United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Jan Seva Kendra (JSK) was created to provide ICT-enabled citizen focused efficient, secure, convenient, transparent, accountable, reliable and above all cost effective public service delivery through a single interface to the people coming to the District Collectorate, Gandhinagar.

(A district is an administrative unit for civil administration comprising of approximately 500 – 600 villages and has both urban and rural areas in its jurisdiction. Average population in a district is 1.5 million. The district is headed by a District Collector who performs executive functions pertaining to district administration and reports to the State Government.)
The need for JSK arose from the fact that there existed information disconnect between the administration and the people. Gandhinagar,being the capital district of the State of Gujarat ,posed a serious challenge to the district administration for efficient and effective public services delivery for its enlightened denizens mainly comprising of the elected representatives – Members of the Parliament, Members of the State Legislative Assembly; superior government officials – both serving and retired besides the ordinary citizens.

Amidst large disparities amongst the citizens in the levels of awareness of the government procedures and the expectations from the administration, there were distinct challenges before the district administration to undertake comprehensive process re-engineering backed with enabling technological infrastructure to provide citizen centric services.

Often the citizens lacked clarity about the time limit and process-flow related to their applications while transacting with different departments besides ambiguity in documents required for procuring various services. Moreover, they had to submit the same information repeatedly to the same or related department(s). Citizens had to spend a lot of time and money for aggressive follow-ups with the department with the hope to expedite the work.

Administrative staff often received incomplete applications. This created a need to communicate with the applicants about the deficiencies. In aggregate, administrative energy was consumed in handling such follow-ups instead of focusing on the actual work. Consequently, there were usual delays, lapses, costs and inconveniences to the citizens besides loss of efficiency and undue work pressures for the administrative staff. The senior officers also lacked accurate and updated information on the status of work-in-process and had to count on information provided by the junior staff.

The gaps between administration and citizens at times were unhealthily filled up by the agents and touts leading to unfair practices and loss of credibility of the administration.

Gandhinagar District Collector, Ms Sonal Mishra, IAS stressed the need to implement ICT-driven governance to improve service delivery at the front-end (for the citizens) and to increase the efficiency and accountability at the back-end (for the administration). She undertook efforts to make the citizen escape the bureaucratic loop and gain more control as well as better view and understanding of government services. This led to significant decrease in time spent on applying for the desired services, and in the frustrations associated with it.

This e-governance initiative was duly supported by robust process re-engineering and institutional arrangements for change management.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The model ICT–driven Jan Seva Kendra processes all Government- to- Citizen (G2C) service delivery in the district. Over 95+ issues covering wide ambit of public services including licenses/permissions for change in land use, arms, hotel, civil supply, petrol pumps & storage licenses etc ; certificates for birth, death, income, solvency, domicile, minority, physically handicapped etc.; pensions & grants for old-aged, widow, disabled; RTI (Right to Information) cases and 44 types of affidavits are processed from the JSK, Gandhinagar as well as the taluka centers at - Mansa, Kalol, and Dehgam (taluka centers are sub-district headquarters in a district). JSK combines the application of creativity and technology for the benefit of people. The benefits accruing to the citizens are – All G2C services at one location: One stop terminus for all G2C transactions. All supporting services e.g. attestation, Xerox, instant photos, franking, lamination etc provided at the JSK. Home delivery of processed papers also provided. On an average, 400 applications per day are processed at JSK, Gandhinagar and taluka centers. Since the inception, the Jan Seva Kendra has successfully processed over 100,000 applications covering wide ambit of civic services with 94% on–time delivery record ! JSK has brought in a new outlook among the people towards government institutions. Some examples of the impacts on the public as well as on government employees are listed below:  Tracking & Convenience - Applicants can check the status of the application through IVRS, SMS or Jan Seva Kendra’s website http://jansevakendragnr.gujarat.gov.in.  Complete accountability is maintained as each of the services is completed within the committed time printed on the acknowledgement slips. Also, the system automatically informs the applicant upon completion of the work by sending an SMS.  Daily summary SMS as well as any time availability of pending cases to the higher level officers has boosted the efficiency of the administrative staff.  Minimization of corruption as there is a single, systems driven, computer-based front end interface for the citizens.  Significant time-saving for the public for availing different services. e.g. processing time for several one-day governance issues has been reduced to under two hours. Over 29000 ration card cases processed within as less as 2 hours for alteration cases (changes in name, locality, members etc) and an average time of 3 days for new ration cards.  Significant saving in time by the government offices as they do not have to meet people directly.  Involvement of retired people and senior citizens to help illiterate people to complete their paperwork.  Snapshot of savings accruing to the citizens for following services G2C Services New ration cards Time Savings from > 21 days to <3 days and savings in follow ups from >5 visits to <2 visits (One if home delivery) Alteration in ration cards Time Savings from 7 days to < 1 day Savings in follow ups from >5 visits to <2 visits Certificates Time savings from > 21 days to < 1 day Savings in follow up from > 5 visits to < 2 visits Licenses & Land related cases Time Savings from > 120 days to <30 days Savings in follow up from >10 visits to 2 visits

