Patiala, Punjab Speeding up e-Governance through ICT-enabled initiatives

Patiala, renowned for its rich history and popularity as a destination in Punjab, has also made significant advances in technology. NIC Patiala District Centre, established in 1988, has been pivotal in promoting ICT initiatives within the district. This Centre plays a crucial role in advancing technology-driven solutions, enhancing the delivery of digital services to citizens.

Patiala, a historic city in Punjab’s Malwa region and known as a mini capital due to its various state headquarters, is making strides in the digital arena. NIC Patiala District Centre is central to this transformation, providing essential technical support for a range of digital projects and initiatives. Under the guidance of the SIO NIC Punjab, the centre significantly aids the District Administration in implementing and managing e-Governance and ICT solutions, enhancing the delivery of technology-driven services to citizens.

ICT Initiatives in the District

Elections

NIC Patiala has consistently played a crucial role in Assembly, Lok Sabha, Local Body, and PRI elections. The NextGen DISE initiative, implemented by NIC Punjab, includes:

• Polling Personnel Management System: A webbased application for digitizing data, importing from iHRMS/APIs/Excel/CSV, and randomly deploying polling staff with a distributed architecture for state-wide replication
• Polling Activity Monitoring System (PAMS): A web portal and mobile app that captures and monitors key election events in real time, including pre-poll, during poll, and post-poll activities, with dashboards for ROs, DEOs, and CEOs.
• Voter’s Queue Information System (QIS): Provides real-time queue information to voters via WhatsApp, allowing them to check queue lengths by location or booth, facilitating timely visits to polling stations.
• During elections, NIC Patiala District Centre also served as the IT Nodal Officer, supporting all ECI IT applications, including Encore, cVIGIL, and webcasting.

NextGen eHospital

NIC’s eHospital project aims to enhance healthcare delivery nationwide. This cloud-based Hospital Management Information System digitizes hospital workflows and processes. Implemented at Government Rajindra Hospital Patiala (Punjab’s largest government hospital) on April 1, 2024, the project established a LAN of 165 nodes with NKN internet connectivity. A dedicated project management unit with two trained staff ensures smooth operation. The OPD Registration modules are active across all hospital blocks, and billing module implementation is ongoing.

NGDRS

Under the Digital India Programme, Punjab’s State Revenue Department launched the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), a NIC initiative. Inaugurated by the Hon’ble CM Punjab, NGDRS has been fully adopted across all 8 SRO/JSRO offices in the district.

iHRMS

The implementation of iHRMS has been successfully completed across all state government departments and offices in the district of Patiala. Training was provided to nodal officers and 900 master trainers. Modules for service books, pay bills, annual increments, GPF, and external manpower are fully operational. iHRMS has also been extended to Boards, Corporations, and Universities, including the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Punjabi University, and all local bodies in Patiala. It is currently being implemented at the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited head office in Patiala.

NextGen IFMS

The Integrated Finance Management System (NextGen IFMS), developed by NIC, is a key project of the Government of Punjab, managed by the Finance and Treasury Departments. This comprehensive suite of applications supports planning, budgeting, expenditure control, receipt processing, bill management, payment processing, debt management, and auditing. The state-of-the-art portal integrates stakeholders such as the Department of Finance, Treasuries, Administrative Departments, Accountant General, RBI, and Banks into a unified platform with role-based Smart Dashboards. These dashboards enhance decision-making and ensure end-to-end integration of various IT systems for efficient fund management and accounting.

Patiala District Website

NIC Patiala regularly updates and maintains the district’s website (https://patiala.nic.in), ensuring it adheres to GIGW standards and robust security on the S3waas platform. The revamped site features enhanced user-friendly functionalities and interfaces NIC Patiala has been pivotal in advancing digital infrastructure in the region. The Revenue Court Management System (RCMS) manages and monitors court cases for revenue officers across all Patiala revenue courts. The National Database of Arms Licenses (NDAL) digitizes arms licenses into a centralized repository with unique IDs for holders. The Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD), funded by the World Bank and initiated by MoRTH, enhances road safety with input from various stakeholders. The ePrison Application Suite, including the Prisoner Information Management System (PIMS) and Visitor Information Management System (VIMS), operates in Patiala and New Nabha jails with LAN and video conferencing facilities. The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra Portal supports nationwide scheme saturation efforts. eOffice is fully implemented and operational across all branches of the Deputy Commissioner office and government field offices in Patiala, streamlining receipt and file movement. eServices introduced this year include online applications for NRI document embossing, electricity duty exemption, uncontested land mutation, and farmer training for milk plant setup. Additionally, the Online National Permit project, a pilot by NIC MORTH, was successfully launched at RTO Patiala.

Fig 5.1 : NIC Patiala was awarded by Hon’ble Ex CM Punjab Capt. Amarinder Singh on Republic Day for his outstanding services in the IT sector.

Other Key Initiatives in the District

DM-Dashboard

The DM Dashboard (https://pb.dmdashboard.nic.in) offers an analytical overview of projects, providing District Administration with insights into various departmental activities and monitoring schemes at the district level. Patiala was the first district in the state to launch this DM Dashboard.

Digital India Activities

NIC Patiala enhances computer awareness and provides training for effective use of government facilities through regular workshops, programs, and multimedia presentations. It is also featured in informative talk shows on All India Radio Patiala and Doordarshan Jalandhar under the Digital India Program.

Fig 5.2 : DIO NIC Patiala providing demonstration of election software to General Observers of ECI, DEO, ADEO during General Lok Sabha Election 2024

Important Events Organised

As the IT Nodal Agency, NIC Patiala supports state-level functions and high-profile visits by the Hon’ble PM, Cabinet Ministers, and the CM of Punjab by setting up IT and media control rooms for events such as PM Visits, Rozgar Melas, Viksit Bharat Yatra, and CM Punjab’s Sarkar Vapaar Milni. NIC Patiala also participated in the Digital India Week at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, with beneficiaries of central schemes.

Accolades

• NIC Patiala was honored by the Hon’ble CM Punjab, Capt. Amarinder Singh, on Republic Day for its exceptional contributions and outstanding services in the IT sector.
• At the national level, NIC Patiala received an award from the Hon’ble Minister of Communication and IT, Government of India, as one of the top-performing districts under the Digital India campaign on Good Governance Day.
• NIC Patiala was recognized by various Deputy Commissioners of Patiala for its technical support in the successful conduct of Assembly Elections, Lok Sabha Elections, local body elections, and PRI elections.

Way Forward

NIC Punjab’s new initiative, Digital MC House (eNigam), is currently being implemented in the Municipal Corporation of Patiala. This initiative aims to enhance digital services within the corporation. Additionally, the NextGen eHospital Project is set to expand with the upcoming launch of its Billing, IPD, and eBlood Bank modules. NIC Patiala remains committed to delivering comprehensive ICT support to the District Administration and various state and central government field offices throughout the district.

It gives me immense pleasure that Patiala district has been chosen for district informatics category in the INFORMATICS Publication. The stateof-the-art technology, latest ICT infrastructure of NIC Patiala District Centre along with its sincere, hardworking and staff are key assets of the district administration. The information, data and technical expertise with innovative ideas have always played a key role in better planning and decision making in order to deliver public services seamlessly. The keenness and proactive support from NIC officials to rollout various e-Governance projects sharing of Government information through the district website and active support during General elections have been quite commendable. NIC Patiala is supporting district administration in many ways to achieve the goal by extending its services like software solutions, eGovernance services, ICT infrastructure, video conferencing and technical consultation. I wish them success in their future endeavours.

Showkat Ahmad Parray IAS

Dy. Commissioner, Patiala

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