PMI and FICCI Present A Case Study Report 'PMI-FICCI Study On E-District Pilot Project in Bankura, West Bengal'
PMI and FICCI Present A Case Study Report 'PMI-FICCI Study On E-District Pilot Project in Bankura, West Bengal'
PMI and FICCI Present A Case Study Report 'PMI-FICCI Study On E-District Pilot Project in Bankura, West Bengal'
e-District projects
December 2012
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the help extended to us by Department of IT, Government of West Bengal, Bankura District Administration, West Bengal Electronic Industry Development Corporation Limited (Webel), PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services in developing the study on e-District Pilot Project, Bankura,West Bengal.
Study Team
Ms. Mousumi Ghose,
Sr. Director, FICCI West Bengal State Council
Table of Contents
Executive Summary Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Overview of e-District Project Methodology Adopted for Case Writing Project Cycle Impact of e-District Project: Citizens Perspective Key Findings
Annexure
Annexure I: Fishbone Analysis Annexure II: Snapshot of Best Practices References List of Interviewees
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Knowledge is considered as the engine of social and economic development in today's world. In order to disseminate knowledge equally across the country and develop India as a knowledge economy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a major role. ICT sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. However, there is a need to spread the benefits of the ICT revolution to touch the everyday life of the common man in urban and rural areas and build a dynamic information infrastructure. Leveraging ICT, there are huge potentials for improvement of the internal efficiency of the public sector and the delivery of public services to citizens in a sustainable manner. The Government of India has been taking major initiatives for ushering in ICT to significantly re-engineer the work system for achieving good governance goals. Department of IT, Government of India has introduced the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) in 2006 for improving the quality of basic governance. The ultimate objective of NeGP is to bring public services available at the doorstep of the citizens.
The e-District project is a part of the 27 Mission Mode Projects under National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Department of IT, Government of India. It was planned to be implemented in two phases; in Phase I Pilots covering 1-2 districts of a state and in Phase II the project would be rolled out across the state subsequent to successful implementation of the pilot. Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Puducherry have introduced the e-District pilot project. The e-District MMP has been implemented in 41 districts in India under pilot implementation of the project. The nationwide rollout would incorporate 640 more districts in the project in the next phase. The Government of West Bengal has initiated the e-District pilot project in two districts Bankura and Jalpaiguri in the state. The primary objective of the e-District project is to provide support to the basic administrative unit i.e., District Administration and improve the G2C experience. This would optimally leverage and utilize the three infrastructure pillars, the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) for connectivity, State Data Centre (SDC) for secure and fail safe data storage and Common Service Centers (CSCs) as the primary front-ends for service delivery. This pilot project has gone live on 27th September, 2010. The citizens now can avail G2C services like issuance of Certificates (Domicile, Income & Caste), RTI services & Grievance Redressal, Licenses (Arms and Explosives), Industry Service, Pension and Social Welfare (ICDS) under the e-District project.
Since projects like e-District involve huge cost for the gove r n m e n t , t h e c o n t e m p o ra r y a n d mu l t i dimensional use of project management techniques is essential for the successful delivery of goals and objectives. Thus, the pilot e-District project was launched not just with the aim of ensuring effective, transparent and accountable G2C services but also to acquire project management experience.
Against this backdrop, the FICCI-PMI study describes how adoption of project management techniques has lead to successful implementation of the pilot e-District project in Bankura. Bankura is the fourth largest district of West Bengal with a total population of over 35 lakhs and a high percentage of tribal population. The district has 3 sub-divisions viz. Bankura, Khatra and Bishnupur. The e-District project is implemented at all the 22 block offices of the district besides the 3 sub-divisional offices.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been selected as the project management consultant for the e-District pilot project in the state. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the System Integrator, has designed and developed the application software. West Bengal Electronic Industry Development Corporation Limited (WBEIDC) or Webel is the State Designated Agency (SDA) for the implementation of the application software. District eGovernance Society (DeGS) has been responsible for successful implementation of the project at the district ensuring close linkages and coordination among the various stakeholders at field level. To develop the study comprehensive questionnaires for all stakeholders and citizens have been designed by the FICCI team. An extensive data collection from the IT Department and all stakeholders has been done through consultative meetings and field visits to Bankura district.
Benefits that can be accrued by using modern project management practices in e-District Issues and challenges faced while implementing the project at every stage of the project life cycle i n c e p t i o n , d eve l o p m e n t , i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , monitoring- evaluation and close out phases Actions taken to mitigate these challenges during the project life cycle focusing on various project management knowledge areas such as scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, etc
An overall assessment of the e-District project from the project management perspective has been included in the study based on the feedback collated during interactions with the stakeholders.
The citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries of the e-District project and their feedback form the basis of evaluation of the project. Based on the citizens' interviews conducted at the sub-divisional offices, the block offices and the Common Service Centres (CSC) a snapshot of the experience of the citizens who have availed the new e-enabled services has been included in the case study. Majority of the citizens agreed that the computerized system under e-District project has been substantially beneficial as the application process to issue a certificate has become simplified. There has been
a perceptible reduction in the time taken to issue a certificate from around 2-3 weeks to around 2-5 days on an average. The new system has raised the level of transparency and quality of governance. Service delivery has improved with almost 40% increase in the daily issuance of certificates. Also citizens now can track on line the progress of their applications. The key findings from the consultative meetings with stakeholders and field visits to Bankura are highlighted below.
Sensitizing Government Functionaries: To overcome the initial apprehensions of the district administration and line departments in accepting the re-engineered processes there is a need to organize extensive awareness programmes with focus on the benefits of the new e-enabled system Human Resource Management: More emphasis on rigorous training, including dedicated basic computer training to stakeholders with no prior computer knowledge and monitoring the project from the district end
Infrastructure and Connectivity: Connectivity issues including electricity, BSNL connection and SWAN needs to be better handled Communication Plan with Line Departments: A structured communication plan to ensure all the line departments are on the same page and support the project whole-heartedly is needed Citizens Awareness: Focus on information dissemination at the grass root civic society organizations to ensure greater acceptability of the digitally signed documents Integrated Framework: For complete end-to-end solution, seamless inter-operability and exchange of existing databases across the departments, an integrated framework is required Authenticity of the Digitally Signed Documents: Need to generate more awareness on legal acceptability of digitally signed documents Common Service Centre (CSC): Expertise of CSC owners to be improved to help the CSCs run profitably. A structured framework and risk mitigation measures for the better front-end service delivery from the CSCs need to be planned Digital Signature and Crypto-tokens: Adequate supply of digital signature and crypto-tokens to ensure a smooth and timely execution of the project The key findings may serve as a useful tool for the state-wide roll-out of the project which is planned in March, 2013.
CHAPTER 1
OVERVIEW OF e-DISTRICT PROJECT
Introduction
The ICT revolution has transformed the mode of interaction between the government and its service seekers. Today, ICT is the leading enabler that ensures huge potentials for improvement of the efficiency of the public sector and the delivery of public services to citizens and other government customers in a sustainable manner. ICT is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. However, the benefits of the ICT revolution have not been evenly distributed, particularly to those in rural areas. Thus, in order to provide efficient governance to all the citizens, the Government of India has been taking major initiatives for introducing ICT into its works by significantly re-engineering the earlier processes leveraging the power of modern technology. at the State level. It is a centrally sponsored project, funded by Government of India.
e-District Project
The e-District initiative of the Department of I n fo r m a t i o n Te c h n o l og y ( D I T ) , M i n i s t r y o f Communication & Information Technology (MCIT), Government of India is one of the Mission Mode Projects
Service Centers (CSCs) as the primary front-ends for service delivery to the citizens at their doorstep. The pilot e-District MMP has been implemented in 41 districts in India. The nationwide rollout would incorporate 640 more districts in the next phase.
geographical representations and socio-economic profile. The pilot project got approval in June 2008 with a total funding of Rs. 579.44 lakhs. According to the Quarterly Progress Report for e-Governance Projects (July, 2012), funds received from the Government of India till July 2012 for the pilot project is Rs. 353.37 lakhs with an interest of Rs. 23.56 lakhs. For the State wide roll-out, the cost of the project at the time of approval has been estimated at Rs. 180 lakhs. Since the software application for the e-District project has been developed by the System Integrator in the pilot phase, the projected cost for the State-wide roll-out is much lower. The major service categories identified and proposed in the e-District pilot project in West Bengal include G2C services like issue of Certificates, Pensions, Social Welfare (ICDS), Industry services, RTI services, Licenses (Arms and Explosives), Ration Card and Revenue Court. The table below provides the details of the services currently offered in the state. This case study would focus on the successful project management of the e-District pilot project in the Bankura district.
Service Categories
Services
Income Caste Domicile
Certificates
Licenses
Fatka / Fire Cracker License Fire Arm License Issuance of EM-1 Issuance of EM-2
Industry Service
5 6
DeGS and District Implementation Committee in Bankura Headed by: District Magistrate
CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY ADOPTED FOR CASE WRITING
The case study aims to outline the project management which has led to successful implementation of pilot e-District project in Bankura and the impact of the e-District project on the citizens. evaluation and close out) have been discussed focusing on various project management knowledge areas including project scope, time, cost and quality management, etc.
=
The challenges and the actions taken to address these issues in the different project phases have been identified and analyzed. Based on the information collected from all the stakeholders, an overall assessment of the e-District project from the project management perspective has been prepared. Clients (citizens) who have used the services have been interviewed through field visits and consultative meetings and their feedback on the automated system have been collated. Status of applications of the e-District services has been computed. A summary report of the key findings of the pilot project has been prepared which could be used for the State-wide roll-out of the project.