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The initiative of Jan Seva Kendra is aimed at bringing efficient e-governance at the district level, while introducing the transition from traditional governance towards paperless, place–independent governance services in a planned manner. The initial implementation of the project was in the G2C arena and executed at Gandhinagar, which is the Gujarat State capital, at the initiative of the dynamic District Collector, Ms Sonal Mishra, IAS. All the taluka centers in the district are linked to a common data pool through the state wide area network (GSWAN). The JSK at Gandhinagar and taluka centers offer over 95 types of services to the citizens. Around 400 transactions/cases are processed per day from these Kendras. The District Collector launched this project to offer various types of G2C services to the people in a transparent, efficient, quick, fair and economical manner by leveraging Information & Communication Technology (ICT) applications. She has provided strong leadership to the Project and created well defined and robust institutional mechanisms both at the micro and macro level with sufficient autonomy and delegation. All citizen-centric work at the Collectorate is handled through the JSK only. All reforms related to process changes have been formalized through office orders duly promulgated by the Collector. She held weekly meetings of all the deputy collectors, Mamlatdars and Jan Seva Kendra officers where the issue of overdue cases were reviewed and resolved. Feedback from the people were also discussed. As Project Champion, the District Collector significantly contributed at every stage, from concept to its implementation, with successful processing of over 100,000 cases in one year. The highlights of the contributions made by her are: • Design of the basic concept • Formation of a committee with participation from all the departments • Selection of Software and Service Provider on a transparent merit-basis • Approval of the M.O.U. with the Technology Provider on B.O.O.T. principles • Financial mobilisation through public-private partnership • Obtaining necessary approvals, stamp-franking facilities, etc. • Weekly Review Meeting: Review of cases in process, feedbacks of people • Involvement of all stakeholders including citizens, government officers as well as the technology provider for continuous upgrade of the facilities, processes and quality of services • Continuous reforms and Process Re-engineering, including simplification of forms and procedures • Grievance redressal The technology supplier M/s Peach Computers, Gandhinagar was selected as the software and service vendor for the Jan Seva Kendra. M/s Peach Computers were mandated to develop the software, provide necessary hardware and operate & maintain the JSK at Gandhinagar and taluka centers – Dehgam, Kalol and Mansa through its employees for three years on B.O.O.T. basis. The stakeholders in the citizen-centric e-governance initiative at the Jan Seva Kendra in the District Collectorate, Gandhinagar were the citizens of Gandhinagar, government offices as well as the technology supplier.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
JSK is the outcome of the strategic union of technology and positive governance. The main objective of this project is to provide ICT- enabled efficient, transparent, reliable, simplified, and cost effective government-to-citizen (G2C) services for issues covered under the Citizens’ Charter. It strives to bring good governance to the door-steps of people; it endeavours to re-engineer work processes to increase speed and convenience helping citizens as well as officers; it maintains a central data record of all the citizens and also to positively engage all stakeholders - citizens and government for continuous upgrade of the facilities, processes and quality of services. JSK is driven by innovative implementation of ICT and significant process re-engineering by the district administration. The following strategy was adopted for the successful implementation of the initiative. (1) Robust Government Process Re- engineering - Core team headed by the District Collector, Ms Sonal Mishra, IAS and comprising of all the stakeholders undertook comprehensive brainstorming for simplification of the application forms and standardization of the service delivery procedures. The earlier application forms were very lengthy and tedious. The project team simplified them e.g. they split the issue of alterations to the ration card into five specific issues. This simplified and shortened the application form for the applicant. This also made it easy for the officer to process the form. All the application forms are in the local language. (2) Extensive use of ICT - Use of SMS for automatic alerts and on demand information, IVRS for 24x7 status information, Barcode and Smart Electronic Trackers for tracking, registry and error-free data entry, Website for status track and form information, Fingerprint Biometrics for recognition have offered convenience, speed and transparency to citizens. (3) Services Provided Over 95+ types of different G2C civic services are