1. eGovernance Initiatives & Implementation of eOffice in Collectorate, North 24 Parganas West Bengal in collaboration with National Informatics Centre

2. Major areas looked after by District Magistrate & District Collector  Law & Order As District Magistrate  Judiciary As District Magistrate  LandAs District Collector  Revenue As District Collector  Treasury As District Magistrate/District Collector  DevelopmentAs Executive Officer  Central & Sate Government ProjectsAs EO/Project Manager Collectorate, North 24 Parganas District (or Zila) is the administrative division of a state or union territory that is further subdivided; in some cases into Sub-Divisions whereas the sub-division is again divided into block to execute the various developmental works either plans or non-plan scheme of the district. The district having a versatile geographic nature consisting of famous Sundarban forest areas in Basisrhat, Agricultural land in Bongan and part of Barasat & Basirhat, biggest industrial areas beside east bank of Hoogly river in Barrackpore and Kolkata metro areas in Bidhannagar(Saltlake) and part of Barasat sub-divisions. North 24 Parganas district (Head Quarter at Barasat)  Sub-Divisions : 05  Blocks (Rural): 22  Municipalities(urban) : 28  No. of MP: 05  No. of MLA: 33

3. Salient achievement of e-governance initiatives in collaboration with NIC in Collectorate, North 24 Parganas CENTRAL PROJECTS STATE PROJECTS DISTRICT PROJECTS eOffice Vahan & Sarathi MGNREGA SSA (DISE) Election MPLAD IAY eProcurement Agmarknet Video Conference IVFRT NKN Treasury [Accounting & Pension System] Election [Electoral Role, EMS-ECI & SEC] L&LR [ Bhumi & Bhuchitra) LA ( Bhu-Adhigrahan] WBSWAN P&RD [MIS, Accounting etc.] CORD [Registration Department] Salary preparation S/w (COSA) OSCAR [Online SCST/OBC Certificate] PMIS [Scholarship of SCST students] eXPERT [Directorate of Excise] IMPACT [Directorate of Commercial Tax] KANYASHREE District Web Portal (http://north24parganas.gov.in) Public Grievance Redressal System PVR Monitoring System MPR & MIS for MGNREGA GPF Accounting of Gr.-D Staffs LAIS [Land Acquisition] Online Recruitment System Integrated Network Backboe [INB-N24P] Network-Cum-Data Centre [NDC-N24P] VoIP Services Data Managment of RSBY Inventry Management [Under implementation] SEVOTTAM certification under process eGovernance initiatives in North 24 Parganas in news

4. 4 Implementation of eOffice..... An achievement towards eGovernance initiatives Background Citizen Service delivery in the era of information and communication technology is becoming very demanding. With enactment of Right to Information Act in year, 2005, gone are the day of secrecy unaccountability. RTI Act, 2005 envisages digitization and indexing of the official records within 120 days of the enactment of the Act. 5 years had already passed after the implementation of the Act and the status of data was in very and shabby condition. It was becoming difficult on the part of district administration in protecting the rights of the citizens as far as the information was concerned. Additionally, the methodology of providing services to the citizen was still based on old Totenham system and on the Practice and Procedure described in Bengal Secretariat Manual and Practice and Procedure Manual 1964. The system of physical files was leading to several complications in the citizen service delivery. Challenges faced  Lack of transparency & accountability  Manual system vulnerable to corrupt practices  Delay in the decision making process due to multiple levels of physical file movement  No automated system for tracking papers/Files/Cases  Loss of Papers/files  Difficulty in Record Management  Limited information sharing  Inaccessibility of Files during absence of an Officer/Staff  No means to measure citizen service delivery Paper & File processing statistics  As a citizen service provider, there is a huge influx of papers from various sources, approx. 100000 in a year.  On an average 1000 new files get created in a financial year  Each active file runs for approx. 5 years before going to the record room

5. District Administration was seeking an electronic solution to  Digitize legacy files.  Process files electronically  Track & Monitor DAK  Accelerate Decision Making process  Establish a Central repository of common documents  Provide efficient citizen service delivery  Engage, empower and measure human resources  Streamline the Non-Plan expenditure (space, consumables & non-consumables) eOffice suite of NIC, was best suited for the Collectorate  Based on the Central Secretariat Manual of eOffice procedures of DAR&PG  Strategic control of the application and data as per the NeGP guidelines  Role Based Access Mechanism  Electronic File Processing System  Central Repository of Documents with Managed Access  Single Employee Directory  Management Information System 5 Genesis of the Project

6. Strengthening of IT/ICT Infrastructure of Collectorate  Integrated Network Backbone [INB-N24P][INB-N24P]  Network-Cum-Data Centre [NDC-N24P][NDC-N24P]  Thick Client/Thin Client for all officials  IP Based Voice Communication Services 6 Groundwork for the Project Change Management : Conducted several meetings, brainstorming sessions with employees to do a SWOT analysis Government Process : Identifying the processes that required re-engineering Re-engineering Standardization : File Naming Convention as per the DARPG standard system, Templates, forms, etc. Digitization : Scanning of old documents and files Resource Personnel : Identified Champions in each section to drive the project Capacity Building : Increasing computer proficiency before eOffice The success and efficiency of an e-Governance project depends critically on the quality and extent of the network and its availability in an organization.