The background and the primary objective of the e-District project have been presented with a brief overview on pre and post implementation scenario.
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Comprehensive questionnaire for all stakeholders and citizens have been designed. An extensive data collection from the IT Department and all stakeholders (DeGS, district administration, state designated authority, consultant, system integrator, etc) has been done through consultative meetings and field visits to Bankura district. Different phases of the project cycle (inception, development, implementation, monitoring and
CHAPTER 3
PROJECT CYCLE
The adoption of project management tools to support and manage any project efficiently with optimal utilization of resources is of significant magnitude. The major areas of work done during the project could well be treated as projects in itself. This case study will take into account the various factors that came into play during the course of the project life-cycle - inception, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and closeout phases. The chapter will discuss various project management knowledge areas such as scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, etc. It will focus on the major issues and challenges faced as well actions taken for better management of the project.
Phase
Monitoring & Evaluation Inception Phase Development Phase Implementation Phase Closeout Phase Scope Management Time Management
INCEPTION
Highlights
Scope of work formulated by DeitY Webel identified as State Designated Authority on the recommendation of State Government Formation of DeGS As-Is Assessment, Gap Analysis, To-Be Services envisioned, Business Process Re-engineering areas identified by PwC Workshops & Trainings for the State and District level officials to generate awareness about the e-District project Scope of work is the first and foremost dimension that is considered at the beginning of any project. Defining the scope - the project deliverables, the limitations and the boundaries of the project, is important as it is directly linked to the three other major dimensions of time, quality and cost of the project. During the inception phase, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India, formulated the scope of the e-District project. Webel was identified as State Designated Authority on the recommendation of State Government and District e-Governance Society (DeGS) was formed for Bankura
under the Chairmanship of the District Magistrate. National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) chose PwC as the project management consultant. With the support of the West Bengal IT department, the Consultant undertook several activities in the inception phase of the project. A combination of various modes of information gathering techniques like personal interviews, focused group discussions, workshops, telephonic interviews, concept demonstrations, etc were used to collect information. The Consultant conducted an extensive study of the citizen centric services at the district, analyzed the risks and challenges anticipated for the project and prepared the As-Is assessment of the services. The root cause for process gaps and failures were
identified and the Gap analysis was conducted using sixsigma tools of fish-bone to weed out iterative processes within the ambit of requirements in the e-District project. VA-NVA (Value Added and Non-Value Added) analysis was conducted and a flow chart assessing the value added and non-value (waste) accumulated during the process steps was prepared. The key problems, the likely causes of the identified problems and the proposed changes for issuance of income, caste and domicile certificates as identified by the Fishbone Analysis are presented in the following table. The detailed Fishbone Analyses are presented in Annexure I.
Service
Key Problem
Proposed Changes
Residential Certificate no longer kept as a mandatory supporting document = Enquiry made mandatory = Issuance by SDO
=
Domicile Certificate
Delay in Service
=
Absence of a single window clearance system Preparation of note sheets by dealing assistants Residence Certificate as a predecessor to issuance of Domicile Certificate
Income Certificate
Mandatory Enquiry envisaged = Issuance of income certificate by BDO for rural areas
=
Different issuing officers follow different checklists as requirements for supporting documents = Lack of awareness amongst citizens about requirements for supporting documents through publicly available notice or charters
= =
Absence of manpower = Improper supporting documents = Multiple approval rounds = Preparation of notesheets by dealing assistants = Duplicate data entry in registers
=
Source: West Bengal e-District Project - Gap Analysis and To-Be Process Report, PwC
Subsequently, best practice study and benchmarking of the project in the state was made. This study took into account various national and international best practices and provided an in-depth analysis of the existing manual service delivery mechanisms as well as the redesigned automated To-Be processes. Some of the best practice studies made by the Consultant included studies on Police, RTI, Grievance Redressal, Revenue courts, Public Distribution System and Pensions, etc. A snapshot of the best practice studies conducted by the Consultant has been provided in Annexure II.
These extensive studies of the existing processes for service delivery were carried out to identify the areas of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and the To-Be services. Specific inputs were taken from respective process heads at the district level to understand the preimplementation scenario vis--vis the process that would follow after the implementation of the e-District project. These later helped in preparing the Functional Requirement Specification (FRS) for the implementation of the e-District project.
Challenges
=
Actions Taken
=
District administration and different line departments had apprehensions regarding the reengineering initiatives as the service delivery system seemed complex at the time with no/ inaccurate project knowledge. As a result there was a delay in approval of Business Process Reengineering by line departments
Workshops were conducted at the State and District level to apprise stakeholders about the benefits of the project in order to improve their level of participation Proof of Concept was prepared by the Consultant to demonstrate the activities that have to be performed in the application to ease out the apprehensions
The major area of strength in the inception phase emerged to be the high level design of the To-Be processes which would utilize the present electronic infrastructure most efficiently and effectively with best standards.