processed at the JSK. They can be classified in three broad categories. Tatkal Services ( Within two hours) Affidavits, Ration Card alterations and land revenue collections are handled on “Tatkal” basis. Citizens do not need to make a second visit to the JSK. Constitute 20% of processed cases. One Day Governance Services( Within 24 hours) Caste, income, birth, death, solvency, domicile, creamy layer for OBC and other certificates, alterations in the ration cards etc. Constitute 40% cases in this category. SMS intimation is automatically sent to the applicant on completion. Non One Day Governance Services (From 3-90 days) Issues related to land allotment, use of land for non-agriculture purposes, various licenses etc. JSK does the follow-up with related departments like NOC from Police, R&B etc. The applicant does not have to visit different offices. Approximately 40% of the cases fall under this category. SMS intimation is automatically sent to the applicant on completion. (4) Public Private Partnership – JSK required an estimated investment of Rs 3.5 million, which far exceeded the State Government grant of Rs 0.5 million. The District Collector marketed the concepts of people-centric administration to local industries, citizen groups, NGOs and organizations which contributed Rs 3 million for the project. Thus, this project is an actual outcome of Public Private Partnership while the services and software were planned considering the B.O.O.T. model.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The District Collector, Ms Sonal Mishra, IAS prepared the proposal for creating and establishing the JSK in January 2006 on the guidelines of the General Administration Department, Govt. of Gujarat. The State Govt. approved the proposal and sanctioned Rs 0.5 million. Due to the efforts of the District Collector citizens and organizations contributed Rs 3 million. The total project funding of Rs 3.5 million was organized initially to establish JSK at the district headquarters in September,2006. The project was initiated with the concept of public private partnership in infrastructure and operations. The criteria for the selection of the suitable vendor for establishing the JSK were technology, creativity, manpower availability and experience. M/s Peach Computers, Gandhinagar was selected as the software and service vendor for the Jan Seva Kendra. M/s Peach Computers was required to develop the software, provide necessary hardware and operate & maintain the JSK at Gandhinagar and taluka centers – Dehgam, Kalol and Mansa through its employees for three years. The business model of the software was on B.O.O.T. basis. All the Service Providers’ employees were trained for the usage of the software, the various government procedures, as well as the ‘karmayogi’ practices to interact with the citizens. JSK, Gandhinagar commenced its operations on 16th October,2006. The taluka centers at Dehgam, Mansa and Kalol were also made operational in February,2007. Within the Collectorate premises, the unused parking lot area was converted into a modern, fully automated Jan Seva Kendra. It has 3500 sq. ft. of office space with the following facilities:  Offices for the Deputy Mamlatdar and Service Supervisor  Server Room  Notice Boards  Seating capacity for 35 persons  Help Station managed by Senior Citizens The first phase of the JSK Project was to render G2C services of over 95 services including all the services under the Citizens’ Charter. The second phase which is under process and is focused on (a) the expansion of the citizen-oriented activities to B2C and C2C areas as well as (b) the introduction of G2G facilities (including tracking of work in process) for efficient administration. The third phase is to address citizen services in the areas of health, education, agriculture etc. In this manner, a comprehensive and single e-district solution is envisioned and being implemented at Gandhinagar. The chronology of the implementation of the JSK at Gandhinagar and taluka centers is listed below: Jan Seva Kendra - From Concept to Reality (MILESTONES) • The proposal for setting up the JSK prepared on the guidelines of the General Administration Department, Govt. of Gujarat (January 2006). • State Govt. sanctioned grant of Rs. 0.5 million. Public Private Initiative yielded contribution of Rs 3 million. • Core committee for appropriate delegation after conceptualization was setup at the District Collectorate under the chairmanship of District Collector, Ms Sonal Mishra, IAS • Completion of advanced and computerized JSK at Gandhinagar with approx. 3500 sq.ft. of furnished area (July 2006) • M.O.U. for technology and service delivery on B.O.O.T. basis • Strong consultative processes for Standardization of Procedures and Simplification of Forms with all stakeholders. • Development of software was developed to achieve the targets of transparency, efficiency and utility. • “Karmayogi” training to the ITI trained operators • Formation of the District e- Society headed by the Collector • Conferral of the JSK to the public (October 16, 2006) • Link-up of distributed service delivery centers at Taluka places (sub district centers) .

