October 2012 - Informatics
October 2012 - Informatics
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Lead StoryHon’ble Home Minister Sh. P. Chidambaram, Inaugurating theCentral IVFRT Office at DMRC Building Shashtri ParkHon'ble Home Minister Sh. P. Chidambaram during the Groupmeetingplan to divert most of the paymenttraffic to the online channel.Applicant takes online appointmentfor meeting registration officials tosubmit physical copy of the supportingdocument, provide biometrics andinterview for registration. Based on theappointment dates relevant UCF datacan be pushed or pulled to the specificFRRO / FRO office. Applicant arrivesfor interview on specified date.Documents generated during theregistration process are also linked tothe central record.C FormC Forms are also automated and areuploaded through an online mediumby hotels, hospitals, hostels,dharmashalas, and universities to thecentral system. The relevant FRRO /FRO will have access to this data andwill be updated in the UCF for analysispurposes, generating risk assessments,tracking as well as generation of alerts.Other vital ApplicationsBesides all these, other vital moduleslike online NRI/ PIO RegistrationSystem, Indian Citizenship, OverseasCitizenship of India (OCI), Armslicense database are being operational.Present Status of IVFRTl Installation/ upgradation ofinfrasrtucture at 78 ICPs.l ICS software is functional at all ICPsl Networking of ICPs with CFB.l Installation of PRMs, QDXmachines, Web Cameras & CCTV forImmigration requirements.l Centralized APIS implemented atAirports.l Facility made available at importantICPs for access to Passport Visa date.l Online submission of Visaapplication module implemented at 81missions abroad.l FRRO Registration moduleimplemented at all 7 FRROs & 3FROs.l Integration of ICS Software withVisa Module implemented.l Immigration Support Centre & VisaSupport Centre become functional.l Central IVFRT office established atShastri Park.l Online submission of ‘C’ Formmodule implemented.FinaleAs per the set milestones of MMP-IVFRT, NIC has successfully achievedthe set targets in the stipulated timeframe. But, still many more targets areto be achieved and need based featuresare to be added as per the emergingrequirements of stake holders. Theareas where replications/strengthening are to be done arenetworking of ICPs and Missions,digitization of D/E Cards, installationof at modern ICT equipments at ICPs,implementation of Biometrics,development of SW for intigrationwith Custom establishment of DisasterRecovery Centre for IVFRT.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONDr. B.N.ShettyDeputy Director GeneralNational <strong>Informatics</strong> CentreA-Block, CGO Complex,Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110003.T:+911124362753/24305153F:+911124392225<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 7
E-Gov Products & ServicesAUDIT STATUS MONITORING SYSTEM V 3.0-A SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING WEB APPLICATION SECURITY AUDIT SERVICESEdited byR. GAYATRIABOUT WEB APPLICATIONSECURITY AUDIT SERVICES ATNICStrengthening and enhancing thesecurity posture of systems and servicesis one of the objectives of anyorganization dealing with informationassets of different organizations anddepartments of Government of India.The Cyber Security Division of NIC isdedicated to this task, having adopted amulti-pronged approach to security.This includes deployment of therequisite technical solutions at theGateway and Network level andassociated monitoring of the traffic andalerts raised.In the other arm of this securityapproach, Vulnerability assessment andthe consequent remediation are beingundertaken as a process for the largenumber of exposed surfaces of the Websites and Web applications hosted onmany of the servers on NICNET. Thisincludes formulation of Web ApplicationSecurity Audit policy, procedures andtheir implementation in addition toconduction of awareness buildingtraining and hand holding exercises.Consequently, today all concerned,including all NIC coordinators as well asSNIGDHA ACHARYATechnical DirectorNIC, Odishausers and site owners of variousGovernment Organizations play anactive role in complying with Auditpolicy and in working towards the goalof a secured Information systems hostingenvironment. All of the above are now apart of the Web Application SecurityAudit services being undertaken at NIC.The primary requirement in rollingout of this service was (1) maintainingthe service delivery in the context of anAudit life cycle of a site/application fromdevelopment to rollout in production (2)maintaining the context and interactionbetween different agencies/users amidstrising volumes of constant interactions.This had raised the requirement for theAudit Status Monitoring System.ABOUT AUDIT STATUSMONITORING SYSTEM (ASMS)The ASMS is a role based workflowsystem, available on thehttps://security.nic.in for facilitatingenforcement of the Audit policy andtracking the progression of a Request foraudit from submission to Clearance forHosting by all participating agenciesthroughout NICNET. This is an Intranetbased system for authenticated andauthorized users. Over the years it hasevolved to include registered users tonon-registered/IntraNIC users andemerged from targeting data center atIDC New Delhi to include other datacenters on NICNET.SALIENT FEATURES OF THISAPPLICATIONl Online submission of audit requests byregistered/non-registered users.l Tracking the status of audit of a sitewith Search facility and reportsl Maintaining the work schedule ofAuditorsl Notification for Reports download,audit status etc. to usersl Generation of clearance note andnotifying site coordinators and DataCentre AdministratorTECHNICAL FEATURESl File System and Database basedReport Archivesl Integration with LDAP authenticationl Implementation of role based accesscontrol logicl Graphical Dashboards for statisticaldatal E-Mail Integrationl Inclusion of a more consistent anduniform user interface giving a better UInavigation experience.Audit State: Typically a request maybe in the following states: Queued,Assigned, Accepted, Paused,Resumed, completed and Cleared.The following roles are facilitated:Auditor: is a professional auditor whotakes up the tasks as per the scope ofwork laid down by Cyber Securitydivision and is responsible forundertaking security audit of the websites/applications. Report ofvulnerability findings is uploaded andsite coordinators notified for furtherremedial action through the system.Site owner(SO) / State WebCoordinator(SWC) : is an NIC officialwho submits a request for securityaudit and is able to track the progress.The auditor’s reports are used by8 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
E-Gov Products & ServicesFig. 1 Audit ProcessFig. 2 Audit work flow and the interacting agenciesthese roles for remediation ifvulnerabilities exist. (Ref. fig. 3 below)Coordinator: He maintains the flowamong the different roles and reflectsupdates on the system as per actiontaken and other data keepingactivities. Broadly the tasksundertaken include but not limited toPriority determination of auditrequests, assignment to auditors,Sending report download notificationto users, Generation of ClearanceNote and notifying Users and DataCenters, Manage Auditor WorkScheduleetc..Data Center: The data centreadministrator responsible formigration of the application from testserver into production servers canaccess the information on sites clearedfor hosting and the correspondingclearance notes. Data Centers in thisrole include Internet Data Center(IDC) Delhi, Laxmi Nagar DataCenter (LNDC), National DataCenter (NDC) in Pune andHyderabad and other Data Centers(DC) in NICNET.Other roles have been provisionedincluding Management for reportingpurposes, SSL for SSL administrators ofthe common infrastructure providers,appsec monitoring, advancedmonitoring, audit report review by usersundertaking compliance check relatedactivities, Office for entry of offlinerequests and moderation of direct onlinerequest. (Ref. fig. 4 below)BENEFITSl Helps site owner track the progress inaudit of their relevant requestl Helps Coordinators keep track ofcontext of the many requests flowingthrough the system from source to sink.l Helps auditors to give due attention tothe assignments as per priorityinformation.l The historical purview of WebApplication Audit process of any webapplication hosted within NICNETdomain can be ascertained with ease. Ifany new vulnerability is traced which isnot reported in the Audit process, aperformance depth analysis of Auditprocess activity can be carried out.FUTURE ENHANCEMENTSIncorporation of digitally signedclearance notes for issuance to the Datacenters.Fig. 3 State Web Coordinator ConsoleFig. 4 DC console: View of Green sheet for site clearance<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 9
E-Gov Products & ServicesTRANSACTION TERMINALSIN E-GOVERNANCE(“DEVISING” E-GOVERNANCE APPLICATIONS)Transaction Terminal isa mobile handhelddata terminal whichhas the ability tocapture, process andtransmit information tohost computers in realtime. New models ofhand held devicescome with seamlessconnectivity optionslike GSM/GPRS, CDMAand Ethernet. Also,they support all thepayment relatedlogical interfaces forMagnetic stripe reader,Smart card reader andoptional Contact-lesscard reader.V. GOPISWAMINATHANPrincipal Systems AnalystNIC,Puducherrygopi.pon@nic.inEdited byR. GAYATRIINTRODUCTIONOver the decades, the functioning ofthe major e-governance applications isaimed at automating the processes of theGovernment. With the internet came inexistence, there is a paradigm shift in thedevelopment of applications as they arepresent in web. The cyber security,electronic payment gateway, businessprocess outsourcing are some of the newterminologies found in our applicationsas more and more stake holders arepresent between citizens andgovernment. Invariably, in all theseapplications, the internet is the basicrequirement and the netizens submit hisonline application, grievance, paymentsfrom his office or at home or from abrowsing centre either technicallydependent or independent.But, citizen perspectives fromGovernment expect fairness and ease indealings; let it come to him manually,mechanically or electronically.. In mostof the occasions, a computer across thecounter requires authentic verification ofthe individual with various documentsfor proof. There is always a complaintthat this process is time consuming. If theapplication is online, the servercomputer authenticates the user atvarious levels before a securedtransaction occur.In these situations, a “Handy” solutionis readily available for the e-governanceapplications which is the usage of “Handheld Terminals” otherwise called as Pointof Sale(PoS) systems.WHAT IS A TRANSACTIONTERMINAL?It is a mobile handheld data terminalwhich has the ability to capture, processand transmit information to hostcomputers in real time. The simple userfriendlydesign allows you to operatewith ease. The device can be integratedwith external barcode reader, built incontactless smart card reader. Some ofthe hand held devices have in-builtfingerprint scanner designed to specificapplications like PDS, NREGA etc., forbiometric authentication for beneficiarytransactions.SPECIFICATIONSNormally the widely available HandHeld terminals available in India have128 x 64 pixel LCD Graphic with LEDback light. These hand held devices usesprocessors like Marvell PXA270 ,ARM9. Also, the memory ranges from128MB to 1 GB with flash memoryLinux and Windows CE Operatingsystems are widely used in these devices.Custom keypads are available withfunction keys for paper feed, cancel andbar code reader options. These devicescan be used in Indian climatic conditionsfor carrying to remote locations. Also,applications are designed integrated withvoice response for transactionssupporting WAV and MP3 files.ANSI 378 is the interoperabilitystandard for fingerprint templates and10 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
E-Gov Products & Servicesthe hand held devices basically shouldsupport the template formats. Similarly,ISO/IEC 19794-4 specifies fingerprintsimage standard and ISO/IEC 14794-2for minutiae data standard. Generally,the hand held terminals are compliant toboth ANSI 378/ISO 19794-2 formats.WHERE THE HAND HELD DEVICESARE BEST FITTED?Over the last decade, hundreds of webenabled e-government systems havebeen deployed in India. It needscitizens’ participation and transparencyin operations. Electronic Payment ofBills including utility services likeElectricity Bills, Telephone bills can bepaid electronically and thus citizens canavoid going to receipt counters of thecorporation or post offices and standingin long queues for payment of theirelectricity bills. Though theseapplications are available in web it hadevoked partial response.Apart from these, the majorapplications like Public DistributionSystem, Property Tax payments,Disbursement of Aid or materialsthrough camps can be done with Handheld devices. In all these systems, thecomputers need not be situated or takento citizen doorsteps. Only the handy PoSdevices can be taken by the official forthe safe transactions.The Hand held devices helps thesolutions provider inl Centralized server update and receiptprintingl Productivity enhancement of staffl Real time inventory managementl Avoid book record keepingl Reduce fraudl Secure transactions using biometricauthenticationl Transactions updated in real time oncentral serverl Updated customer data at centralserver without carrying a computersystem or laptop towards the citizen.PROBLEM UNDERSTANDINGA well defined work flow is requiredto implement a successful Hand helddevice based system. If a system isaddressing to a huge recordsgeographically distributed and updatethe transactions every month byverifying and authenticating theindividual, the hand held device is thebest tool for implementing the same.The system requires clear work flowfor the following:HAND HELD TERMINAL IN PDSAPPLICATIONA typical application of the Hand heldterminal is now can be seen in PDSapplications of few states. In PDSapplication, a state may have a back-enddatabase of card holders, the quantity ofcommodities issued to each FP Shop.The state PDS system requires aneffective mechanism to monitor thedelivery of commodities to the rationcard holders through FP Shops. Here,the Hand held terminal serves thepurpose.l The system should have thecapability to move the enumerated datato PoS or smart card for makingtransactions.l If a Citizen is visiting the FP Shop,then he has to bring or produce therelevant smart card based ID card orration card for verification.l Biometric fingerprint authenticationis done using handheld terminal bycomparing the fingerprint data availablein Smart card with the individual. Thisensures secure transactions.l If the Hand held terminal is used forissuing commodities from a FP Shop,either a bar code available in the rationcard or smart card will be verified for theeligibility or the category of the citizen.The FP dealer will also have a smart cardcontaining the card holders details, pricepolicy, and quantity of bags lifted fromwarehouse.l After verification, the official issuesthe commodities to the beneficiary andhands over receipt generated using inbuiltprinter in handheld terminal.l Two receipts can be generated: onefor beneficiary and another for officialpurpose.l The transaction details can be storedin handheld terminal / smart card.l Data is uploaded from handheldterminal to central server in ONLINEmode through GSM/GPRS, CDMA, orPSTN mode of communication or inOFFLINE mode using USB drive.Batch mode updation is also possible forbulk updation at any interval on a day.l Reports at various levels aregeneratedFor the above processes, a customizedapplication is required in Hand heldterminal.A custom built MIS can bedeveloped to monitor the online modeupdations at the central server and thecollections across the districts or a placecan be seen online.With the above features, the registersmaintained in FP Shops are madeelectronic, and closing stock of FP Shopare made online. Simultaneously, thedelivery to card holders are trackedonline by the department.Sufficient study is required and designdocument containing Hand heldterminal specifications, smart cardspecifications and the applicationspecifications are required for thecomplete functioning of the system.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONV. Gopi SwaminathanPrincipal Systems Analyst, NIC,PuducherryEmail: gopi.pon@nic.in<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 11
