prime task before the government is to ensure

acceptability of new tools of mobile governance amongst the

citizens by focusing on data and financial security.

Sarvesh Kaushal Chief Secretary,

Government of Punjab

Punjab Land Record Society (PLRS) has been formed by the Department of Revenue with the objective of computerising land records and making these accessible to the citizens.

Directorate of Government Reforms, Punjabe-Governance in Punjab

Fard KendrasPunjab and Record Society P RS was formed by department of Revenue with the objective of

computerizing land records and make these accessible to the citizens. The society has setup 1 3

F RD endras in Public Private Partnership to facilitate citizens to collect their documents across the

counter after paying nominal fee. Record of Rights of about 12 0 villages has been computerized.

The data of all 22 districts has already been put on the website for Public access. Currently citizens can

get the copy of F RD nakal across the counter by paying a very nominal fee on the same counter.

P RS is planning to deliver more land record services though these endras in near future.

To date, out of the total 42 planned ser-vices, a numbers of services have already been made live across the State. As per consolidated

COVER STORY ePUNJAB SPECIAL




Apart from the government, the Punjab Governance

Reforms Commission has been pressed into service for ensuring welfare of the

disadvantaged, marginalised and deprived sections in Punjab and achieving good governance

based on high ethical standards.

Dr Pramod KumarChairman - PGRC,

Government of Punjab

of Business Reforms Report” for September points out that good practices being followed in the State include setting up of the Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion by the government that “acts as a uni�ed regulator and provides a one-stop system for all state regulatory and �scal incentive approvals”. �is also means that it functions as a single point of contact for the investors with senior gov-ernment o�cials who work as “relationship o�cers for corporate houses”.

“�e Bureau is headed by a chief executive o�cer empowered by all regulatory depart-ments to provide approvals. O�cers on depu-tation from all regulatory departments work together as part of the single window. Further, to complement the single-window structure, an online work�ow-based single window portal helps the investor track approvals in real time,” the report added.

For the past couple of years, police reforms

have been one of the key points in governance reforms in the State. Set up in 2012 by the Punjab Government, there are 363 SAANJH Kendras or Police Station Outreach Centres, set up across the State that are now dealing with registration of foreigners, investigation of cases of missing passports, complaints of fraud by travel agents, NRI complaints, tenant veri�cation, registration and investigation of servants, passport veri�cation, police clear-ance certi�cate at the time of foreign immi-gration, apart from other minor clearances. �is means that only heinous crimes such as murder, rape, abduction or drug tra�cking are le� to be handled by police stations.

�e SAANJH, which again is credited to be a brain child of the Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has been appreciated by the central organisation – Bureau of Police Research and Development, which is now trying to get replicated across the nation due

to its e�ectiveness and good governance.�e State already has the honour of being

the �rst in the country to abolish a�davits in 2010, which came as a major relief to residents. Since then, all other states in the country have been trying to emulate this and implement it. In their e�orts, Punjab has been lending a helping hand – providing training and access to government procedures, which allowed this to happen in more than 17 states until now, including Mizoram, Nagalan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.

Punjab has also become one of the few states in the country which has not only noti-�ed the Right to Service Act in 2011 but also set up a commission to enforce this. Until July 2013, as many as 1.21 crore people availed ser-vices of this Act. Until now 4.36 crore appli-cants have been provided noti�ed services since the inception of Punjab Right to Service Act. Sixty-six o�cers have been penalised for causing undue delay in providing services within the noti�ed time lines.

e-Procurement

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Internet tools &platforms tocomplement

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Internet toolsplatforms to replace

traditionalprocuremente.g. fully integrated markets, automaticstock replacement.

E-Procurement

Time

e-District Punjab project has emerged as the best among all states for its effective implementation, backend computerisation of maximum number of services, delivery of hardware and connectivity in more than 1,000 field offices, robust governance structure in the form of District eGovernance Society, Punjab, etc.


ePUNJAB SPECIALCOVER STORY

W

The Punjab Government is providing a wide array of citizen-centric services successfully using ICT,

in all parts of the State — urban as well as rural. With core infrastructure in place, the Government

has embarked on the second phase of eGovernance initiatives in the State, finds out Arpit Gupta

of Elets News Network (ENN)

Taking eGovernance to Level Next

ith a view to giving fur-ther push to the digital initiatives in the State, so as to bring more gov-ernment services to the

citizens’ doorsteps, the Government has under-taken several projects in di�erent areas, which are in various stages of implementation. �ey include:

AgricultureAGRISNET is a mission mode project under National e-Governance Plan of Government of India, Department of Agriculture & Co-

operation. �e Ministry of Agriculture has decided to launch a Central Sector Scheme titled ‘Strengthening / Promoting Agricultural Informatics & Communications’ of which one component is AGRISNET. �e Department of Agriculture, Punjab has initiated to introduce eGovernance by leveraging ICT to provide agriculture related information or data and to improve upon its functioning in order to bring e�ciency, transparency and accountability. �e project is currently in the advance stage of �nal-ising Project Consultant.

Broadband connectivity�e Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has cleared creation of a ‘National Optical Fibre Network’ (NOFN) with an investment of Rs 20, 000 crore that would p r o v i d e b r o a d b a n d connectivity to all village panchayats in three years. �e Telecom Commission (DoT) decision-making arm has approved the project that will be funded through the Universal Service Obli-gation (USO) Fund. �e funding for the broad-band network will come from the USO fund; the USO fund has a balance of Rs 16,000 crore. A World Bank study revealed that a 10 per cent increase in broadband connectivity helps in pushing the GDP growth by 1.4 per cent. Once completed, the optic �bre network will help bring various electronic and Internet-based ini-tiatives of the government to the people living in the remotest corner of the country.

In State of Punjab, NOFN will provide con-nectivity to more than 12000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) of the State. �is would ensure broad-band connectivity with adequate bandwidth till the village level. NOFN shall be a 365x24 reli-able, robust, scalable and available IP capable network to ensure continuous availability of services. In the �rst phase connectivity shall be provided to 5000 villages.

NOFN will help the government imple-ment its various eGovernance initiatives such as e-health, e-banking and e-education,

facilitating inclusive growth. NOFN will enable e�ective and faster implementation of various mission mode e-governance projects as well as delivery of a whole range of electronic services by the private sector to citizens in rural areas.

Online clearance systemDepartment of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry Of Commerce & Industry, Government of India is currently implement-ing the eBiz Mission Mode Project under the N a t i o n a l eGovernance Plan (NeGP) in the coun-try. �e proj-ect envisions transforming the business environment by provid-ing e�cient, convenient, transparent and integrated elec-tronic services online through a single window to the investor, industries and businesses in the areas of information on forms and procedures, licences payments and compliances through-out the life cycle of a business or industry. �e core theme of eBiz lies in radical shi� in the Government Service Delivery approach, from being department-centric to customer-centric. Initially 24 services have been o�ered to various departments in the First Phase of project. �e Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is currently implementing the eBiz Mission Mode Project under the National e-Governance Plan



(NeGP). �e Core theme of eBiz lies in radi-cal shi� in the Governments’ services delivery approach from being department-centric to customer-centric. Project will facilitate single window delivery of services to investors and businesses throughout the business life cycle. �e DIPP has decided to extend this project to Punjab immediately and currently it is in the initial stage of dialogue.

Urban local bodies“eGovernance in Municipalities” is a unique ini-tiative of the government of India conceptual-ised under the umbrella of the overall National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) aimed at improv-ing operational e�ciencies within Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). It has been observed that presently there is very limited or no comput-erisation across ULBs in di�erent States. �ere is very limited or non-existent sta�s with IT know-how. �ere is lack of standardisation of processes and processes are primarily operated in a manual mode.

�is MMP is one with signi�cant citizen interaction, given that municipalities provide a large number of basic services for millions of citizen living in urban centres across the Nation. In Punjab, Local Government Department has initiated this project to deliver end-to-end ser-vices to its citizens in a citizen-centric way with high levels of accountability and transparency in its service delivery supported by a high degree of e�ciency and e�ectiveness in the department’s internal operations. �e project is in the process of selection of implementing agency.

EducationNeGP, in its last Apex Committee meeting

included “Education” as a new MMP. �e proj-ect is in the initial stage of conception. As a �rst step in conceptualizing the scheme in the area of Education, the Department of School Edu-cation & Literacy initiated the process of con-sultations with stakeholders for framing Core Scope Document. �e core focus of deliverable services to its stakeholders such as students, parents, partners, State Govt. NISG has been selected as a consultant for the preparation of Core Scope Document.

Health �e Apex Committee for the National eGover-nance Plan (NeGP) chaired by Cabinet Secretary has approved the inclusion of Health as a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the NeGP. ICT for programme management has been undertaken by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in the Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) programme and the Ministry envisages a more comprehensive use of ICT including for Hospital Information Systems, supply chain manage-ment for drugs and vaccines, providing ICT tools to ASHA and ANM workers, programme management of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), etc. through this MMP. �e Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the nodal Ministry

for the design, development and implementation of the MMP. Currently, a study to identify the priorities and scope of the MMP is underway.

Public distribution system (PDS) �e Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is an important social safety net for the

poor. To improve e�ciency and e�ectiveness of the entire system, the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer A�airs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI, has embarked upon an eGovernance initia-tive involving computerisation of TPDS. For achieving end-to-end Computerisation of

TPDS, the Department of Food & Public Dis-tribution, Government of India has identi�ed 4 key components which are required to be implemented in all the States/UTs as below:1. Creation & Management of digitised

Bene�ciary Database 2. Supply-Chain Management of TPDS

commodities from Food Corporation of India (FCI) till Fair Price Shops (FPS)

3. Sale of TPDS commodities at Fair Price Shops including identi�cation and authentication of bene�ciaries and recording of transactions.