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The biggest challenge was to realign the mindset of the bureaucracy within the Collectorate as well as in other departments like the Police, Roads & Buildings,Health etc. The prevalent practice of the customers(citizens) physically approaching relevant government departments for G2C services and then after multiple follow-ups with concomitant frustrations and failures, the services were delivered with more exasperation than satisfaction. The attributes in the bureaucracy that needed solution before the implementation of the Jan Seva Kendra concept were, primarily, i. Resistance to Change ii. Mindset of the officials towards e-governance iii. Lack of exposure to technology iv. Issues of inter-departmental co-ordination v. Manpower deployment and training To replace the inefficient traditional system with automated JSK required persistent efforts to make the bureaucracy accept the new style of public delivery without having any interaction with the citizens. It was a cultural u- turn where the bureaucracy felt threatened with loss of authority and power. This was a major roadblock which needed deft handling from the perspective of the District Collector. Even in cases for obtaining various licenses/permissions where the Collectorate required NOC from the various offices, the citizens were not needed to move from offices to offices; instead, the back-end JSK did the follow up. This was a major deviation from existing system. ICT based JSK empowers the Collector regarding pendency in different offices. This information enabled the Collector to expedite delivery of services which in turn motivated the district officers to take work from their subordinates efficiently. Similarly, simplifying and standardizing various forms for different services was a big ask. Robust brainstorming with all the stakeholders was needed to keep the citizen in centre of all planning. This necessitated that various offices give up their authority and eventually empower citizens. A paradigm shift in bureaucratic working, indeed ! The project financing through public private partnership was a big challenge before the district administration. The Collector personally marketed the concepts of people-centric administration to local industries, organizations, NGOs etc. With only Rs 0.5 million grant from the State Govt., the remaining Rs 3 million for the project was managed through PPP mode. Thus public –private participation is instilled within the foundation of the JSK. Similarly, the taluka centers (sub-district) and village camps witnessed extreme transparency with the advent of the JSK. Instilling motivation and change in work culture amongst the village level functionaries was very daunting task. Regular trainings and workshops along with strict supervision ensured that the empowerment of the citizens was complete in the real sense.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The Jan Seva Kendra required an investment of Rs 3.5 million, which far exceeded the State Govt. grant of Rs 0.5 million. The District Collector marketed the concepts of people-centric administration to local industries, organizations as well as the State Govt. Therefore, this project was an actual outcome of public-private partnership, while the services and software were planned considering the B.O.O.T. model. With the above financial mobilization, the physical and ICT infrastructure for the automated Jan Seva Kendra was put into place. Physical Infrastructure JSK, Gandhinagar has approx. 3500 sq. ft. of office space, including offices for the Dy. Mamlatdar and Service Supervisor, Server Room, Notice boards, cupboards and cabinets for storage, toilets as well as drinking water facilities, seating capacity for 35 persons, Record room and Help station managed by Senior Citizens. Hardware and Enabling Techno The JSK has state-of-the-art hardware electronics, including 2 high performance Intel Xeon servers, around 20 PC nodes for operators, 8 laser printers, electronic token display devices, Barcode scanners, Biometric Fingerprint scanners, GSM modem, as well as an Interactive Voice Response System. Connectivity Infra There are 18 nodes at JSK, Gandhinagar and they are connected in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN environment. These nodes are connected to a server at JSK. There is another server which serves as a back-up. One of the two servers functions in a mirrored mode and provides redundancy. The servers are connected to GSWAN (Gujarat State Wide Area Network) as well as to the internet through GSWAN. 5 Monitoring nodes have been provided to department heads for monitoring activities. 