E-Gov Products & ServicesCOLLABORATION AND MESSAGING SERVICEeOffice-CAMS is focused onproviding effectivecommunication betweendepartmental applicationsthrough collaboration andthe obvious solution is tohave Collaborative service.The idea is to facilitateaction oriented team towork together over ageographical distance andlet internal users, systemsand departments tocommunicate. Collaboration(act of working jointly) isthe only way to make users,systems and departmentsto communicate effectively.YERUR SIRAJ AHMEDScientific Officer/Engineer –SBsiraj.ahmed@nic.inPh.No: 9718515553Edited byVivek VermaINTRODUCTIONCommunication is an importantfacet of life. Effective communicationcenters around the usage of words,speed of delivery of words, mediaused, place and time ofcommunication. Users need to beupdated about transactions ormodification from the departmentalapplications. By providing applicationupdate to the users, interest to use theapplication is generated. The issue is tofacilitate action oriented team to worktogether over a geographical distanceand let internal users, systems anddepartments to communicate. Theobvious solution to the issue is to havea collaborative service. Collaboration(act of working jointly) is the only wayto make users, systems anddepartments to communicateeffectively and the service to workjointly is called Collaborative Services.The article describes how the eOffice-CAMS will help in collaborating (forcommunicating and be updated aboutthe applications).BACKGROUNDThere are various definitions forCollaboration with respect toInformation technology. There arethree primary ways in which humaninteract: Conversational interaction,Transactional interaction andCollaborativeinteraction.Conversational interaction justexchanges information between twoparticipants, where the primarypurpose of the interaction is discoveryor relationship building like InstantMessaging Service (IMS), email etc.Transactional interaction, involves theexchange of transaction entities wherea major function of the transactionentity is to alter the relationshipbetween participants. For example, theuser inviting other users to attend ameeting place a role of organizer andthe users who attend are called asparticipants. Collaborative interactionis to alter a collaboration entity (i.e.converse of transactional entity) likedocument management, threadeddiscussions etc.TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS ANDARCHITECTUREThe question that arises aboutHOW, WHAT, WHEN, WHOM andWHERE to collaborate. The obviousanswer is using text or media,anything, anytime and anywhere. ButWHERE to start collaboration stillexists. The most obvious answer wasthe WEB and we started with Intranet(eOffice). Answering WHOM tocollaborate was difficult, as it would beunfair if it is restricted to a specificperson or users of a department. Thereis no restriction with respect tocollaborating users and for users of adepartment. Then comes the WHATquestion which needed a little bit ofunderstanding. Consider looking at the12 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
E-Gov Products & Servicesmeaning of collaboration from adifferent point of view. Instead ofhaving users work jointly, it’s themodules that will help users tocollaborate upon identical operation.Few of the services have beenidentified which are being used bydifferent modules of Intranet likesharing, alerts, notifying users,updating with new features etc. Theidentified services answers the WHATquestion. The approach was to haveapplication(s) over the existing intranetapplications. Two applications namelyeTalk and eAlerts were identified.Basic version of eTalk includes Chatand eAlerts notifies users about anychanges on documents / appointments/ events / files from already existingmodules (i.e. KMS, appointments etc.)from eOffice.The functionality of eTalk andeAlerts actually answers HOW. Theapplication is developed independentof all the intranet applications. In orderto have chatting facility anywhere, thedesign of eTalk was developed in sucha way that it was independent of allother applications. For which purposeall the end points (frontend, backendand information exchange) fromwhere these features are accessible aremade independent. eTalk wasdeveloped as an independent modulewith basic functionality of Chatting(simple text messages). A JavaScriptAPI (Application ProgrammingInterface) was developed and madeopenly available to be used by all theintranet applications. Currently eTalkcan be seen accessible from all thepages of intranet (“Active Users” atbottom right corner of every page).HOW IT WORKS?All the most common functionalities(i.e. Chatting, Send IM, Add Contact,eTalk status, Availability etc) wereidentified and made as a page (frontend HTML) in eTalk. In order to havethese accessible from all applications,an API is written which is madeopenly accessible to be used by allother applications. Sample templatealong with JavaScript code wasprovided to all the modules to beincluded in their applications. TheJavaScript code handled all thefunctionality from the frontend.Fig 2. eTalk feature setIn order to have all these features tobe called from frontend, the featureswere inherited in the backend (on theserver) and were being called fromfrontend.ADVANTAGESl Active participation of Users -facilitates the users to activelyparticipate to use these resources.l One stop access point to alldisintegrated application and servicesl Direct manipulation - users can work& update their contact details fromanywherel Ease of use - intuitive design andeasy to use web interfacel Interoperability - combining ofdifferent applications and their data asone instance.l Flexibility - The application isflexible in nature as new features canbe inherited and called upon.l Reusability of the alert mechanismby other department applications.IS THAT ALL, THAT CAN BECOLLABORATED?The obvious answer is NO. So farwe have collaborated eOfficeFig 1: Architecture Diagram of e-OfficeCAMSapplications and its services. If theseservices are extended to other servicesof departments., like eGranthalaya willnotify users about list of new booksthat are being taken or remind specificusers about the last date of the booksissued (through alerts). SimilarlyAccounts Division can send alerts tousers about their payments or tour billclearances.SCOPEThis section defines the scope ofthese applications. Use of theseapplications is not limited to either e-Office or other departments. Due tothe independent nature of theapplication it can also be inherited orcalled using the API from otherministries which have e-Office and thedivisions of these ministries.CONCLUSIONContinuous integration of newfeatures from eOffice applications isstill going on. Updating API functionsand development of new APIfunctions are being developed to beused by eOffice applications and otherdepartment applications. This topic isnot just restricted to collaboratingusers, but rather the data and thedocuments, which can be called asMASHUP (is a web page orapplication that combines data,functionality from two or more sourceto create a new service).Happy Collaborating!!!<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 13
From the StatesASSAM -IMPLEMENTING INNOVATIVE ICT PROJECTSAssam - famous for its teaand one-horned rhinoceros,popularly called the land ofred river and blue hills, isthe gateway to thenortheastern India. Themighty Brahmaputra, oneof the most powerful riversof the world, flows throughthe state. The majorfestivals celebrated inAssam are Bihu, Baishagu,Ali-Ai-Ligang, Durga Pujaetc.Edited byPRASHANT BELAWARIARThe state of Assam has alarge number of tribeseach unique in itstradition, culture, dressesand exotic way of life. They have theirown colorful festivals like Bihu,Baishagu, Ali-Ai-Ligang, Durga Pujaetc.NIC Assam State Centre is equippedwith state of the art NetworkOperation Centre and a Data Centreat New Sachivalaya Complex inDispur. The official website(http://assam.gov.in) of thegovernment of Assam is a rich sourceof information and highlights many e-governance activities of the state. TheAssam Online portal(http://online.assam.gov.in) provideslink to several e-services launched bythe state apart from currant events,Business activities etc.MIS FOR STATE LEVEL BANKERS’COMMITTEE (SLBC)State Level Bankers’ Committee(SLBC) is an important forum for coordinationbetween the StateGovernment and banks on mattersrelating to development banking. Theforum takes the lead in initiating,streamlining and accelerating theprocess of development in close coordinationwith various governmentdepartments, Reserve Bank of India,NABARD and others.The SLBC with its head quarters atGuwahati meets once a quarter toDEEPAK GOSWAMISenior Technical Director &State <strong>Informatics</strong> Officersio-asm@nic.inTASIRUDDIN AHMEDScientist-E<strong>Informatics</strong> CorrespondentAssamasm-tasir@nic.in(Website - Govt. of Assam )14 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
From the Statesreview/monitor the followingactivitieslimplementation of variousGovernment sponsored programs bythe financial institutions operating inthe NE states.l quarterly progress of theimplementation of Annual Credit Planand other agencies sponsored creditlinkedprograms in the districts.l flow of credit into rural areas and tothe small borrowers in the neglectedsectors.l recovery performance.l Credit Deposit Ratio, Priority SectorAdvances to Weaker Sections,financing of Minority Communitiesetc.To meet the requirement of theSLBC an online ManagementInformation System for SLBC hasbeen developed by NIC, Assam StateCentre, for reviewing and monitoringof all the activities of member banks.The system uses Open Source Stacki.e. PHP technology with MySQL asRDBMS and Apache as ApplicationServer to maintain portability to anyplatform with minimum effort.THE QUARTERLY INPUTS FROMALL THE MEMBER BANKS ARE ASFOLLOWS1. Public Sector Banks providenecessary inputs like Agricultural Loan(Direct/Indirect), Financial Inclusion,Progress and Recovery under variousgovt. sponsored schemes,Finance/Disbursal to/Under Micro,Small and Medium Enterprise(MSME) Sector, Details of AnnualCredit Plan, Advances details of allsectors, Coverage of un bankedVillages etc.2. District-level Lead Bank provideinputs like performance and progressThe SLBC web application showing Analysis of Priority Sector Advances.of various Govt. sponsored Schemes,Crop Loan, Annual Credit Plan (ACP)etc.VARIOUS REPORTS GENERATEDBY THE SYSTEM AREi) Analysis of Total Priority Sector,Advances under Agriculture, Industry,Services and Crop Loan.ii) Advances to Sensitive Sector,Other Sensitive Sector, MinoritiesCommunity.iii) Recovery position under SwarnaJayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana(SGSY), Prime Minister EmploymentGeneration Program (PMEGP), KVICMargin Money Scheme, SwarnaJayanti Sahari Rojgar Yojana (SJSRY),Transport Operator Scheme, BAKIJAICases,iv) Financial position under TeaSector and Rural Housing Scheme.v) Financing under Self Help Group(SHG) and Housing Scheme.vi) Finance disbursal under Micro,Small and MediumEnterprises(MSMEs)vii) Progress under FinancialInclusion – Issue of General purposeCredit Card (GCC), Opening of NoFrills Accounts, Coverage of Unbanked Villages.viii) Performance under PMEGP,SJSRY, SGSY, Transport Operator,Annual Credit Plan.ix) Target and Achievement ofAnnual Credit Plan (ACP).ELECTORAL ROLL MANAGEMENTSYSTEM (ERMS)The Electoral Roll ManagementSystem (ERMS) enables the StateChief Electoral Office to maintain‘Electoral Roll’ of the state in astandardized and uniform database asspecified by the Election Commissionof India .The ERMS developed byNIC, Assam in ASP.Net 3.5 and SQLServer 2005 comprises of the followingmodules:-l Porting of data –The modulefacilitates porting of existing data fromAccess database to the correspondingtables of Assembly Constituency.<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 15
From the Statesl Conversion of font to Unicode andTransliteration to English - To complywith the instructions of theCommission to have a bi-lingualdatabase in all states the modulefacilitates conversion to Unicodecompliant font using the encodingclass of asp.net 3.5 and transliterationof Unicode data to Englishl Summary Revision and ContinuousUpdation of Electoral Rolls – thismodule allows addition of new namesto the Electoral Rolls (Form-6),deletion of existing names (Form-7),modification of existing names (Form-8) and Transposition of names withinthe same constituency (Form-8a)where an existing name in a pollingstation gets deleted and is added to anew polling station.l Integration of Supplementary datawith Mother Roll – this moduleintegrates the supplementary data ofsummary revision and continuousupdation with the existing ElectoralRoll for publishing of final ElectoralRoll.The Chief Electoral Office hasstarted the process of Photo mergingfor electoral rolls. The Kamrup(metropolitan) district was first shortlisted for the launch as the pilot projectwhich was later rolled out throughoutthe State.The Photo Merging moduledeveloped in Asp Net 3.5 and SqlServer 2005 consists of :l Electoral Details Form – Formshaving individual electoral data(except D-voters) were generated anddistributed by the Booth Level Officers(BLOs) for collection of electorsphotographs.l Photo upload – After collection ofelectoral details form the photographsare merged with the existing electoralroll database. Photographs arecaptured from the form using a webcam and the software resizes thecaptured photograph as per the ECIspecification. The photographs areuploaded in binary format with sizenot more than 20KBl Report for verification of uploadedphotos.l Weekly report for monitoringprogress of photo mergingconstituency wise.l Printing of Electoral Rolls withphotographs.MIS FOR PPP PROJECTSPublic Private Partnerships (PPP) isabout bringing together socialpriorities and the managerial skills ofthe private sector, relieving thegovernment from the burden of largecapital expenditure and the risk of costoverruns to the private sector. Insteadof transferring public assets to theprivate sector, as in case ofprivatisation, the government andbusiness work together to provideservices under PPP mode. BroadlyPPP refers to an agreement betweengovernment and the private sector forHon’ble Chief Minister of Assam ShriTarun Gogoi inaugurated the MIS forPPP Projects on February 14, <strong>2012</strong>.providing public services and /orinfrastructure facilities.A web-based software(http://misassamppp.gov.in) wasdeveloped for the Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) Cell under thePlanning & Development Department,Government of Assam.SALIENT FEATURESThe application was developed onopen sourced platform ofPHP/MySQL using Code Igniter aPHP standard MVC framework whichprovides multiple features.l The application maintains adirectory of all the stake holders andagencies involved in the all the PPPprojects.l It enables various stake holders ofthe projects to upload the progressdata online thus replacing the tediousand time consuming manual process.l All the stake holders can view eachother’s project information withoutany hassle.l The public interface of theapplication enables citizen to have anupdate on the details and progress ofany project thereby bringing incomplete transparency.l The software serves as a monitoring16 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
From the Statesas well as reporting tool for the P&DDepartment.l The system enables various users tosubmit their feedback.Various participating governmentdepartments and private organizationshave been imparted necessary trainingfor using the application. Presently theapplication is available in the publicdomain and is fully operational.CALL ANALYSIS AND TRACKINGSYSTEMTracking and analysis of MobilePhone calls of suspects plays animportant role in investigation ofcrime and thus identifying thesuspects/criminals. In order to trackand contain them, the policedepartment needs to analyze CallDetail Report (CDR) of the suspectsreceived in varied formats from themobile service providers. Thusavailability of relevant and timelyinformation attains utmost importancein investigation. To meet therequirement of the police departmenta computerized system - Call Analysisand Tracking System (CATS) has beendeveloped by NIC, State Centre foranalysis, tracking and timely retrievalof information based on CDR.The primary objective of the systemis to help the Assam Police to track andmonitor the usages of mobile phoneby any criminal based on the CallDetail Report (CDR) received fromthe mobile service providers.The CATS uses Open Source Stacki.e. PHP technology with MySQL asRDBMS and Apache as ApplicationServer hence providing portability.CATs is a comprehensive andflexible phone call tracking system. Itprovides an integrated solution formobile phone call analysis andtracking with:l Conversion of Subscriber, Towerand CDR data from the excel formatto CSV format for facilitating importsand export of data in a commonformat.l Creation of Unified data directorywith the details received from all theservice providers in varied formats.l XML based information exchangefor interoperability with Google Maps.The system is user friendly and canbe operated with basic knowledge ofcomputer. Call tracking facilitate:l Which number was called.l The Tower location of a caller.l Time distribution ofincoming/outgoing/SMS callsMAIN FEATURESl Creation of unified MobileSubscriber’s directory with the detailsreceived from all the service providers.l Creation of unified mobile Tower’sdirectory of the service providers withthe details received from all the serviceproviders.l Importing CDRs of varied formatsreceived from the service providers toa Common CDR format.l Maintenance of suspected mobilephone numbers and IMEI(International Mobile EquipmentIdentity) numbers for further mappingduring analysis.l Tracking of relative position of themobile users with the help of towerlocation mapping using Google map.l Generation of dynamic reportsbased on time and date criterion.l Graphical report on CallFrequencies.l Other statistical reports.l Comparison of any given suspect’sCDR with another CDR.l CDR archiving for future uses.BENEFITSl Respond and take immediatecorrective action by tracking andanalyzing the suspect’s mobile call inreal time.l Monitor the movement of thesuspects by mapping the towerlocation.l Make assessment on the movementof the suspects by analyzing the CDRwith date and time.l Instant identification of possiblecontacts of the suspect with the otherpotential suspects either on the basis ofthe Mobile Number or the IMEInumber.At present there are approximately256 lakhs subscribers and 41thousands tower locations recordsavailable in the CATs database andutilized for CDR analysis and tracking.Presently, on an average 15 CDRs areanalysed per day through the systemin two different offices in Assam.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONDeepak GoswamiSr. TD & State <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerNIC, Assam State CentrePO Assam Sachivalaya, Guwahati 781006Email: sio-asm@nic.inPhone: 0361-2260254<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 17