4. Transparency and Grievance Redressal Mechanism

For PDS Punjab is the torch bearer in initiating the Biometric based Authentication Services with Food and Civil Supplies Department established as the state level Authentication User Agency (AUA). Authentication Service Agency (ASA) setup has also been completed. State is working on the PDS project using this Aadhaar authentication framework through PoS devices at Fair Price Shops to address issues of ine�ciency, wastage and pilferage. �e digitisation of Ration Card data has been completed and �eld veri�cation and seeding of Aadhaar to Ration Cards is being done on ground leveraging technology as well as administrative pro�ciency. Current Status: • Data digitisation of approximately 60

Lakhs Ration Card completed • 70 per cent House to House veri�cation

done.

ePUNJAB SPECIAL SARVESH KAUSHAL


H

Punjab has been leading the country in governance reforms and has picked up honours for

the same down the way. Sarvesh Kaushal, Chief Secretary of the State has been at the

helm of affairs of this change and has been instrumental in bringing about the reforms,

finds Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN) in an interview with him

Benchmarking Good Governance

ow is Punjab implementing innovations in governance reforms?

Punjab has led the way in several ways for other states to emulate in the �eld of innovations in governance reforms. We were the �rst to abolish a�davits in 2010, which was a major resident-friendly measure and we have been helping other states to follow the same. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year conferred the ‘best governance practice’ award on the Punjab Govern-ment for its unique citizen-centric initia-tive to abolish non-statutory a�davits in the State. Also, last year, Punjab’s eGovernance project was rated as the best in the country. Union Department of Electronics and Information Tech-nology (DeitY), in its quarterly ranking released on October 31, rated the eDis-trict project of state as the number one such project in the country.

Other states have been advised by the Centre to replicate the Punjab model of governance reforms. What has been the State’s driving force?Our Government has been progress-ing in its journey towards creating a

SARVESH KAUSHAL ePUNJAB SPECIAL


knowledge society by harnessing the power of Information and Communica-tion Technology (ICT). To achieve this objective, the State has enunciated many initiatives in the ICT sector which will deliver signi�cant bene�ts to the citizens and businesses. It will also improve the e�ciency of government functioning. It is our stated vision of pioneering eGov-ernance initiatives in India that serves as a benchmark for others to follow.

Which other projects in governance set the State apart from others?Punjab has been a pioneer in

the eGovernance �eld with the establishment of the state-of-the-art Suwidha centres in the year 2002 till sub division level. Further, the front end delivery channel established by the Department of Revenue and Department of home is enabling the citizen services of these departments closer to the citizens. Currently, the focus of all the departments of the State is on backend computerisation, which includes providing computing infrastructure in the �eld o�ces, connectivity with Punjab Wide Area Network, data digitisation, capacity building, etc. �e back end computerisation will pave the way for

online service delivery to the citizens.

How has this change been made possible to come about?�e e�ective role played by the State’s eGovernance apex committee to pro-vide guidance and direction to all departments for their e governance programmes has resulted in smooth implementation of eGovernance projects in the State. �e enactment of Right to Service Act, Punjab, 2011 for timely delivery of citizen services across the State has infused a fresh thrust to eGov-ernance programmes of the state.

What has been the response of the people to this kind of governance?Our citizens appreciate this form of governance as they acknowledge it to be more convenient, resource saving and transparent. With the technologi-cal advancements, we will continue to �nd newer ways to serve our citizens by delivering uni�ed eGovernance experience.

Punjab has enunciated many initiatives in the ICT sector which will deliver

significant benefits to the citizens and businesses. It is our stated vision of pioneering eGovernance initiatives in India that could serve as a benchmark for others to follow

ePUNJAB SPECIAL DR PRAMOD KUMAR


Punjab Governance Reforms

Commission works to

improve the delivery of

services for disadvantaged,

marginalised and deprived

sections in the State and

achieve good governance

based on high ethical

standards to citizen-centric

basic services, tells Dr

Pramod Kumar, Chairman of

the Commission, to

Priya Yadav of Elets News

Network (ENN)


services for disadvantaged,

marginalised and deprived

sections in the State and

achieve good governance

standards to citizen-centric

Pramod Kumar

Priya Yadav



Pramod Kumar

Uplifting PunjabPublic Services

DR PRAMOD KUMAR ePUNJAB SPECIAL


ow Punjab Governance Reforms Commission has

played an important role in bringing about reforms in the State?�e Punjab Governance Reforms Commission has been set up to improve the welfare of the disadvantaged, marginalised and deprived sec-tions in the State and achieve good governance based on high ethical standards. �e motivation coming from the present system of governance is not optimally suited to the challenges of unequal access of social programmes and skewed distri-bution of bene�ts of the various economic pro-grammes based on gender, caste and class.

What is the Commission focusses on while suggesting and introducing governance reforms?�e mandate of the Commission is to suggest changes in the processes, procedures, rules, reg-ulations and design of the public services and in respect of the social development programmes, to improve the delivery of services, ensure dig-ni�ed access of the same to the disadvantaged, marginalised and deprived sections of the soci-ety, including women.

�e main thrust is to establish the identity of the citizens by changing colonial rules and pro-cedures. Even a�er 66 years of Independence, in order to prove their identity, the citizens have to seek a�rmation from a gazetted o�cer of the government. �ere is an urgent need to discontinue such practice and repose greater faith in citizens by accepting self declarations as reliable and authentic documents. �is will be a step forward in meeting the trust de�cit that annoyingly continues to exist between the citizens and the government.

Punjab has led the country in abolishing affidavits. How successful has this reform been?�e reform has had a huge success and is now being replicated by other states as well. Not only have we trained our own o�cials, but are providing guidance to several states on how to implement this. Citizens are the direct bene�ciaries- there is a saving in monetary terms for getting the a�davits and the oppor-tunity cost of loss of productivity and wages.

�e citizens have used the money and saved time for more productive ways, which has enhanced their welfare.

How has this reform helped the students and the youngsters?�e requirement of attestation by a gazetted o�cer from school students seeking admis-sion in various colleges is to be discontinued and replaced with self-attestation. As per data, approximately eight lakh students appear in senior secondary from Punjab School Educa-tion Board (PSEB), CBSE and ICSE every year to get admission in colleges. For this, they are required to get their documents duly attested

H

Even after 66 years of

Independence, in order to prove their identity, the citizens have to seek affirmation from a gazetted officer of the government. There is an urgent need to discontinue such practice and repose greater faith in citizens by accepting self-declarations as reliable and authentic documents

by a gazetted o�cer. �e requirement of giving certi�ed copies of documents at the time of admission in colleges or submitting application for recruitment to various posts in the govern-ment has been dispensed with.

You have been instrumental in initiating police reforms in Punjab. What has been the aim of these reforms?�e focus of police reforms programme is three-fold institutionalisation of commu-nity-oriented reforms with major thrust on involvement of community, particularly to protect the rights of vulnerable sections, formulation of programmes and undertak-ing activities for improving the delivery of police services to the people. Also, multi-cultural thrust with an inclusive approach forms an integral part of its justice and policing programme with special focus on gender and scheduled castes rights.

What has been the biggest success story of police reforms in Punjab?�e Saanjh Kendras in Punjab is a model that has come as a breather to people in the State and is being emulated by other states as well. It is a classic example of how citizens’ life can be made easy and people’s involvement in settling grievances can go a long way. �e Saanjh Kendras have become a hub for grievance redressal, including those against the police. It has rede�ned the meaning of community involvement, besides providing services to people in a most friendly manner.

The Punjab Governance Reforms Commission helps achieve good governance based on high ethical standards.

ePUNJAB SPECIAL H S KHANDOLA

20 ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov 20 ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

Projects like e-District and

e-Office ensure seamless

connectivity to the citizens

of Punjab. H S Khandola,

Special Secretary-cum-

Director, Department of

Governance Reforms,

Government of Punjab,

informs Priya Yadav of Elets

News Network (ENN), how

these schemes are making

citizens’ lives easier

e-Projects to Pave Way for Digital Punjab

H S KHANDOLA ePUNJAB SPECIAL


ow has the State Government been focusing on linking districts?

�ere has been a lot of focus on implement-ing the eDistrict project, directly undertaken by the Department of Electronics and Infor-mation Technology (DeitY), Government of India. �e same is being implemented by the Department of Governance Reforms on their behalf. �e project eDistrict envisages inte-grated and seamless delivery of citizen services by district administration through automa-tion of work�ow, backend computerisation, and data digitisation across participating departments. �e initiative has provisions for seamless integration of various o�ces situated at district, sub division, tehsil and block level for providing services to the citizens through a common delivery interface. SUWIDHA centres and Gram SUWIDHA Kendras would be the primary front end channels. In Punjab, eDistrict project has been implemented in two pilot districts of Kapurthala and SBS Nagar with total outlay of `600 lakhs. All the 47 services under the scope of project have been made live in both the pilot districts and more than 2.3 lakh citizen requests have been pro-cessed electronically since 2012. Punjab has

been given four awards so far for implementa-tion of this project.

Punjab has been taking steps to set up State Data Centres. What is the current status?State Data Centre (SDC) is a project by the Government of India meant for keeping a repository of computing infrastructure, applications and data bases in a secure

environment. It was approved by DeitY in 2006-07 and the physical space and basic amenities for setting up SDC is State Government’s responsibility. Currently, the State Government is in the process of identifying the agency to set up a SDC in Mohali.

How has been the progress on eOffice project?

�e project eO�ce is one on which there is a lot of emphasis and it envisages transforming conventional government o�ces into more e�cient and transparent eO�ces, eliminating huge amounts of paper work. We have decided to computerise all the branches of deputy commissioners and the o�ces of divisional commissioners. National Informatics Centre (NIC) Punjab has been given the responsibility

H

of implementation of the eO�ce so�ware. NIC Punjab has already completed the assessment of computing infrastructure of various �eld o�ces of the State and has submitted the techno commercial proposal of `41.70 crores. �e Mansa district has been selected as a pilot district for the implementation of eO�ce Project.

