Learner’s Submission: Ways to Eradicate or Reduce Corruption in India

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”  – Mahatma Gandhi

“In this article, I will discuss about the corruption in India and some of the measures that can help in eradicating or at least reducing corruption.

Corruption in India is very widespread.  As per Transparency International Report (2013), India ranks 94 among 177 nations in Corruption Perception Index. Newspapers report a number of corruption cases involving ministers, MPs, MLAs, business houses, government offices as well as private companies. Corruption in our country has made the rich richer and the poor poorer. In our country, even after 67 years of Independence, many people in remote villages still live without Roads, Electricity or drinking water; forget about education, health or a decent life. This is a good example of how common people are affected due to corruption the country.

Let me now discuss some of the ways that can help in eradicating or at least reducing corruption in India.

1. e-Governance

e-Governance can be used as an effective tool to eradicate or reduce corruption to great extent. E-Governance facilitates direct interaction between the Government & the citizen eliminating the interference of the middlemen.  Normally the middle-man (called “Dalaal” in Hindi) acts as an agent who collects money (bribe) from the citizen & pays to the corrupt government officials to get the work done. There are examples, where a common man can’t get his work done without the help of middlemen. Examples of such practices are seen widely in Regional Transport Office (RTO), Property Registration Office, etc. Citizens are empowered with ICT tools to interact with the Government Departments for getting various public services.

2. Education

Education can play a great role in reduction of corruption in the society. Normally uneducated or less educated people are not aware of various government processes. Taking advantage of this, the government officials or middlemen cheat the common man & demand bribe or excess charges for any public service.  Reports reveal that the Kerala state has got less corruption compared to other states due to high literacy rate in the state. When people are educated & aware of various rules & processes, they are less likely to fall prey to corrupt practices of the public servants/political leaders. The Government should allocate sufficient budget for the development of Schools, Colleges, and Universities etc.

3. Social Media

Social Media is fast changing the world and has a deep impact on the lives of the people in India. Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube can play an important role in educating the mass, particularly the young generation on various government processes, rules etc. which can ultimately help in reducing corruption.  Since a large percentage of Indian population is young & we should take advantage of Internet, digitalized Television & Social Media to propagate awareness on various government procedures and such awareness can also help in reducing corruption.

4. Government Process Reengineering

Time has come to do massive government process re-engineering. There are many Government processes which are redundant or which can be done in a far better way. The processes conceptualised some 30 years back are no longer valid or effective. With the rapid advancement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) during the last 2 decades, we should take advantages of these technologies & re-engineer various government processes for the benefit of the citizens.

5. Reform in Judicial System

The rules framed during British Rule in India were not citizen-friendly. Those rules were intentionally framed to torture the public and suppress the opinion of the citizens. Now many such rules are still in force in India & such rules need to be changed at the earliest. Advancement in technology has also made many procedures obsolete. New Laws & simplified Governemnt-Citizen interaction procedures need to be enacted/implemented. New laws should be citizen-friendly and should aim at helping the citizens.

Large-scale corruption in the society is demoralizing the honest people. Some corrupt people think corruption is alright in this modern materialistic word. But, it is not. Corruption has led the common man to be very pessimist. We should be very optimistic and try our best in fighting against corruption. We should teach the children – the future of India- to be honest and ethical in every aspect of their life. No doubt, corruption is a huge challenge before us. Let us also appreciate that there are still enough good and honest people in our country. Each one of us should make commitment to work with honesty for God’s sake! All people in the society should be encouraged to live an honest & decent life”. Srihari Subudhi- New Delhi, India

Learner’s Submission: Online Voter Registration – A Public Service of Puducherry Union Territory, India

“Puducherry a union territory of India online voter registration is a public online service provide for the people to view the voter identity card status. It is the public service maintained by government of Puducherry

Eligibility for the purpose of enrolment in electoral rolls is.

In India, Indian citizens above 18 years of age, with sound mind should not be of unsound mind (If he/she is of unsound mind and stands declared by a competent court then not eligible to be register as voter), be ordinarily resident in the area from where application is made, should not have been disqualified from voting under provisions of any law relating to corrupt practices and other offences in connection with election that is, 171E, 171F of IPC & Section 8A(1), 125 135, 136(2)(a) of Representation of People Act, 1951 ,with all necessary documents needed for registering can register online if they are residing in the constituency .They can participate and cast their vote for the contestants.