From the StatesPUNJAB -ESTABLISHING TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCELocated in “Pentapotamia”[Greek word for Area withFive Rivers] in the northwestpart of thesub-continent, Punjab -“The Granary of India”,came into existence inNov,1966. One of the mostprosperous, wealthiest andvibrant states of thecountry with typicallanguage, food habits, attireand music, it comprises of22 well connectedadministrative districts eachhaving its distinct historicand locational importance.NAVNEET KUKREJAState <strong>Informatics</strong> Officernavneet.kukreja@nic.inEdited byVIVEK VERMAINTRODUCTIONPunjab has maintained its growthmomentum because of a number ofpolicy measures by the stategovernment, implementation of severalvital projects and most importantlynever-say-die attitude of Punjabis. ICTprojects have been a significantcontributor in improving citizengovernmentinteractions,modernization, improving governmentprocesses, administrative reforms andgaining people’s confidence. The focusof state government in creatingconducive environment for buildingefficient and cost-effective governmentis bearing fruits now with theimplementation of a host of ICTprojects and Right to Service Act.E-COUNSELING FOR PUNJABSTATE TECHNICAL EDUCATIONBOARD AND PUNJAB TECHNICALUNIVERSITYWeb-based online Off-CampuseCounselling has been implementedsuccessfully for PSBTE and PTUadmissions. This year eCounseling wasdone for admissions to 55000 seats and74000 seats for PSBTE and PTUrespectively.ePROCUREMENTGePNIC has been implemented inPWD and PMGSY scheme to publishtenders, bid submission, bid Openingand Award of Contract to help bring intransparency and efficiency. Since July2010, more than 2600 tenders worth Rs3761 crores have been successfullyprocessed.Single User-friendly WIndowDisposal Help-line for Applicants - Ahighly successful and acclaimed ICTinitiative for the convenience ofcitizens, SUWIDHA has beensuccessfully running at 95 sites for thelast many years improving andupgrading with each passing year.Application status dissemination isdone through E-Kiosks, SMS as well asWeb. It has received several accolades.SUWIDHA has been refurbishednow as SUWIDHA-Web, a web-basedcentralized system, to offer integratedsolution for services like Marriageregistration, Bus Passes, Arms LicenseIssuance, Certificate issuance, IdentityCard issuance etc.MOTHER AND CHILD TRACKINGVIKRAM JEETGROVER<strong>Informatics</strong> Correspondentgrover.vikram@nic.inState of art SUWIDHA centres at Jalandhar and Patiala18 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
From the StatesSYSTEMWeb-based system for trackingpregnant women and children for theirAnte-Natal Care Check-ups, Post-NatalCare & immunization in order toreduce IMR/MMR/TFR has beensuccessfully implemented. A series oftrainings for more than 250 field staffhas been held. On an average, 6000entries are done per day in more than220 health facilities. Around 7 lakhmothers and around 5.7 lakh childrenhave been registered till date.PROPERTY REGISTRATIONINFORMATION SYSTEM MODULEAn ISO-certified project runningsuccessfully for more than 10 years at150 sites, it automates all majoractivities of Sub-Registrar office andcovers 27 deeds. Its major featuresinclude token issuance, onlinecapturing, storage, printing ofphotographs on stamp paper, valuationof property, scanning of deeddocuments online/offline, issuance ofmutation notice, etc.NATIONAL ANIMAL DISEASEREPORTING SYSTEMInitiated in 141 blocks for whichhardware has been deployed andVPNoBB has been provided. Trainingshave been organized for all the fieldstaff and a State level workshop wasorganized in March <strong>2012</strong>.Dr. M. Moni, DDG-NIC addressing NADRSworkshop organized at Chandigarh.RAKESH SINGHIAS, Chief Secretary, PunjabI am glad to learn that “<strong>Informatics</strong>” inthe forthcoming issue, is focusing onthe eGovernance initiatives in the stateof Punjab. In recent times, IT haspervaded the Government setup andhas radically changed the way ourGovernment establishments function.Committed to provide people-oriented,transparent and effective governance,our state has taken up a number of ICTinitiatives in order to make qualitativechange in the lives of the citizens andimprove the governance mechanism.ePANCHAYATe-Governance in Panchayati RajInstitutions to make them efficient,transparent and accountable, modulesnamely Local Government Directory,PRIASoft, PlanPlus, NationalPanchayat Portal and Area Profilerhave been successfully implemented.NATIONAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCEPROGRAMMEBPL beneficiaries are given aminimum social assistance throughdifferent pension schemes. Legacy Dataentry has been completed and processfor Pension Disbursement is underprocess.PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMRecently initiated central project,master details of various stakeholdersNIC Punjab has played a pivotal role inimprovising a number of governmentprocesses by developing andimplementing ICT based solutionstailored to meet our requirements.These changes have increasedefficiency, made information moreaccessible, and increased the level ofcommunication with citizens. NIC hassuccessfully facilitated ICT deploymentin a number of eGovernance projectssuch as SUWIDHA for districtadministration services, eCounseling inin Technical Universities and Technicaleducation board, eProcurement in PWDPunjab, Elections (DISE), eCourts,Health (MCTS), ePanchayat applicationsuite (PRIASoft etc), Agriculture(NADRS), Rural Development andPanchayat, Property Registration(PRISM), Transport (VAHAN, SARATHI)and many other ICT projects.I take this opportunity to express mybest wishes to the editorial team of<strong>Informatics</strong> and appreciation for thecontributions made by NIC Punjab.has been completed using the SIMS.Digitisation of 68 lakh ration cardholders has been taken up using theeRCMS. Thereafter, the issuance ofSmart Cards, system of Supply ChainManagement and rations cardsmanagement system shall start.PRISON MANAGEMENT SYSTEM& VISITOR MANAGEMENTSYSTEMSuccessfully implemented in CentralJail Ludhiana, the system is working asa deterrent to undesired and frequentvisitors. The government is nowplanning to replicate the system in eightmajor prisons in the state.NATIONAL KNOWLEDGENETWORKA state-of-the-art multi-gigabit pan-<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 19
From the StatesIndia network conceived to enablescientists, researchers and studentsengaged in the generation anddissemination of knowledge has beenestablished with 21 nodes.TRANSPORTVAHAN, for Registration of Vehicles,Fee & Fine Collection and FitnessValidity and SARATHI, forLearner’s/Permanent/Conductor/Driving School License is implemented at 65locations providing Smart Card basedRCs and Licences. An initiative toissue Learners’ License through Schoolsand Colleges has also been taken. Dataconsolidation to form State andNational Registers is also done toprovide online services to citizens,issuing authorities and investigatingagencies. National Permit Portal, forissuance of National Permit, StageCarriage Permit and Contract CarriagePermit, is implemented at all the FourRegional Transport Authorities.ELECTIONPunjab Poll Day Monitoring System,to capture activities on polling daythrough SMS from authorized mobilenumbers for monitoring reports onCEO’s website. District InformationSystem for Election, a randomizationsoftware, to facilitate formation ofpolling parties, counting parties, EVMrandomization, election orders forindividual polling parties, microobserverparties and EVM orders,constituency-wise distribution ofemployees, department-wise & subdepartmentwise orders, attendancesheets, Election Duty Certificate, issueof ID Card, etc as per ECI guidelines.In use since 2007, it has also been usedby many other states. DISE-MC andDISE-NP have been developed forState Election Commission forMunicipal Corporation and NagarPanchayat elections respectively.WEB BASED COURT CASESMONITORING SYSTEMeCCMS Web (http://ccmspb.gov.in)facilitates departments / officers tomanage and monitor court cases. Theycan track cases, prepare cause-list inadvance, and maintain completehistory of the case.FILE TRACKING SYSTEMA system to enable tracking andmonitoring of file movement inelectronic form, has been successfullyimplemented in Police HousingCorporation, Local Government, PoliceHqrs, State Infrastructure Board andDepartment of InformationTechnology.eFILE AND eOFFICEeFile is for enablement of paperlessoffice by scanning, registering androuting inward correspondence withcreation of file, noting, referencing,docketing, attachments, draft forapprovals and movement of files aswell as receipts. eOffice enablesemployees to create their owndocument online and submit the samefor review and publication on theportal. eFile and eOfficeimplementation has been initiated inPunjab Technical University.AGMARKNETUnder AGMARKNET, 199 marketnodes are computerized and arereporting daily prices of commoditiesreaching these markets which isupdated and reflected on portal.CENTRAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENTPORTALImplemented in CPMG office,Punjab circle to publish their Tenders,Tender Enquiries, Corrigendum andAward of Contract details with anobjective to provide single point ofaccess to information.SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CASTECENSUS2011 of the national population in theyear 2011 has been carried out by state.Trainings, creation of users, datatransfer were the main activities andmore than 1900 GB of household wiseimage data has been uploaded on theSECC servers.ONLINE SCHOLARSHIPMANAGEMENT SYSTEMMerit-cum-means scholarship for thepost matric students belonging toScheduled Castes, Other BackwardClasses and minorities. Eligiblestudents can apply online and thescholarship amount is depositeddirectly in their bank accounts.Eighth All India EducationSurvey has been started in all thedistricts of Punjab. The input forplanning new schools, upgradingexisting schools, and for enhancingessential facilities, is being collected andcaptured through a web basedapplication.Border Area Development Planfor development of areas falling oninternational border, has beenimplemented for balanceddevelopment of border districts by wayof infrastructural facilities andpromoting sense of security amongstcitizens.WAQF MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OFINDIAIt is successfully implemented for theManagement of PropertiesRegistration, Muttawalli Returns,Leasing of Properties, Litigations20 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
From the StatesTracking, Documents Archiving &Retrieval, Funds to Mosques, Durgah,Kabristan, Imams, Muazzins, Widows,Girls Marriages, Scholarships, Schools,Hospitals, Dispensaries, Musafirkhanas,Skill Development Centres, LoanManagement for Development OfUrban Waqf properties etc and GIS ofWaqf Properties.E-GRANTHALYAE-Granthalaya, a library automationsystem, has been initiated in variousState Libraries and College libraries ofPunjab. A 3 days workshop was alsoconducted recently conducted.COMPUTERIZATION OF MEDICO-LEGAL AND POST MORTEMREPORTSConceived under the directions ofHon’ble Punjab and High Court,MedLEaPR is to be implemented at allconcerned Health facilities. Successfullytested at Mohali and Ludhiana,MedLEaPR is due for launch for whichstate data centre infrastructure is beingupgraded.eENTRYPASSA web-based solution for issuance ofentry passes to visitors to Punjab CivilSecretariat and Punjab TechnicalUniversity has been implemented.Web Presence / Coordination for70 Punjab government and 19 Districtwebsites covering interaction withusers for finalizing the structure /contents of site, cost estimates, URLregistration, Remote publishing facility,etc. Technical support is also beingprovided for the development,deployment & maintenance of webbasedprojects.Some of the other initiatives areConsumer Courts, Agriculturedepartment, Health Department,Dr. RAJNEESH ARORAVice-ChancellorPunjab Technical UniversityI am pleased to know that <strong>Informatics</strong> -an e Governance Publication from NIChas decided to cover IT activities inPunjab State under its "State in Focus"section.Over the period IT has taken longstrides in State of Punjab and inparticular at Punjab TechnicalUniversity. PTU is committed to givebest services through IT to itsstakeholders i.e. Students, FacultyMembers, Institutes and Universitystaff. In this regard, PTU has takenmany steps forward by providing onlineservices to its community like onlinepayments, online transmission ofquestion papers, interaction withstudents through its portal etc.PTU joined hands with NIC in the yearPassport office, Regional ProvidentFund Commissioner, PIB, Sarv SikshaAbhiyaan, Midday Meal and SaksharBharat MIS, FCI, General PostOffice/Postal Life Insurance, Registrarof Companies, Director General ofForeign Trade etc.CONCLUSIONWith the dynamic & visionarysupport of the state government andefforts of NIC Punjab, an impact hasbeen made in the lives of the citizens.The commitment of NIC to explore2009 for conduct of Online Counselingfor Engineering and PharmacyUndergraduate courses. Till that time,Counseling was a very major event,which consumed lot of manpower andlogistics. With start of OnlineCounseling, there has been a seachange in Admission procedure and ithas reduced burden considerably. Atthe same time, it has broughttransparency in our system.Today counseling for each AICTEapproved courses is being done by NIC.We have taken a step further byintroducing eOffice product of NIC inour University. It is being used by wholeof the staff and it has made our life loteasier in searching Information.Recently PTU awarded another projectto NIC Punjab namely "DPR study forUniversity Management Solution". Weare very eager to get develop an ERPsystem based on this study. I am proudto say that officers of PTU and NIC workin tandem with each other for bringingin new technologies to PTU.Let PTU and NIC be a team in bringingthe much needed change in EducationFraternity.I would like to place on record the workdone by NIC Punjab Officers and wishthem Success in coming days.new vistas of ICT-enabled governmentprocesses is continued and shall beperceptible in the shape of furtherprojects with the sole objective ofestablishing transparent andaccountable governance in the state.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONNavneet KukrejaState <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerNIC Punjab State UnitRoom No.109, Punjab Mini SecretariatSector-9, Chandigarh.Tel – 0172-2745776Email: sio-punjab@nic.in<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 21