How have Sewa Kendras facilitated lives of the people in villages?�e State Government is setting up ‘Sewa Kendras’ kiosks in villages across the State to reach out to common man and enable easy and direct communication with them. Common Service Centre (CSC) or Sewa Ken-dras is one of the core ICT-enabled initiatives of the Central Government under its National eGovernance Plan. �e Sewa Kendras scheme is predicted to be a bottom-up model for delivery of content, services, information and knowledge to people and organisations for achieving rapid socio-economic change in rural and urban areas of Punjab. To make life more comfortable, the State Government aims to establish and operat 2,174 rural CSCs under the State’s brand name ‘Gram Suwidha Kendra’ in rural, as well as urban areas. �ese Sewa Kendras have been set up in 10 separate zones to provide transparent, time-bound and a�ordable Government to Citizen (G2C) services at the rate of one centre per a cluster of six villages.

2,174 rural CSCs opearte under the brand name ‘Gram Suwidha Kendra’ in Punjab

In Punjab, e-District project has been implemented in two pilot districts of

Kapurthala and SBS Nagar with total outlay of Rs 600 lakh. All the 47 services under the scope of project have been made live in both the pilot districts and more than 2.3 lakh citizen requests have been processed electronically since 2012

ePUNJAB SPECIAL DR S B DEEPAK KUMARPUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIAL DR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARPUNJAB SPECIALePUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIAL DR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMAR

22 ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov 222222 ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

French architect Le Corbusier’s legacy, Chandigarh, is known

for more than just its beauty and cleanliness. The residents

here are pampered with the finest of government services and

the use of Information Technology tops the chart. The net-

savvy denizens here have a slew of IT services that is making

their life easier, tells Dr S B Deepak Kumar, Secretary-IT, UT

Administration, to Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN)

Chandigarh Facilitates

Citizens via IT

DR S B DEEPAK KUMAR ePUNJAB SPECIAL


DR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMAR ePUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIALDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMARDR S B DEEPAK KUMAR PUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIALPUNJAB SPECIAL

PUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov 23PUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEPUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov / egov.eletsonline.com / egov 23 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov 23 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

handigarh has led the way in taking IT initiatives to facilitate citizens.

What are the top initiatives of your Administration?We have picked up several awards for giving

smooth IT services to people, including the Digital India award. Our most successful and e�ective venture has been setting up Common Service Centres across the city, about 205, that facilitate the residents in a big way. �ese have ensured that residents do not have to travel to government o�ces for their business with the government, but just avail of the services at these centres located at a walking distance from their homes. Gradually, we are adding more and more services – we already have over 61 services available at these centres in our network, and are tying up with most o�ces. Most recently, we have tied up with eight post o�ces and their services too would be available here.

What are the various focus areas of the Administration to promote IT?

C

People in Chandigarh

are very net savvy and it has now been made possible to make online payment of taxes, like property tax. We are allowing service providers to share our platform without putting any restrictions on them

Digital literacy is a thrust area – we are using school computer labs to educate senior citizens and housewives about use of IT. A�er school hours, we run computer courses in madrasas. �e UT Police has come out with several people-friendly apps.

People in Chandigarh are very net savvy and it has now been made possible to log online for payment of taxes, like property tax. We are allowing service providers to share our platform without putting any restrictions on them. �is ensures that the best service provider will sustain and there is no over governance on private players.

Startups are much in talk these days. Do you have any plans to help those as well?Yes, we are in the process of launching that – space will be provided to startup companies at nominal rates for a period of two years. Moreover, we will give them the required set up for a spci�c time period, so that they can support the upcoming entrepreneurs.

Is there any plan afoot to provide wi-fi service in public areas?Yes, we have identi�ed popular spots where wi-� services will be provided. For this, a few places have been identi�ed. �ese include Sukhna Lake, Sector 17 Plaza, Inter State Bus Stand Sector 43, and railway station, among others.

What is the most ambitious and pet project of the Administration for facilitating work?�e UT Administration is working on Geo-graphic Information System (GIS) mapping of the city and work is about to start on this project very soon. For this, all the depart-ments and wings of the administration and municipal corporation, like public health, power, sewerage, etc. will work in coordina-tion. �is will allow us to have a mapping of the various pipes and line networks across the city. For example, if a telecom cable has to be put, we will know, a�er the mapping, which cables are already in place exactly, before the place is dug up for the cable. Also, it will give us mapping of each and every building in the area that will facilitate us in providing a number of services related to policing, �re services, medical services, traf-�c management, disaster management, etc. without wastage of time.

HIGHLIGHTS

l Wi-Fi services in public areas

l Use of computer labs.l People-friendly apps by

UT Policel 205 Common Service

Centres across the city

INITIATIVEePUNJAB SPECIAL


unjab Government is putting the emerging technological innovation like Internet, websites and

mobile phones to appropriate use to deliver information about government services to citizens. �e State Government is making governmental functioning and process more transparent and accessible upto the grassroot level.

Punjab State Wide Area Network (PAWAN) is a converged �ber network for data, voice and video communications throughout the State. It has a dedicated State-owned �ber network infrastructure to connect government o�ces at state, district and block levels. It is designed to cater to the governance, information and communica-

Promoting Good Governance

Ption requirements of the entire State. A total of 193 point of presence has been created throughout Punjab, each district and sub division are made into headquarters. �e State headquarter has been connected with district head quarter with a bandwidth of 16 Mbps on optical �ber cable, while district headquarter has been connected with subdivision head quarter with band-width of 4/2 Mbps.

PAWAN Cyber Safe�e dedicated State-owned network infra-structure PAWAN can be shared by all government departments, boards and cor-porations. It is a secure closed user group with capability of facing external intrusions and cyber attacks. Once PAWAN is con-nected with State Data Centre (SDC), it will lead to better integration of services provided by various government depart-

The Department of Governance Reforms, Punjab, is entrusted with the task of promoting the portfolio of IT in the State and has undertaken a number of projects that have made life easier for people right up to the village level besides improving work environment in government offices, writes Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN)


ePUNJAB SPECIALINITIATIVE

ments besides a huge cost savings due to use of PAWAN hardware at state and district head quarters.

�e State will be upgrading vertical band-width of PAWAN from 16 Mbps to 24 Mbps for state to district head quarter and 2Mbps

to 4 Mbps for district to block head quar-ters. Also, there will be upgradation of links between district head quarters to block head quarters from copper to optical �bre cable. �ere will be connectivity of 139 o�ces of all departments, boards, corporations and commissions of Punjab Government as also connectivity of 1000-1500 o�ces under eDistrict state wide roll out project.

Web Suwidha helping citizensWeb Suwidha a single user friendly window disposal and helpline for applicants is a proj-

ect, which has been implemented across the State of Punjab in all 22 districts. �e Web enablement of Suwidha so�ware has been done for anywhere access of the application

and centralised monitoring of citizen service delivery under Web SUWIDHA project. It is implemented as centralised application with centralised database and requires minimum con�guration to operate. It is more secure, uniform across the State having facility to generate State level MIS, easy to upgrade with better administrative control.

�e data centre hardware for Web SUWIDHA has been installed in tempo-rary state data centre at Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), Chandigarh and so�ware

development has been completed by NIC Punjab. �e project has gone live on December 23, 2013.

�e project has led to standardisation of outputs and services across all districts. More than 500 citizen services are being delivered through this project. Approximately, three lakh citizen requests per month are being processed through Web SUWIDHA.

Fard KendrasPunjab Land Record Society (PLRS) was formed by department of revenue with the objective of computerising land records and makes these accessible to the citizens. �e society has set up 163 FARD kendras in Public Private Partnership (PPP) to facili-tate the citizens to collect their documents across the counter a�er paying nominal fee. Records of Rights of about 12780 villages have been computerised. �e data of all 22 districts has already been put on the website for public access. Currently, citizens can get the copy of FARD across the counter by paying a very nominal fee on the same counter. PLRS is planning to deliver more land record services through these kendras in future.

Fard Kendras help keep the land records computerised making it

accessible to the citizens

The dedicated State-owned network infrastructure PAWAN can be shared by all government departments, boards and corporations. It is a secure closed user group with capability of facing external intrusions and cyber attacks. Once PAWAN is connected with the State Data Centre (SDC), it will lead to better integration of services


ePUNJAB SPECIAL RAKESH KUMAR VERMA


Rakesh Kumar Verma, Secretary,

Department of Governance Reforms,

has been a driving force behind

administrative reforms in Punjab and

the State has seen rapid advances in

delivering effective citizen services

under his efficient leadership, finds Priya

Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN)

during an interview with him

Punjab Offices Set to Go Paperless


ePUNJAB SPECIALRAKESH KUMAR VERMA

to eliminate redundant steps to make the ultimate delivery of service faster.

How is the government working towards making eGovernance cost effective?Many departments in the state are in the process of implementing various web- based applications and some of them have

also created their own infrastructure, while some are planning to create the same. As per National eGovernance Programme scheme, the State has created common infrastructure like PAWAN, State Data Centre and Gram Suwidha Scheme with central funding. We are trying to ensure that these resources are used instead of creating parallel infrastructure. Also, e�orts are being made to strengthen and upgrade common infrastructure instead of spending money on new infrastructure.

How is the Government aiming at facilitating government to citizen (G2C) services?�e State Portal and State Service Delivery

Gateway project is being worked on high priority and aims to achieve a high order of interoperability and facilitate government to citizen services delivery. It would enable the citizens to submit their applications electronically through a common gateway and collect the certi�cate or the service from the same station. It has been devel-oped and implemented so that citizens

are provided with outlets where they can access the services under a single interface mechanism in the form of the portal.