To register the citizens have to log on to http://www.ceopondicherry.nic.in after logging in the home page which is completely user friendly .it has four options:

a) Addition of users to a specific constituency
b) Deletion of users from a specific constituency
c) Modification of existing users data if it needs any modification
d) Transposition from one constituency to another.

Further for any assistance in any of the process or doubt in this process a toll free number is given for the user convenience.
After registration the details are verified in person the date of verification is intimated to the citizen .after verification is done and if the citizen is verified by the official the EPIC (electoral photo identity card) is given to him who can also be used as an identity card for may purposes within the country

Form 6 is needed to be filled by citizen who has attained 18 years of age.
Form 6a if he /she is an non residing Indian.
Form 7for deletion of existing user names.
Form 8if any correction in the voter card details printed.
Form 8a if shifting your place from one poll booth to another poll both within the same constituency.

Uploading the scanned copy of the birth certificate, and residence proof is optional but at the time of verification by the booth level officer.

The birth certificate also can be obtained from the common service centres another public service which brings government services to the people.

For the residence proof either the ration card, or any other proof of residence like driving licence can be provided.

Another salient feature of this website is its multilingual content which helps the users to fill the forms online in their own native language.

A search option is also given for citizens to verify their name has been updated in the electoral rolls in their constituency or not.

The search can be made by either the person name or residing address which was given during the voter registration or by the EPIC card number which is available in the voter card.

From the 2014 plastic voter identity cards are given to voters who are getting registered .its integrity can be verified by checking those cards under ultra violet lights. This move by the department is highly appreciated and welcomed by the people. These electoral rolls are revised every year.” – Prabhu Djeapragassam – Puducherry, India

Learner’s Submission: Online Public Services in India

“Internet as a social network evoked the world with its vast input database and knowledge sharing system. Today in the modern world, the share of public services information online has become a major important aspect.  The online service is a huge network source which provides a space for information to public, private and other resources activities.

In India, Online public services in term of availability of online data is accessible in various service providing sectors related to public, private, organational, educational, consulting, banking and others. It is important to have identity of information availability relating to the particular activities in each sector. Another important aspect about the online data is the security and worm mail threats. Every online services provider has to provide with domain to login-in to be utilized to be safer side of the site. In India after the 90s a revolution of inter user came to utilize the online resources for the online services providers on various sectors.

In India the web is now established as a mass market media channel for the wealthy. Email has become a mass market media channel for office workers and professional classes. The main changes in internet access have happened in the last five years and the internet has become an essential part of office life, and plays a key role in many homes. The number of people with access continues to rise, but so too does the time they spend online. Broadband access is growing fast, but the number of home connections lags behind comparable markets; however although the number of connections is low, a large number of people in high-end demographics have access. Significant infrastructure problems remain, creating a high cost for access compared to average wage rates.

Social Media has now become part of everyday life for a majority of online Indians, with two-thirds of the country’s web users accessing social media daily, according to new research.

Today social networking, blog and web relating sources are competition the user with fast provision of data relevant to weather, network, locality, features and other possibilities. Online data can provide knowledge sharing and also some kind of misuses the network resources. Scientists describe the internet as a prime example of large scale highly engineered yet highly complex system and is heterogeneous for instance of data transfer and physical characteristics of connections.

If the resources is utilized in a proper manner to develop the aspect, it reflect the achieving the growth of sustainable goals to take forwarding the nation to a developed world.  Security threats has to be resolve for safety and security of the web resources providers.

The internet is a gateway to world knowledge as well as a massive platform for national media and documentation. Once people start using the internet their behavior changes permanently and already in India over two thirds of people with access use it several times a week or more. Work audiences account for significant amounts of the online total population.” – Kishore Kumar Neelam – Andhra Pradesh, India

Learner’s Submission: Open Government Data in India

“Area of open government data is new in India. It’s just initiated and needed to be matured enough to be proved effective. The address of the portal is https://data.gov.in/, It’s a National Level portal. India’s open government data initiative has gained momentum with the adoption of an official open data policy and the publication of nearly 5818 data sets so far on the portal data.gov.in, it has still quite some way to go in making its mark globally on this front going by the rankings of an international Open Data Index. 