Guest ColumnE-COLLECTORATEA vision shared by Shri D V Swamy, IAS, Collectorand DM, Keonjhar District, Odishae-Collectorate takes care ofthe scanning of allcommunications receivedby the District Collectorateand then through theinbuilt workflowmechanism traverses tovarious sections till the filesare disposed off. Variousfile creation for particularapplication / subject andelectronic file movementhas been taken care of inthe software. A commonman can easily track/querythe progress of hisapplication through SMS /internet / installed kiosks,thus involving less humanintervention and fasterdelivery of service.Keonjhar must be a pioneer to havesuch a service for its citizens in thestate of Odisha.D. V. SWAMY:Certainly! We are adopting such amechanism of CollectorateAutomation and associated services topeople of Keonjhar througheCollectorate since April <strong>2012</strong>. Withthe total computerisation of the letterand file monitoring of the Collectorate,people would be able to track thestatus of a file or an application relatingto various issues in the Collectoratefrom anywhere in the world. Citizencan Access through Internet as well asvia SMS. Transparent administrationand service delivery etc. are the keyfeatures of the project thus providinggreater avenues to people, especiallySHRI D. V. SWAMYIAS, Collector and DM, Keonjhar Districtthose who have mostly been deprivedof the benefits of Good Governance, toparticipate in their own developmentprocess.INTERVIEWED BYAshok Kumar HotaTechnical Director, NIC OdishaEmail : ak.hota@nic.in22 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Guest ColumnThese are encouraging words andplease elaborate on the Origin ofsuch an innovative concept ofservice delivery in a backwarddistrict of Odisha.D. V. SWAMY:With the everincreasing servicedelivery expectations of a CommonCitizen and being the epicenter ofadministration, the DistrictCollectorate is entrusted with the taskof handling law and order, revenuecollection, taxation, planning projectexecutions, and the handling of naturaland man-made emergencies etc in adistrict. It is like an enterprise dealingwith variety of subjects concerned withlakhs of people. The office becameincreasingly occupied with the generalwelfare of the people in the district andlakhs of people with diverse issues areinteracting with the districtadministration daily and numerousfiles of these issues are gettingoriginated on different subjects, whichare handled by 200 employees. So wethought of seamless integration ofvarious sections and over it put the s/wapplications for various processes andservices and thus the evolution ofeCollectorate happened suiting therequirement of the district collectorate.What are the processes andassociated services that youinitially aim to provide to yourpeople through this programme.D. V. SWAMY:First we plan for the automation andintegration of Diary receipt andDespatch section. Necessarynetworking and role assignment alsohas been taken up for each and everyseat of the collectorate campus officerslike Deputy Collector, Head Clerk,Senior Clerk and Junior Clerks. Thesoftware is well equipped with onlineprocessing of files, letters from its pointof origin and receipt to the finaldisposal by the collector throughvarious sections and hierarchy bothwith top to down and down to topapproach. Once file movementautomation process has beenestablished, we plan to process theservices directly rendered bycollectorate like Arms Licenses, PoliceVerification, status of grievancepetitions by a citizen through kiosksetc.There is a whole gamut ofapplications that can be built on thisand may be taken up in future.Integration with future outsideapplications can also be facilitated bye-collectorate with use of web servicesconcepts. The current aim of this G2Gapplication is for total collectorateworkflow automation with inbuiltmodules catering to the need of a fullfledged eCollectorate.Can you be more specific about theactual functionalities ofeCollectorate.D. V. SWAMY:eCollectorate takes care of thescanning of all communicationsreceived by the District Collectorateand then through the inbuilt workflow<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 23
Guest Columnmechanism traverses to varioussections till the file is disposed off.Various file creation for particularapplication / subject and electronic filemovement has been taken care of inthe software. A common man caneasily track/query the progress of hisapplication through SMS / internet /installed kiosks thus involving lesshuman intervention and faster deliveryof service.How do you plan to achieve themammoth task for such a change tohappen?D. V. SWAMY:This is certainly a challenge for uskeeping in view the function,framework, Technology, CapacityBuilding and adaptation. To make allthese happen Collectorate Keonjharrestructured itself with necessarystructural and functional changes. Thedistrict administration with suitableselection of ICT (Information andCommunication Tools) has initiatedthe adoption of this unique processflow based software application calledeCollectorate. For the change tohappen, necessary changemanagement strategies were adoptedlike phase wise identification ofsections and training staffs,sensitizationprogrammes,empowerment with better workingenvironment and infrastructure andscope to handle modern technology tobring out a sense of ownership amongthe staffs etc. The process that is beingfollowed from centuries has its owninertia towards the change which hadto be tackled carefully. Mapping theprocess flow and switching to acompletely automated workflow anddoing away with physical papers andfiles required more concentrated effortof removing the psychological blockrather than a technology issue. Thiswas properly managed withparticipative approach which provedto be a success.Are you sure that the wholearrangement would work for thebetterment of the society throughthis use of ICT for the commoncitizens while fulfilling your vision.D. V. SWAMY:Certainly, Yes. The product of NIC isone of the well tested & robustapplications mapping to most of theessential processes of the Collectorateand converting the output of theseprocesses through desired servicedelivery model. It is a suite ofapplications based on an integratedsolution architecture covering most ofthe functional areas and activities ofthe Collectorate.Being a web enabled solution builton industry standard open sourcebased software technologies and bestpractices, it envisages covering allareas of work in the collectorate at thefirst instance and later aimed atextending the service to blocks,tehasils, villages, and panchayatswhere the actual beneficiaries reside.The front end application has beendeveloped with open source PHP withMy SQL database on Redhat Linux.Please tell us about your team andtheir involvement for success of theproject.D. V. SWAMY:I sincerely express my thanks to ShriS.K Panda, State <strong>Informatics</strong> Officer,Shri A. K Hota, Technical Director &District Co-ordinator and Shri Ajit KPattanayak, District <strong>Informatics</strong> Officerwho have made a dream into reality.My best wishes to other membersinvolved in the project from NICOdisha - Shri D Madan Prabhu, ShriSidhartha Mandal, Shri AjayMohapatra along with the NIC Keralateam members Shri Andrews Varghese, Shri Manoj P.A who have spent theirvaluable time for the project at this partof the country.I also thank Dr. D. Brunda, IASProbationer, Sri B. Nayak, ADM, allDy. Collectors and all staff membersof our Collectorate for their significantcontribution for success of the project.I also thank Jindal Steel and Powerlimited, member of DistricteGovernance Society for providingnecessary infrastructure foreCollectorate project.INTERVIEWED BYAshok Kumar HotaTechnical Director, NIC OdishaEmail : ak.hota@nic.in24 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Technology UpdateWEB PAGES WITH RAZOR SCRIPTINGNEW VIEW ENGINE IN ASP.NETRazor syntax is based ontechnology from Microsoftcalled ASP.NET, which inturn is based on Microsoft.NET Framework. TheRazor syntax gives you allpower of ASP.NET, butusing a simplified syntaxthat's easier to learn andit can be used withexisting ASP.NET Web Site.SANJAY GUPTAScientist-‘C’District <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerJammusanjay.mahajan@nic.inEdited byMohan DasASP.NET is a Webapplication frameworkdeveloped by Microsoft toallow programmers tobuild dynamic Web sites and is successorto Microsoft's ASP technology.ASP.NET is built on CLR, allowingprogrammers to write ASP.NET codeusing any supported .NET language.ASP.NET supports three differentdevelopment methods. All three areASP.NET technologies for creatingdynamic web applications:n ASP.NET Web Pages focuses onadding server-side code and featuressimple and lightweight syntax.n ASP.NET Web Forms is based on apage object model. Web Forms usesevent-based model.n ASP.NET MVC implements Model-View-Controller pattern.In ASP.NET MVC3, Microsoftintroduced RAZOR, a new view engine,designed to simplify the current syntaxused in asp.net pages. Razor wasdesigned as an easy to learn, compactand expressive view engine that enablesa fluid coding workflow.ABOUT ASP.NET WEB PAGESWhen .NET Framework 1.0 wasreleased you could create web sites usingWeb Forms. It became a success andmany shifted from classic ASP and otherlanguages to ASP.NET.In web forms since the code weretightly coupled, it became hard to testcode as you had to have access to currentHttpContext and controls used by aspxfile. Because of this Microsoft releasedASP.NET MVC in 2007 and it solvedproblems by de-coupling the code andputting it to a controller, and have fullcontrol over rendering.There are though still a lot ofdevelopers who still use classic ASP,PHP etc style approach. Thesedevelopers want to have dynamic codeon server side, and sometimes also havebusiness logic directly in view pagessince it makes easy to distribute andmodify pages without need of compiling.Microsoft released third alternativecalled ASP.NET Web Pages. It makes itpossible to use new dynamic functions in.NET 4.0 and the rest of the .NETFramework as before. ASP.NET WebPages can be created using C# or VisualBasic, and requires .NET 4.0. Whencreating Web pages you use new syntaxcalled “Razor”.WHAT IS RAZOR?n Razor is markup syntax for addingserver-based code to web pagesn Razor has power of traditionalASP.NET markup, easier to learn andeasier to usen Razor is server side markup syntaxmuch like ASP and PHPn Razor supports C# and VBEven though this syntax is simple touse, its family relationship to ASP.NETand the .NET Framework means that asyour websites become moresophisticated. ASP.NET web pages withRazor syntax have the special fileextension cshtml (Razor using C#) orvbhtml (Razor using VB).25 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Technology UpdateADVANTAGES OF RAZORThe idea behind Razor is to providean optimized syntax for HTMLgeneration using a code-focusedtemplating approach, with minimaltransition between HTML and code.The design reduces the number ofcharacters and keystrokes, and enables amore fluid coding workflow.n Is not a new language (no majorchanges to learn)n Supports IntelliSense (statementcompletion support)n Unit Testablen Supports "layouts" (an alternative tothe "master page" concept in aspx pages)HTML ENCODINGWhen you display content in a pageusing the @ character, ASP.NETHTML-encodes the output. Thisreplaces reserved HTML characters(such as < and > and &) with codes thatenable the characters to be displayed ascharacters in a web page instead of beinginterpreted as HTML tags or entities.Without HTML encoding, the outputfrom your server code might not displaycorrectly, and could expose a page tosecurity risks.HOW DOES IT WORK?Razor is a simple programming syntaxfor embedding server code in web pages.Razor web pages can be described asHTML pages with two kinds of content:HTML content and Razor code. Whenthe server reads the page, it runs theRazor code first, before it sends theHTML page to the browser. The codethat is executed on the server canperform tasks that cannot be done in thebrowser. Server code can create dynamicHTML content on the fly, before it issent to the browser.MAIN RAZOR SYNTAX RULES FORC#n Razor code blocks are enclosed in @{... }n Inline expressions (variables andfunctions) start with @n Code statements end with semicolonn Variables are declared with the varkeywordn Strings are enclosed with quotationmarksn C# code is case sensitiven C# files have the extension .cshtmland VB files have extension .vbhtml.RE-USABLE CONTENTYou can have reusable blocks ofcontent (content blocks), like headersand footers, in separate files. You canalso define a consistent layout for allyour pages, using a layout template(layout file). Many websites have contentthat is displayed on every page (likeheaders and footers). With Web Pagesyou can use @RenderPage() method toimport content from separate files.Content block can be importedanywhere in a web page and is just likeany regular web page.ASP.NET inserts the content blocks atthe point where the RenderPage()method is called. The merged page isthen sent to browser.Another approach to creating aconsistent look is to use a layout page. Alayout page contains structure, but notthe content, of a web page. When a webpage is linked to a layout page, it will bedisplayed according to the layout page(template). The layout page is just like anormal web page, except from a call tothe @RenderBody() method where thecontent page will be included.ASP.NET HELPERSASP.NET helpers are componentsthat can be accessed by single lines ofRazor code. You can build your ownhelpers using Razor syntax, or use builtinASP.NET helpers. Some useful Razorhelpers:1. Web Grid and Graphics2. Google Analytics3. Facebook & Twitter Integration4. Sending Email5. ValidationNUGET OVERVIEWIf you want to use a library or tool thatsomeone else has developed, youretrieve the package from the repositoryand install it in your Visual Studioproject or solution. Everything necessaryto install a library or tool is bundled intoa package (a .nupkg file).DEVELOPMENT TOOLSWebMatrix is a free tool that integratesa web page editor, a database utility, aweb server for testing pages, and featuresfor publishing your website. It also worksfor just plain HTML pages, as well as forother technologies like PHP. To installWebMatrix, you can use Microsoft’sWeb Platform Installer. You can alsocreate pages by using text editor and testpages by using your existing. You canalso use Visual Studio 2010 or later towork with ASP.NET Web Pages. If youdon't want to use either WebMatrix orVisual Studio, you can install thecomponent products individually usingMicrosoft Web Platform Installer.<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 26
Technology UpdateDISSECTINGA MALWARE ATTACKA malware can sneakinto a system in theguise of a mailattachmentor thesystem can getinfected by simplyvisiting a maliciouswebsite. User is oftentaken off-guard whilethe malware sneaksinto the system andcompromises itsintegrity.RAJ K. RAINATechnical Directorrk.raina@nic.inEdited byMOHAN DASMalware (short formalicious Software) isthe main playerbehind most computersecurity incidents. It is a code/programthat disrupts normal computeroperation or steals information fromcomputer without user’s knowledge.Malware Analysis is one of the keydefenses employed to contain andmitigate the security incidents in cyberspace.Govt. of India has a huge IT userbase handling critical data. Theconstant malware attacks make itimperative to have a generalunderstanding of how the malwareworks. A malware cannot get into asystem by itself and can neitherexecute of its own. It always requiresa user intervention to execute itsmission. The malware attacks can bereduced/ minimized to a large extentby understanding the nature ofmalwares and this is where the“Malware Analysis” plays its role.In the event of an attack, Analysis ofMalwares provides valuableintelligence for gearing up anddeveloping signatures for the securitydevices in place. The signaturesapplied at gateways help to identifyinfected machines and to deter/stopfurther occurrences of similar attacks.And signatures updated in theenterprise security solutions arepercolated to the end-points to removethe infections.MALWARE A CAMOUFLAGEMalware disguises in packages suchas Games, Cool Animations, FAKEAnti-virus, a Pornographicimage/movie on the web. Thesepackages entice the user to unlatch theregular security of his system. Amalware can also sneak into a systemin the guise of a mail-attachment or bysimply visiting a malicious website.User is often taken off-guard while themalware sneaks into the system &compromises its integrity.MALWARE ATTACK – A CASEThe Dissection of a malware willgive you an insight into how amalware peeps into a system and stealsthe information wonderfully.This particular malware attack usedmail as the transport mechanism fortargeting users working at sensitiveplaces in NICNET. The emailappeared to be coming from a knownhigh ranking officer and containedinstructions which would tempt therecipient to open the attachment thatthe mail contained.An e-mail bearing subject“HOLIDAY BLESSINGS” wasreceived by a large number of users<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 27