What are the services provided through the State Service Delivery Gateway?All departments are giving services under this project – one can get name added in birth or death certi�cate, a disability certi�cate, a new ration card, a job card under MNREGA, get a marriageabil-ity certi�cate, register marriage under Hindu Marriage Act, post matriculation scholarship to OBC students, a caste cer-ti�cate, residential certi�cate and a slew of other services.

hat have been the most efficient initiatives of Punjab Government

in governance reforms that have eased the life of people in the State?�ere are multiple such initiatives that the State Government has taken which have meaningfully contributed to people’s lives and gone a long way in making their expe-rience of service delivery a pleasant one. Punjab was the �rst to abolish a�davits in 2010 and that came as a major relief to people. Also, e�ective functioning of Single User Window Disposal Helpline for Applicants, popularly known as Suwidha Centres have taken e�ective governance right to the village level. An upgrada-tion was made with Web SUWIDHA, implemented in 22 districts, which is web enablement of Suwidha so�ware for anywhere access of the application and centralised monitoring of citizen service delivery under Web Suwidha Project. �e Saanjh Kendras, an initiative of Punjab Police that enables the people to easily lodge a complaint or �nd out its status is another very people-friendly initiative as also is the Fard Kendras, an initiative of the Revenue Department.

What are the key focus areas of the Department of Governance Reforms?A�er e�ective implementation of eDis-trict programme, which won the state an award from the Central Government, we are focussing on other initiatives, like elec-tronic o�ce which envisages transforming conventional government o�ces into more e�cient and transparent eO�ces, eliminat-ing huge amounts of paper work. In order to provide faster, transparent and e�cient services to citizens, we are focusing on ensuring that all government depart-ments focus on computerisation of their back o�ce work�ows as soon as possible. Also, the focus is on Government Process Re-engineering (GPR) which is the most vital element of any eGovernance activity

Directorate of Government Reforms, Punjabe-Governance in Punjab

Web SUWIDH Project has been e en ed a r ss e a e n a in all 22 districts. The Web

enablement of Suwidha Software has been done for an ere a ess e a a n and

centralized monitoring of citizen service delivery under Web Suwidha Project. This replaced the current

client-server technology based software used in Suwidha Centers. The project has been implemented

as en ra ed a a n en ra ed da a ase and re uires minimum configuration to

operate. It is re se re n r a r ss e s a e, having facility to generate a e e e , easy

to upgrade with better administrative control.

The data center hardware for Web-SUWIDH has been installed in Temporary State Data Center at

MGSIP , Chandigarh and software development has been completed by IC Punjab. The Project has

gone live on 23rd December 2013.

This project has lead to andard sa n s and ser es across all districts. re an

en er es ser es are being delivered through this project. pproximately

en re es s er n are being processed through Web Suwidha.

After effective implementation of e-District programme, we are focusing

on other initiatives like electronic office which envisages transforming conventional government offices into more efficient and transparent e-offices, eliminating huge amounts of paper work

W


SAANJH centres, a novel initiative of Punjab Police, aims to provide services to residents in a convenient and effective manner. The integrated model involves more and more people in redressing grievances, including those against the police force itself, writes Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN)

Citizen Centric Policing

INITIATIVEePUNJAB SPECIAL


ePUNJAB SPECIALINITIATIVE

SAANJH Kendras FEATURES

l A state-wide IT platform with centralised server at police headquarters linked to every SAANJH Kendra enables centralised data uploading and access providing citizens with copies of FIRs, untraced reports, No Objection Certi�cates, etc., at a click of a button, in a time-bound frame. l Every SAANJH Kendra provides all services to be delivered by the police department as enshrined in the Right to Service Act within

prescribed time limits to the people from a single window. �e citizen from any part of the State can to approach the nearest Kendra for obtaining information/services from any police station in the State, including remote locations.l All SAANJH Kendras are registered as self-representative registered societies under the Registration of Societies Act, 1860.l SAANJH Kendras are the platforms for the partnership

of community and police to plan and implement the locally connected community-centred projects. �e members of SAANJH committee and designated experts, like lawyers, counsellors, including women, handle issues relating to children, senior citizens, NRI related controversies and other domestic-social disputes like fast driving, under -age driving, etc.

ave your accommodation out to a new tenant, or hired a new servant? If you are in Punjab then you don’t have to spend endless time in dusty

corridors of police stations or queue up for a long time to register the same with the police.

Residents have the facility of just walking down to the SAANJH Kendras, neat swanky buildings, in their respective areas and get the needful done in no time.

�e public-centric project has linked up Punjab police directly with the public through its 41 services. �e services include getting copy

of FIR or DDR, tenant or servant veri�cation, service veri�cation, character veri�cation and passport veri�cation under the project where the applicant or complainant gets the services within a speci�c timeframe through a single window system.

�e project was started in 2010 and in the past the kendras have provided services to more than 50 lakh people across the State within a span of four years. �ere are nearly 400 SAANJH Kendras in the State now that are also dealing with registration of foreigners, investi-gation of cases of missing passports, complaints of fraud by travel agents, NRI complaints, pass-port veri�cation, police clearance certi�cate at time of foreign immigration, apart from other minor clearances. Only heinous crimes such as murder, rape, abduction or drug tra�cking are le� to be handled by police stations.

�e centres are self-sustaining, with operating costs, including sta� salaries, phone/electricity bills and computer maintenance, compensated by the collection of fees — complainants are charged between ̀ 5 and ̀ 200 for services o�ered. �e Bureau of Police Research and Develop-ment lauded the tireless e�orts of Punjab Gov-ernment in introducing people-friendly services through SAANJH Kendras. �e bureau in its report tabled in 2015 to the Central Govern-ment appreciated the eGovernance initiatives and community policing of the government.

According to the report, “Remarkably, Punjab is the only State, in which the single-window system allows application for all of the licenses studied in this assessment, although some others come very close.”

Speaking about the initiative, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “More than 31,000 personnel have been working in the Kendras and been imparted training of so� skills to deal with the citizens. It’s heartening to see the people approaching SAANJH Kendras without any hesitation. �is has helped to develop a cordial relationship between the police force and public.”

Every SAANJH Kendra is run by a Police Public Committee comprising of Police O�-cers, Representatives of Government Depart-ments such as health, education, women at the district and sub divisional level and representa-tives from among principals of colleges, profes-sionals and civil society and NGOs.

22 motorcycles for SAANJH Kendras being flagged off

G

ePUNJAB SPECIAL GOVIND PANDEY


W

HDFC Bank focuses on customer convenience and meets the needs of today’s digitally-

conscious customers, informs Govind Pandey, Senior Executive Vice President, Branch

Banking Head (North), while discussing the banking innovations offered to the State of

Punjab with Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN)

HDFC Woos Punjab with Hi-Tech Banking

30 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016/ egov.eletsonline.com / egov 303030 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016eegov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEegov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016PUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov egov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016/ egov.eletsonline.com / egov

hat sort of banking services does HDFC Bank offer in Punjab? �e Bank o�ers products ranging from savings

account, �xed deposits and current account to two-wheeler, auto and tractor loan, commer-cial vehicle loan, Kisan gold card, agriculture and commodities loans, international credit and debit cards.

HDFC provides customised solutions for online payment of taxes and fees. It is one of the largest collectors of taxes in the country and enables quick and easy payment of various taxes, including house tax, commercial taxes, and prop-erty tax, among others. �is apart, it also o�ers solutions for eProcurement and eTendering.

How do you make your services and applications user friendly?As people lead a fast paced, busy life, they expect access and convenience from brands, even in the �nancial services space. Custom-ers, especially the young and the tech-savvy,

ePUNJAB SPECIAL GOVIND PANDEY


identify the bank they want to be associ-ated with, by looking at the digital banking products and services it o�ers. Today, vari-ous digital banking platforms like Internet banking, mobile banking complement the branches and ATMs to enable customers to do banking transactions at their time and convenience.

In line with this, post the launch of ‘Go Digital’ campaign in 2014, with the ‘Bank aap ki mutthi mein’ o�ering, HDFC Bank has launched a host of new digital banking products.

�ese include Chillr, 30 minute paperless auto loan using biometric technology, 10 sec-onds personal loan on net banking, PayZapp and recently introduced instant loans at ATM.

�is is in addition to HDFC Bank’s power-ful Netbanking portal and o�cial mobile app, which allows customers to perform over 205 and 85 di�erent types of transactions, respectively.

Adoption of these channels has grown rapidly. More than 60 per cent transactions conducted by HDFC Bank’s customers are performed using Internet and mobile banking channels.

Do you intend to launch any new service in the coming days? Innovation is at the heart of modern-day banking and technology-led innovation is a major constituent of it. We are constantly at

work to provide convenience and access to our customers.

What are your views on the Smart Cities concept?Smart cities is all about using technology and how it improves daily life and the way services such as power, water, security and governance are delivered. Technology-led banking services like ours will have a big role in these high-tech cities.

What are the mobile services offered by HDFC Bank in Punjab and Haryana? HDFC Bank o�ers its powerful Netbanking portal and o�cial Mobile app, which allows customers to perform over 205 and 85 dif-ferent types of transactions, respectively. HDFC Bank also o�ers PayZapp, a payment solution for mobile phone top-ups, instant money transfers, bill payments, groceries, movie tickets, and even big-ticket purchases such as foreign holidays and Chillr, a mobile app that enables instant money transfer to any contact in the phonebook.

HDFC Bank has a host of

new digital banking products, including Chillr, 30-minute paperless auto loan using biometric technology, 10-second personal loan on net banking, PayZapp and instant loans at ATMs

A view of the HDFC Bank headquarters in Mumbai

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ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON e-GOVERNANCE

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ePUNJAB SPECIAL Er K D CHAUDHARI

W

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was recognised as the best performing power

utility in the country by the Central Board of Irrigation and Power in 2015. Er K D Chaudhari,

Chairman-cum-Managing Director, PSPCL, informs Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN),

about various IT initiatives undertaken by the Corporation

Smart Governance Reshaping the Consumer Experience

hat are the various IT initiatives undertaken by the Punjab State

Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL)?PSPCL since its inception in 2010 has invested heavily in IT to provide better services to its consumers and improve internal e�ciency. PSPCL under R-APDRP part-A scheme sponsored by GOI has initiated the use of IT in 47 major towns of Punjab at a cost of `225 cr covering not only DS o�ces but also Grid Substations.

