TCS to Automate Karnataka Treasury Department
Karnataka government has signed an MoU with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to roll out Khajane II, a project aimed at bringing greater transparency and efficiency in financial management of the Treasury Department.
The project would be implemented on a pilot basis at 10 centres of the Treasury Department from April 2012 and would be extended to the entire state by 2013.
“The project will benefit citizens in paying their taxes, fees for various services; monitor their contributions to pension funds, and insurance schemes of the state government,” Finance Department Principal Secretary, NV Nagarajan said.
Khajane II will cover about 24,000 disbursing centres of the Treasury Department helping real-time clearance of about 40 lakh vouchers, 80 lakh challans, pension of lakhs of retired government employees and salaries of over six lakh state government employees. It will bring in tighter integration between various wings of government and also network external agencies like the Accountant General’s office, Reserve Bank of India, commercial banks and post offices.
Treasuries and banks will be able to interact online through a secured network and share information.
RTI
CMC to Build BPO for RTI Filing in Karnataka
Helping the common man file an RTI application in an easier way is soon to be reality, with the state government of Karnataka is planning to come up with BPO for filing the RTI applications. However, the project for the set up is still awaiting cabinet approval.
CMC Limited, a Tata group company, had won the bid for setting up a BPO for the process and a letter of intent was also given. According to state government officials, the project is a Rs 7 crore project. Companies like CMC Ltd, Mindtree, Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide Ltd and Wipro had participated in the bidding. Karnataka presently sees around 60,000 to 65,000 RTI filings every year. The new BPO centre will help a person file an RTI both in Kannada and English.
Under the initiative, anybody can file an RTI application relating to all government departments and corporations in the state over phone.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
SAP Unveils ChariTra, an On-Demand Network for NGOs
SAP India announced the availability of ChariTra, an on-demand network created by SAP Labs in India that connects volunteers, non-profits and corporations to work together toward causes and make a difference in their communities. An abbreviation of “charity transformation,” ChariTra was designed and released by the SAP Labs team in India within 90 days. ChariTra enables non-profits to post their resource needs to a large community of people who want to help make a difference and to mobilize volunteers and resources toward a specific activity. For individuals and corporations, ChariTra allows them to easily find causes that they want to support, connect with non-profits and other like-minded individuals, and share their experiences and outcomes with others. ChariTra recently enabled over 50 non-profits and thousands of volunteers throughout India’s Joy of Giving week, a nationwide event during which millions of people volunteered their time and resources to many causes. For example, HOPE child care center needed volunteers and had success using ChariTra to find resources to help. Initially debuted to the India market, ChariTra will soon be launched globally.
Smart ID and Cross Match Bag Approval for India’s UID Program
Smart Identity Devices Pvt. Ltd. (Smart ID) has announced that it has been certified as one of the first suppliers of biometric devices for India’s unique identification (UID) program along with its technology partner, Cross Match Technologies.
Smart ID received the Certificate of Approval for Cross Match’s rugged and dependable Guardian fingerprint capture device and the I SCAN dual iris capture device on October 7, 2011. Both systems utilise Cross Match’s patented Auto Capture feature, which quickly captures high-quality images with minimal operator involvement. The Certificate of Approval, which is valid for three years, was issued after completion of all tests required to demonstrate compliance with the quality requirements of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The certification body consists of the Standardization, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate of the Government of India’s Department of Information Technology (DIT) and the UIDAI. The tests performed by the STQC included the following criteria: Physical & Dimensional, Image Quality, Environmental (Durability /Climatic), Safety, EMI/ EMC, Security, Functional, Performance, Interoperability, Ease of Use & Ergonomics.
Smart ID along with Cross Match was also the first company to receive the Provisional Certificate for use in the UID program in September, 2010. This certificate marked the first step of the certification process and was the prerequisite for the deployment of thousands of fingerprint and iris scanners currently used for the enrollment process of the UID program.
India IT Sector High on PC Sales
Time to smile for PC makers, as the annual sales figures for 2010-11 annual are pretty close to 10-million mark, according to Industry Performance Review for the Financial Year 2010-11, conducted by Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology.
The apex body representing India’s IT hardware vendors found that in the second successive quarter, PC sales saw a double-digit growth of 16 pe cent, Netbooks pegged 0.3 million sales for the first time and printer sales recorded double digit growth of 15 percent. The study has given specific findings in Notebook market, Desktop market, Servers, peripherals and Internet.
The annual MAIT Industry Performance Review is a syndicated end-user based study on the IT hardware market conducted by the eTechnology Group of IMRB International since 1996-97. The study is based on over 15,000 face-to-face interviews with end-users spread over 17 cities, with data projected to the ‘all India urban market’.
|
e-GOV PORTAL
Accenture will leverage its expertise in technology and leading large-scale implementation efforts to create an Internet-based system — a new communications channel that will enable collaboration by state Departments, standardization of information and increased efficiency of service delivery to citizens and businesses. In the contract the completion deadline is 42 months with effect from September. The portal will facilitate improved delivery of information to citizens and businesses and monitoring of services over the internet. Accenture is a global management consulting and technology consulting and outsourcing company. It is the largest consulting firm in the world. |
Leading IT consultancy firm Accenture has been awarded a contract by the Sikkim government to create internet access to government services, streamlining efficiency and reducing administrative functions.e-HEALTHCARE
Karnataka District Joins Hands with Cisco to Pilot Remote Healthcare
Cisco has announced the launch of its Cisco healthcare solution pilot program to enable remote healthcare for two Primary Healthcare Centers from the district hospital in Shimoga District. The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri D.V Sadananda Gowda, and Aravind Sitaraman, President of Inclusive Growth, Cisco, attended the event.
With this project, Cisco advances its Inclusive Growth vision of using technology to bridge the urban-rural gap. Earlier this year, Cisco launched the initiative so that rural communities can get access to essential urban services like healthcare, education, a marketplace and access to public services through technology and bring them into the mainstream economy. Using the network as a platform, these services can bring about transformational change and greatly reduce the urban-rural divide.
Last year, Cisco introduced its healthcare solution in its corporate social responsibility project — Samudaya — to enable access to remote healthcare to flood-affected people of Raichur on a proof-of-concept basis. So far, using the medical services of RxDx multispecialty hospital in Bangalore, this technology has enabled remote consultation for over 850 patients.
POWER
Punjab Power Dept. Goes into Electronic Mode
In a bid to curb red-tapism and make operations swift, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has switched to electronic-mode. All departments of PSPCL have been inter-linked with Internet and official e-mail IDs have made of all senior officials. From now onwards all kinds of official tenders, orders and communications will be floated online through e-mails and on the official website of the department.
“We have directed all our employees to use official e-mail IDs for any kind of communication. It would save paper, time and manpower. All employees have been directed to check their e-mails at least twice in a day,” PSPCL Human Resource Department Director HS Seth said.
“We have decided to use our official website to interact with public and to disseminate useful information among masses. We have drafted our own IT policy and it will be implemented in full spirits,” he added. As per its new IT policy, PSPCL has decided to upload all circulars regarding opening of tenders, transfer orders and other communications on the website and they could be downloaded anywhere anytime. Internet connections with computer systems or laptops have been provided to most of the senior employees of PSPCL.
Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter, Instagram.
