eGov January 2015

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ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON E-governance ` 75 / US $10 / ISSN 0973-161X

January 2015 | VOLUME 11 | ISSUE 1

Journey of a Decade

Looking Back to Go Forward

Ram Sewak

Sharma

IT Man of the year the

Secretary, DeitY, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt of India

Contents

january 2015

volume 11 n issue 01

14

bfsi 32 Mohan Tanksale Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association

Ram Sewak Sharma Secretary, DeitY, Government of India

36 R K Gupta Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra

Government

38 K Manohara 18 Ashish Kumar

Raj

CEO, BSE Ltd

Chauhan

EVP and Head, Systematic Livelihood Investment, HDFC Bank

22 N N Sinha

40 Rachna Dixit

Principal Secretary - IT, Govt of Jharkhand

26 Saurabh Kumar CEO, Chhattisgarh Infotech & Biotech Promotion Society (CHIPS)

28 Dr Rathan Kelkar CEO, Centre for e-Governance, Government of Karnataka

30 Tejaswi S Naik Commissioner, Bhopal Municipal Corporation

General Manager, Reserve Bank of India

42 Usha Menon General Manager - IT, Central Bank

43 Vishwas Korrane Head - Security, IndusInd Bank

46 Tushar Trivedi Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank

corporate

4/

48 Sanjay Kapoor

54 Ajay Singh

60 Ajay Kumar

Chairman, Micromax Informatics Ltd

CEO, Forbes Technosys Ltd

Head of Marketing - South Asia, Datacard

50 Chet Kamat

56 Ramsunder Papineni

62 K P Saha

MD & CEO, Oracle Financial Services Soft

SAARC, FireEye Cybersecurity Pvt Ltd

MD, Senrysa Technologies Pvt Ltd

52 Puneet Gupta

58 R Ramachandran

64 Kanwar Singh

MD – Enterprise & Public Sector, CISCO

CTO & President, Rolta India

VP – Operations, Serco Global Services

egov | egov.eletsonline.com | january 2015

Beginning of a New Start

C

hange is the law of nature, and it is beyond human to interfere with the eternal rule. However, what remains within our limits is to give this process of change the shape of evolution — process of evolution. And, that is what eGov magazine has done over the past decade: governments came and went by, but we stayed focussed to the idea of ‘good governance’ through eGovernance..

Although the idea of eGovernance has been there since ages, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins of the NDA Government last year, it got the much-awaited push.

Determined to reach citizen-centric services efficiently and with accountability, the new government spelt out its agenda for reforms in governance, with the Digital India vision being one of its prime focus areas.

There have been twists and turns in the way successive governments handled the idea of eGovernance, but we, in our own small way, kept contributing to the cause; we interacted with the stakeholders, put forth our views and listened to theirs, differed over the unfeasible and hailed what needed to be lauded.

The year 2014 proved to be a significant year also with regard to financial inclusion initiative in the country. The idea may have been floated way back in 2005 by RBI, when it urged banks to review their existing practices to align them with the objective of financial inclusion, but it had failed to move beyond being a popular rhetoric. With a view to bringing the excluded sections of the society in the financial mainstream and achieving the goal of comprehensive financial inclusion, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana programme. By linking the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) facility and the provision of insurance cover for the account holders, the government has tried to ensure that more and more people get attracted to the programme.

As a brand new year unfolds, we assure our readers that eGov magazine will continue to act as a watchdog and custodian of good governance, and keep doing its bit to promote eGovernance through constructive ideas as well positive criticism.