Under this scheme, o�ces have been made paperless; Grid sub-stations and distribution transformers are covered under Automated Meter Reading (AMR), thus making 24X7 monitoring of supply a reality. GIS mapping of around 26 lakh consumers has been carried out, thus making possible identi�cation of high loss areas and checking e�ectiveness of loss reduction schemes.

�e facility of making online payments has been introduced under the scheme, thus bene�tting the consumers. �e billing of new consumers is being done from the next cycle itself which earlier used to take approximately three to four months.

Other miscellaneous jobs like change of name/change of load etc. are being done in a


ePUNJAB SPECIAL Er K D CHAUDHARI

time- e�cient manner. �e complete transpar-ency in the billing procedure has been achieved with the introduction of SAP in PSPCL. All reports are available online to �eld o�ces and management for proper monitoring.

AMR for consumers has been started by PSPCL. �e billing of all consumers in 47 towns covered under R-APDRP is being done on the same day (1st or 2nd of every month) and their collection is also being received upto 12th of each month, which has reduced the col-lection cycle.

With the introduction of AMR in PSPCL, human intervention in taking readings has been eliminated which has resulted in saving manpower. �e proposal to extend this facility to consumers is also in pipeline.

Tell us something about 1912 complaint registration service.In order to provide an e�cient grievances redressal mechanism to its consumers, PSPCL has launched single number 1912 for com-plaint registration. �e consumer has to call or send an SMS to 1912 to register the complaint.

Each consumer is assigned a unique registra-tion number and registration is con�rmed via SMS. �e registered complaint is automatically transferred to consumer area nodal complaint centre. A�er resolution of complaint, the con-sumer is informed of the same via SMS again.

On closure of complaint, feedback is taken from consumers by third party. Incorrectly closed complaints are reopened by third party. Consumer also has the option to automati-cally re-open incorrectly closed complaints by sending SMS to prede�ned computerised mobile numbers.

�e common ePayment System has been developed, tested and implemented by the in-house IT Team of PSPCL. �is application stands integrated with two gateways - BillDesk and PAYU. �e consumer can select a gateway of his choice. On receiving the payment, the requisite details are in real sync with SAP and emailed to National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELET), as per their pre-de�ned schedule. Moreover, this application stands integrated with the outlets getting payment for PSPCL through M/S Bill-desk and M/S Basix.

In order to ease the process of consumers in every department,

the government is focusing on single-window system. Any such initiative by PSPCL?PSPCL has introduced a single-window system for new connection/load change application for load 100-500 Kw. �is system covers the whole process right from online registration of application up to the release of connection.

�is system provides online real time interface with the Government of Punjab for mega projects. Real time status of request is available with consumer through single window and SMS. Multiple bill pay-ment options such as ePayments, Gram Suvidhaa Centers, Easy Bill, Bill payment

machines/kiosks etc., are also provided.

People are moving towards an era of mGovernance. Any mGovernance-related initiative by PSPCL?PSPCL is in process of launching mobile app for its consumers. Facilities like updated status of bills and payments, including online pay-ment facility, registration of applications for new connections, extension/reduction of load, change of name for existing connections, bill challenge, meter challenge, real-time status of supply schedule and power cuts will also be provided on the mobile app.

PSPCL Hall of Famel PSPCL has been awarded as “Best

Performing Power Utility in the Country” by the Central Board of Irrigation and Power on 1.1.2015.

l PSPCL has been rated the top rating of A+ amongst 40 power utilities in the country in the 3rd annual integrated rating of power distribution utilities of India done by the Ministry of Power, Government of India in July 2015.

l SkochOrder of Merit Award in 2015 for India’s best Smart Governance for consumer complaint registration and resolution through electricity call centre and nodal complaint centres.

l PSPCL’s thermal plant at Lehra Mohabat has been awarded by the Central Electricity Authority under category of

“Performance of �ermal Power Stations” for its excellent performance in the year 2013-14.

l �e plant had also received “Meritorious Productivity Award” for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13.

l PSPCL has bagged four Par-Excellent and four Excellent Awards in this annual national level convention, where quality circles of various private, public and government sectors from all across India compete every year in national convention NCQC 2015, Chennai, conducted by Quality Circle Forum of India.

l PSPCL has bagged three Excellent and two Distinguished Awards in national convention NCQC 2014, Pune, conducted by Quality Circle Forum of India.


ePUNJAB SPECIAL FEATURE

lame it on Punjab’s ‘strategic location’, or failure of suc-cessive governments in the State to check the menace,

but the worrisome truth is that Punjab is on a constant high. More disturbingly, it is not just a high number of the youth, middle-aged and the elderly, who are in a vice-like grip of intoxi-cation, but increasingly children, as young as eight-years-old, are getting addicted to a plethora of abusive substances available freely in Punjab’s hinterland.

An alarmingly high quantity of drugs, like heroine, is pushed into India from Pakistan via Punjab, which is the main transit route for the drug smugglers. It is reported that the recent terror attack on Pathankot Air Base was conducted by Pakistani terrorists, who entered India using the route that drug smug-glers use to pump in narcotics in the State. Punjab is not just waging a war on the terror front – Pakistan has launched a proxy drug war in the State, targeting the population, primar-ily the youth. And the worrying part is that

Bthey are winning this battle big time.

A recent study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi has revealed that opioids worth `7,500 crore are consumed in Punjab every year. In a survey that is �rst of its kind, the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre at AIIMS has reported that more than 1.23 lakh people in Punjab are dependent on heroin. �is means that 0.84 per cent, about 2.3 lakh of the entire State’s population, is opioid-dependant, if arti�cial substances having the same impact on nervous system as opiates, are taken into

account. �e survey reveals that opioid-dependent people are spending approximately `20 crore daily on these drugs. On an average, a heroin-dependent individual spends about `1,400 per day.

�e State Government, acutely aware of the problem, which has become a political issue in elections, has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to deal with the situation. A high-pro�le com-mittee of experts from the Post Graduate Insti-tute of Medical Education and Research was invited by the Punjab Government to suggest measures to curb the menace.

The State of Punjab has traditionally been high on the narcotic drugs smuggled into the State from bordering Pakistan. While the security agencies are playing their part in curbing the trans-border menace, the various drug de-addiction centres are doing exceedingly well in rehabilitating the drug-addiction victims. An in-depth report by Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN)

PUNJAB De-AddictionCentres Raise Hope

PUNJAB De-AddictionCentres Raise Hope


FEATURE ePUNJAB SPECIAL

In all, there are 27 drug de-addiction centres (DDCs) operational in Punjab, and to provide tertiary-level facilities, five model DDCs (50 bedded each) have been set up at Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda that will work under Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot medical colleges

Following this, 27 drug de-addiction centers (DDCs) have been made operational in the State. To provide tertiary level facilities, �ve Model DDCs (50-bedded each) have been set up at Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda and these

drug de-addiction centres will work under Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot medical colleges.

�e 50-bedded Model Drug De-addiction Centres at Amritsar and Faridkot have been made fully functional. Continuing its e�orts

beyond de-addiction to rehabilitation, the Gov-ernment of Punjab has approved 21 counseling & rehabilitation centres of 50 beds each, even as the centre at Amritsar is of 100 beds capacity.

As part of the strategy, detailed guidelines have been framed and circulated to run these centres. �e State Drug Controller has issued the order for supply of Beupronorphene medi-cine to only licensed DDCs. A computer pro-gramme has also been designed to e�ectively monitor the in�ow of patients.

Before this, Punjab had reported a wide-spread use of pharmaceutical or synthetic drugs. �e Government is struggling to put a number to those addicted to synthetic drugs, as the State’s police are discovering deep-rooted distribution networks of those in the synthetic drugs trade.

Even as security forces are brainstorming on guarding the country’s frontiers, it is the enemy within that Punjab needs to focus on. It is not just a trickle of terrorists being pushed into the country to wage terror, but an army of addicts — men, youth, children craving for heroine, synthetic drugs and liquor that the Government needs to be really worried about.

Punjab is traditionally known to have a very high population of alcoholics, with liquor addiction considered a household menace, so much so that the women in hundreds of villages in the State, who are prime victims of alcohol-ism, have taken upon themselves to physically uproot or burn the liquor vends in their villages. More than a hundred gram panchayats have given a�davits to the State Government not to allow a liquor vend in their village, because it is devastating families and leaving women penni-less and helpless victims of domestic violence.

However, the State Government itself is high on the money that liquor sales fetch to the State co�ers. Data shows that the revenue from excise and sale of liquor has increased phenomenally over the years. �e State Government makes more than `5,500 crore in a year from liquor sales, a �gure that was `3,000 crore three years ago. In 2014, in the State’s population of 2.77 crore (2011 census), it le� 12.15 liquor bottles a year for each citizen.

With increasing awareness about the threat that intoxication is posing to the State’s future, various strategies are being devised to tackle the situation. �is includes a wide network of drug de-addiction centres, cracking down on the drug ma�a, besides adopting advanced tech-niques in treating drug addicts.

SPECIAL INTERVIEW PAWAN GARG


P

The project was approved

for Punjab with total outlay of `5,014 lakh for five years. State Data Centre will provide key functionalities like central data repository of the State, secure data storage and online delivery of services, citizen information and services portal, among others

Punjab’s State Data Centre (SDC) enables aggregation of IT infrastructure, consolidates citizen

services and eGovernance applications, and supports infrastructure to provide efficient electronic

delivery of government-to-government (G2G), government-to-citizens (G2C) and government-to-

business (G2B) services, says Pawan Garg, Senior System Manager – Department of Governance

Reforms, Government of Punjab in a conversation with Priya Yadav of Elets News Network (ENN)

SDC Facilitating Smart Governance

unjab has been working on setting up state data centre. What does the project envisage?

State Data Centre is one of the core infra-structure components of National eGover-nance Plan and is being set up across the country under the National eGovernance Plan of Department of Information Tech-nology, GOI. �e project was approved for Punjab with total outlay of `5,014 lakh for �ve years. State Data Centre has been planned to provide key functionalities like central data repository of the State, secure data storage and online delivery of services, citizen information and ser-vices portal, state intranet portal, disaster recovery, remote management and ser-vice integration. SDC also provides better operation and management control and minimise overall cost of data management, IT resource management, deployment and other costs.