It published 5818 data sets of 58 Ministry/Departments of Government of India and 4 State Government. Major participants are Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Agriculture (1795), Department of Agriculture and Co-operation (1739), Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) (1734), Planning Commission (822), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (766), Ministry of Water Resources (644), Ministry of Power (411), Central Electricity Authority (411), Rajya Sabha (244), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (211) (1795), Department of Agriculture and Co-operation (1739), Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) (1734), Planning Commission (822), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (766), Ministry of Water Resources (644), Ministry of Power (411), Central Electricity Authority (411), Rajya Sabha (244), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (211) etc. Those data sets are mainly in excel and csv format and can be analyzed.
It can be used for further analysis and can be used as no prior permission is required for using those data. Definitely those data are useful an analyzing various parameter. However it is required to add more data as 5818 data sets are nothing in respect to the magnitude of the nation like India.
I like about the portal:
• Data Management System (DMS) – Backend Module for users in the standard metadata format.
• Content Management System (CMS) – Module for managing and updating various functionalities and content.
• Visitor Relationship Management (VRM) – Segment for collating and disseminating the feedback or suggestions from the stake holders on datasets and applications. Feedbacks or suggestions could be shared through feedback form, suggest datasets or apps and contact us.
• Communities – Option sharing of opinion among people with same interest, belonging to the same sector or having interest for the same datasets and to create interaction and knowledge sharing.

People are participating through the Blogs, Discussions forum however the level of participation are very low. 2,730 liked its facebook page and its participation is decreasing. 5,179 people are following at twitter, which is very low. It’s needed to be popularizing by increasing utility.
Data set related to Map, Land ownership, Government spending, Company register, Legislation, Public transport, Crime statistics, opinion poll on various issues is to be incorporated. Those data should from ground level up to the central level and recent updated data.” – Rupak Ghosh – West Bengal, India

Learner’s Submission: Online Public Services in India

“I have used several online Services like Passport Seva Portal (www. passportindia.gov.in), MCA 21(http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/), RTI Online (http://rtionline.gov.in/), Income Tax E-Filing (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/), Employment Bank (http://employmentbankwb.gov.in/), National Employment Service (http://www.employmentservice.nic.in/), etc.

In India e- Governance was initiated by National e-Governance Plan of Indian Government which was take on May 18, 2006. Several Central Government/ State Governments have/ had installed online public services. Those services are categorized as Citizens Services, Business Services and Government Services
The e-Governance Standards have been divided into categories like – Policy or Frameworks, Standards, Guidelines. Various Expert Committees have been setup in priority areas, like Metadata and Data Standards (MDDS), Biometrics, Localization, Security, Mobile Governance, Interoperability Framework for e-Governance in India (IFEG), Digital Signature, etc. to formulate standards.
This e-Governance Standards portal provides a platform for sharing of ideas, knowledge, and draft documents among the members of various committees involved in standards formulation process. It also has a provision for web publication of draft documents for review comments by the Closed User Group and the Public. The duly approved standards by Government’s Apex body consisting of Senior Strategic members from: Deity, NIC, NASSCOM, BIS, CDAC, Planning Commission etc. would be released on this portal for free download and usage.
Key projects and enterprises of public welfare and governance get stalled due to lack of consensus among the stakeholders and later results into implementation interruptions and over budgeting.

In spite of such challenges, India has seen some of the biggest e-Governance initiatives in recent times including the establishment of common and support IT infrastructure such as State Wide Area Networks (SWANs), State Data Centers (SDCs), Common Services Centers (CSCs) and Electronic Service Delivery Gateways.
This initiative has provided a solid framework across the nation to figure and roll out, a wide range of e-Governance programs by numerous government bodies and ministries. For instance, the passport seva kendras, digitization of postal department, online income and sales tax collections, implementation of a single core banking platform across all 14 nationalized banks, voter identity cards (IDs) and permanent account number (PAN) cards for income tax are some of the nationwide e-Governance initiatives. In various public support sites like MCA21, Income Tax site, Passport Portal, Identity can be verified by PAN Number is automatically when filing documents.
Among the most determined and politically debated e-Governance initiative of India is the Unique Identification Authentication (UID) or the Aadhaar card project. Its objective is to empower residents of India with a unique identity and a digital platform to authenticate. Various services are getting authenticated by it like, Passport Application, Getting Government Subsidies in gas; it will also authenticate bank accounts.” – Rupak Ghosh – West Bengal, India