Wish you a Happy & Prosperous New Year – 2015!

ravi guptA Ravi.Gupta@elets.in

Email at subscription@elets.in to get previous issues

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

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ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON E-governance

january 2015 volume 11 n issue 1

Partner publications Chairman: Dr M P Narayanan Editor-in-Chief: Dr Ravi Gupta

Editorial Team governance Sr. Assistant Editor: Nirmal Anshu Ranjan Sr. Correspondent: Kartik Sharma, Nayana Singh, Souvik Goswami Correspondent: Gautam Debroy education Sr. Editor: Shitanshu Shekhar Shukla Programme Manager: Seema Gupta SALES & MARKETING TEAM National Sales Manager: Fahimul Haque, (+91 - 8860651632) Manager: Gaurav Srivastava (+91-8527697685) Subscription & Circulation Team Manager Subscriptions, +91-8860635832; subscription@elets.in Design Team Creative Head: Pramod Gupta Deputy Art Director: Priyankar Bhargava Sr. Graphic Designer: Om Prakash Thakur Sr. Web Designer: Shyam Kishore WEB DEVELOPMENT & IT INFRASTRUCTURE Team Lead - Web Development: Ishvinder Singh Executive-IT Infrastructure: Zuber Ahmed event team Manager: Nagender Lal Assistant Manager: Vishesh Jaiswal Editorial & Marketing Correspondence eGov – Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd Stellar IT Park, Office No: 7A/7B, 5th Floor, Annexe Tower, C-25, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201309, Phone: +91-120-4812600, Fax: +91-120-4812660, Email: info@egovonline.net eGov does not neccesarily subscribe to the views expressed in this publication.

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Owner, Publisher, Printer - Dr Ravi Gupta, Printed at First Impression Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd., E-114, Sector-63, Noida.UP and published from 710, Vasto Mahagun Manor, F-30, Sector - 50, Noida, UP. Editor: Dr Ravi Gupta © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic and mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without publisher’s permission.

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Cover Coverstory story ?????????? flashback

Looking Back to

go Forward

It has been barely seven months that Narendra Modi took over the reins of the government, and lot many things already seem to be happening around. Irrespective of the end result of the efforts of the NDA Government, the sincerity shown by the Prime Minister raises hope that ‘Achhe Din’ are not too far away. Souvik Goswami and Nirmal Anshu Ranjan report

T

he Digital India mission is on a roll — a mission that will change India, a mission that will transform India.

What is at the centre of this mission is 125 crore-plus population of the country, and its visionary is none other than Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi himself. Ever since his days in Gujarat as the Chief Minister, Modi has been vocal about the use of technology to change people’s lives. He has always given upper hand to eGovernance to reach out to citizens with government services. And now, as the PM, Modi is trying to replicate the same model to take citizen-centric services to people in a like-never-before manner using ICT tools, once again.

This special issue of eGov magazine, which is in its 10th year of publication, tries to look back at the journey of PM Modi

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in the last seven months and how with a missionary’s zeal he is trying to change India through ICT tools-based governance.

Effective Governance After taking oath as the Prime Minister of India, in his maiden Independence Day speech, Modi had explicitly stated his plan for e-Governance and how it can be leveraged to make governance process easy, efficient, transparent and accountable.

Since then, various landmark initiatives have been rolled out by the government.

The first and foremost announcement made in this regard was the launch of “Digital India” campaign. Its objective is to prepare India for a knowledge future and to make technology as the central point to enable changes. The programme stands

Cover story flashback on nine pillars — Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Phones, Public Internet Access, eGovernance, Electronic Delivery of Services-eKranti, Information for All, Electronic Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programme, and the entire programme centres around three key areas: Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen, Governance and Services on Demand, and Digital Empowerment of Citizens.

Cashing in on Technology Experts feel that although in the past, some attention had been paid to the use of ICT and eGovernance for better delivery of government services, this time round, by making it a nationwide, comprehensive programme standing on well-defined nine pillars, the NaMo Government has given a new dimension to the entire mechanism.

The Digital India initiative of PM Modi, they say, has paved the path for participative governance like never before, and it is technology that will play the enabler yet again. Under his leadership, the government has created a new website — MyGov — and through this the government is continuously taking citizen’s views, suggestions and trying to implement various programmes for overall development of the country. Issues ranging from Smart Cities, Urban Development, Clean Environment, Women’s Safety, Security, etc., are being discussed and worked upon between the government and the nation at large on this platform. People in the government are claiming that MyGov portal will turn out to be a game-changer in the process of participative governance.