What are the benefits if Punjab gets via SDC?It has led to reduced processing time and waiting time, besides bringing transpar-ency and speed to governance by automat-ing the application process. It also enables cost reduction due to common utilisation of entire IT and non IT infrastructure. It also enables reduced cost of infrastructure creation, monitoring, management for Punjab and its constituent departments, leading to better management of security

and access control, besides easy dissemina-tion of information to people on govern-ment policies and programmes.

What are the plans for Punjab Wide Area Network in the State?It is proposed to provide horizontal con-nectivity across the State to various depart-ments for implementation of eGovernance projects. Average cost of horizontal connec-tivity of one department is around `4.5 lakh per o�ce. More than 2000 horizontal o�ces are being connected with Punjab Wide Area Network under various projects like state-wide roll out of eDistrict, State Service Delivery Gateway and CCTNS project, etc.

What has been Punjab’s progress in the field of BharatNet?�is project is one of the most visionary and ambitious projects of the Govern-ment. With a determined approach to drive Digital India programme, the Indian Government is planning to dis-cuss the National Optical Fibre Network project with states as it is seeking their participation in this ambitious initiative that aims to o�er broadband connectivity across all panchayats in the country. �e Bharat Net project proposes broadband connectivity to households under village panchayats and even to government insti-tutions at district level. Punjab is among the few states in the country which has worked aggressively to implement this project in the State.


ePUNJAB SPECIAL R C HOODA

W

Wi-Fi hotspots with high-speed Internet access are now available at convenient public locations

in Chandigarh, Amritsar and Patiala, as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is improving the

connectivity across the State, says R C Hooda, Chief General Manager, Punjab Circle, BSNL, in

an interview with Manish Arora of Elets News Network (ENN)

Wi-Fi Hotpsots Gaining Momentum

hat are the various services offered by BSNL for Punjab?In Punjab, BSNL o�ers

all type of telecom services/solutions for all the customer segments. �e main services o�ered are landline, broadband, mobile, FTTH (Fibre to the Home), various value added services, leased line services, Internet leased line. We also provide customised telecom solution as per need for enterprise customers i.e. cloud services, MPLS-VPN, ISDN, EPBAX, Managed IT and hosting services, VSAT . Our data center solutions enable our clients to empower their business by outsourcing their IT operations in a smart and secure way. It helps clients to concentrate on their core business by taking their critical-managed IT solutions management responsibilities. BSNL Punjab Circle also provides training to engineering/management students through the state of the art training centers.

What services does BSNL offer for government organisations?All telecom services for voice and data are being provided by BSNL to government organizations in a step towards the “Digital India”. We have few important government projects implemented in the government department viz:-CCTNS Project: For Fast tracking of Crime and the Criminals, online police veri�cation, online FIR, community police service for the bene�t of general public.PAWAN Project: Leased line connectivity under Punjab State Wide Area

Network (PAWAN) has been provided under this project by BSNL. E-Court Project: Various district and session courts are interconnected though VPNoBB services which enables online tracking of cases/judgments.Jail & Court Project: Various courts and their respective jails are interconnected through leased lines which enable proceedings of criminal cases through Video conferencing service without moving criminals out of jails.NADRS Project: Department of animal

husbandry (Punjab Government) accesses the applications through BSNL Broadband connectivity at various civil veterinary dispensaries to update any communicable diseases among cattle’s.Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Project: Punjab School Education Board has taken broadband connectivity at about 6000 Govt. High & Senior secondary schools across the state for the bene�t of students for computer/internet education.E-district Project: Department of Governance Reforms, Punjab Govt. has taken broadband


ePUNJAB SPECIALR C HOODA

connectivity at about 1000 o�ce locations across the state to provide online services like birth & death certi�cates, SC/ST certi�cates, Pension & old age pension etc.E-Governance Projects: Various RTOs/DTOs are connected through VPNoBB links for issue/online tracking of RCs.

Can you share some of the best practices implemented by BSNL for improving connectivity across Punjab?BSNL has already planned for replacing the age-old existing telephone exchanges with the latest Next Generation Network (NGN) technology. In Phase-I, 11(eleven) exchanges have been replaced with NGN technology in Chandigarh, Jalandhar and Amritsar telecom districts by migrating 50000 subscribers in the new technology. In addition to this, 55 more telephone exchanges will be replaced shortly with NGN in phase-II having 1, 50,000 subscribers. It is worthwhile to mention here that this new technology has advanced features for the users like Fixed Mobile convergence, All India Centrex, MMVC (Multi Media Video Conferencing) etc. which is the demand of the day.

BSNL Punjab has installed around 150 towers (2G and 3G) to upgrade and enhance coverage of mobile network in FY 2015-16 and installation of additional 200 (2G and 3G) towers is in process & likely to be completed by end of March 2016. During FY 2016-17, BSNL Punjab has planned to provide additional 400 (2G and 3G) towers to improve the mobile

coverage which will provide uninterrupted high speed data and voice services to our customers in the urban & rural areas. In the recent survey done by TRAI, BSNL has been ranked among best operators as far as quality of service is concerned. On the wireline front, work of laying of optical �bre under NOFN(National Optical Fiber Network presently called BHARATNET) project is going on war footing which will provide Broadband connection to all Gram Panchayats of Punjab. BSNL is also trying hard to lay new copper cable/optical �ber cable upto new upcoming complexes/buildings for providing various telecom services.

BSNL has implemented ERP (Enterprise Resource Planing) to automate the internal processes of organization for e�cient and smooth operation.

For up-gradation of billing and provisioning system of Landline, Broadband and Leasedline network, CDR (Call Detailed Record) based system has already been implemented. �is has contributed a lot in provisioning of new services (LL & BB etc.), add-on facility and billing, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

RC Hooda (fourth from right) on the occasion of soft-launch of 4G services in the Punjab Circle of BSNL.

BSNL Punjab installed around 150 towers (2G and 3G) to upgrade and

enhance coverage of mobile network in FY 2015-16 and installation of additional 200 (2G and 3G) towers is likely to be completed by the end of March this year

Does BSNL intend to launch any new service in Punjab?Wi-Fi hot spot services are being introduced for providing high speed Internet access at convenient public locations in Chandigarh, Amritsar and Patiala here under called as Wi-Fi hot spots. Installation of hot spots is under process in these cities. Hot Spot Type-A is applicable for public utility services like airports, railway stations, universities and their campus etc. Hot spot type-B is applicable for personal type of services like hotels, private owned institutes, colleges, libraries, universities and their campuses etc. All major cities of Punjab Circle including Chandigarh will be provided Wi-Fi services by BSNL under Hot Spot Type-A category.

BSNL has recently so� launched 4G services at Chandigarh providing internet speed upto 100 MBPS on mobile devices for testing purpose. At present this service is available to its employees. Customers can experience this fast speed service at Sec.34, CSC Chandigarh. 4G services will be o�ered to public a�er completion of testing.

CORPORATE GAURAV MITTAL


Matchless Payment Systems

New payment avenues for the unbanked and without-card population are vital for the financial

ecosystem nowadays, says Gaurav Mittal, Regional Director, South Asia, MatchMove, in conversation

with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN)

GAURAV MITTAL CORPORATE


Bank, MatchMove is able to provide prepaid cards solutions to various industries such as eCommerce and tourism, among others.

As an online wallet service provider, what challenges do you face from telecom service providers?Evolution of digital technology has created a positive impact and also challenges various industries. Some of the major challenges faced by larger telecom service providers are in terms of time, data and cost.

In this digital era, time is one of the most essential factors for companies launching a new product or service to their customers. O�en, larger telcom service providers have complex legacy architectures and systems which will result in additional time when developing new products or services for their c u s t o m e r s . H e n c e , telecoms are exploring ways to expedite the process by working with reliable partners who can deliver a working product within a shorter time frame; a system that can help to monetise the mountains of data that �ow through their networks. With the huge amount of valuable data collected, telcos wanted to make the best out of it to get insights for both business and marketing decisions, controlling cost while being able to deliver latest product to customers. �is will happen by developing or subscribing to scalable services with vendors or partners and can de�nitely help manage future costs, since operators will be able to react rapidly to market changes.

Who are your key market competitors?What strategy do you adopt to keep ahead of your market competitors?Banks and payment companies like Alibaba are our competitors. We aim to deliver the most updated technology with quality to our customers within a shorter time frame. �is is achieved by our committed sta� who are constantly improving our internal

hat role does MatchMove play in the payments systems?

MatchMove Pay is Singapore’s fastest growing technology company, providing innovative enterprise solutions to help businesses increase revenue, user engagement and loyalty through the strategic use of our customisable cloud-based platforms.

In 2014, we launched the MatchMove Wallet, Asia’s �rst mobile payment card, in partnership with the American Express. �e MatchMove Wallet is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that enables any major consumer brands, banks, telcos and regional eCommerce sites to easily issue secure mobile payment cards to reach millions of potential shoppers with smartphones in Asia and emerging markets. �e platform also supports other major networks like MasterCard, Visa, Union Pay and JCB.

MatchMove Pay has been consistently recognised internationally for its outstanding innovation. We defeated a strong line-up of 14 other �nalists to emerge as “Top Innovator” in the highly competitive global �ntech competition, SWIFT Innotribe Startup Challenge at SIBOS in Boston. �e company was also ranked as Singapore’s fastest-growing technology company in Southeast Asia in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Paci�c in 2013 and also awarded the Red Herring Top 100 Asia and Red Herring 100 Global in 2012.

How has technology helped integrated development in the ecosystem of MatchMove?Customers who are in the ecosystem of MatchMove are enjoying rapid growth and expansion in their business as the ecosystem is providing them a new payment avenue for the uncarded and unbanked population.

How would you describe your presence in the Indian market, especially with regard to public and private enterprises? MatchMove’s presence is made possible with the valuable partnership with Yes Bank. With our integrated end-to-end payment technology and working opportunities via Yes

W systems to ensure a full and scalable platform, which can be customised easily according to customers’ requirements.