Learner’s Submission: e-Governance initiative of the Ministry of Company Affairs of India – MCA21

“I have used several online Services like Passport Seva Portal (www. passportindia.gov.in), MCA 21(http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/), RTI Online (http://rtionline.gov.in/), Income Tax E-Filing (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/) etc. In India e- Governance was initiated by National e-Governance Plan of Indian Government which was take on May 18, 2006. Several Central Government/ State Governments have/ had installed online public services. Those services are categorized as Citizens Services, Business Services and Government Services

Here I am explaining how MCA21 works.

MCA 21(http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/): MCA21 Project, the e-Governance initiative of the Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA). MCA21 is an innovative eGovernance initiative that aims at continuously repositioning Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) as an organization proficient of fulfilling the aspirations of its stakeholders in the 21st century. For any program to be outcome-based, a paradigm shift in the service delivery is inevitable. A Service Centric Approach by the Government is the principal driving factor to the transformation.
The bottom line of this unique initiative is the improved speed and certainty in the delivery of MCA services. This improvement is primarily enabled through the mechanism of electronic Filing (e-Filing) for the services and back office automation by harnessing the right technology enablers.
The MCA conceptualized the MCA 21 initiative, which included the following:

Digitizing about 45 million paper documents in MCA’s archives
Setting up a data center
Building the computing infrastructure
Setting up 52 facilitation centers
Designing the application software
Setting up secure electronic payment gateways

In order to carry out e-filing on MCA21 we have facility to download the eform and fill it in an offline mode. Every form has the facility to pre-fill the data available in MCA21 system.

We have to first get the paper attachments scanned and saved as a soft copy in PDF format. Then attach the same in the attachment section of the eForm by clicking the appropriate ‘Attach’ button. An e-form can be signed by the authorized signatory/ representative using the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). Signature box in the e-form to affix the digital signature. To avoid increase in size of the e-form beyond permissible limit of 2.5 MB, always affix the DSC using the ‘Sign and Save As’ option.

Once the e-form is filled we would need to validate the e-form using Pre-scrutiny button. We would then have to affix the relevant digital signatures and save the form. We would need to be connected to the internet to carry out the pre-fill and pre-scrutiny functions. The filled up e-form as per relevant instruction kit have to be uploaded on the MCA21 portal. On successful upload, the Service request number would be generated and we would be directed to make payment of the statutory fees. The step by step process is given below. Once the payment has been made the status of my payment and filing status can be tracked on the MCA21 portal by using the ‘Track Your Payment Status’ and ‘Track Your Transaction Status’ link respectively.

The MCA-21 project rolled out the nearly paperless system across the country; it makes the process faster and smoother.” – Rupak Ghosh – West Bengal, India

Learner’s Submission: Potential User of RBM in My Organisation

“I am working in Emmanuel Hospital Organisation in a Project funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We have developed the Result Framework together with the doner agency. This project is for 10 years and we have designed the expected result for the project for 10 years. The result framework is used by the doner, by the central government, by the state government and by the non-governmental agencies who are implementing the project. There are 30 non-governmental agencies who are using the result based management. There are three result frameworks for the project, i.e. one at project level, one at state level and the third one at NGO level. We measure their achievement on the basis of their expected result which are pre-defined by the. During the 1st 5 year of the project we don’t had a RBM system, but in the next 5year we established the system. This is the 2nd phase of the project the project is doing very well. The work is appreciated by the doner as well as the government agencies. I have trained many people and non-governmental agencies on redesigning the RBM system in India. RBM is really much better than the conventional M&E system.