7. Setting up of Network-Cum-Data Centre [NDC-N24P] in the Collectorate  4 High End servers  SAN Storage  Backup through LTO  Remote backup (NDC and WBNIC-DC)  Disaster Recovery Network Campus wide LAN  Integrated Network Backbone – North 24 Parganas (INB-N24P), 1000 nodes in 20 buildings spread in an area of 2.1 sq. km WAN [NICNET & Internet Gateway]  Primary [BSNL 34 Mbps MLLN]  Secondary Failover [Railtel 34 Mbps MLLN] Hardware  206 Thin clients and Desktops for users  4 High level Scanners  25 Middle level Scanners  20 Small Scanners 7 Establishment of Core IT/ICT Infrastructure

8. 8 Implementation Plan PhasesPhase NameActivities Phase 0Base work for Implementation  Data Collection  DSC Creation & Configuration  Installation and Configuration of Servers & Application Phase 1Pre- Implementation Planning  Preparation of Roadmap for Implementation  Study of the working style  Study of File Naming Convention  Finalization of folder structure for KMS  Standardization of File Naming  Infrastructure Gap Analysis  Procurement of Hardware Phase 2Capacity Building  Training Design  Training and Assessment Phase 3Transition  Government Process Re-engineering  Migration of existing data Phase 4Going LIVE  eOffice is fully functional  Support extended by the team at Collectorate

9. Government Process Re-engineering – Revising the extant systems and reengineering the existing processes to increase efficiency and cut down delays and superfluous steps Extensive interaction and communication to buy-in support from stakeholders – Conducting workshops and brainstorming session with the staff – Regular interaction to develop a sense of ownership among the employees Setting up a Central Digitization and Migration Centre – Scanning of all active physical files and old records – File Migration Setting up a Training & Handholding Centre for eOffice Establishing a Knowledge Repository of documents – All documents organized in a structured directory – Role based access given to employees for information sharing and retrieval Publishing Notices & Circulars through portal Specially designed capacity building programme for all the eOffice users – The training was designed with elective modules to cater to employees with varied skill sets. 9 Administrative Reforms & Innovations

10. Every document which enters the departments gets accounted for eOffice has infused transparency in all transactions Delay caused by the physical carrying of files from one desk to another got eliminated Paper processing time has gone down by 2-3 days per file Decision making is not getting delayed due to the absence of any officer Sections have become cleaner and free from bulky physical files Management Information System for monitoring Efficient citizen service delivery by sections such as MGNREGA, SSM, etc. Responding to RTI queries became very easy as information retrieval became faster Data Security: Zero loss of papers and files post the implementation of project Dynamic Inventory of all documents and Files in the electronic system Officers are no longer carrying files back home to complete pending work Flexi work timings as now files are available in electronic space 24*7 10 Objectives fulfilled

11. eOffice as a platform for enabling ‘Single Window Service Delivery’ by integrating all backend processes and applications Opening access to citizen for letter and file tracking Bringing all Zilla Parishads and Blocks under the ambit of eOffice 11 Long term Goals

12. Technology and Security measures – Based on Open Source Technology – No license fee involved – System is enabled over https – User Authentication through Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) – Digital Signatures used for Authentication and Signing – Built in encryption mechanism to ensure data security Training and Support Model – Fully ICT equipped Training Centre – Dedicated eOffice Helpdesk at 233 (033-25846233) – Regular capability building programmes by experienced resources – Dedicated support from NIC 12 Sustainability of the Project

13. Innovative project management process Quick Deployment to any other organization with minimum data customization Simplified processes and generic SOPs easy for adoption by other agencies Innovative use of technology to bring reforms in Administration and Bureaucracy Customized and elective Employee Capacity Building Program One of its kind of projects which acts as a epicenter for internal organizational reforms Model successfully adopted by Collectorate, South 24 Parganas and District Sindhudurg, Jalna, Nandurbar, Maharashtra 13 Replication of Best Practices

14. eOffice at a glance... platform for efficient, effective and transparent inter and intra departmental transactions and processes. 14 Unified File Management System (eFile) Knowledge Management System (KMS) Collaboration and Messaging Services (CAMS) * Personnel Information and Management System (PIMS) * Leave Automation System (eLeave) *Under Implementation * Tour Automation System (eTour)

15. Unified File Management System … automates the processing of files and receipts

16. Dashboard : Monitoring Pendency

17. Receipt Diarisation: Scanning, uploading & metadata entry of Inward Letter

18. Receipt Forwarding

19. Receipt Sent items: Tracking Sent receipts

20. File Creation: Creation of new eFiles

21. Receipt Attachment : Attachment of Inward letters now termed as Receipts to the relevant files

22. File Work Area : Noting, Correspondence, Draft, References, Linked files, Movements, Details, Digital Signatures, Sending, Closing etc.