Technology UpdateE-mail Bodyfrom a mail-account apparentlybelonging to a high level Officer inGovernment of India. The mailcontained an attachment“DiwaliGift.doc” which was screenedOK by all Antivirus solutions in placeas on given date/time. The body of thee-mail contained the message that haddirect relevance to the attachment.ATTACHMENTThe mail attachment in the form ofa doc file was specially crafted so thatthe system with a vulnerable MS-WORD application gets compromisedby opening a backdoor for the remoteattacker, allowing the remote attackerto collect useful information from thesystem and transmit the same to themaster.The doc file “DiwaliGifts.doc” hadan embedded malware that exploitsCVE2010-3333 vulnerability inMSWORD 2007 and below.DYNAMIC ANALYSISREVELATIONSOn opening the attachment, a onepagegreetings message is displayedwith the title “HAPPY DIWALI”. Themessage appears a genuine onecorrelated with the festival timing. Itdoes not infuse any doubt in the mindof the user about the intentions of theembedded malware in the document.While the document opens with afestival greeting, certain files getdropped in the victim’s computer’s“%temp%” directory in thebackground. The system attempts forDNS resolution and connects to oneof the following domains:kittyshop.kilu.org- hosted on-78.46.104.43www19.subdomain.com- hosted on-78.46.104.43treeshop.kilu.de- hosted on-78.46.103.46www13.subdomain.com- hosted on-78.46.103.46The system further starts sendingand receiving information. Thedropping of the files and then initiatingconnections happen in the backgroundwithout users knowledge.After some time, the files in %temp%directory get automatically deleted, aploy by the attacker to remove thetraces.The actual process sequence isshown below:CODE ANALYSIS -- FINDINGStatic analysis of the word file showsthat the doc file attachment has three(3) files wrapped into one.1. An executable file2. A VB script file3. A MS word fileMs. ANJANA CHOUDHARYDDG, Cyber Security DivisionMultitude of malicious samplesconfronts NICNET on a regularbasis. While Antivirus solutions helpto detect and eradicate most of theinfections, some malwares have thecapability to bypass the securitysolutions and find their way insidethe NICNET. These malwares belongto the category of targetted attacksand/or zero-day-attacks.When these attacks areencountered or informed, the cybersecurity team identifies and collectsthe malware sample. This sample issubjected to thorough analysis tounderstand how malware tries tofulfill the harmful intent of theattacker. The Malware Analysisresults help us to gear up oursecurity solutions to identify theinfected machines and plan for theremoval of infection from thesesystems.It is mostly observed that aninfected client is without anAntivirus Solution or has anoutdated signature file. Weconstantly educate &recommended to have a latestAntivirus solution installed andhave the system software andapplication softwares patched as aprecautionary measure toovercome the malware threats to alarge extent.28 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Technology UpdateTHREADS OF PROCESSUpon opening the original word fileattachment “winword.exe” getsinitiated.tWhile the file opening is in process,three files viz. “word.doc”,“winword.tmp” and “~temp.vbs” getdropped to the user's temp directory.(C:\users\xxxx\ApplicationData\Local\temp\) in thebackground.t“winword.exe” crashes. (Malwareexploiting RTF Stack Buffer overflowvulnerability in MS word), restartsand now initiates a child process bythe name “winword.tmp”tAfter sometime the process“winword.tmp” dies and two differentinstances of ‘cmd.exe’ are initiated.tThe executable has some encryptedportions which when decryptedindicate the domain where theinformation is posted by the malwareand also has reference to the file“~temp.vbs”Why Malware Analysis?n Know how malware worksn Contain an ongoing attackn Identify the Infected Clientsn Assess any data leakagen Plan removal of infectionfrom clientsThe first instance of command shellopens the file “word.doc” which wasdropped in the user's temp directoryand displays “Greeting Message” tothe user. The second instance initiates“cscript.exe” to run the file“~temp.vbs”.t“cmd.exe” “ipconfig.exe”,“systeminfo.exe”, “makecab.exe” areexecuted sequentially as an activity tocollect the vital system information.tThe infected system connects to theattacker and transmits the collectedsystem information.tThe malicious executable“winword.tmp” and the VBscript file“~temp.vbs” gets deleted after thesuccessful execution.The file “~temp.vbs” is a VB Scriptfile and its code reflects the activitiesthat the malware is designed to carryout. The analysis of “~temp.vbs”indicates the malware activities inchronological order as:l Saves directory listing of all drives iseach respective drive as "[driveletter].tmp"l Saves network information of themachine in a file “j.tmp”l Executes “systeminfo” and saves theresult is saved in a file “k.tmp”.l Saves Tasklist output(running"If you ever encounter a suspicious file orEmail, please forward the same to MalwareLab. mallab@nic.in for analysis"processes information) to the file“m.tmp”l The content of tmp files so created iscombined in a new file “L.tmp” andthen “makecab.exe” command is usedto compress it in a new file “1.cab”l The result of these commands is nowposted(transmitted) to the attackerusing HTTP POSTl All the .tmp files created are deletedfrom the systeml Code to delete the droppedmalicious files “~temp.vbs” and“winword.tmp” is also in the script fileindicating the automatic removal ofthese malicious files after they areexecuted.The code analysis collaborate theearlier findings that the malwarecollects vital information from thesystem and posts it to the attacker. Itfurther removes the traces and this allis happening in quick succession andwithout users’ knowledge.CONCLUSIONA malware attack is very difficult tobe sensed by an end-user as it does notleave any trace of the informationrobbery and yet the system standsrobbed. The only way we can safeguardour data/machines from Malwareattack is through cautious approach inweb-surfing, handling our mailattachments, and not falling prey to thetemptations of free software like fakeAntivirus or music/videos and last butnot the least by keeping the software’spatched and Antivirus updated.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONRaj K. Raina Technical DirectorRoom no. 209, Cyber Security DivisionA1B3, 2nd Floor, NICA-Block, CGO Complex, New DelhiContact : 9868935127, 011-24305127,0120-2417585<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 29
Technology UpdateNoSQL-NO PROBLEM WITH ‘BIG DATA’Tabular data remainstabular and the spreadsheetis still a business's favouritedata modeling tool. SQL isnot going away any timesoon. However until nowwe've been creative inworking with and aroundthe constraints of a typicalrelational datastore. NoSQLoffers the chance to thinkdifferently about data andthat is a tremendouslyexciting prospect.Edited byR. GAYATRIWHAT DO WE MEAN BY ‘BIGDATA’‘Big data’ is a term applied to data setswhose size is beyond the ability ofcommonly used software tools tocapture, manage, and process the datawithin a tolerable elapsed time. Theexplosion of data volumes, sometimesneeding real-time processing are oftennot lending itself to the structuring rulesand processes implemented by RDBMS.To address this problem the solutionssuch as Google’s Map-Reduce and theHadoop open source solution etc havebeen developed which are widely knownas ‘NoSQL’.WHAT IS NOSQL?NoSQL is not the name of anyparticular database. It refers to a broadclass of non-relational databases thatdiffer from classical relational databasemanagement systems (RDBMS) in somesignificant aspects. They do not use SQLas their primary query language, insteadproviding access by means ofApplication Programming Interfaces(API).NoSQL can be considered "Internetage" databases that are being used byAmazon, Facebook, Google and the liketo address performance and scalabilityrequirements that cannot be met bytraditional relational databases. NoSQLdatabases and data-processingframeworks are primarily utilizedbecause of their speed, scalability andflexibility. Because of these reasons,sometimes NoSQL even refers as ‘CloudDatabases’.D. MADAN PRABHUS.O/Engineer-SBNIC Odishamadan.prabhu@nic.inA.K. HOTATechnical DirectorNIC Odishaak.hota@nic.inFeatureSchema-lessShared nothing architectureElasticityDescription“Tables” don’t have a pre-defined schema. Recordshave a variable number of fields that can vary fromrecord to record. Record contents and semantics areenforced by applications.Instead of using a common storage pool (e.g., SAN),each server uses its own local storage. This allowsstorage to be accessed at local disk speeds instead ofnetwork speeds, and it allows capacity to be increasedby adding more nodes. Cost is also reduced sincecommodity hardware can be used.Both storage and server capacity can be added onthe-flyby merely adding more servers. No downtimeis required. When a new node is added, the databasebegins giving it something to do and requests tofulfill.30 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Technology UpdateShardingAsynchronous replicationBASE instead of ACIDFLAVORS OF NOSQLToday’s open source NoSQL data stores fall into several different categoriesas follows:KEY VALUE STORESEnables populating a database usingkeys, such as “Joe” and associated valuessuch as his addressExamples: Tokyo Cabinet/Tyrant,Redis, Voldemort, Oracle BDBTypical applications: ContentcachingStrengths: Fast lookupsWeaknesses: Stored data has noschemaGRAPH DATABASESThis kind of database is designed fordata whose relations are well representedas a graph (elements interconnected withan undetermined number of relationsbetween them). The kind of data couldbe social relations, public transport links,road maps or network topologiesInstead of viewing the storage as a monolithic space,records are partitioned into shards. Usually, a shardis small enough to be managed by a single server,though shards are usually replicated. Sharding can beautomatic (e.g., an existing shard splits when it getstoo big), or applications can assist in data sharding byassigning each record a partition ID.Compared to RAID storage (mirroring and/or striping) or synchronous replication, NoSQLdatabases employ asynchronous replication. Thisallows writes to complete more quickly since theydon’t depend on extra network traffic. One sideeffect of this strategy is that data is not immediatelyreplicated and could be lost in certain windows. Also,locking is usually not available to protect all copies ofa specific unit of data.NoSQL databases emphasize performance andavailability. This requires prioritizing the componentsof the CAP theorem that tends to make true ACIDtransactions implausible. BASE (Basically Available,Soft state, Eventual consistency) means that givena sufficiently long period of time over which nochanges are sent, all updates can be expected topropagate eventually through the system and all thereplicas will be consistentExamples: Neo4J, InfoGrid, InfiniteGraphTypical applications: Socialnetworking, RecommendationsStrengths: Graph algorithms e.g.shortest path, connectedness, ndegree relationships, etc.Weaknesses: Has to traverse theentire graph to achieve a definitiveanswer. Not easy to cluster.TABULAR STORESSimilar to a relational system, designedto hold data in a spreadsheet-like formatwhere entries can be searched andretrievedExamples: Cassandra, HBase, RiakTypical applications: Distributed filesystemsStrengths: Fast lookups, gooddistributed storage of dataWeaknesses: Very low-level APIDOCUMENT DATABASESSimilar to a content managementsystem, designed to store documents andindex the documents for quick accessExamples: CouchDB, MongoDbTypical applications: WebapplicationsStrengths: Tolerant of incompletedataWeaknesses: Query performance, nostandard query syntaxXML DATABASESSpecifically for XML content, using aquery language for XML documents,such as XqueryExamples: Exist, Oracle, MarkLogicTypical applications: PublishingStrengths: Mature searchtechnologies, Schema validationWeaknesses: No real binary solution,easier to re-write documents thanupdate themOBJECT STORESDesigned specifically to store andretrieve objects based on their associatedmetadataExamples: Oracle Coherence, db4o,ObjectStore, GemStone, PolarTypical applications: FinancesystemsStrengths: Matches OOdevelopment paradigm, low-latencyACID, mature technologyWeaknesses: Limited querying orbatch-update optionsADVANTAGES OF NOSQLDATABASESl Supports BigDatal Elastic scalingl Fast key-value accessl Schema migration withoutdowntimel Easier maintainability,administration and operations ofDatabasel No single point of failure<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 31
Technology UpdatelllSupports AgilityProgrammer ease of useDistributed systems support andmuch more.POPULAR INCARNATIONS OFNOSQL DATABASESApache CassandraApache Cassandra is an open-source,distributed database-managementsystem designed to handle very largeamounts of data spread out across manycommodity servers while providing ahigh degree of service availability withno single point of failure. It is particularlyfast at write operations as opposed toreads and might therefore lend itself bestto applications that require analysis oflarge sets of data with write-backs.Hadoop / HBaseHBase is an open-source, distributeddatabase modeled after Google’sBigTable. HBase technologies are notstrictly a data-store, but generally workclosely with a NoSQL database toaccomplish highly scalable analyses.HBase scales linearly with the number ofnodes and can quickly return queries ontables consisting of billions of rows andmillions of columns. India UID, AadharProject uses Haddop for handling 1.22billion citizen's BigData.BigTableBigTable can be defined as a sparse,distributed, multi-dimensional sortedmap. BigTable is designed to scale intothe petabyte range (a petabyte isequivalent to 1 million gigabytes) acrosshundreds or thousands of machines andto make it easy to add more machines tothe system and start taking advantage ofthose resources automatically withoutany reconfiguration.MongoDBMongoDB is open source documentorientedNoSQL database system.Instead of storing data in tables as isdone in a "classical" relational database,MongoDB stores structured data asJSON-like documents with dynamicschemas (MongoDB calls the formatBSON), making the integration of datain certain types of applications easier andfaster.Coherence and EhcacheCoherence and Ehcache are equippedwith In-Memory caches. Coherence is inheavy use at financial industries wherenetwork latency (the time it takes to crossa network connection from sender toreceiver) is a factor.Possible applications of NoSqlDatabasesNoSQL databases should generally beconsidered as potential options whenany high-intensity computation oranalysis of large data sets is required,especially when performing real-timeanalysis. This can easily make their usein many sectors e.g.l Nationwide Medical Prescription, acomprehensive drug treatment history ofevery citizen, available to patients,doctors, and medical systemsl Open Government Initiativeplatform, where all datasets are availablefor public. like data.gov.inl Managing GIS data with NoSQLl RTI portall e Votingl Fraud detection by comparingtransactions to known patterns in realtime.CONCLUSIONRelational databases, especially thecolumnar variety, do not generallyperform well on updates. As a result, aNoSQL database might present itself asa viable alternative in cases wheremassive updates are required. Insituations involving variable-recordtemplates or sparse data, NoSQLdocument databases can offer a welcomealternative.REFERENCEShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoSQLhttp://nosql-database.org/http://highscalability.com/blog/2010/12/6/what-the-heck-are-you-actually-usingnosql-for.htmlhttp://www.thoughtworks.com/articles/nosql-comparison32 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
District <strong>Informatics</strong>Sirmaur-ICT REVOLUTIONISING GOVERNANCESirmaur, situated in south-eastof Himachal Pradesh, wasfounded in 1616 as anindependent kingdom in India.It is largely mountainous andrural, with 90% of itspopulation living in villages. Itincludes the towns of Nahan(District Headquarters), as wellas the Shivalik Fossil Park atSuketi, where fossils of over 85million years old have beenfound. Agriculture is thebackbone of economy here.People worship deities (Devtas)just like people in many otherdistricts of the state. Hindi andPahari are the languagesspoken here. Nati is the popularfolk dance.Edited byVivek VermaNIC Sirmaur District Unitwas established in 1988at Collectorate OfficeNahan. Since itsinception the DistrictUnit is a pioneer in implementingmany successful e-GovernanceProjects with an objective to rollout theICT awareness in the district forgreater transparency and efficiencyleading to good governance.MAJOR E- GOVERNANCEINITIATIVESSugam Services Centres: The CitizenServices Center named as SUGAMhave been established at Sub Divisionallocations (Nahan, Paonta & Rajgarh) &RTO Office Nahan of the District.There are different services beingprovided under single roof. Some of themain services are:- eSamadhan-onlinecomplaint registration and status,SARATHI- Issuance/Renewal ofComputerised Driving Licenses,VAHAN- Registration of Vehicles,Certificate issuance, Telephone billpayments, Electricity bill payment,Passport Application Collection,Pension/Salary information etc.Electronic Gazette: The onlinesoftware to provide the notifications tothe Controller of Gazette for publishingthese in the Gazette (Rajpatra). The finalgazette is published on the Internet athttp://himachal.nic.in/egazette. Thecitizens and departments have access tothe search interface by selectingdepartment, date, keyword etc.Personnel MIS: The Personnel MIS is aconvenient and effective monitoringtool for employees to view their servicebook details covering personal,professional, family, education, training,leave, loans, ACR, Service History etc.at a click of button. It is of immensebenefit to the employees since they canview it from even the remotest corner ofthe state.VIJAY KUMARDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerNIC District Unit, Sirmaurvijay.kmr@nic.inMOHAN RAKESHAGGARWALDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong>Associateaggarwal.mr@nic.inSUGAM Centre, Nahan<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 33