The accountability increased when we use the RBM. The doner is very clear what they want from the implementing agencies. The expected objectives are very clear. The non-governmental agencies are very clear what they are going to achieve and what are their objectives. Earlier the implementing agencies used to report whatever the result is, but now when they are using RBM they are reporting against the expected result and they measure their success or failure again the target. This has made them more and more accountable. Doner wants that every single penny is spent properly by using the RBM. The implementing agencies try to achieve what they have planned. The government agencies what to see their success o failure in achieving their goals. RBM has become the language of the most of the funding agencies now a days and hope this will replace the conventional monitoring and evaluation system completely. The World Bank and The Global Fund for fighting against AIDS, Tuber colossi and Malaria is implementing RBM and using the performance based funding. The fund is directly relate to their performance, if they perform they get fund otherwise the funding is stopped. This is a nice mechanism to make the implementing agencies more accountable. Now a day’s most of the government agencies also trying to follow the RBM to make their departments more accountable. The focus is very clear when RBM is followed. The funding agencies are very clear where the money is being spent and what is the result out of it. This is some kind of pre-cost benefit analysis. The implementing agencies become more and more conscious to achieve their targets which are explicitly defined in the RBM system. The overall accountability has really increased among all the partner agencies. Hope this will be the buzz work in the development sector as well as in the government agencies in near future.” – Ritu Kumar Mishra – Assam, India

Learner’s Submission: National e-Governance Plan in India

“On May 18, 2006, Central Government approved the National e-Governance Plan, comprising of 27 Mission Mode Projects and 10 components. The National e-Governance Plan was designed by the DEITY (Department of Electronics and Information Technology) and DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances).

National e-Governance Plan have the following vision:
“Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realise the basic needs of the common man.”

Application of e-Governance is a complex process requiring facility of hardware & software, networking, process re-engineering and change management. National e-Governance Plan have following elements:
a) Common Support Infrastructure: – Common IT infrastructures like, State Wide Area Networks, State Data Centres, Electronic Service Delivery Gateways, Common Services Centres etc
b) Governance: Department of Electronics and Information Technology do the work of coordinating and monitoring. Institutions like NIC, STQC, CDAC, NISG helps the department in this work.
c) Centralised Initiative, Decentralised Implementation: Its required to develop citizen-centric models
d) Public-Private Partnerships: PPP is used for better and faster implementation
e) Integrative Elements: Adoption of unique identification codes for citizens, businesses and property like Permanent Account Number (PAN), Aadhaar Number of The Unique Identification Authority of India has been initiated.
f) Involvement of the National and State levels: Various Government Departments of Union Government and State Governments are involve for better and effective implementations in a holistic manner.
g) Facilitator role of Department of Electronics and Information Technology: various Ministries and State Governments and also provides technical assistance and DEITY taken the role of facilitator to coordinate all efforts.

Services provided by e-Governance can be categorized by following manners:
i. Services for Citizens
ii. Services for Business
iii. Services for Government

Services for Citizens:
We can access various citizen services such as agriculture services, registration of documents, learner’s licence, vehicle life tax collection, birth certificate, etc. Information about service name, category, degree of enablement, outreach, etc. is available. Some important Services are:

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, Online Passenger Reservation System: Indian Railway is an Indian state-owned enterprise providing Railways Transport system which is a major transport system in India. Through IRCTC Portal (https://www.irctc.co.in/) citizen can book railways Tickets, check availability of Tickets, Trains to their destinations. It’s a major initiative and helps us to get those services online.

Passport Seva Portal (www. passportindia.gov.in): Through it Passport Services become easy. Users can apply for fresh passport. Information on reissue of passport is obtainable. Information on passport requirements and suitability is available. Users can locate passport cell, Passport Seva Kendra, and also calculate fee. Applications status can also be tracked online. Through Downloadable e-forms passport application are made, checking status of it become easily available.

Birth and Death Registration and Issue of Certificate: Those Services are provided by various Municipalities (Local Governments). That is a major example of centralized initiative and decentralized implementation of e-Governance Project. Municipalities are providing online registrations of birth and death and are issue of certificate. Application Download, Online Application, Online Payment of fee/charges are the major features of it. According to Census 2011 lists there are 7,935 towns in India and 31.16% of the total populations are staying there. Cities and Major Municipalities are providing those services through their own website.

Online Employment Service: Both Central Government as well as the State Governments are providing Online Employment Service through their respective portal. Where Job seekers can register their details, those are available to the registered Employers. Physical verifications and validations of information’s are made by the District Employment Exchanges. http://www.employmentservice.nic.in/ is the portal of National Employment Service; it’s the portal of Central Government. Employment bank (http://employmentbankwb.gov.in/) is the portal of Government of West Bengal that is of a State Government.