Banking the Unbanked The second ambitious programme launched by the new government is “Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana”, which aims to achieve comprehensive financial inclusion in the country. The name and logo of the programme was created after taking inputs from citizens of the country through MyGov portal.

Under the programme, an effort will be made to bring the financially excluded sections of the society into the mainstream by ensuring at least one bank account for every household. This will ensure that in the hours of need, they are not turn to traditional moneylenders, whose approach is mostly exploitative. Once in touch with bank, people can go for loans on softer terms. Besides, insurance coverage also brings social security to the dependents’ family The government is using Social Media platforms extensively to tell people about the benefits of its new initiatives, and the Prime Minister is himself playing an active role through his regular presence on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Not just that, he has also ensured that all ministers and their respective ministries have their own Twitter and Facebook accounts.

For Better Tomorrow Additionally, the Prime Minister has undertaken some initiatives to improve the overall functioning of the government. One

of such steps is making biometric attendance system (BAS) mandatory in all central government offices. This ensures compulsive punctuality for both officials and staff. Also, in line with the Modi Government’s “Swachh Bharat Mission”, all the central government departments have been directed to keep their office premises clean.

Besides, the NaMo Government has also given a call for a “Make in India” campaign. The message is loud and clear - take on the neighbouring Asian giant and make India a manufacturing hub. This will not just bring foreign money to the country, but also generate jobs on a large scale.

For facilitating joining of hands by the domestic as well as global investors, the Government of India has also shown flexibility to offer better incentives to companies, abolish redtapism wherever required, raise proper infrastructure and put in place other desired facilities.

Easier Said Than Done?

Every programme launched by the government has the potential to be a game changer. While talks about such initiatives sound like music to ears, there remains some skepticism about successful implementation of the announced programmes, probably because we Indians are not used to see so many good things happening simultaneously!

However, amid the skepticism, there is also no dearth of optimism. Experts feel that Narendra Modi can and will push all the ministries and departments to see that these campaigns and programmes are taken to their logical conclusion.

Another factor that raises hope and works in favour of the government is the image of the Prime Minister: whatever challenges or problems, Modi has the track record of making things happen.

So, it remains to be seen as to when “Achhe Din” actually come.

Till then, eGov magazine wishes the very best to Prime Minister Modi!

After taking oath as the PM, in his maiden Independence Day speech, Modi had explicitly stated his plan for e-Governance and how it can be leveraged to make governance process easy, efficient, transparent and accountable

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10 Years

flashback

eGov through the Decade

Revisiting the Past

Front Cover March 2005

September 2013: President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, posed with eIndia 2013 awardee for eGov magazine at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

January 2008: Ram Sewak Sharma, Secretary, DeitY, Govt of India, featured in eGov as the then Principal Secretary, IT Dept, Govt of Jharkhand

December 2011: Message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, in the magazine

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10 years

flashback June 2012: Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, talked to Elets News Network

February 2008: The then Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda's interview featured in the magazine

March 2014: Message of former Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, in the magazine

May 2012: Message of the then Maharashtra Chief Minister, Prithiviraj Raj Chauhan, in eGov magazine

January 2014: Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik's message in eGov

October 2012: The then Chief Minister of Delhi, Shiela Dikshit, in conversation with Elets News Network

November 2012: Message of Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, in the magazine

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10 Years

flashback May 2011: Gist of the then Union Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal's speech at 'eGov SecureIT' event appeared in the magazine

December 2014: ENN interviewed Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister of State for Minority and Parliamentary Affairs, for eGov

November 2008: Shankar Aggarwal, then Joint Secretary - DeitY, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt of India, talked to Ravi Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, eGov

July 2012: Sachin Pilot, the then Union Minister of Communications & Information Technology, talked to eGov magazine

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10 years

flashback

July 2010: Sam Pitroda, then Chairman of National Innovation Council, spoke with eGov

November 2013: Former RBI Governor, Dr C Rangrajan, spoke with Elets News Network

November 2013: Interview of Kiran Bedi, retired IPS officer, appeared in the magazine

August 2009: Nandan Nilkeni, then Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, featured in eGov magazine