District <strong>Informatics</strong>District Official Web Site: The officialwebsite of districthttp://hpsirmaur.gov.in is designed &maintained by the NIC District Centrein coordination with the districtadministration. The detailedinformation on the web site about thedistrict is a major source of informationfor citizens.REVENUE DEPARTMENTLand Records Computerisation: Inthe district all 10 Tehsils have beenmade operational. The base entry of theJamabandis of all the Tehsils has alreadybeen done. The mutation data entry &updation process is going on and newJamabandis created automatically byHimBhoomi software. Computerisedcopies of RoR are being issued tocitizens from various Tehsils and CitizenService Centres of District.HIMRIS (Registration of LandDeeds): The computerized registrationof Land Deeds has been done at allTehsils. The advantage of this softwareis that the software is integrated withland records software (Himbhoomi)where automatic updation of mutationand remarks are shown in the Nakals.eParman (Issuances of Certificates):The Web Based eParman software isrunning in all the 3-Sub Divisions & allthe 10-Tehsils/Sub Tehsils for issuanceof various types of certificates likeBonafide, SC/ST, Legal Heirs,Backward Class, Character certificatesetc.COMPUTERISATION OFTREASURIES DEPARTMENTeSalary (Integrated Pay & AccountOffice computerisation): The eSalarysoftware, for processing and generationof salary bills, covers all employees ofthe State Government. The DDOs justneed to update only the changes in thesoftware and salary cheques can betaken. The employees can view thesalary details athttp://admis.hp.nic.in/esalary.HPOTIS (HP Online TreasuryInformation System): OnlineTreasuries Information System (OLTIS)has been implemented in the DistrictTreasury Office Nahan & in all of its SubTreasury offices.ePension : ePension software has beenimplemented in the District TreasuryOffice, which is managing the PensionScrolls Arrear calculation etc for theState Government pensioners drawingtheir pension in district Sirmaur andproviding them with a citizen interfaceat http://himachal.nic.in/epension.COMPUTERISATION OF WELFAREDEPARTMENTeKalyan Software : eKalyan Softwareis a new Windows Based Softwarewhich is generating Pension MOs andBank Scrolls to around 20000pensioners of the beneficiaries onquarterly basis. The data is alsoaccessible on internet for the citizens.ePehchan Software: ePehchansoftware is Online software to issue theSenior Citizens Identity Cards &Handicapped Identity Cards which isrunning at District Welfare OfficeNahan.COMPUTERISATION OF DISTRICTCOLLECTORATE OFFICE (DCOFFICE)Under the DC officeComputerisation-REFNIC - Software for the diary &dispatch section.Web Pass Software: Web basedsoftware for acceptance of Passportapplications in the Passport Cell of theDC office and further management andmonitoring as the data is sent to theState Passport Cell for furtherprocessing. Online status is beingprovided on the internet for the benefitof the citizens.Planning Cell (Scheme ManagementSoftware): A Windows based softwareat District Planning Cell through whichall the Proposals & Schemes are enteredunder various heads. The furtherPADAM SINGH CHAUHANIAS & Deputy CommissionerSirmaurThe NIC District Unit has played apivotal role not only in implementinge-Governance projects successfullybut also act as a backbone for districtadministration by providing data andinformation for better planning anddecision making.monitoring of the scheme is donethrough the software itself. Various MISreports are also generated for executivedecisions making purposes.NETWORK SERVICESNIC District Centre Nahan isconnected with 34 Mbps OFC(Optical Fible Cable) for Internet,Email, Video Conference and webservices.A Local Area Network (LAN)has been established in DC Officecovering all the branches of theComplex. Video Conference facility isalso available.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerNIC District Unit SirmaurDC Office Nahan-173001(H.P)Email: hpsir@nic.inPhone: 01702-22271534 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
District <strong>Informatics</strong>SHAJAPUR –Upcoming IT hub of Madhya PradeshShajapur is a town inMalwa region ofMadhya Pradesh Indianamed after theMughal emperorShahjahan. The districtis spread across 1069villages in 4 subdivisionsand 8Janpad Panchayats. Itis one of the fastdeveloping districts inMadhya Pradesh.BHAUSAHEBBANGARDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong>AssociateNIC Shajapurbangar.bs@nic.inAJAY KULKARNIDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerNIC Shajapurkulkarni.ajay@nic.inEdited byAnshu RohatgiNIC District CentreShahjapur has graduallyexpanded the ICT basedservices in the district. Ithas played a key role in developmentand implementation of ManagementInformation Systems and DecisionSupport System for various activities ofthe district administration. The networkand communication infrastructure hasbeen strengthened and extended till theblock level on NICNET backbone andthe district centre has made valuablecontributions towards computerizationof DWCRA (Development of Womanand Child in Rural Areas), NAROOUnmoolan and other IT projects. Allthese applications have receivedwidespread appreciation at state andcentral level. The district centre has alsoplayed a key role in making generalpublic aware of these ICT applications.ONLINE JANSUNVAI OF NISHAKTPEOPLE AN INNOVATION USINGICTOnline Jansunvai of Nishakt people isa commendable project of NIC Shajapurfor physically challenged people. Theproject aims to assist people in easyaccess to the government schemes andprogrammes. It is an initiative toremove the communication barriersbetween the physically challengedpeople and the district administration.The project was initiated by formerCollector of Shajapur Mrs. SonaliVayangankar.Desktop video conferencing facility ofNIC has been used to establish thecommunication channel at the blocklevel. Necessary software and webcameras have been installed on existingcomputers system at all blockheadquarters and the physicallychallenged citizen just needs to walk intothese centres and talk to the collectordirectly through video conferencing andexplain their problems without the needof visiting the district hqrs. This systemwas appreciated by Secretary Panchayat& Social Welfare Department GoMP.With the overwhelming success of theproject for physically handicappedcitizens a web enabled application hasMrs. SONALI VAYANGANKAR(IAS )Former Collector ShajapurWith the help of NIC district Centre,we involved the physically challengedcitizens in regular JANSUNVAIprogram. Now they need not travellong distances and wait in longqueues to participate in weeklygrievances redressal program. Theycan participate from their nearestblock head quarter using NIC’sdesktop video conferencing facility.<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 35
District <strong>Informatics</strong>PRAMOD GUPTA (IAS)Collector ShajapurOnline Nishakt Jansunvai is anexcellent example of ICT innovationand citizen participation. Iit is verypopular among citizens and we willdefinitely make it more effective.been introduced, for registration ofgrievances from normal applicants alsounder Jansunvai, The applications allowsthe government departments to entertheir follow up online and helps thecollector to monitor the follow up ofdepartments on weekly basis. The statusof application is also available on thedistrict website so that an applicant canknow the status of his/her application byentering the registration number ofapplication.RECORDS MISThis is an application for managementof documents related to disposedrevenue cases and revenue records.Details of a revenue cases like date offiling, applicant name, date of disposal,description of case, court name, village,RI circle, location details i.e. racknumber, bag number etc are enteredinto the system and various queries andreports are generated based on this data.Till, now more than 1 lakh records havebeen entered and the system also tracksthe transfer details of a case to othercourts for reference. It is very difficult tomanage such a huge number of revenuerecords manually and the project hasbeen appreciated by the PresidentMadhya Pradesh Revenue Board. Thesystem has also been implemented inOffice of the Chief Election Officer,Madhya Pradesh for their recordsmanagement.LAND RECORDSCOMPUTERIZATIONAll the tehsils of the district aregenerating Khasara and Bhu-nakshareport with the help of Land Recordsoftware. The manual process of Khasrahas been totally replaced bycomputerized system. Web services havebeen deployed for uploading the latestKhasara information on the state levelland records portal. This enables thecitizen to view his or her ROR online onInternet without the need to run aroundgovernment offices for the same.MIS FOR TIME LIMIT PENDINGLETTERSNIC has implemented an applicationfor monitoring the letters marked as timelimit by Collector. All such letters areentered and forwarded to concernedofficers. A weekly report for the collectorand all other officers of districtadministration is generated by thesystem. On every Monday a meeting isheld at the collector’s office led byDistrict Collector to review and disposeof the letters.MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONALRURAL EMPLOYMENTGUARANTEE ACTEffective computerized monitoring ofMahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act-2005(MNREGA) is functional in the district.All the eight blocks of the district havecompleted the offline data entry and arenow carrying out the entries in an onlinemode on regular basis.AGMARKNETUnder this project daily entry ofarrivals and rates of various agricultureproducts are entered and sent toAGMARKNET portal. It is successfullyrunning in Shajapur, Moman Badodiya,Shujalpur, Kalapipal, Akodiya, Agar,Badod and other agricultural productmarket committees of the district.ELECTION COMPUTERIZATIONNIC, Shajapur has always played akey role during the Lok Sabha, VidhanSabha and Municipal elections. Almostall the election processes like pollingpersonnel deployment, EVMmanagement, and random allocation ofbooths to polling parties have beenstreamlined and automated. In addition,the district centre also facilitates andensures online transmission of ‘countingand results data’ to the ElectionCommission of India (ECI),Doordarshan and State ElectionCommission at the time of elections.OTHER IMPORTANT PROJECTSRUNNING IN THE DISTRICTApart from all these projects e-scholarship for tribal department,e-khanij for mining department and e-court project for district court are alsofunctional in the district.ICT SUPPORT TO OTHERDEPARTMENTSNIC District Centre provides technicalsupport to other departments in basiccomputer training, application specifictraining, implementation, recruitmentprocess, presentations and networking.FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONAjay KulkarniDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> Officer, NICRoom No 86, 2nd Floor,NIC CollectorOffice, Shajapur (M.P.)PIN 465001Phone-0736422659736 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
District <strong>Informatics</strong>DHAMTARI –Citizen Empowerment through ITNational <strong>Informatics</strong>Centre, Dhamtari cameinto existence in theyear 2000 and sincethen it has beentirelessly working topromote e-governancein the districtadministration. In thelast 12 years thedistrict has witnessedtremendous growth, inthe field ofInformationTechnology therebyimproving theaccessibility anddelivery of variousgovernment servicesto the citizens.UPENDRA SINGHCHANDELDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerNIC Dhamtarisingh.upendra@nic.inDEdited byAnshu Rohatgihamtari, a district ofChhattisgarh is about 78kms from the state capitalRaipur. It has a rich culturalheritage and is famous forits dance styles, cuisine, music andtraditional folk songs. The total area ofthe district is 2029 sq. kms and it is about305 meters above the mean sea level.The district has a total population ofalmost 8 lakhs (as per the 2001 census)with the gender ratio of 1012 females forevery 1000 males and a literacy rate of78.95 percent. From the administrativepoint of view the district is divided intofour tehsils, four blocks and 651 revenuevillages.The district has global IT presencethrough the websitehttp://dhamtari.gov.in which assists thecitizens in accessing information aboutthe district. The website also containspublic interest information like ongoingdevelopment schemes in the district,tenders, recruitments, weather forecast,contact information of various districtlevel officials and links to other importantgovernment websites.ICT INFRASTRUTURENetwork services provided by NIC:A 100 Mbps link connects the districtcentre with state head quarters at Raipur,while LAN connectivity is extended toDistrict Collector Office, SP Office, PostOffice, Zila Panchayat, Block Panchayatand VC Room and other administrativeoffices within the collectorate.Video conferencing facility: TheVideo Conferencing facility available inthe district plays an important role inredressal of public grievances andmonitoring departmental activity andprojects. It allows the districtadministration to interact with state headquarters on regular basis withouttravelling and in a cost effective manner.ICT Training: Training programmesare regularly conducted for the officials ofvarious departments on various schemeslike MGNREGA, Smart KeroseneDelivery System, PlanPlus, PRIASoft,CPSMS etc.e-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVESComputerization of ICDS Scheme(Integrated Child DevelopmentServices): ICDS is a World Bank assistedproject, headed by Department ofWomen & Child Development, Ministryof Human Resource Development,Government of India. The purpose ofICDS is to improve the health status ofchildren between the age-group 0-6 yearsand to lay the foundation for properpsychological, physical and socialdevelopment of the child.While implementing the project inDhamtari huge anomalies were found inthe food grain allocation, erraticdistribution of food coupons, irregulardisbursement of funds and calculations.In order to remove these anomalies, NICDhamtari developed the Early ChildCare & Education (ECCE) software tochannelize, systematize and re-engineerthe complete distribution cycle. Thisonline software records the attendance ofchildren, calculates the cooking cost,prints required number of food coupons,<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 37
District <strong>Informatics</strong>monitors the supply of nutritionsupplements to all 1050 Aanganbadis,across the district, thereby ensuringtransparency and accountability in thesystem. SMS services have beenintegrated with the application to transferdata on daily basis while sector wiseready to eat food requirement areautomatically calculated by the softwarebased on online data. Numerous MISreports are generated to help thesupervisors and other authorities to havea proper check on the whole process.The implementation of ECCE softwarehas resolved many issues pertaining toanomaly in food grain distribution fromPDS shops, discrepancies in cooking cost,delay in data entry and fund spent on theproject, etc. The new online systemensures immediate accountability &transparency in the system as thecomplete data is available online.Mid-day Meal Online MonitoringSystem (MoMS): Under Mid-day Mealscheme, the whole process from datacollection, student’s attendance to salarydisbursement has been computerized.The success of the project has promptedthe state government to considere statelevel rollout of the software application.(http://cg.nic.in/pdsonline/cgmdm)Misal Record Online: Digitizationand computerization of very old missalrecords was done under the supervisionof District NIC and have been uploadedto http://cg.nic.in/Dhamtari/misal forcitizen’s use.Jandarshan(http://cg.nic.in/jandarshan): Jandarshanprogram is organized at Chief Minister’sresidence and district collectorate forredressal of citizen’s grievances.Complete process of redressal system hasbeen computerized right from applicationfilling to disposal of the application.Gramsuraj (http://cg.nic.in/gramsuraj):Gramsuraj program is organized by thestate government every year in the monthof April to reach out to the people at thegrass roots level, application form ofdemands and complaints are enteredonline for quick response and redressal.e-COURTNIC Dhamtari provides all technicalsupport to implement the CourtInformation System (CIS) software in theDistrict Court. A website has also beendeveloped for district court and all causelists and important court orders areregularly updated on this website.Bhuiyan (Land RecordComputerization): The project isdeveloped with an objective tocomputerize the land record at all Tehsil.In order to ensure proper functioning ofthe project client-server architecture hasbeen adopted. Printed copies of B-I,Khasra and Land Map in digitized formare being delivered to citizens.E-kosh (Treasury computerizationproject): E-Kosh is a key eGovernanceproject implemented by NIC districtcentre in the G2G area. The projectintends to provide accurate and effectivefinancial accounting of variousdepartments at the district level and thestate level.Employment Exchange: OnlineRegistration of unemployed youths isdone through this website. Both the Jobseekers & employer can registerthemselves online on this website. Basedon the registrations the employmentexchange is issuing computerizedregistration slips.Transport Office Project (Vahan &Sarathi): Vahan and Sarathi are majorprojects of state road transportdepartment. Vahan functions for vehicleregistration and Sarathi for providingdriving licenses. NIC is assisting RTOoffice in connectivity and operationalissues.S. PRAKASH (IAS)Colletor & District Magistrate,Dhamtari, ChhattisgarhInformation Technology brings about aprominent change in the field of e-governance. It gives me immensepleasure to present the e-governanceinitiatives undertaken in the district ofDhmatari, Chhatisgarh with the help ofNIC. These initiatives have broughtabout radical change in the process ofgovernance in the district enhancingtransparency and betterment of citizencentric services. I appreciate the districtadministrative staff and Mr. UpendraSingh Chandel, DIO, Dhamtari, for theirregular and dedicated efforts inmaking e-governance initiativessuccessful in the district.Paddy Procurement System:NIC helps the state agencyMARKFED in the Paddy procurementprocess done every year in the district. Inpaddy procurement season 2011-12,District Dhamtari saved 5.7 lakhs rupeesby using online system. All 80 paddypurchase centres are connected throughbroadband, Wi-Max, Data Card andother communication media.NIC, Dhamtari is also implementingmany other state and national leveleGovernance projects for Excise,Election, Rural Development(MNREGA, Planplus, YuvaSoft etc).FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> Officer, Dhamtari,Chhattisgarh, dhamtari.cg@nic.inPhone: 07722-237147, Mob: 982795216938 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