Services for Business
E-governance services for business are important aspect such as online Registration, VAT/TOT Collection, Tax Payments etc

MCA 21(http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/): MCA21 Project, the e-Governance initiative of the Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA). MCA21 is an innovative eGovernance initiative that aims at continuously repositioning Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) as an organization proficient of fulfilling the aspirations of its stakeholders in the 21st century. For any program to be outcome-based, a paradigm shift in the service delivery is inevitable. A Service Centric Approach by the Government is the principal driving factor to the transformation.

Income Tax E-Filing (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/): Income Tax e-filing can be done online through the Income Tax Website.

Services for Government:

E-Governance is helping the governments for better governance. It is enhancing internal communications. Like e-Governance in Police departments enable them to exchange crime record in faster and smarter way. Those are important for prevention of Crime.” – Rupak Ghosh – West Bengal, India

Learner’s Submission: Knowledge Management in Indian Public Sector Banks

“The purpose of this article is to discuss on the various aspects of Knowledge Management practices in the Indian Public Sector Banks.

At the outset, let me explain what Knowledge Management is all about. Knowledge Management refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieve organizational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. It is the collection of processes such as acquiring, creating and sharing knowledge and the cultural and technical foundations that support them.
Benefits of Knowledge Management
An effective Knowledge Management program has got following benefits to the organisation-

• Foster innovation by encouraging the free flow of ideas
• Improve customer service by optimising various processes
• Streamline operations and reduce costs
• Enhance employee retention rates by recognizing the value of employees’ knowledge and rewarding them for it

Banks and financial institutions rely on gathering, processing, analyzing and providing information in order to meet the needs of their customers. Banks were among the early adopters of Information and Communication Technologies. The visible benefits of ICT in day-to-day banking in India are quite visible. Implementation of Core Banking Solution, ATM, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, RTGS (Real-time Gross Settlement), NEFT(National Electronic Fund Transfer) etc. have enabled Indian Banks to manage increased transaction volume with large customer base in a very efficient, accurate manner leading to high level of customer satisfaction.
Fast-changing technology, rising customers expectations and tough completion from private & foreign players have led Public Sector Banks in India to grow up in every aspects, including knowledge management, during the last decade.
Public Sector Banks are trying their best to attract and retain the best talents in the industry. Just attracting & retaining the best talents is not enough. Banks are implementing strategies to utilise these talents in the very interest of the organisation. For doing so, banks have implemented State-of-the-art Infrastructures in their Banks. Banks have re-engineered/optimised various business processes. Banks also try to effectively share/spread the knowledge throughout the Bank. The processes of knowledge management in various Public Sector Banks in India are almost similar. Most Banks adopt some or all of the following measures for managing knowledge in their organization:

Orientation/Induction Training for new recruits- Banks conduct Orientation Programme or Induction Programme for all the new recruits to apprise them of the history, culture, strengths etc. of the Bank.

Training- Banks provide training to their Employees through Bank’s own Staff Training Colleges (STCs), as well as through external training provided by premiere banking institutes like Institutes for Research and Development in Banking Technology(IDRBT), Hyderabad, National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), Pune, Bankers’ Training College(BTC), Mumbai etc.
Mentoring-One senior executive (normally Chief Manager & above) acts as a mentor to a new recruit for a specific period (normally one year). The mentor trains/grooms the new employee on technical/business/functional knowledge/skills.
Brain storming session- Banks conduct brain-storming sessions on specific topics related to various banking/business/customer service etc. among staff members from different departments to generate new/innovative ideas to improve existing processes.
Review Meetings- Periodic Review Meetings (Quarterly/Monthly) are held in every departments/branches/offices to review the business position/progress of the branch/department. The minutes of the important Meetings are circulated to various employee groups of select departments/executives.
Quality Circles/Professional Circles-Voluntary groups of 3 or 4 Employees form a Quality Circle/Professional Circle & give Presentations to other Employees/Executives on a specific topic normally to improve a process/quality or provide a new idea or concept.
Intranet/eLearning/Knowledge Portals- Banks implement Intranet/eLearning/Knowledge Portals, which contain Bank’s internal circulars, policy documents, manuals etc.
Internal Magazines/News Letters-Banks publish (quarterly/monthly) magazines (usually on Banking, IT, Risk management, Economic Research etc.) where respective department contributes articles for the benefit of all employees.