3 Taluka centers as well as monitoring nodes are also connected to the JSK server through GSWAN. Data is backed up at the servers, in a portable storage medium as well as data storage space in the servers. To add to the convenience of citizens, JSK provides support services as well e.g. Photocopier, web camera, lamination machine, coin telephone and stamp franking machine etc. Integration Tool Microsoft is the main technology platform from Networking to the User Interface. The system is developed on a Windows networking platform, with database in SQL Server. This software was developed in ASP.NET and VB.NET. The “Jan Setu” software supports handling of all the issues, offers flexibility to add new issues, supports the JSK website http://jansevakendragnr.gujarat.gov.in and allows online status monitoring, online issue of forms, feedback, etc. The features of auto-SMS, auto-email, SMS query, IVRS, barcode support, Biometric fingerprint identification, token-based priority management etc. are built in to the software. Human Resources The Collectorate supported the initiative of local ITIs (Vocational Training Centers) to offer special courses to prepare the workforce for e-governance. Series of trainings and orientation workshops were organized in the implementation phase of the Project for the JSK operators. This has helped in creating a dedicated team of Karmayogis who are passionate about their work. Regular trainings were organized to keep the officials as well as the operators updated with technology changes and make full use of the system. This ensured that after the implementation the systems can be handled by the government officers themselves in their respective departments.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
JSK was set up with an capital investment of Rs 3.5 million within the District Collectorate, Gandhinagar along with the taluka centers on a public-private partnership mode. The necessary ICT infrastructure was set up with the technical support of the technology supplier – both the hardware and the software. The connectivity is supported by the GSWAN and internet. The JSK operators have been imparted regular training by the Collector and the technology supplier. The manpower pool is made available by the local ITI. The training covered computer application, government processes as well as value systems necessary for public services. Regular trainings are required to keep the officials as well as operators updated with the technology changes and make full use of the system. In fact, applying Change Management Principles has ensured maintenance of quality standards of performance at the JSK despite the transfer of the Project Champion. The JSK collects Rs 20 as service charges for each processing each application. This is shared between the Collectorate (40%) and the technology supplier(60%) to meet the recurring expenses for G2C transactions as well as the software costs. The JSK has been running successfully since 16th October,2006. With an average daily inflow of 400 requests the JSK till date has processed over 100,000 applications with highly exceptional on time delivery (94%). With streamlined work processes, availability of required infrastructure and operators, institutionalized provisions making JSK as the de-facto front-end of the District Collectorate and highly trained and sensitized bureaucracy has ensured that the JSK has been gaining strength each day and is sustainable institutionally and financially. The Jan Seva Kendra model is easily replicable in other District Collectorates of Gujarat where G2C service delivery can be automated on the line of Gandhinagar (horizontal transfer). The technology supplier has provided open source products to allow users the ability to customize the product. In the JSK, the officers’ interface is through the GSWAN and the service providers’ interface is through the internet. The GSWAN connectivity is available to all the district collectorates and the various district level departments like the police, civil supply, health etc. Various process related to the delivery of services at the JSK are well documented and can be replicated easily. The State Govt. intends to replicate the public-private partnership model based JSKs at the different district collectorates. Through a GR (Govt. Resolution), the District e- Society has been formed in each district of Gujarat which is an administrative society headed by the District Collector. The business model of the JSK counts on income generation from B2C & C2C initiatives such as employment handling, travel bookings, bill collections, call centers, buy-sell services, surveys, data sharing etc. Some financial support is achieved through value added services like home delivery through courier, sponsorships for stationery with advertisements of the sponsors, kiosks, renting of hoardings at the JSK for publicity etc. The District Collectorate, Gandhinagar is ready to launch distributed franchise service providers which reduces the load on the government to create office space and infrastructure. The strategy here is to count minimum on the collection from the basic G2C services. This way the Gandhinagar model is replicable in terms of technology, work processes, human resource requirement and financial sustainability. The Jan Seva Kendra, Gandhinagar model has been selected by the Dept. of Information Technology, Govt. of India as a model project in the country for district level e-Governance. This Project has been nominated by the State Govt. for Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for 2007-8.