DEVELOPMENT
Highlights
Preparation of Functional Requirement Specification by the Consultant Webel selected TCS as the System Integrator (SI) by tendering process System Requirement Specification report prepared by SI & appraised by the concerned line departments Successful design & development of e-District Application by SI Awareness generation among Government officials by Webel, DeGS, Consultant and SI with active involvement of the State IT department
After the identification of the selected pilot districts in the State, the Project Consultant carried out a Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) of the existing processes in the areas identified in the inception phase. The approach of the BPR exercise, better known as Government Process Re-engineering (GPR), took into account the
As-Is Assessment, study of best practices, redesign of the processes and documentation of To-Be process maps. Based on this GPR, the Functional Requirement Specification (FRS) was prepared for the identified services. A detailed functionality of the proposed automated services has been captured by the FRS document.
Online application of services from CSCs and Web Issuance of certificates with the use of digital signature Online verification of digitally signed certificate Formalization of input data Centralized data repository for all services
Pre-defined service levels and workflow escalation on non adherence Complete workflow automation eliminating the necessity for paper approval
Webel selected TCS as the System Integrator (SI) on the basis of Quality cum Cost Based System (QCBS) through a tendering process. The SI was responsible for application development, hardware procurement and deployment, handholding and support services. The SI prepared the System Requirement Specification (SRS) report based on the functional requirements (FRS) and the To-Be services prepared by the Consultant. The SI also conducted district visits and interacted with the Government officials of the concerned line departments to gather specific information on the requirements of the District Administrations. DeGS supported the SI and Webel to undertake the field work, comprehend the requirements, document the observations, prepare roadmap and redesign the processes. A centralized solution architecture, built on open standard platform and hosted in State Data Centre, was
designed and the e-District application was developed by TCS following the e- District guidelines given by DIT, Government of India. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) was carried out to ensure that the application is developed according to the project requirements. This helped to eliminate change requests at a later stage to reduce the costs of developing the application. The adoption of quality management techniques with the goal of ensuring effective, transparent and accountable G2C services was ensured by constant review of the work done by the SI. Quality management processes were introduced to identify the possibility of success of the application software. The quality certification of the e-District application software was done by Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, the designated agency which lay the guidelines for testing by DeitY to ensure the delivery of the project is of an acceptable quality.
Challenges
=
Actions Taken
=
Difficulties regarding coordination and communication with line departments Delay in the process of contract negotiation and sign-off of the SRS as in many cases independent e-government initiatives of the departments on the same set of services already exists To scale up and develop the project, modification of the application software were suggested during the training phases to make the software user friendly
Regular meetings and interactions with State IT department, DeGS, the Consultant and the SI
The project management team of SI and Consultant initiated necessary change management practices
The major achievement in the development phase was the successful design and development of e-District software application that followed all the guidelines and norms issued by the Government of India.
IMPLEMENTATION
Highlights
Procurement of infrastructure Hardware deployment and installation done by SI with the support from the Webel, Government of West Bengal and DeGS Data digitization Training and capacity building - computer training provided Citizens awareness programmes Go-Live of selected services During the implementation phase of the e-District project, the primary works undertaken included hardware procurement and deployment by the SI at the District level. The software designed and developed for the project was tested to ensure that the application covers the scope of the project. Major data digitization was carried out including legacy data. Webel provided the necessary infrastructural support and resources utilizing the three infrastructure pillars State Wide Area Network (SWAN) for connectivity, State Data Centre (SDC) for secure and fail safe data storage, and Common Service Centers (CSCs) and Kiosks as the primary front-ends for service delivery. DeGS helped in managing, supervising and implementing the backend computerization of partner departments/agencies.
Human resource management is one of the most critical dimensions for the successful implementation of the e-District project. DeGS helped in building capacity of the staff at various levels of the district administration with the support of the State IT department, the project consultant as well as the SI. Extensive training sessions for the government officials and front-end users were conducted that included e-District orientation, basic computer training, process training and e-District application training.
DeGS helped in creating awareness of the rural masses about the benefits of the new e-District project through publicity measures like distributing leaflets, banners and posters and campaigning at the Gram Panchayat meetings. The go-live of the project for some selected services, mainly issuance of domicile and income certificates, was on 27th September, 2010.