Conclusion:

As Reserve Bank of India is in the process of licensing some new banks next year and a large number of experienced bankers of PSBs are due for retirement in near future, there would be a lot of pressure on Public Sector banks to retain the existing talents. Indian Public Sector Banks need to explore newer and faster ways to upgrade/manage Knowledge across the Banks for the benefit of all stake holders (Employees/Customers/Government/Investors etc.).” – Srihari Subudhi – New Delhi, India

Learner’s Submission: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in India

“In this article, I will discuss on the topic of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act – one of the most ambitious social welfare measures of Government of India for poverty alleviation and rural development.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, popularly known as MGNREGA, is an Act to provide for the enhancement of the livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment (through unskilled manual work) in every financial year to every household. The very purpose of the scheme is two-fold, first to provide job on demand to ensure livelihood security and second, at the same time, to create assets to augment the basic infrastructures available to the rural people. The MGNREG Act was notified on September 07, 2005.

The employment under MGNREGA Scheme (MGNREGS) is an obligation on the part of the Government to provide employment within 5km radius of the village at the minimum wage (for example, INR 174/- per day in the State of Karnataka), failing which an unemployment allowance is to be provided within 15 days.  Along with community participation, the MGNREGS scheme is being implemented primarily by the gram panchayats. Under the Scheme, mostly the labour intensive works like creating infrastructures for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control are undertaken.

Coverage by MGNREGA Scheme:

Starting from 200 districts in Feb 2006, the MGNREGS Scheme now covers all districts of India from April 01, 2008. AS of now, the implementation status of the project (as mentioned in the official web site of MGNREGA www.nrega.nic.in) is as follows:

Number of States covered – 32

Number of Districts covered – 596

Number of Blocks covered – 6388

Number of Panchayats covered – 240233

Number of Job Cards issued- 112.90 Million

Number of Persons registered – 248.80 Million

Workflow of MGNREGS Scheme

The MGNREGS Scheme is implemented in India through a web-based Management Information System (MIS) – “NREGASoft” to address the planning and monitoring needs of the Scheme. This is a local language enabled workflow based e-Governance System and is available in offline as well as online mode to capture all the activities under MGNREGA at the Centre/State/District/Block and Panchayat level.

Payment of Wage through Direct Benefit Transfer

The payment of wages is made by the Government directly to the worker’s account by electronic means, called Direct Benefit Transfer System (DBTS). This DBTS system leverages the payment gateways such as Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Clearing Service (NECS) and Banks’ Core Banking Solutions. This DBTS facilitates the direct credit of the wage to the Bank/Post Accounts of the beneficiaries through automated processes.

As per newspaper reports (The Hindu, 15 May, 2013), Govt. of India has allocated to the State of Karnataka Rs. 2,1330 million for the implementation of the MGNREGS scheme in 2013-14. According to the Karnataka State government’s notification on April 9, 2013, the month-wise expenditure (for Karnataka) under the job scheme would be as follows:

Month	Expenditure in Million Rupees	Month	Expenditure in Million Rupees
April 2013	133.8	Oct 2013	1601.6
May 2013	287.6	Nov 2013	2286.8
June 2013	381.9	Dec 2013	2494.2
Jul 2013	472.1	Jan 2014	2759.2
Aug 2013	713.8	Feb 2014	4058.6
Sep 2013	1361.7	Mar 2014	4778.3

Assessment of MGNREGA

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on the second performance audit of the MGNREGS that covered 3848 gram panchayats in 28 states and 4 union territories of India from April 2007 to March 2012 highlighted the 3 most significant factors – lack of public awareness, mismanagement and institutional incapacity. Accordingly, the 3 major recommendations were Capacity Building, Public Awareness and Effective Management.

 

 

(Major Recommendations of the CAG Audit on MGNREGS)

Conclusion:

To address the lack of public awareness, mismanagement and institutional incapacity, the CAG has suggested a number of recommendations to the Ministry of Rural Development and Government of India. To increase the public awareness, it recommends intensifying the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Activities. The CAG also recommends proper management of records at the gram panchayat level. For capacity building, the CAG recommends to fill the large number of vacancies through mass recruitment. Like any other government welfare schemes, MGNREGS is also difficult to implement due to governance challenges like elite capture, leakage and corruption. The efforts of the Government of India in implementing the MGNREGS Schemes successfully are highly appreciated.” – Srihari Subudhi – New Delhi, India