District <strong>Informatics</strong>GURGAON–EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF IT TO SERVE THE COMMON MANOnce known as “Guru Gram”,due to its linkage with GuruDronacharya during the timesof Mahabharata, Gurgaon isnow the industrial andfinancial centre of Haryana.Gurgaon district comprises 3Sub-Divisions, 5 Tehsils, 4Blocks, 215 Panchayats and291 Villages, having a totalpopulation of 1,660,289 as per2011 census. It has thirdhighest per capita income inIndia next only to Chandigarhand Mumbai and is the secondlargest city in the State ofHaryana. Having establisheditself as the industrial hub,with the turn of themillennium, it is also known asthe Millennium City of India.Edited byVivek Vermae-GOVERNANCE EFFORTS OF THEDISTRICT ADMINISTRATIONLiving up to the image and spirit of thecity, the District Administration hasdemonstrated tremendous interest inimplementing IT based governance anddelivery of services to the citizen. Withtechnical support from NIC Gurgaon, anumber of G2C, G2G, G2E and G2Binitiatives are being implemented in theDistrict. Notable among these are theG2C services being provided throughthe counters of e-Disha Centre andTehsils. The e-Disha Centre and TehsilCounters are equipped with all modernfacilities and IT infrastructure to deliverservices to the common man, well withinthe defined Service Levels. The majorG2C services being delivered include:n Property Registration (HaryanaRegistration Information System -HARIS)n Certificates (Caste, Domicile, Income)(Haryana Certificate Information System- HARCIS)n Affidavit Attestation & Verificationn Vehicle Registration (VAHAN)n Driving Licenses (SARATHI)n Record of Rights (RoRs)/Copies ofNakal (Haryana Land RecordsInformation System - HALRIS)n Public Grievances (HarsamadhanPortal) etc.Number of Transactions/entriesrecorded for major citizen centricservices through the respective softwareapplications since the beginning of thecurrent Financial Year till date is givenbelow in Table 1. The volume oftransactions indicated in the Table is agood indicator of successfulimplementation of G2C initiatives in theDistrict.One of the other key initiativesundertaken by NIC Haryana, which isalso being implemented in Gurgaon isthe integration of Land Records Data inHALRIS with Land Registration datacaptured through HARIS to enabledynamic linking and displaying ofTable – 1 Status of Major G2C initiatives during current financial year (April’12 to August’12)ANJALI DHINGRATechnical Director & DIOanjali.d@nic.inVIBHU KAPURPrincipal SystemsAnalyst & DIAvibhu.kapur@nic.in<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 39
District <strong>Informatics</strong>Khewats’ and owner details fromHALRIS, while entering Landregistrations through HARIS. Thesubsequent mutations w.r.t the linkedKhewats is carried out through HARIS,keeping the HALRIS database updatedto avoid any data inconsistency betweenthe two applications. Another integrationof Land Records data is also beingcarried out with http://jamabandi.nic.infor on-line availability of jamabandis inthe public domain.As a step further towards integratingnon-spatial with spatial data, HARIS andHALRIS software applications are beinglinked with Bhu-Naksha as part ofNational Land Records ModernizationProgramme (NLRMP). This allows thecommon man to view his Record ofRights (RoRs) by just clicking his LandParcel on the digitized Cadastral Map.Above initiatives have led tosignificant increase in revenue collectionw.r.t Gurgaon District. Besides, measureslike use of Biometric devices andphotograph of sub-registrar along withbuyer & seller in HARIS have broughtabout greater transparency in the system.The District Administration pays specialattention towards smooth functioning ofthese centres and keeps them up &running even during power outagesthrough dedicated Generator Sets.Adequately trained by NIC Gurgaon onthe operational aspects of the softwareapplications, the computer operatorswork incessantly to serve the publicthrough these G2C counters. TheDistrict IT activities are being managedon a self-sustainable basis through theDistrict IT Society.NATIONAL AND STATE LEVEL E-GOVERNANCE PROJECTSSome of the other projects beingsupported by NIC Gurgaon include:n AGMARKNETn NADRS (National Animal DiseaseReporting System)n Arms Licensesn MEDLEAPRS (Medico LegalExamination & Postmortem System) etc.n PriaSoft (Panchayat Accounting)n Panchayat Directoryn Panchayat Web Sites as part ofNational Panchayat Portal (NPP)n Dynamic Police Web Portal as part ofCCTNSn OTIS (On-line Treasury InformationSystem)n e-Salaryn Government e-Procurement Systemn Revenue Court Case MonitoringSystem (RECORD)n Senior Citizen Cards Issuancen Birth & Death Registration Systemn Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC)-2011Besides, technical support is also beingprovided in implementing the softwareapplications for various developmentalschemes including MGNREGA, SGSY,IAY, TSC, Pension Schemes etc.Gurgaon district’s web site i.e.http://gurgaon.gov.in is also beingeffectively utilized to publish relevantinformation provided by the DistrictAdministration.KEY ENABLERSGurgaon District is witnessing a veryhigh use of IT as a key tool for facilitatingits governance activities and deliveringservices to the citizens. The key enablersin this regard are:n High degree of motivation amongDistrict Officials to use IT in day-to-dayofficial activities.n Building of human capacities by NICGurgaon through regular IT trainingprogrammes thus ensuring sustained useand awareness of IT applications.n Availability of software applications inLocal Language i.e. Hindi.n Incorporation of feedback from NICDistrict Centres in to the softwareapplications based on users requirementsthrough a systematic changemanagement system by NIC HRSCn Keeping the NICNET and ITinfrastructure up & running all the timethrough regular maintenance, thusensuring smooth functioning of softwareapplications by NIC Gurgaon.n Regular monitoring of e-Governanceapplications by NIC-HRSC throughResults Framework Document.RECENT IT ACTIVITIESn Jalsa-e-aam in village Bakainka underNLRMP on 18.07.<strong>2012</strong>n HSRP implementation as part ofVAHAN w.e.f 12.07.<strong>2012</strong>n Setting-up of Emergency OperationsCentre (EOC) in Mini Sectt. as part ofDistrict Disaster Management Plan inJuly, <strong>2012</strong>n Initiation of Centralized Foreigner’sRegistration Offices (C-FRO) Moduleunder MHA’s Immigration, Visa &Foreigners Registration & Tracking(IVFRT) MMP at Foreigner’s RegionalRegistration Office, Gurgaon on pilotbasis in August, <strong>2012</strong>n Initiation of e-Procurement applicationat Haryana Police Housing Corporationin Gurgaon in August, <strong>2012</strong>n Conducted Training Programmes on e-Procurement, HARSAMADHAN andArms Licenses during July-August, <strong>2012</strong>n E-Services from e-DISHA Centren Active Support for VideoConferencing, NIC e-mail IDs, DigitalCertificate Issuance and upkeep of ITinfrastructureFOR FURTHER INFORMATIONDistrict <strong>Informatics</strong> OfficerRoom No. 201, Mini Secretariat, GurgaonTel: office – 0124-2328253diogrg@nic.in40 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
International e-Gov UpdateUSA LAUNCHES 'DIGITAL SERVICES INNOVATION CENTER'Digital Services InnovationCentre, a setup to ensureeffective delivery of servicesby agencies of the federalgovernment with the help ofweb services and mobile applications, hasbeen launched by General ServicesAdministration, an agency in the USgovernment that helps manage andsupport the basic functioning of federalagencies.The Centre comprises of staff from GSA’sOffice of Citizen Services and InnovativeTechnologies, USA's focal point for data,information and services offered by thefederal government to citizens. Inaddition, it plays a leadership role inidentifying and applying new technologiesto effective government operations andexcellence in customer service in thegovernment.The Centre, described as a ‘key piece’ ofthe White House’s new digital governmentstrategy released in late May, is headed byassociate administrator David McClure,and will include contributors from otheragencies. It will have to meet a number ofspecific digital strategy milestones over thenext months, serving as a virtual hub toengage different agencies and ‘accelerate’innovative digital services. With the workundertaken and strategies build by theCentre, the American public will expect animproved customer experience fromdigital government servicesOver the next 10 months, the Center ischarged with meeting a number of specificdigital strategy milestones to deliver digitalservices and government informationanywhere, anytime and on any device.The Center will engage agencies acrossgovernment by serving as a virtual hub toaccelerate innovative digital services.Initial efforts are underway establishingshared solutions and training to supportinfrastructure and content needs across theFederal government, and identifying andproviding performance and customerservice satisfaction measurement tools toimprove service delivery.For Further Informationhttp://gsablogs.gsa.gov/SEOUL LAUNCHES ‘SMARTCOMPLAINT CENTRE’ MOBILEAPPLICATIONSouth Korea’s Capital city haslaunched a location-basedmobile application, the ‘SeoulSmart Complaint Center’which enables users toregister complaints regarding communityissues that affect public safety andinfrastructure by linking to the relevantwebsites by smart phone, allowing accessanytime anyplace.Users can download the applicationfrom the leading App stores to map thereported location and allow photos of thelocation to be attached and submitted viasmart phone. Seoul City also plans to linkthe newly introduced application to the‘citizen complaint reporting’ web page onthe GIS map portal site(http://gis.seoul.go.kr)The application developed by the SeoulMetropolitan Government allows citizensto track the progress of their complaintsthrough their smart phones in real time,and an SMS is promptly sent to the user toinform them in detail of every step of thecomplaint resolution procedure.According to an official statement,complaints registered through the “SeoulSmart Complaint Centre” app areimmediately transferred to the ‘120 DasanCall Center’ and are then directed to theappropriate city service. As the ‘SeoulSmart Complaint Center’ app maps thelocation of a complaint, the data thuscollected through the “Seoul SmartComplaint Centre” app will serve as avaluable reference to be used in futuremunicipal decisions. Frequent complaintsin different regions will be collated andused to inform local governmentoperations.For Further Informationhttp://gis.seoul.go.kr<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 41
International e-Gov UpdateBROAD ASSESSMENT OFVIETNAM GOVT. WEBSITESREVEALS MAJOR SECURITYLAPSEAWorkshop held on‘Information SecurityPolicies towards Developingof E-Governance’ byVietnam InformationSecurity Association(VNISA) and Vietnam ComputerEmergency Response Team (VNCERT)revealed major cyber security concerns forthe nation. The workshop was conductedin order to implement Prime Minister’sInstruction and the Guidelines of Ministryof Information and Communications(MIC) on the protection of websites againstattacks and data thefts.Underlining the importance of e-government development in Vietnamesepublic sector agencies, and informationsecurity as the primary concern, theworkshop was attended by Hon’ble Dr.Nguyen vice Minister, MIC and Dr. VuQuoc Khanh, Director General, VNCERTbesides other important dignitaries.Major General Dr. Nguyen Viet, theformer Head of the <strong>Informatics</strong> AgencySOUTH KOREA INTRODUCESFINGERPRINT RECOGNITION E-BIDDING SYSTEMSouth Korean PublicProcurement Service (PPS)has introduced theFingerprint Recognition e-Bidding System (FRBS) toeffectively prevent corruption such asillegal proxy bidding and bid rigging. PPShas designed the Fingerprint Recognitione-Bidding System (FRBS) to invite onlyqualified and registered bidders withenhanced measures to protect bidders’information.With the introduction of FRBS, those whowanted to register a proxy bidder had tosubmit a certificate of employees’ insuranceto confirm their affiliation. With the newtechnology in effect, there was no single caseof illegal lending of certificates reportedcompared to 1,777 cases (worth about $30million) prior to the implementation. Thesystem has also reduced signs of illegal e-bidding attempts and secured transparencyand fairness. Not having to monitor illegalunder the Ministry of Public Security,identified that network security wouldcontinue to be a burning problem in <strong>2012</strong>,and may even lead to large-scale cyberwarfare.Most of the Vietnamese governmentwebsites are yet not interactive and lacksfull electronic case handling and otherformal in-person procedure. Moreover, asurvey of VNCERT reports that 53 percent of state agencies units, which haveinformation security systems cannot recordattack behavior.It has also estimated that 78 per cent ofthe websites are vulnerable to attack at anytime. With such loopholes, if an attack iscarried out, it would be very difficult tobidding activities, organizations saved about$5.5 million, besides the establishment of anew market valued at $7 million, where it isactively used.The new system allows users to submitbids only when users’ fingerprint matcheswith pre-registered fingerprint in theBiometric Security Token. Unlike otherauthentication certificates, it can’t beutilized by others except the user as it isbased on their biometric information.Earlier to this ‘Korea On-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS)’ wasbeing used and there were cases reportedcontinue with the operations of the wholesystem. The Vietnam Information SecurityAssociation carried out an assessment of100 websites of government agencies(.gov.vn), and found that 80 per cent ofwebsites do not apply safeguards such asintrusion prevention systems.According to a new report a localInternet security firm Bkav last year,Computer viruses cause Vietnam “timedamage” worth VND559 billion (US$26.7million) every month. It further says therewere 6.9 million computers affected bymalware in April <strong>2012</strong>.For Further Informationhttp://english.mic.gov.vn/that bid brokers borrowed the registrants’certificate and participated in the bidillegally to gain profit when the contractwas awarded, raising concerns about thereliability of e-bidding, as well as a wasteof national budget. All other precautionarymeasures such as Bidders IdentificationSystem, Informant Reward Policy andCorrupt Activity Analysis System took toomuch time and effort to investigate andimpose administrative measures onfraudulent bidding practices.For Further Informationhttp://gis.seoul.go.kr42 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
Cyber GovernanceWELFARE OF SCHEDULED CASTES AND BACKWARDCLASSES DEPARTMENTThe Department of Welfare of Schedule Castes &Backward Classes coordinates and supervises the activitiesof other Departments in the matter of implementation ofvarious schemes designed for the Welfare of ScheduledCastes, Backward Classes and De-notified Tribes.The website is rich and updated with information,categorized under impeccable navigation architecture. Widecoverage of welfare schemes with documents available fordownload helps users to seek and save desired information.E-Services Section includes plethora of information onvarious schemes and policies.The Website is well designed with elegant colour schemes,style sheet and use of quality images. The Home Page clearlyestablishes the ownership with a big banner logo and themotive of the website runs through the image slider on thehomepage.The navigation is smooth and the availability of submenu’son internal pages adds consistent navigation for theusers. The sitemap and help sections add value to thebrowsing. The website is compatible with all majorbrowsers and it has proper response to standard screenresolution.http://haryanascbc.gov.inCONTENT: HHHHDESIGN, NAVIGATION & COMPATIBILITY: HHHHINTERACTIVITY: HHHThe website has a contact page with contact informationand a feedback form to collect user reviews. Downloadableforms are also available to help the user groupapply/enquire under various welfare schemes. Proper andweighted placement of links to national portal and otherstate ministries, with compliance to guidelines for Indiangovernment websites and w3c standards makes it an idealwebsite.http://industries.cg.gov.inCONTENT: HHHHDESIGN, NAVIGATION & COMPATIBILITY: HHHHINTERACTIVITY: HHHDEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRIES C.G.Major Responsibility of the Department of Commerce andIndustry in state’s all around development is to contributeto industrialization and trade promotion. The Departmentplays a catalytic role in establishment of micro, small,medium, mega and ultra mega projects, to createemployment opportunities and to contribute to thedevelopment of all areas by increase in investment, tradeand export.The website is full of relevant and updated informationpertaining to policies, acts, events, annual reports, projectsand documents. Overview of initiatives taken by theDepartment, Photo galleries, notifications and orders,budget reports and statistical data provide enough insightinto the efforts being taken by the Department.The design is simple with pleasant colour scheme. Largebanner logo on the header looks attractive.The site widedrop-down navigational menu on the top provides quicknavigation. Links to the related pages in the left-sidebar oninternal pages maintains the flow of navigation. A site-wideimage slider serves as a major attraction and defines themotto of the Department. The website is compatible withall major browsers and it has proper response to standardscreen resolution.The website mentions a toll-free number at the top rightcorner along with link to the contact page. The contact pageenlists email address and contact number of the majorgovernment officials, and it may be useful to those lookingfor immediate access.<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 43