Challenges
=
Actions Taken
=
Unavailability of an earmarked person from the District Administration end Lack of computer awareness and acceptability of the new system by the front end users of the project
Hu m a n re s o u rc e s f ro m t h e ava i l a b l e administrative set-up were utilized to begin with Webel, PwC and TCS with the support of DeGS conducted rigorous training, including dedicated basic computer training to stakeholders with no prior computer knowledge Preparing a detailed transition plan with all work activities documented for ready reference in future Concept of Master training introduced to train officials like Block Informatics Officer who would train the local resources in turn Hardware deployment and installation of the software application was done in all the blocks in Bankura even where electricity is irregular with support of the IT Department, Govt. of West Bengal and District Adiministration Highlighting the intended benefit to the staff in the form of reduction of workload
= =
Full support from DeGS to coordinate the activities at the district level for the implementation of the project was one of the major strength areas of the phase
The project plan prepared included measures for progress monitoring. Considerable amount of time has also been dedicated towards identification of risks and mitigation strategies. One of the most important areas that require monitoring is the cost side of the project. To effectively supervise and administer the finances of the project, the estimated budget for the project is released to the State in installments. After the receipt of Utilization Certificate from previous installment the next installment is released by DeGS. For the overall monitoring of the e-District project, a detailed communication management plan with all stakeholders was prepared. This was because the risk assessment done showed that ensuring all the stakeholders are on the same platform could be a
challenge. Following a proper communication management strategy would ensure that there is no time or cost slippage. To address this risk, regular scheduled meetings of all the empowered committees have been organized. The Department of IT, Government of West Bengal has played an important role in monitoring the progress of the project as well as ensuring that all the stakeholders are on the same page by conducting periodic review meetings and taking necessary actions. During the peak of implementation, weekly review meetings were held for discussing the progress of the project. Another major risk identified which could threaten the successful and timely implementation of the project was regarding the integration of SWAN, CSC and SDC being not on-time. To mitigate this challenge, proper coordination between the departments is essential and accordingly a communication plan was developed.
PROJECT CLOSEOUT
Highlights
Project not closed as yet, expected date of completion - 27th September, 2013 Coordination with line departments to include the final set of services Technical support by TCS for 3 years after go-live of the project The project has gone live on 27th September, 2010 with 6 service categories out of the envisaged 8 service categories. There has not been a formal closure of the pilot project yet. The expected date of completion of the pilot project is 27th September, 2013, three years from the go-live date. The System Integrator would continue to provide support to the project for 3 years on the technical front from the go-live date. DeGS would continue to help them in providing support through infrastructural development and awareness generation of citizens as well as monitoring of the project in the district. DeGS would also help in integrating the feedbacks for the betterment of the mode of services provided. The remaining two service categories yet to be activated but envisaged at the time of inception of the pilot project in the state included Land & Land Revenue (L&LR) services of Revenue Court and PDS services of Food & Supplies department. The SI was entrusted with the task of developing a software application for the L&LR services of Revenue Court. But the L&LR department already uses a Land records application developed by NIC. In order to bring the applications of Land Records and Revenue Court in sync there was a need to interface and integrate these two applications. However, technical issues have been preventing this integration. The issue is expected to be resolved under the recent mandate of Integrated Framework of e-District . The SI had developed a prototype application for the PDS services of Food & Supplies department. Given the huge amount of data digitization required for the e-enabled ration cards service category, it could not be taken under the e-District project. PDS has been declared a MMP recently by Government of India. An end-to-end application encompassing the entire gamut of citizen interface activities of the PDS is under way. The integrated framework envisages a web interface of the existing application of ration card till the MMP service is full-blown.
Overall Assessment of the e-District Project [Rating Scale: 5-Excellent, 4-Very Good, 3-Good, 2-Poor, 1-Very Poor]
WEBEL DeGS Human Resource Management Risk Management Integration Management Scope Management Time Management Cost Management Quality Management Communication Management Procurement Management PwC TCS
The above chart is based on the information gathered from Webel, DeGS, PwC and TCS during various stakeholder meetings conducted by FICCI. The assessment has been done by averaging the overall ratings provided by the stakeholders in different phases of the project life-cycle.
CHAPTER 4
IMPACT OF e-DISTRICT PROJECT: CITIZENS PERSPECTIVE
The e-District project was initiated with the ultimate objective of providing the e-enabled services to the citizens at their doorstep. Compared to the earlier manual system, the automated system has been envisioned to ensure a faster, simplified, cost effective, timely, convenient and over the counter delivery of services. The governance structure incorporating ICT for providing these services would also become more transparent and accountable. The study of the e-District project is incomplete unless we learn about the nature and extent to which all the intended objectives of the project have been achieved. The e-District pilot project in Bankura has gone live on 27th September, 2010. The main services provided to the citizens include Domicile and Income certificates. The computerized Caste certificates were introduced in 2012.
Use of Certificates
A Domicile/Residence Certificate is generally issued to prove that the person bearing the Certificate is a Domicile/Resident of the State/UT by which the Certificate is being issued. This Certificate is required as proof of residence to avail Domicile/Resident Quotas in educational institutions and in the Government Service, as also in case of jobs where local residents are preferred.