June 2014: Kiran Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, spoke to Elets News Network

August 2014: Rajesh Aggarwal, Principal Secretary - IT, Government of Maharashtra, spoke to Elets News Network

December 2014: Interview of Anil Swarup, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Government of India, appeared in eGov

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Personality r s sharma

As we were picking and choosing the personalities to feature in eGov magazine’s Annual Leaders’ Special Issue, one name that figured repeatedly is that of Ram Sewak Sharma, IAS. Sharma was one of the two key persons responsible for the rollout of Aadhaar cards, and now the Biometric Attendance System for the central government employees. Nirmal Anshu Ranjan of Elets News Network (ENN) profiles the bureaucrat, for whom digital coding has been a favourite pastime

it man of the Year the

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personality profile

r s sharma

E

pithets like ‘Born Performer’, ‘IT Man of India’, ‘Young at 59’, ‘Man of Many Facets’ have become synonymous with Ram Sewak Sharma, the current Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India. And, why not? After all, he has been behind successful execution of several high-stake IT projects in India. It was him, who along with former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani, gave shape to the world’s biggest biometric identification programme, Aadhaar.

The genius of Sharma saw its first public display in 1986, when he wrote a programme in DBASE, a programming language, to keep a record of stolen firearms in a district. As soon as a firearm would be found, the programme would run a search query among thousands of age-old records. To one’s surprise, as many as 22 firearms theft cases were solved barely over a period of a month. His colleagues say, he can chalk out eloquent policies to make better use of technology in governance like nobody else can.

Initial Days Born in 1955 in a small village in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, Sharma’s early education took place in Firozabad and he did his graduation from the University of Allahabad in 1974. After completing his Masters in Mathematics from IIT, Kanpur in 1976, he joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1978. Later, in 2000, he also went for doing his Masters in Computer Science from the University of California, Riverside.

Prior to his current assignment, the Jharkhand cadre IAS officer played memorable innings in the state as its Chief Secretary; Director General, UIDAI; Principal Secretary, Jharkhand (Public Health and Engineering); Secretary-IT, Human Resource Development, Panchayati Raj, Personnel and Drinking Water & Sanitation; Principal Secretary to the Governor; Deputy Development Commissioner in Saharsa; District Collector in Begusarai, Purnea and Dhanbad; Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance; and Nodal Officer for the IMF, MIGA and GEF.

Days in Jharkhand Talking about his key initiatives as the then Chief Secretary, he said, ‘‘The Jharkhand Government recognises the power and potential of new technologies. We understand how new technologies can lead to improvement in the quality of people’s lives. We believe that the developments in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be effectively leveraged to deliver a variety of information and services to the citizens effectively and efficiently.”

Sharma also did a remarkable job during 2003-2006,

The attendance.gov.in website is already up and currently keeping a track of the log-in and log-out data of almost 50,000 government employees in real-time as the then Secretary, Department of Information Technology in Jharkhand. Under his able leadership, Jharkhand was the first state in the country to commence State-Wide Area Network (SWAN). Way back in June 2006, he had told eGov magazine: “In the context of SWAN, we are the first state in the entire country, which has already appointed an operator and consultant. SWAN commenced operations in February this year. So, we are way ahead than many states in India.”

It was for these very achievements that Sharma was honoured with the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2008. That says a lot about the calibre of the ‘IT Sewak of India’, as eGov magazine described him sometime back.

Unlike the routine practice of shifting bureaucrats when a new government takes over, the NDA Government chose to retain the DeiTY Secretary appointed during the previous regime. Currently he is spearheading some key policies, which are part of the Narendra Modi-led Government’s ambitious Digital India initiative. Sharma has earned this confidence through years of dedication to and

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Personality r s sharma

innovation in his work, which few can boast of.

Biometric Attendance The latest feather in the cap of the silver-haired Sharma, exuberating a young-forever persona, is the Aadhaar platform-based attendance system in the central government offices. The cheap and publicly-available-on-the-Internet tool is set to revolutionise governance in the country as far as punctuality of the officials and staff is concerned. The attendance.gov.in website is already online and currently keeping a track of the log-in and log-out data of almost 50,000 government employees in real-time. The public reporting of the data is sure to pressure supervisors to ensure compliance.

