Good Governance Application 1 : e-Office

 Satisfaction

For me it’s one of the stage, when we achieve a daunting and nearly impossible task, in time, with neat & smooth finish. This particular task had all possible resistance and was more prone to sabotage. Yet with precise planning, dedicated & committed team and also with huge support from the highest possible level in bureaucracy, we could execute it like a cake walk.

Government moves with file. Every letter received by an public or any service given to stakeholders or any policy decision or for that matter anything in government are recorded in note sheet of file and decision are taken accordingly. This system is accountable and full proof.

The issue with manual filing system is tracking is difficult, delay, tampering, loss etc., and more over the process consumed more paper. It is assumed that, in manual system an average document was photocopied 19 times, paper files get doubled every 3.5 years, paper usage in an average office grows 22 percent a year and doubles every 3.5 years, a letter has to pass through 41 steps and entered in dozens of the registers before it is answered, every 500 files demand an additional employee to maintain them, the average search time for any document is 18 minutes and some are never found and more importantly at any given time, 3-5 percent of an organization's files are lost or misplaced

The solution to this issue was e-Office. It enhanced transparency, it increases accountability, it assures data security and data integrity, it transforms the government work culture and ethics and importantly it released employee from unproductive procedures.

e-office system a letter is received via mail is directly brought in to system, if received via paper is scanned and sent to concerned head, without delay. Based on the content of the letter a file is created or added to the existing file. There after it moves as per departmental hierarchy. Any public can know what is the status of his letter or file by visiting citizen portal of e-Office. The process has been designed as per approved government process and protocol.

Impact may not be visible now, but it is a leaping step towards highest accountable system. Over a period of time all government office will fall in line to implement e-Office application and will have less paper, less printers and minimum photocopier machines. Paper consumption can be still minimized with the help of e-Sign and Digilocker.

e-Office is an application developed by NIC and is a mission mode project of Government of India. The Manual filing system is transformed in electronic format using e-Office.  In Karnataka Center for e-Governance is nodal agency to implement it across the state. I was lucky to head this project from as Project Director. By the time I left project, we had implemented e-Office in 371 offices across state (All Secretariat, all DC offices, all SP offices, all ZP,CEO office, BDA, BBMP etc.,), with 19K + users. System has created 5.75 + lakhs of files, 44+ lakhs of letter were processed. We had trained 18K officers, we had created 1k pool of master trainers. All these happened between October 2018 to July 2020

There is lot more to be done in coming days. The best part of the project is, there is no turning back option. Moment of satisfaction.

 

e Office

 

Disclaimer: Purely personal opinion. 

 


 

 

Comments

  1. RajuJune 21, 2021 at 8:31 AM

    We all know how close was this initiative was for you and the challenges during the implementation. You guided this superbly. Hats off yo you

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 21, 2021 at 8:31 AM

    Commendable job. E office is the only solution for early disposal of files. System is more transparent and cannot be tampered.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 2:09 PM

      Thank you, yes it brings lot of transparency.

      Delete
  3. SrinibglrJune 21, 2021 at 8:42 AM

    k V Srinivas
    Great to hear that most of it is getting digitised. It should make life easier. When I visited sub register office there was no way to pull the documents as the rats had bitten and many were so old that if you even turn the page it would torn.Now that most of it getting digitised we can verify the documents are genuine or not and help in eliminating the criminals who cheat people with fake documents.
    One suggestion is , many of them do not have access to upload the documents.you should think about a scanner in all the office when we visit the office it should be accessible for all to upload documents. I had a personal experience in RTO office where even after uploading the documents , the official said the documents were not available in their sever and I had to struggle to upload as the app did not support on mobile . If there was a scanner, it would have been easier for me to upload. As usual, the agents will approach will ask for 10x the actual amount . Even though many who visit are more educated than those agents, we are forced to go with agent as we cannot spend an additional day off from work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 3:58 PM

      Days to come you can upload the document using mobile. Years after you need not submit any document, since those documents will be accessed from the source department electronically.

      Delete
  4. UnknownJune 21, 2021 at 8:49 AM

    Good morning sir

    Harikrishna

    Slowly day by day its improving, ist EC received in digital applied received friday.

    Thank you sir

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJune 21, 2021 at 8:59 AM

    The major problem with the current mechanism is it still lacks the push to educate at all the levels. Which may take more years. It should be taken as activity itself to push it to the last mile and do a study on how many are educated to know how to use the e-office.

    One thing I do appreciate is your zeal to make things happen.
    Way to Go!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 3:59 PM

      True, need to create a lot of awareness and everyone should own his part.