Domicile Certificate
Income Certificate
Income Certificate is provided to the applicant by the government confirming and testifying the annual income of the individual. This certificate establishes the annual income of the applicant for all legal and official purpose. The income certificate establishes the economic status of the applicant thereby making him/her eligible for various government welfare scheme and programmes, etc. Caste Certificate is provided to an applicant by the government as a proof of one's belonging to a particular caste.
Caste Certificate
Source: http://www.edistrictwb.gov.in/portal/
Although the project envisioned to issue all the certificates under e-District electronically, the manual system for issuance of certificates is still functional. However, there has been a gradual phasing out of the manual system towards the automated system. Over the past three years, the issuance of digitally signed certificates has been increasing in Bankura. The table in
the following page gives a snapshot of the certificates issued since the go-live of the project. However, there has been a gradual phasing out of the manual system towards the automated system. Over the past three years, the issuance of digitally signed certificates has been increasing in Bankura. The table that follows gives a snapshot of the certificates issued.
Application
Domicile Certificate Income Certificate Caste Certificate
Source: Department of IT, Govt. of West Bengal
2010-11
(Sept March)
229 36
2011-12
1999 352
2012-13
(Apr-Sept)
1552 799 59
The new automated system under e-District project has improved the status-tracking system from the District administration end.The status of all the pending applications lying with any officer can be known by the superior official from the portal. Also maintenance of record by the administration has improved to a great extent. The chart below depicts the status of applications for the domicile, income and caste certificates since the
introduction of the automated services in the district. It has been observed that most of the applicants from Bankura have applied for domicile certificate. Of the 4457 applications received for domicile certificate, 85% has been approved and only 6% is pending. 63% of the 1891 applications for income certificates have been already issued. The issuance of digitally signed caste certificates was introduced in April 2012 and till date 46% of the applications have been approved.
Income Certificate
28%
Domicile Certificate
9% 6%
Caste Certificate
36% 46% 18% Application Approved Application Rejected Application Pending
The number of applications handled per day has also increased considerably after the implementation of the e-District project. According to the Bankura District Administration there has been almost 40% increase in the daily issuance of certificates after the implementation of e-District. The citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries of the project, and so their feedback form the basis of evaluation of the
project. Though an extensive citizen survey is beyond the scope of this study, a number of citizens were interviewed during the visits to the three sub-divisional offices, several block offices and Common Service Centres (CSCs) in Bankura by the FICCI team. The interviewees were mainly questioned about the direct economic costs, quality of service, and quality of governance. A general feedback received during these interviews with citizens is highlighted below.
The service delivery has been much faster than the manual system. To issue a certificate under the manual system takes around 2-3 weeks, whereas under the automated system, it takes around 2-5 days on an average. (The timelines for delivery of each service under e-District project as envisioned by the Consultant in the West Bengal e-District Functional Requirement Specification Report has been achieved.) The number of trips made and the waiting time involved in the government offices to get a certificate issued has reduced considerably The project has reduced costs to a significant degree Simplified application processes with detailed citizen charters and forms in the local language that are easy to fill in Improvement in quality of governance and service delivery The guidance of the officials at every step at the facilitation centres has been very helpful The citizens are now well aware of the status of their applications from the e-District portal There has been a significant reduction in the interdependency compared to the earlier system
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The case study provides the experiences of a few of the citizens who have availed the e-District services.
Ramprasad Ghorai
Student B.Com. 1st year Ramsagar, Lapur Bajar, Onda Thana
I am from Onda. This is my 2nd trip to Bankura Sadar as on the first visit I had made some mistakes while filling up the form. I had earlier applied for the caste certificate in my village under the manual system around one and a half years ago and had visited the BDO office there a couple of times. Then I came to know about these automated e-enabled services from the BDO office at my block. Here, I have been assured that I will get the OBC certificate within the next five to seven days. I have heard the automated system is better than the manual system and the procedure to get the certificate is easy. Also, the officials here at Bankura Sadar Kiosk have been very helpful.
Jiban Tantubay
Student 1st year
Bishnupur
I have come to know that the e-enabled digitally signed domicile certificates are issued from the Bishnupur Kiosk from my neighbours. I applied for the certificate a week ago. This is my second trip to the Kiosk and I have got my certificate issued. The process has been very simple and fast. The government officials at the Kiosk have been very helpful. The overall experience has been good.
Srimanta Barui
Grocery Shop Owner Beliatore, Barjora Block
I had earlier applied for my domicile certificate at the Bankura Sadar Kiosk. The automated process was very simple and I got the certificate issued in no time at all. I came to know that one can get a certificate issued from a CSC as well rather than going to a Kiosk in a sub-divisional office. But I was not convinced. The government officials at the Barjora block assured me about its authenticity. So this time for my wife's domicile certificate I have come to this Shrei Sahaj CSC. To get the free of cost certificate issued by Bankura Sadar Kiosk, I have to travel to the sub-division. Though I have to pay for the certificate at the nearby CSC, it is actually economical in terms of time and money. Here the personnel at the CSC have been very cooperative and the whole process has been really quick and simple. My overall experiences both at the government office and the CSC have been excellent.