23. File Forwarding

24. File Sent items : List of forwarded files for easy tracking

25. File Movement History

26. Search : Quick and Easy retrieval of Receipts, Files and Dispatched letters

27. Search : Quick & Easy retrieval of Receipts, Files & Dispatched letters

28. MIS Reports

29. Knowledge Management System …centralized knowledge bank for information sharing, retrieving & archiving

30. Central Repository : Organized storage of documents in KMS

31. Knowledge Repository : List of recently shared documents

32. 32 Project Highlights First District in the country to implement eOffice, inaugurated by Chief Ministerinaugurated by Chief Minister Running Since: August, 2011 Total Users: 588 No. of LIVE Department/Sections: 45 Active Files: 17,108 Total Files Digitized: 20,200 File Movement : 1,31,719 Issue of outgoing letters: 76,011 Receipt diarized: 1,26,960

33. SL. No. Key Performance Indicators Before ImplementationAfter Implementation 01Time taken in DAK to reach the section after receiving A minimum of 3 daysSame day (By the Evening) 02Time taken in putting the DAK to concerned file At least one HourWithin a Minute 03Searching of Paper/FileNeed to go to every section where it has been sent for status checking From System can be seen online 04DependencyPerson DependentPerson Independent 05Loss of Paper/FileVery FrequentDoes not happen, as it is stored digitally 06RTI ComplianceWas DifficultInformation is being provided within days of application 07Supervision & MonitoringWas very cumbersome and person dependentOnline MIS can be generated and work pendency at each level can be ascertained immediately 08Knowledge ManagementUsed to be done in the form of Guard File, which was property of that particular department Is being done in the form of KMS which is an organization wide knowledge Sharing System 09Beneficiary FeedbackEarlier, when the beneficiary used to come for checking the status of the file, either paper used to be lost or file used to be unavailable at that date. And, beneficiary used to go unsatisfied Now, once entered into the system, no paper or file can be lost. Again, beneficiary can be given feedback by anyone and on urgent matter it can be disposed by higher officials even when lower level employees are on leave or sitting on the file 10Round the Clock OfficeBy the Office timeNow, it is available 24x7 on 365 days. In future, one can go for Flexi Office or Mobile Office 11Process SimplificationWas CumbersomeProcess Re-engineering was done and all unnecessary slack has been removed and only critical activity remains the part of the system 12Working EnvironmentWas Dusty and Files littered everywhereClean and Hygienic environment Outcome & Impact after implementation of eOffice

34. Before eOffice vs After eOffice ONLINE ACCESSQUICK SEARCH DISASTER RECOVERY SMS/EMAIL ALERTSCENTRAL REPOSITORYWORKFLOW ARCHIVALDISTRIBUTION SECURITY VERSION CONTROL WORKFLOW SECURITY SEARCH CENTRAL REPOSITORY ADMINISTRATION SECTION Forms Rules VS LESS EFFICIENTMULTIPLE COPIESMORE TIME STORAGE SPACEINCREASED COSTS MANUAL SEARCH

42. Lessons Learnt from the achievement Project LeaderSuccessful projects require an empowered leader with a dedicated team who can conceptualize and implement e-Governance projects with the help of officials at all levels and technological solution providers Holistic ApproachBeing a complex eGovernance project having various critical components a holistic approach is needed during implementation. Adequate time and resources need to be devoted in conceptualization, implementation and maintenance of the project. ePreparednessePreparedness of the organization must be kept in mind while planning for the project and fixing time frames. ParticipationActive involvement of staff and capacity building is necessary for success of the project. Changing the mindset of the government employee who are use to work only in the manual mode. This is a big task and needs patience and careful planning. Workshops, seminars and training programmes are required to be organized to spread awareness among the employees at all levels. Government servants need to be motivated to adapt and work in ICT environment. ICT InfrastructureThere should be end to end computerization. Sharing of LeasonImportant lessons can be drawn from the experience of other organization in similar projects. Security & PrivacyTwo major concerns in the IT implementation should be addressed on urgent basis - the security and privacy. ConfidenceSteps must be initiated to generate confidence among the individuals and organization.

43. Thank You