      Delete
  6. KaveriJune 21, 2021 at 9:11 AM

    Projects like this requires a very good leader who could lead this project with such zeal, enthusiasm, motivation and more over a having a good vision to take this project forward. I could not think of any better person other than you, to lead this project Sir.

    The last line which mentions " No turning back option" is something which must be applied in most of the Mission Mode Projects. Such projects should only end after implementing successfully across at all levels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 4:03 PM

      We could achieve this daunting task with the help of visionary officers. Particularly ACS Manjula madam. Madam used to religiously review progress every Tuesday. Madam defended my team at all levels. Which gave us enough confidence to push.

      Delete
  7. UnknownJune 21, 2021 at 9:14 AM

    eOffice is the only best option which government can adopt to give good governance. Which is fast and very effective.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ರವಿ ಪೂಜಾರJune 21, 2021 at 9:37 AM

    ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪ್ಪ ಹಾಕಿದ ಆಲದ ಮರಕ್ಕೆ ಜೋತು ಬೀಳುವ ಮನಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಮನೆಮಾಡಿದೆ. ಹೀಗಿದ್ದಾಗೂ ಅದರ(ಇ-ಆಫೀಸ್) ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮಿಸಿದ ತಂಡದ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಪ್ರಶಂಸನೀಯ ಎಂಬುದಕ್ಕೂ ದೂಸ್ರಾ ಮಾತಾಡುವಂತಿಲ್ಲ. ಒಂದು ಯೋಜನೆ ಅಡೆತಡೆಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆಯೂ ಆರಾಮಮವಾಗಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಅದರ ನೇತೃತ್ವ "ವಹಿಸಿದ್ದವರ" ಪಾತ್ರವೂ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾದದ್ದು ಮತ್ತು ದೂರದೃಷ್ಟಿಯಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿತ್ತು ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಗೌರವದಿಂದಲೇ ಕಾಣಬೇಕು.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 4:06 PM

      True Ravi. I was fortunate enough to lead such a good team.

      Delete
  9. Prabhusince1992June 21, 2021 at 10:10 AM

    One of the best initiative programs of GoK sir. I feel proud that I have worked under your guidance In implementing eOffice. You set an example how to face challenges and convince the officials in implementing the digital platform.

    ReplyDelete
  10. LokuJune 21, 2021 at 2:05 PM

    Much needed project for all States in India. Hope the staffs of all government department takes this project seriously & the success is visible to common man soon.

    I suggest aadhar n mobile number to be linked to e office portal too. Whenever a public needs to submit a application n grivence or to view the status, his Aadhaar n e sign should be mandatory(so that only he can view-there by privacy is also maintained). Again the correspondence movement (atleast when there is a major update) should be notified to public to his Aadhaar linked mobile number through sms.
    This will also reduces the unwanted/ fake queries n complaints, there by saves much time of govt officials.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 4:10 PM

      SMS gateway is integrated, the Public received an acknowledgement, officers get file received alert. SMS can be configured to various level. Usage of Aadhaar is a good idea, due to legal issues, at present, it is not used.

      Delete
  11. Deepa LJune 21, 2021 at 4:55 PM

    Well explained! I believe if used extensively in all offices it can promote transparency and good governance.

    ReplyDelete
  12. RenukaJune 21, 2021 at 7:52 PM

    Wow, lots of good information Prabha. Third paragraph is very informative and documents how much time spent and more importantly lost in communication and book keeping. It is also good to hear about the adoption status. I would also be curious to know how much, in percentage wise, manual communication has been moved to e-office? Also, is it possible to provide the citizen portal link? how is it accessed by the citizen? is it based on Aadhar? overall a fascinating insight into how trailblazers like you are changing the government functioning for better. Looking forward to knowing and understanding more about future improvements

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Prabhakar HLJune 24, 2021 at 4:15 PM

      Thank you. Almost 80% of physical files have been converted into electronic in e office implemented office. The files related to court, disciplinary action have not been kept out of the purview. A citizen portal is available. Presently citizen can view their letter status. There is a legal issue to use Aadhaar.

      Delete
  13. KJune 21, 2021 at 9:35 PM

    Sir when reading this blog I remember those days where you single handedly took all the hinderances and elevated your dream project to every corner in the state and made us feel proud to work under your guidance! No matter what pr when or why it's from your hard work, dedication and efficiency that this project could achieve this heights! Waiting for the chance to work under your guidance again sir!😊

    ReplyDelete
  14. ShylaJune 25, 2021 at 7:56 PM

    e-Office does automatic audit which is speeding up the process saving lot of time. Your achievement in implementation of this project is laudable. No turning back option sounds great

    ReplyDelete

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