CHAPTER 5
KEY FINDINGS
The pilot e-District project in Bankura was rolled out not just with the aim of ensuring effective, transparent and accountable G2C services but also to acquire project management experience which could be used for the State-wide roll-out of the project in March, 2013. The key findings from the consultative meetings with stakeholders and field visits to Bankura are highlighted below. support of the state IT department. The functional trainings included briefing about the project, envisaged solution, the concept, advantages of such a solution, brief working procedure etc. The main challenge, however, was the lack of basic computer knowledge of the stakeholders at the ground level. So for better implementation of the e-District project, dedicated basic computer training to the stakeholders who have no prior computer knowledge have been arranged. The other challenge pointed out has been the frequent change of officials at the District Administration. Earlier all trainings were conducted at the State level. With time and experience, the project teams have come up with the concept of Master Training. The District Administration officials as well as the Block Informatics Officers and data entry operators who handle the front end services of the e-District project are trained who could in turn guide the local resources for future growth and development. The personnel who handle the CSC's are also guided by the district government officials about the processes involved to issue a certificate locally. It has been observed that at least one dedicated and trained personnel needs to be appointed for handling the e-District project and monitor it from the District end where the project is implemented. This would be taken care of in the state-wide roll-out by appointing project managers at the district level besides assigning a state project management unit.
Citizens Awareness
It has been pointed out by various Government officials of the District Administration that there is a lack of awareness about the e-District project amongst the citizens. The benefits of the e-enabled services have not yet percolated to the rural masses. The applicants still prefer to go to the sub-divisional offices or block offices to get certificates. There are also apprehensions about the acceptability of the digitally signed documents. DeGS has undertaken information dissemination process by distributing leaflets, banners and posters and promoting the CSCs. The ultimate objective of the project is to provide the services at the citizen's doorstep. So to reach out to the citizens at the grass root level, DeGS is planning on further promotion of the benefits of the e-District project at the Gram Panchayat level. It was also suggested to develop a proper IEC (Information, Education and Communication) for better promotion of the project.
Integrated Framework
Different line departments have undergone some level of computerization from departmental initiatives over the years and have its own digital database. Without an integration of these existing databases, there would be a repetition of the time-consuming processes of verification of the citizens based on the service requested and hence, duplication of data. Thus, there is a need for integration with the State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) for a complete end-to-end solution, a seamless inter-operability and exchange of data across the departments.
tokens as well as the supply of digital signatures locally rather than at the State level. Also, the crypto-tokens and digital signatures need to be provided at the time of appointment of new officials, otherwise there occurs a time-lag as the applications cannot be addressed on time. These issues need to be addressed during the state-wide roll-out for a smooth and timely execution of the project.
The e-District project has gone live with six service categories out of the envisaged eight service categories. The remaining two services envisioned at the beginning of the project are at different stages of implementation. There is a need to increase the volume of transactions as it is a pre-requisite for sustainability of the project. Eventually electronic systems must phase out manual systems.
ANNEXURE I
FISHBONE ANALYSIS
The Consultant used the fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram for 'root cause analysis'. In the diagram, the problem statement is put at the 'head' of the fish. From the main body of the fish diagram, stems the general causes represented as 'bones'. The smaller bones off each of the large bones highlight more specific aspects of a certain cause. The Consultant categorized the causes then into two dimensions depending on the 'Criticality' of the cause and the 'Solution Feasibility'. The 'Criticality' dimension is sub divided as Very Critical (V), Critical(N) and Not Critical(S).The 'Solution Feasibility' dimension is sub divided as Very easy(v), Easy(n) and Not easy(s). Fishbone Analyses for income, caste and domicile certificates are provided in the following diagrams.
