IT For Self-Governance

G2C services become citizen friendly

Long queues, longer waiting periods and endless visits to numerous offices have become part of the routine when you file an application with the government. Citizens have stopped expecting speed in the government’s processes. However, the Tripura government’s e-Suvidha initiative has changed all that. e-Suvidha is a single-window interface to the government’s services, including issuing 22 kinds of certificates.

It is also a workflow-based application software that allows citizens to file applications and to monitor and track them at various stages. The challenge for the government was to put in place a robust and scalable system that increased transparency, improved efficiency and provided quality and prompt services, and at the same time, ensured data security.

Process
The solution was a client-server based, three-tier system that had three levels of security—at the OS level, RDBMS level and at the application level. The system was integrated with a scanner, web camera and a biometric access control device for user authentication in executing system administration activities. Other  important  features include automated backup on hard disk and external media, role-based user ID and password for access control and maintaining logs of important activities. Each e-Suvidha centre has two mid-range servers, five clients, a scanner, a laser printer, a dot-matrix printer, a web camera, a DVB VSAT and UPS systems. The software runs on client-server architecture.

Impact
At the time of project review, 124,000 service requests had been catered to, through e-Suvidha centres in 15 locations across the state. The growing demand has led to the introduction of a common application form for various services. Future plans include integrating e-Suvidha with the Tripura State portal and India portal, as well as data consolidation and centralisation using the 2Mbps backbone of the Tripura State Wide Area Network. The software had reduced time in processing applications from weeks or months earlier to about one to four days now.

It has provided time-bound, single-window services and brought in more transparency in processes apart from reduced costs. The mechanism for tracking citizens’ requests has improved and even includes a search facility. There is electronic archiving of serviced requests. As a result, there now also exists a highly effective MIS at state, district and sub-division level.