The Government of India has announced Digital India — a `2.50 lakh-crore eGovernance initiative for 2015-2019. Can you share your readiness and strategy for this programme?Focusing on one of the most critical themes – Digital Wallet, MatchMove aims to partner with various service providers and banks to bridge the gap between unbanked population and payment services. Leveraging on MatchMove’s s mobile wallet platform, which is running on secured PCI-DSS Level 1 Version 3.0 platform with numerous enhanced security features, it will drive a new payment avenue for the

uncarded and unbanked population to be able to make online payments. With the convenience of enabling the uncarded and unbanked population to shop and pay online, eCommerce merchants will also bene�t from this newly- added revenue.

Could you brief us about MatchMove’s upcoming projects and future moves in the pipeline?Indian market will be MatchMove’s main focus this year. With India’s population of 1.2 billion and only 250 million bank accounts, there are tremendous opportunities for MatchMove to continue driving mobile payment solutions for the uncharted and unbanked population. Apart from India, MatchMove is also in talks with a few potential partners in Europe and South Africa to seal o� partnerships where we can introduce our sophisticated mobile wallet platform to drive a new payment avenue for the uncarded and unbanked population in other parts of the world.

SPECIAL INTERVIEW A P HOTA


H

In high-tech times, the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) is making 24x7

banking a reality for common man, offering services to the customers which are

technologically advance and secure, A P Hota, MD & CEO, NPCI, says in an interview

with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN)

Accessing ServicesAnytime, Anywhere

44 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016

ow NPCI is making real-time interoperable payments possible?

What are the different services available for customers to go cashless?National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is building platforms to facilitate banks o�ering services to their customers

which are technologically advanced, secure, easy-to-use payment services. Our Immedi-ate Payment Service (IMPS) platform is a part of this design to support 24x7 real-time money transfer service. �is service facilitates instant payment from a ‘Payer’ to the ‘Payee’, both for personal remittances and for mer-chant payments. �is 24x7 real time money transfer service supplements the 24x7 ATM networking services that is connected with almost all the ATMs in the country. RuPay domestic card payment network, National

Automated Clearing House (NACH) and Aadhaar Payments Bridge (APB) are other services, apart from nation-wide Cheque Truncation System (CTS). All these services working in tandem are aimed at building non-cash payment system in the country.

RuPay is perceived as part of Make in India initiative by the Government of India. How fast is it catching up to match global players?�e credit for envisaging a domestic card payment network goes to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). �e idea of a domestic card payment network was �oated in RBI Vision docu-ment of Payment System 2005-2008 and subsequently, the IBA had set up at task force to examine the feasibility of its imple-mentation. A�er NPCI was operational in 2010, the task was given to it. �e domestic card scheme got launched in 2012 and in about four years’ time, there are now 222 million RuPay cards accounting for 1/3rd debit card base in the country. �e scheme got a boost with adoption of RuPay as the default card for the Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi’s Jan Dhan Yojana.

Over a period of time, RuPay has been perceived as a project in alignment

with ‘Make in India’ initiative. Con-sidering that within such a short

period, more than 550 banks have been empowered to o�er

card payment services to their customers, which has made a huge di�erence to the pay-

/ egov.eletsonline.com / egov 444444 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016eegov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016ePUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUEegov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016PUNJAB 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE / egov.eletsonline.com / egov egov / egov.eletsonline.com / March 2016/ egov.eletsonline.com / egov

�e credit for envisaging a domestic card payment network goes to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). �e idea of a domestic card payment network was �oated in RBI Vision document of Payment System 2005-2008 and subsequently, the IBA had set up at task force to examine the feasibility of its implementation. A�er NPCI was operational in 2010, the task was given to it. �e domestic card scheme got launched in 2012 and in about four years’ time, there are now 222 million RuPay cards accounting for 1/3rd debit card base in the country. �e scheme got a boost with adoption of RuPay as the default card for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Jan Dhan Yojana.

Over a period of time, RuPay has been perceived as a project in alignment

with ‘Make in India’ initiative. Considering that within such a short

period, more than 550 banks have been empowered to o�er

card payment services to their customers, which has made a huge di�erence to the pay

A P HOTA SPECIAL INTERVIEW


ment systems in the country.

How is RuPay catering to premium customers? What are the offerings?�ere are two variants of RuPay, namely RuPay Classic Debit Card and RuPay Platinum Debit Card. Major banks are now issuing Platinum variant to their premium customers that comes with attractive recur-ring and activation o�ers. Complimentary airport lounge access across all the major airports in the country, cash back on util-ity bills, zero fuel surcharge and concierge facilities, among others. Moreover, RuPay Platinum Debit Card holders are entitled to Personal Accidental Insurance cover of `2 lakhs. Going forward, we are planning to launch more variants to cater the elite need of the niche category.

What is the future of RuPay International Card and when can one expect RuPay Credit Card? RuPay has global alliance with Discover Financial Services (DFS), which has already started the acceptance of RuPay cards on ATM and POS in 185 countries. RuPay Global card with Discover, Diners & Pulse Network logos is accepted at over 35 million

POS locations and over 1.66 million ATM locations. We are further strengthening our network capabilities by creating global network alliances with key players, like JCB International Co. Ltd., Japan & Union Pay International Co. Ltd. in China. RuPay Credit card is expected to be launched in June 2016.

How is IMPS and *99# services different from other fund transferring products?IMPS is empowering customers to trans-fer money instantly across banks and RBI

authorised Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs). �is multi-channel remittance plat-form is an emphatic tool to transfer money instantly through mobile, Internet banking, ATMs and bank branches. �e underlying concept behind IMPS has been to provide customers “any time, any place” real-time remittance access to meet their various payment needs. Since it makes 24x7 bank-ing a reality for common man, there are no holidays for this service. A *99# service has been launched to take the banking services to every common man across the country. Customers having basic mobile phone can avail banking services by dialling

*99#. Inter-bank account-to-account fund transfer, balance enquiry, mini-statement, besides host of other services. AlI these can be performed without any requirement of data connectivity.

What are the developments towards Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) projects?Uni�ed Payment Interface (UPI) is under development and at a testing stage. It is designed on IMPS platform to perform

NPCI payment processing platforms are highly robust and resilient with adequate

firewalls and Fraud Risk Management (FRM) tools. The platforms have been certified for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS) and data security has been ensured

“Immediate Collect” transactions seam-lessly. It is a secure platform which will enable customers to initiate payment using an identi�er i.e. virtual address assigned by the bank. It is slated to launch in April 2016. NPCI has been entrusted by RBI to operate Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) as Central Unit. BBPS will provide common-interoperable payment platform addressing the requirement of common man’s bill payment in cash, card, online or through ECS/NACH. Banks & other entities interested in o�ering bill payment services have applied to become a operat-ing unit with RBI. �is operating unit will bring onboard bills for electricity, gas, telephone utility companies to make them a part of BBPS.

BBPS is expected to be operational by June 2016. In addition, both uni�ed payment Interface and Bharat Bill Payments System have been designed to deliver convenience to the consumers.

How is NPCI contributing to curb frauds?NPCI payment processing platforms are highly robust and resilient with adequate �rewalls and Fraud Risk Management (FRM) tools. �e platforms have been certi�ed for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS) and data secu-rity has been ensured. �e FRM solution provides risk score of each and every trans-action and is sent to the banks to determine at their end to decide whether each transac-tion should be processed or not, based on the degree of the risk score. A good number of reports are also made available to banks as preventive monitoring tools.

SPECIAL INTERVIEW RAVI VARANASI


WWhen it comes to technology implementation in the stock

market, National Stock Exchange (NSE) is one of the leading

stock exchanges, says Ravi Varanasi, Head, Business

Development, NSE, in conversation with Poulami Chakraborty

of Elets News Network (ENN)

Treading IT Path for Smooth Trading

hat is the role of National Stock Exchange (NSE) in the development

of the economy of India.�e stock exchanges are the places where the capital, along with the market space is allocated among the well-performing com-panies. �e allocation of space in the capital market is usually scarce and market usu-ally allocates capital among stakeholders, especially among new-growing sectors and sectors that are performing well in the econ-omy. �e basic function of stock exchange is to direct market activity to performing sectors. We have always been ensuring that the infrastructure being provided is the state-of-the-art and best in class. When we started twenty years back, we ensured that top-notch infrastructure is being provided to investors in the market, so that they can act better without minimum di�culties.

Before NSE came into picture in the Indian economy, each state had their own stock exchanges without any statement guarantee and �nalities to settlement. We introduced com-plete electronic trading system and set up our own electronic network in the country. When we came into the picture of Indian economy, the telecommunication sector was not that robust and organised, hence we have to set up our own V-SAT network; besides setting our own dishes so that we can take trading to all parts of the country. In a way, we have taken the market to the investors, instead of expecting the investors to come to the market; which has been one of the biggest changes in the economy.

Another big change that we have tried to bring in till the time the market was run by intermediaries is, to demutualise the market. Earlier, the market was run and owned by market intermediaries, who also had trad-


RAVI VARANASI SPECIAL INTERVIEW


ing rights. Currently, it is run by government institutions and the trading rights have been rendered with market intermediaries. So, we tried to segregate the interests of all the catego-ries, so that the exchange works as a rule-based organisation and these rules are applied to each and every stakeholder.

How has technology been adopted by NSE and what are its outcomes?Initially, we were a technology company and had set up our own technology eco-system and operations; besides ensuring that we are constantly upgrading our tech-nology over the period. Since we entered into the market, volumes have signi�cantly exploded because we use a transparent and easy-to-use technology through which each individual investor has been able to reach the exchange through their brokerages.

Recently, we have introduced mobile-based trading through apps, now enabling clients to trade in the market with their mobiles. In fact, about 12 per cent of the total trading happen-ings are through electronic systems– from ter-minals, computers and PCs or whatever their mode of trading is.