Domicile Certificate
Inability to ascertain status of application V v Absence of registers (Bankura) S v Delay in Service Delivery
People
Technology
Source: West Bengal e-District Project - Gap Analysis and To-Be Process Report, PwC
People
Technology
Problem Statement 2
All applications are not sent to the SDO for issuance of certificate (Jalpaiguri) N v
People
Technology
Source: West Bengal e-District Project - Gap Analysis and To-Be Process Report, PwC
People
Technology
Problem Statement 2
People
Technology
Source: West Bengal e-District Project - Gap Analysis and To-Be Process Report, PwC
ANNEXURE II
SNAPSHOT OF BEST PRACTICES
Police
E Police Station in Gujarat: = Gujarat police have launched E Police Station with an option in the homepage to file an FIR electronically e-FIR in Himachal Pradesh: = Himachal Pradesh police have introduced FIR lodging facility through email = Use of email for petition endorsements and communication of routine instructions between head office and district head quarters
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP): = BMP tied up with AirTel Call Centre to register complaints from citizens = Email and wireless sets are used for communication = The citizens can track the status of their complaints from the call centres Online Grievance Redressal Tracking System (OGRTS) of Ranga Reddy District (Andhra Pradesh): The web based application OGRTS supports call center for municipalities = SMS (Short Messaging Services) technologies adopted for communication across functionaries and citizens duly taking citizen charter of ULBs into consideration
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Sutharyakeralam (Kerala): = Automation of Chief Minister's Grievance Redressal Cell and convergence of all available forms of communication to guarantee People's Right to Information = A call centre and an online public interface to collect petitions and an interactive video programme
Pensions
E-Pension Web Interface in Himachal Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh launched e-Pension (Computerized Pension Disbursement System) web interface on the official website http://himachal.nic.in/epension = Status and details of monthly pension would be available through the Internet every month = Major process reengineering done: PPOs of all pensioners taken back from banks, details entered into Pension Disbursement System SW at District Treasury level, bank wise monthly pension scrolls generated, data porting on the Internet done
=
Revenue Courts
E-Filing for courts in Texas: = e-Filing for Courts application to streamline and manage two-way flow of information among attorneys, clerks, court personnel, and judges
Source: West Bengal e-District Project - Gap Analysis and To-Be Process Report, PwC
Disclaimer
This study has been prepared by FICCI for Project Management Institute (PMI) on information from sources identified herein. The information contained in this study is selective and is subject to updating, expansion, revision and amendment. The information provided herein is believed to be accurate and reliable. FICCI and PMI do not make any representations or warranties, expresses or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of such information and data. Nothing contained in this study is, or shall be relied upon, as a promise or representation by PMI and FICCI. Copyright: Project Management Institute (PMI)
References
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http://deity.gov.in/content/e-District http://www.webel-india.com/e_district.html e-Governance Roadmap for the State of West Bengal, Draft for Discussion, July, 2006, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. West Bengal e-District Project: Gap Analysis and To-Be Process Report, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. West Bengal e-District Functional Requirement Specification Report, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. e-District Mission Mode Project Under the National eGovernance Plan, Pilot Implementation Guidelines, Department Of Information Technology, Government Of India, January 2009 National e-Governance Plan, Meeting of the National e-Governance Advisory Group, Background Papers, 12th November, 2010, New Delhi State e-Governance Council Meeting, 10 May 2010, Agenda Notes, Department of Information Technology, Government of West Bengal Study Report on Assesment of Model e-District s, State Mission Mode Project e-District , Department of information Technology, Government of India TCS enables West Bengal's e-District initiative to deliver effective citizen services, Tata Consultancy Services Approach paper, Preparation of Model Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Toolkit and Guidance Notes for preparation of RFPs for EGovernance Projects - Department of Information Technology (DIT),Government of India, 1st September, 2011 Guidelines for National Roll-out, e-District MMP, Department of Information Technology, Ver. 3.1 dated 8th June 2011 Saaransh: A compendium of Mission Mode Projects under NeGP, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India, January 2011 Status of Common Service Center Program in India: Issues, Challenges and Emerging Practices for Rollout, Rajanish Dass & Atashi Bhattacherjee, W.P. No. 2011-02-03, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, February 2011 Twenty Five Steps towards e-Governance Failure, Sameer Sachdeva, National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) FICCI-PMI Study: Project Management in India: Insights from Six Key Sectors PMI-Grant Thornton Study: Project Management in e-Governance: Issues & Challenges in navigating to the New Normal, September 2011 Impact Assessment Study on e-Government Projects in India, Center for e-Governance, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Department of Information Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, January 2007 Baseline Study of e-District Mission Mode Project 2010, Assessment of Delivery of Key Services: The Citizen's Perspective, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Department of Information Technology, Government of India http://www.edistrictwb.gov.in/portal/index.jsp
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List of interviewees
Name
Mr. Debashis Bandyopadhyay
Designation
OSD & E.O. Dy.Secretary
Organization
Department of IT, Govt. of West Bengal
Bankura District, Govt. of West Bengal Bankura Sadar Sub-Division, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Khatra Sub-Division, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Bishnupur Sub-Division, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Gangajal Ghati Block, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Barjora Block, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal
Mr Anirban Roy
Sub-Divisional Magistrate
Sub-Divisional Officer
Sub-Divisional Magistrate Dy. Magistrate & Dy. Collector, Bankura, Officer-in-Charge IT Block Development Officer
Khatra Block, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Bankura Sadar Sub-Division, Bankura, Govt. of West Bengal Webel
Managing Director
Manager (e-governance)
Associate Director
Senior Consultant Principal Consultant & Regional Head of Sales Government ISU Assistant Consultant
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