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Critical Success Factors The District Collector had issued orders to the officers of the Collectorate to ensure that all the citizen-centric work is handled through the JSK only. The technology supplier has continuously evolved and upgraded the software to ensure the best performance. Officers monitor the issues at their departments and focus on eliminating over dues. Such combined teamwork has yielded success to the initiative. Implementation of ICT for e- Governance – Use of SMS for automatic alerts and on demand information, IVRS for 24x7 status information, Barcode and Smart Electronic Trackers for tracking, registry and error –free data entry, website for status track and form information, Fingerprint Biometrics for recognition have offered convenience, speed and transparency to citizens. Citizen ID – The concept of Customer ID( Citizen ID) has helped minimize the paperwork as well as data entry work in case of entering the application information. Citizens re-use previously- submitted documents in new applications to the Jan Seva Kendra. Taluka-level Connectivity The taluka centers use the same software and connect to the central database through GSWAN. This has facilitated centralized monitoring, and has helped create a central data record for the entire district. Service to the remote villages at the door-steps of citizens - JSK offers mobile van based services and village camps to reach out to citizens in remote areas. Internet based services are catered on spot. The citizens don’t have to travel to the government offices for their paperwork needs. Key Learnings i. Project has front-end automation where service requests are accepted. ii. Extensive focus on employee skill up gradation and employee involvement in the whole process of re-engineering and automation. iii. In one-day governance, citizen has to get all the supporting documents signed by the concerned authorities and submit in the center. For one day governance, one Collectorate official sits in the JSK to clear all the requests of the citizens. iv. If there is any application which has to get approvals from the departments beyond the Collectorate like the police, health, panchayats etc., then it is forwarded to respective departments by JSK operator. The applicant does not have to visit these offices to get these clearances. Also, the Collectorate departments do not need to send the formal requests to these outside departments. v. Timelines are given to all the departments for the completion of the request (SLA with the departments). 48 hour deadline reminders are issued to the departments by the system. vi. Close monitoring by the Collector on a weekly basis to review operational status. vii. Over 1000 feedbacks received. Every applicant requested to give his/her feedback. Feedbacks processed by weekly monitoring meet headed by Collector resulting in process-reforms. Every feedback reciprocated by a letter from JSK. viii. All the application forms are in the local language and have been simplified for the convenience of the citizens. Rupees 20 are charged per form. There are no charges for BPL applicants(below poverty line). ix. Services to the citizen in the taluka(sub-district center) are provided by the taluka JSK. x. There is no interaction of Government officials with citizens, which save the time of both officials and citizens. xi. Unique citizen ID is created for each applicant. xii. JSK collects the money for the services and deposits in respective departments. xiii. For tracking of an application, a special Barcode is attached to the application.


Institution Name:		District Collectorate, Gandhinagar, India
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Sonal Mishra
Title:		Ms
Telephone/ Fax:		+917923256301
Institution's / Project's Website:		+917923256302
E-mail:		smishra_guj@yahoo.com
Address:		Block No. 14, 3rd Floor, Old Sachivalaya
Postal Code:		382010
City:		Gandhinagar
State/Province:		Gujarat
Country:		India

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information