The system can be searched, down to the names of individual employees, and all the data is available for download. With this single step, the visionary IAS officer has introduced a level of accountability and transparency that India’s sprawling bureaucracy has conventionally not been used to. Although the system cannot track people leaving in-between the check-in and check-out time, it can certainly track habitual late comers.

As he returned to Jharkhand in 2013, Sharma decided to set right the late-coming habit of both officers and staff — a chronic administrative problem that almost all government offices in the country have to deal with.. They worked on a solution, in close association with two UIDAI officials there, and got the code crafted However, what remains most interesting aspect of the biometric attendance system is that it saw its origin not in the national capital, but in the state of Jharkhand, which Sharma served as the Chief Secretary after being relieved from the Aadhaar project in 2013-14.

As he returned to his home cadre, Sharma decided to set right the late-coming habit of both officers and staff — a chronic administrative problem that almost all government offices in the country have to deal with. The worked on a solution, in close association with two UIDAI officials there, and got the code crafted.

The idea clicked and the government employees, who already had their Aadhaar numbers, would use their fingerprints—captured during the enrolment process—to register their attendance. The inexpensive biometric scanners would read their finger prints, send the data to the UIDAI’s servers to authenticate them,

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confirm the match to the employee and, finally, the attendance was displayed on a website on attendance. jharkhand.gov.in in January 2014. Ans it all happened within seconds.

J’khand Model Replicated In May 2014, when Sharma was brought back in New Delhi as the DeiTY Secretary, he and his department made a presentation to the Prime Minister. As the Jharkhand prototype synced well with the new government’s Digital India programme, it was decided to introduce the system in all central government offices in New Delhi by October 2014. And, thus it went on a roll.

The system can have broader application. “In Jharkhand, it has already been taken to the district level and can be even expanded to government-run hospitals and schools. It can also be used, for instance, to track the number of mid-day meal beneficiaries in government schools and then compare that with the actual spending on the programme to ascertain leakages... This can become an extremely powerful tool for governance,” Sharma told a news agency recently.

Landmark Achievements Some of the other major IT initiatives Sharma had been closely associated with are: Aadhaar-based Public Distribution System (PDS) in Jharkhand; ambitious Digital Locker project of DeiTY; revamping of MMPs; e-Bhasha - a platform to promote use of Indian languages in ICT; Mobile Seva – an initiative aimed to give boost to mobile governance in the country; MyGov.in – a digital platform to promote participative governance; Jeevan Praman – digital life certificate for pensioners; SMS-based weather alert system, .bharat domain in Gujarati and Bangla, apart from other languages; Time Stamping of Digital Signature; Integrated Indian Languages Virtual Keyboard for Android; PARAM Shavak (Super Computer in box solution); and Gyansetu – an internet-based real-time ICT system to provide e-Services to the rural population of India.

Besides, he is also closely associated with probably the world’s largest-ever Rs 113,000-crore project e-Kranti (E-revolution) under next phase of the National e-Governance Plan – NeGP 2.0. It will roll out broadband to all villages and digitise all records in government offices and shift them to the globally accessible online storage space using the Cloud Computing.

One hopes that R S Sharma has much more up his sleeves to stun the nation and serve the people of India with. To use his own words, as he left Ranchi for New Delhi to take over as the DeiTY Secretary, “A new journey. But for me, every day, every assignment is an exciting challenge.” We wish him all success in every ‘exciting challenge’!

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20/

government N N Sinha

eGovernance on

play in Jharkhand eGovernance brings transparency in the government process, which results in improved public image and credibility to the government, says N N Sinha, Principal Secretary - IT, Government of Jharkhand, in an interview with Gautam Debroy of Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is the present status of IT implementation in Jharkhand?

We are doing well in Jharkhand. In fact, along with the implementation of IT infrastructure, we have good number of applications which are based on IT. We have treasury and integrated financial management system, commercial taxes system, excise and mining system, and various registrations supported by information technology. Apart from these, police department, among various other departments, too have been using the ITbased system for better policing. Then we have an online grievances redressal system, which is also IT based.