�ere are two lakh and ��y thousand ter-minals installed across the country, besides the fantastic reach we are able to create through Internet and mobile-based trading. Nowa-days, much of the trading happens through algorithms. Algorithmic trading has been slowly taking o� in the market, with broker’s servers connected in the exchange premise enabling them to react to market dynamics really fast. Also, our computers are capable of processing over 2000 order messages every second.

How do you describe your presence in the Indian market and how does it impact the stock market players?When it comes to technology and its imple-mentation in the stock market, NSE is one of the leading stock exchanges. We control almost 85 per cent of share market transac-tions happening through NSE and about 100 per cent of features and transaction derivatives happening through NSE. Since we created a robust technological platform for banks, traders and brokers, the maxi-mum volume of share market transactions

happens through NSE. Our prime focus is to provide our stakeholders with the state-of-the-art robust infrastructure, so that they do not need to worry about whether they will be able to access the market. While doing this, we also tend to ensure that we have a fairly robust clearing and settle-ment infrastructure. Our risk-management framework is one of the best infrastructures and can compete with any stock market in the world.

How has digitisation in NSE benefitted the economy at large?Every aspect of National Stock Exchange has been electroni�ed over a period of time, right from shares in 1984 to our commu-nications in the recent times. A lot of work is happening towards Aadhaar, eKYC and similar outlines. In a way, we have been able to eliminate paper completely from the ecosystem of our operations in NSE. Some paper work is still involved, during the time of on-boarding between the broker and the client, to which the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is seriously looking into for providing some solutions to make it absolutely hassle-free procedure.

Also, we send email and SMS for any trans-action happening through broker for any trade

There are two lakh and fifty thousand terminals installed across the country,

besides the fantastic reach we are able to create through Internet and mobile-based trading

con�rmation in the market.

What is the role of SNS and how has it catalysed the growth of business for NSE? We use social media extensively to make people aware of our products and services available in the market. It enables us to reach out to the unmarked boundary of unreached populace of the economy.

Does NSE play any role in financial inclusion?Of course, it has a major role. We keep conducting workshop for bankers and �nancial institutions to educate them on the stock market dynamics and aspects which contribute in the growth of stock market. Initially, when we came to the market, we noticed that the intermediary skills were signi�cantly weak, for which we started standard skill set training programmes to enhance the intermediary skill-sets at par with the global standards. �e exams are conducted online and in the last 17 or 18 years, we have reached about 17 lakh people through these programmes. While doing this, we realised that we need to conduct similar kind of training programmes for investors to create the awareness.

SPECIAL INTERVIEW MANISHA RAODEO


H

The spread of digital technologies in banking sector helps the sector grow

phenomenally and being a cooperative bank, we are paying extra attention to

innovative IT solutions, Manisha Raodeo, CEO, Greater Bombay Co-Operative

Bank tells Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN)

Fostering Digital Revolution in Banking

ow efficiently has IT been utilised in your areas of operation?

Unlike other industries, banks and �nancial institutions rely on gathering, processing, analysing and providing information in order to meet the needs of customers. At Greater Bank, IT plays an important role as it has helped us to deal with the challenges of the new economy. We are the �rst coop-erative bank to o�er an E Lobby at all our branches getting us the title of “Raat Din ka Bank”. Technology has allowed us to o�er new products and new services to our customers through introduction of multi functional ATMs, biometrics, ECS, cheque truncation systems, NEFT & RTGS, mobile banking etc which are just few examples. IT has been the cornerstone of our banks o�er-ings which aimed at increasing the speed and reliability of banking operations.

What are the new technological innovations which will transform the Indian banking sector?Mobile banking has created a revolution and o�ering �nancial services on digital platform will be the future. Reach of ‘mobile phones’ in the hinterlands of India has cre-ated new opportunities to deliver �nancial

SPECIAL INTERVIEW


MANISHA RAODEO

services up to grassroot level. Documents will be processed online, due diligence can be done online and that too transparently and quickly. RBI has been positive in terms of the payments banks, the KYC (know your customer) regime, coupled with the Aadhaar card (IRIS scans and biometric identi�cation) that has created new pos-sibilities not available earlier. �e other big area is data analytics—credit underwriting

mechanisms are going to change quite dra-matically in India.

What is your view on PMJDY? How effective has this initiative been with respect to the Indian economy?PMJDY is no doubt the largest �nancial inclusion programme of in the world. �e objective of this programme is to ensure

�nancial services to the unbanked popula-tion of India and enable the last mile reach of government schemes. More than 20 crore accounts have been opened till date and it has been fairly successful in reaching out to the masses. 86 per cent people who have opened PMJDY accounts are �rst time account hold-ers. Only 45 per cent of these account holders have Aadhaar card numbers linked to their PMJDY accounts to get bene�t of Direct

transfer from the government and only 18 per cent have RuPay Cards available. Having crossed the �rst hurdle the challenge now is to ensure regular use of these accounts.

What are the various initiatives undertaken by the Greater Bombay Cooperative Bank in implementing the PMJDY scheme?

At Greater Bank, IT plays an important role as it has helped us deal with the

challenges of the new economy. We are the first cooperative bank to offer an e-Lobby at all our branches getting us the title of ‘Raat Din ka Bank’. IT has been the cornerstone of our banks offerings which aims at increasing the speed and reliability of banking operations

Our bank with its vintage of over 63 years has always been at the forefront of driv-ing programmes on �nancial inclusion. �e ‘No Frills account’ introduced by RBI some years ago was one such initiative we have driven and we have more than 5500 accounts under this scheme. Under the PMJDY, PMJJBY and PMSBY we have gar-nered more than 4800 accounts from our 22 branches in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and �ane network.

What are the challenges faced while operating in Tier II and Tier III cities?�e coming phase will see a boom of eco-nomic activities in Tier II and Tier III cities. But low customer awareness and low �nan-cial literacy pose the biggest challenge for channelising savings into banking in these cities. As regional languages dominate in these locations banks should ensure that their product/service o�erings support this on mobile phones and ATMs by increase in usage of vernacular content.

Apart from the government initiatives, what kind of initiatives should be taken by private banks?Government initiatives alone will not be su�cient. Banks will need to look at a comprehensive digital strategy to under-stand consumer behavior, build technical capabilities, manage their product portfolio, and re-de�ne their marketing strategies and channel mix to integrate online and o�ine e�ectively. �e biggest challenge posed today is the last mile reach of cash which needs to be replaced with more and more cashless options to enable inclusion in its real sense.

With increase usage of Internet via smart-phones online shopping, virtual cards, e wal-lets and new banking apps are fast creating the �nancial awareness. �e need now is to create the �nancial discipline. Measuring and tracking the impact of banking transactions on all dimensions of the economy and society are not simple and direct, but the potential is immense and will continue to grow in the future. Individual consumption, corporate infrastructure investment and government spending contribute to the cause.


STATE FOCUS CHHATTISGARH

C

In line with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ programme, the Chhattisgarh Government is

going to raise an Electronics Manufacturing Cluster over a 70acre piece of land. It is expected to

attract an investment of `2,000 crore from the private industrialists and generate about 4,000

employment opportunities, writes Arpit Gupta of Elets News Network (ENN)

Chhattisgarh Strives to Become Next ESDM Hub

hhattisgarh will have one of India’s seven green�eld manufacturing clusters in Naya Raipur soon as a part of the Government of India’s ‘Make

in India’ mission. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Electronics Manufacturing Cluster during his visit to the modern capital city of Chhattisgarh.

�e Electronics Manufacturing Cluster will be set up in an area of 70 acre and is to be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 89.22 crore, including a component the of Centre’s grant of Rs 43.07 crore. �e cluster will have all facilities, such as �atted factories which are high-rise, multi-tenanted developments with common facilities such as passenger and cargo li�s, loading/unloading bays and car parks, tool rooms, warehouse, waste management system, smart service centre, skill development centre and hospital.

�e proposed cluster will have facilities for manufacturing of LED Lights, Solar panels, tablets, mobile phones, IT hardware, set-top boxes, and electronics and electrical automotive. �e Chhattisgarh government expects to attract an investment of Rs 2,000 crore from the private industrialists which could generate employment opportunities. About 4,000 youth are likely to get employment in 61 electronics parts units.

As many as 11 investors have already signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state government, proposing an investment to the tune of Rs 940 crores in the upcoming electronic manufacturing

cluster. Among the investors is Jaina Mobiles Industries. Core Incubator-Cum-Accelerator will be established here.

Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh said that setting-up of pollution-free industries in the State is on the priority list of Chhattisgarh Government. It is a major achievement in the direction of establishing pollution-free industries of Non-core sector in Naya Raipur.

�e state-run Chhattisgarh State Industrial

Development Corporation (CSIDC) would be the nodal agency to implement the project that would be completed over a period of three years.

Notably, under the Make in India initiative,

the Centre has proposed seven green �eld manufacturing clusters—in Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhopal & Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) Bhiwandi (Rajasthan), Adityapur (Jharkhand) Karnool (Andhra Pradesh) and Falta (West Bengal).

As of now, there is minimal presence of ESDM sector in the state. However, with its inherent strengths, the state has immense potential to become an ESDM hub of the

country. Chhattisgarh has emerged as a lucrative investment hub among its competing states with sectors like power, mining and minerals, manufacturing, sponge iron and steel, IT/ITes, biotechnology, food processing, etc. becoming key investment drivers and has attracted both domestic and foreign investment over the past few years.

�e state is steadily garnering support from the investors, transforming it to a manufacturing and power hub of the country.

Naya RaipurNaya Raipur, the new capital city of Chhattisgarh o�ers a plethora of opportunities for development of industrial infrastructure in the State. Naya Raipur houses world class amenities like Knowledge Center with university, research and institutional complexes, 18-hole Golf Course, �eme Township, Convention Centre, Shopping Malls and Multiplexes. Naya Raipur provides for an ideal location for

development of non-polluting light & service industries in the State. Naya Raipur has around 8000 Hectare land which can potentially be utilized for industrial development.