Cyber GovernanceDEPARTMENT OF EX-SERVICEMAN WELFAREThe Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare is dedicated tolook after the welfare, resettlement and rehabilitation of exservicemen(ESM), war widows and their dependents.The content rich and visually appealing website has beenbuilt with an aim to provide maximum accessibility andusability to its visitors by facilitating quick access to schemesand forms available for download. The website iscontinually updated with news and information, circularsand notifications, press releases and policy updatespertaining to the target beneficiary group. Detailedinformation on guidelines, policies and plans of DirectorateGeneral Resettlement, Kendriya Sainik Board, Scholarshipsand Health Schemes, Training Programs, Self Employmentand Concessions etc is well presented and easily navigable.The design is attractive with use of pulsating colours.Large banner logo with the national emblem on the headerlook elegant besides site wide navigational menu on the topprovides quick and consistent navigation. Two content boxesserve updates in a striking manner. The third block on thehome page is of great importance as it links to all theimportant pages of the website.Links to the related pages in the left-sidebar on internalhttp://webcast.gov.inCONTENT: HHHHDESIGN, NAVIGATION & COMPATIBILITY: HHHHINTERACTIVITY: HHHGOVERNMENT VIDEO PORTALWebcast.gov.in is hosted and maintained by National<strong>Informatics</strong> Centre, Department of Electronics andInformation Technology, Government of India. It webcastsInternational and National events of national interest,speeches made by President and Prime Minister, culturalprograms, conferences and seminars.The Website with vibrant colour scheme and clean layouthas links to four major live streaming channels viz. Lok Sabha,Doordarshan, Vyas UGC CEC and Rajya Sabha, placed inthe top right content box.pages keeps a visitor stick to the navigation. The website iscompatible with all major browsers and it has properresponse to standard screen resolution.The website contains a FAQ section and a contact page toassist user seeking information. The contact page enlistsemail address and contact number of the important officials.A search bar at the header and font adjustment are otherattractive elements on the website.The site also holds a galley of other streams on the HomePage that displays recent webcasts and streams from nationalevents, cultural events, conferences and seminars fromdifferent sources. Banner images that link to the nationalportal and other major sites are being displayed in the bottombar on home page.A banner image with the national emblem on rightestablishes Govt. identity. An email contact link with help areais available assist new users. The website is compatible withall major browsers and it has proper response to standardscreen resolution.The website offers interactivity in terms of live webcast. Auser who clicks a link to a live clip joins the live event inprogress. Because the event is happening in real time, fastforward,rewind, and pause capabilities are not available. LiveWebcasts are most suitable for high demand live presentationsto large geographically dispersed audiences. Users can attendthese virtual presentations from their desktop by visiting aweb site.Further, pre-recorded clips are also delivered, or streamed,to users upon request. A user who clicks a link to an ondemandclip watches the clip from the beginning. The usercan fast-forward, rewind or pause the clip. Therefore ondemand streams can be created from archived live events orrecorded clipshttp://desw.gov.inCONTENT: HHHHDESIGN, NAVIGATION & COMPATIBILITY: HHHHINTERACTIVITY: HHHCONTRIBUTED BY: LOKESH JOSHIPrincipal Systems AnalystE-mail: lokesh@nic.in44 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
In the NewsLAUNCH OF STATE PORTAL, SSDG& E-FORMS IN UTTAR PRADESHHon’ble Chief Minister ofUttar Pradesh Sri AkhileshYadav launched the StatePortal and e-Forms on 1stAugust <strong>2012</strong>. The StatePortal (uponline.up.nic.in) and e-Forms are developed by NIC UP StateUnit. With the launch of the e-Forms,Citizens can now avail a total of 26services of the 8 departments fromtheir nearby CSC/ Lokvani Centres.On this occasion Hon’ble ChiefMinister praised the efforts beingmade by NIC Uttar Pradesh and StateIT department.The Senior Cabinet Ministers ofGovernment of Uttar Pradesh SriAzam Khan, Sri Shivpal Singh Yadav,Sri Ambika Chowdhary, Sri AhmedHasan and Sri Abhishek Mishragraced the occasion. Various SeniorAdministrative Officers of Govt. of UPwere present during the launch. TheCommissioners and DistrictMagistrates from the state alsoinaugurated the services from CSCCentres in their respectiveCommissionary and District.Anshu Rohatgi, Uttar PradeshE-GOVERNANCE SERVICESLAUNCHED BY JAMMUMUNICIPAL CORPORATION FORTHE CITIZENS OF JAMMUPrincipal Secretary Housingand Urban DevelopmentDepartment J&K, Mr.Suresh Kumar, IASofficially dedicated the E-GovernanceServices to citizens of Jammu in a verysimple and impressive function held atDeputy Commissioner Office inJammu on 6th August <strong>2012</strong> inpresence of media personals andnative masses.Among those who were present inthe function were Vice Chairman,JDA Mrs. Sarita Chouhan IAS,Deputy Commissioner of Jammu; Mr.Sanjeev Verma IAS, MunicipalCommissioner of Jammu Mr. KuldeepKhajuria, Technical Director &Projector Co-coordinator Mr. Jit Raj,Officers of Municipal Corporation andprominent Citizens of Jammu. OtherNIC Officers present during theoccasion were Mr. Harbaksh Singh,Project Associate, Mr. Rakesh Jamwal,Project Associate, Mr. Sanjay Gupta,District <strong>Informatics</strong> Officer Jammu,Mr. Sanjeev Kapoor and District<strong>Informatics</strong> Associate of Jammu.In a brief interaction with thecitizens, Principal Secretaryemphasized the need for such E-Governance models for the speedydelivery of services to the citizens likeBirth Certificates, BuildingPermissions, and Public Grievancesetc. Earlier, demonstration of the workflow based applications was providedto the officers of the variousdepartments and the citizens presenton the occasion and their queries werealso re-addressed. Principal Secretaryenjoined upon all the departments toadopt the system for easing themovement of citizens.Principal Secretary finallyacknowledged the hard work of theentire NIC team at Jammu & Kashmirand Pune for their un-tiring efforts inbringing up such a transparent systemPrincipal Secretary, H&UDD, J&K, Officersof NIC and other Departments during theLaunch Ceremonyfor the benefit of common masses.With initiation of such a model,citizens can now get access to theirbirth record anywhere around theglobe. Even in case of Buildingpermission system citizens are updatedabout their movement of permissioncases through SMS services, which isfirst of its kind in the state of J&K andalso through WEB portalhttp://jkhudd.nic.in.Jit Raj, Jammu and Kashmir<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 45
In the NewsINAUGURATION OF TEHSILCOMPUTER CENTRE BY HON'BLECHIEF MINISTER, HIMACHALPRADESHHon’ble Chief Minister ofHimachal Pradesh, Prof.Prem Kumar Dhumalinaugurated the ComputerCentre of the newlycreated Tehsil of Tauni Devi inHamirpur District on 1st September<strong>2012</strong>. During the inaugural ceremony,Sh. I.D. Dhiman, Education Minister,Sh. Rajender Singh IAS, DeputyCommissioner, Hamirpur and othersenior officers were present.The Tehsil Computer Centreprovides a number of services throughNIC developed software. Thesesoftware were made operational by theNIC District officers in a very shorttime. The following software havebeen implemented:HimBhoomi, Integrated HimRIS ,HimBhoomi-LMK Nakal Interface,LokPraman Patra, RCMS, GenPMISand eSamadhanThe Deputy Commissioner,Hamirpur presented the BonafideHimachali Certificate and NakalJamabandi to Prof. Dhumal on theoccasion. The Chief Minister assuredthe general public about theavailability of various services at theirdoorsteps. The citizens will not have tovisit the District headquarters for theabove services which will be availableto them through the Tehsil ComputerCentre.Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumalappreciated the efforts put in by theHon'ble CM, Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumalinaugurating the Tehsil CentreNIC officers in implementation ofthese software and bringing intooperation the citizen services in theTehsil office.Ajay Singh Chahal, HimachalPradeshTHE NEHRU TROPHY BOAT RACEWEBSITE TURNS TRILINGUALThe seven years old, NehruTrophy Boat Race websitehas now been madeavailable in two otherlanguages, Hindi andMalyalam. The trilingual website(http:// nehrutrophy.nic.in ) waslaunched by the Union Minister ofState for Power Sh. K. C.Venugopal onHon'ble CM, Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumalinaugurating the Tehsil Centre3rd August <strong>2012</strong> in a function held atAlappuzha Collectorate ConferenceHall. The trilingual website is the brainchild of the District Collector Sh. PVenugopal IAS."Adoption of ICT in Governancecan give a facelift to the DistrictAdministration by increasing theefficiency in service delivery andgovernance. District NIC with thesupport of the NIC Kerala StateCentre has launched a multi lingualwebsite for the world famous NehruTrophy Boat Race conducted underthe aegis of District Administrationthrough a Society known as NehruTrophy Boat Race Society. The loftymission behind conducting the race isthe national integration and communalharmony" says the District Collector.The website statistics over the yearsshows the enthusiasm and vigor withwhich the boat race lovers view thesite. Every year it increases by lakhsand this time within 10 days in Augustthe site hits crossed 265000.The Nehru Trophy Boat Racenamed after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruis conducted on the Punnamda Lake,Alappuzha, on the second Saturday ofAugust every year. The event managesto draw tourists - foreign and domestic- in flocks, turning the peaceful town ofAlappuzha into a seething bee-hive ofactivity. On the day of this fiercelyfought boat race, the tranquil lake frontis transformed into a sea of humanitywith an estimated two lakh people,including tourists from abroad forwatching it. For the people of eachvillage in Kuttanad, a victory at thisrace for their village boat is somethingto be celebrated for months to come.Parvathi Devi.P (DIO) &Mohanan K K (DIA) - Alappuzha,Kerala46 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
In the NewsONE DAY TRAININGPROGRAMME ON E-MUNICIPALITIES HELD AT DCOFFICE, KUPWARA (J&K)Aone day tranining-cumdemonstrationprogramme on e-Governance applicationsviz. Online BuildingPermission System, Birth & DeathRegistration System, Double EntryAccounting System, Public GrievancesMonitoring System, beingimplemented in all the Urban LocalBodies of J&K was successfullyconducted on 30th August <strong>2012</strong> atDeputy Commissioner’s OfficeKupwara by the NIC J&K,Municipalities Project Teamcomprising of Sh. Harbaksh Singh,SSA and Rakesh Jamwal, SSA. Thetraining session was attended by all theParticipants attending the training sessionNOC issuing authorities for BuildingPermissions like ADC Kupwara,AC(R) Kupwara, and ExecutiveEngineers from PHE, PDD, PWD,ED and I&FC Departments. ExecutiveOfficers of Municipal CommitteeKupwara, Handwara and Langate alsoattended the training. A questionanswersession was also held and thequeries raised by the participants werereplied by the NIC Officers andExecutive Officers of theMunicipalities.Jit Raj, Jammu & KashmirONLINE SYSTEM FORSUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONFOR REGISTRATIONINAUGURATED INCOLLECTORATE, RAIPUR C.GTTaking a leap forward inIT enabled citizen centricservice delivery, theDistrict Collector, RaipurDr. Rohit Yadav has recorded yetanother achievement to his credit. Thesystem of application submission forobtaining certified 15-Point RoRstatement and initiation of mutationhas been made online in Raipurdistrict. The Revenue Commissionerof Raipur Division Dr. B.L.Tiwariinaugurated this ambitious service on11th July <strong>2012</strong>. The web enabledapplication has been developed atNIC District Centre, Raipur by a teamheaded by Mr. Pradeep KumarMishra, DIO. With the beginning ofthis system, now the people need notMr. Pradeep Kumar Mishra, DIO demonstrating the system after inauguration.To his left areDr. Rohit Yadav, Collector and Dr. B.L.Tiwari, Commissionerrun around Patwari for days in orderto get the certified document necessaryfor registration. One has to obtain anapplication form, from the singlewindow set up for this purpose in thecollector office and deposit the filledinform at the same counter. Thedetails are then fed immediately onlineby the clerk and a receipt will be givento the applicant mentioning the datefor obtaining the certificate. Under thisarrangement, online submission ofapplications has been mademandatory and Patwaris have beeninstructed against acceptingapplications directly. To begin with,this facility has been started on pilotbasis in Raipur Tehsil. In few monthsto come, remaining Tehsils of thedistrict will also be covered. Thewebsite can be accessed athttp://raipur.nic.in.Y.V.Shreenivas Rao, Chattisgarh<strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong> | informatics.nic.in | 47
In the NewsNIC CHAIRS A SESSION INWOLRD BANK CONFERENCEhe International Open GovernmentData ConferenceT(IOGDC) was held atWorld Bank headquartersin Washington, D.C. earlyJuly this year.The conference, attended by world’sforemost Open Government expertsand enthusiasts from more than 50countries, for thoughtful, dynamicdiscussion around the historicopportunity presented by opengovernment data to fostercollaboration, transparency, andinteractive public participation. Ms.Neeta Verma, Senior TechnicalDirector NIC chaired the session on”Platforms and Technology for releasingOpen Data”. Joined by the world’sforemost experts on open governmentMs. Neeta Verma, STD, NIC Delhi (4th from left) during the panel discussion in Washingtondata, Ms. Verma discussed platformchallenges and best practices forgovernments to move in the directionof Open Data.The IOGDC this time with the themeof “Putting Data to Work” held twentypanel discussions in Washingtonfocused on open data policies,technologies, and the power of puttingopen data to work. These dialoguesfeatured a global cadre of experts,leaders and policy-makers. WorldBank Group President Jim Yong Kim,U.S. Federal Chief Information OfficerSteven Van Roekel and representativesfrom different countries across theworld were also present on theoccassion.NIOS SIGNS MOU WITH NIC TODEVELOP WEB DESIGNINGCOURSE BASED ON GIGWAMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU)was signed between theNational Institute ofOpen Schooling (NIOS) and theNational <strong>Informatics</strong> Centre (NIC)with the objective of developing skillbasedCertificate and Diploma courseson web development and designing inaccordance with the Guidelines forProject members of NIC and NIOS withHon'ble Union Ministers Shri Kapil Sibaland Smt. Daggubati Purandeswari at theMoU signing ceremony48 | informatics.nic.in | <strong>October</strong> <strong>2012</strong>Indian Government Websites (GIGW)using the Open and Distance Learning(ODL) system. This will providevertical and lateral mobility of learnersfrom the school level in the webdesigning course.The MoU was signed by Mr. UdayNarayan Khaware, Secretary, NIOSand Deputy Director General, NICDr. Gautam Bose in presence ofHon’ble Union Minister forCommunications and InformationTechnology and Human ResourceDevelopment Shri Kapil Sibal andHon’ble Union Minister of State forHuman Resource Development Smt.D. Purandeswari.In the process, NIC will beproviding technical support in terms oftraining the course development teamand the master trainers of the courses.NIC will also provide support onvarious aspects of the courseformulation and implementation.Meanwhile, NIOS will develop andmanage the study material, StudyCentres, fee structure and certificationto the successful learners.The two organizations are workingtogether to design a credit basedCertificate and Diploma course in WebDesigning and Development. A class10th pass out will be eligible for theCertificate course, whereas 12th passor Certificate in Web Designing andDevelopment will be the eligibility forthe Diploma course. The courseduration will be six months and oneyear for the Certificate and Diplomarespectively.D.P.Misra, Delhi
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