We have a special facility called eRahat, using which you can avail emergency services across Jharkhand. There are some systems, which were initially built for Jharkhand, but are now being implemented across the country. Aadhaar-enabled attendance system is now being implemented across the country. We have launched a system called India Post for Aadhaarenabled payment system, which helps the branch post offices to conduct transactions online. We also have a system at the check-posts along the interstate borders. This will certainly be implemented across the country in the future. We also have a system called eKalyan, through which we administer scholarship programmes for the students.

Tells us more about the use of IT at interstate border check-posts.

Through employing information technology tools, we get information in advance about the vehicles coming to particular check-posts and also until what time they are waiting in the check-post queues. Also, how much time each vehicle takes to get the clearing, or whether a vehicle has been seized or not, or if the vehicles passing through the check-posts are showing their papers or not – all these information can be obtained using IT. Then we would corelate the reports to know whether they are fulfilling their commercial obligations or not.

What is the goal of eGovernance in Jharkhand? eGovernance offers a number of obvious advantages, which are common to all eGovernance applications. From the citizens’ point of view, the major objectives of eGovernance are empowering them by providing the right information, thus equipping them to participate in the debates and exchange of views and opinion, leading to better governance.

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government

N N Sinha

This way, the citizen is represented in the government. It engages a citizen towards establishing a healthy relationship between him and the government and thus, he feels himself to be a part of the decision making process. It brings transparency in the government process, which results in improved public image and credibility to the government.

What challenges are you facing in implementing the IT projects?

Challenges are many. The main challenge is that introduction of information technology tools disrupts the existing setup, and it takes people time to get used to the new system. The issue of dedicated budget line is also a big challenge for us. In many states, like Rajasthan and some others, they always make sure that two to three percent of their budget is kept aside for the implementation of IT projects. But in our state, we are yet to bring such a system.

We are working for it.

Another challenge is that there should be exchange of ideas between industry and the eGovernance system. If there is the needed correlation, then the IT industry will definitely surge.

How do you intend to implement the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) to keep female folk informed in Jharkhand?

With the use of IVRS system, the girls will be able to know about the services available under ‘Sabla’ programme from the security and comfort of their homes. The parents can also avail the facilities through the IVRS. But the challenge in Jharkhand remains that hardly 7,000 villages have mobile coverage out of 32,000-odd villages. Significantly, many of these 7,000 villages are very small hamlets. I was informed that BSNL is going to launch cellular services in all these areas by March next year.

I look forward to a good cellular services coverage. Once that is there, I don’t think there would be any problem for the girls in having access to cellular services. The only thing is that they have to be aware of the existing facilities.

Compared to other states, where does Jharkhand stand in terms of implementation of IT for eGovernance?

Even though we may be boasting of a thriving IT industry in Jharkhand, we are quite good at implementation of eGovernance tools. As for the comparison, let’s leave the task to the experts.

We believe that the progress in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be effectively leveraged to deliver a variety of information and services to the citizens effectively and efficiently. Accordingly, the government has drawn up an ambitious plan to use the power of information technology to effectively deliver information and services to its citizens. Computerisation of various departments, which the government has undertaken recently, aims at achieving the objective of effective and quick delivery of information and services to the citizens.

There are some systems, which were initially built for Jharkhand, are also now being implemented across the country What is the road ahead for the IT Department in Jharkhand?

We will be working hard towards the implementation of eGovernance. We will also be kick-starting IT industry in our state. IT education is also vital for us, for which we have already applied for triple IT (IIIT - International Institute of Information Technology). The triple IT must be opened in the PPP model; the central and state governments would need to spend 50% and 35%, respectively, of the total estimated cost for the project, whereas the private partners give the remaining 15 percent. We have already submitted our proposal to the Centre.

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government

Jhanja Tripathy

Participation key to

smart cities

As government finances have limitations, the Ministry of Urban Development intends to develop smart cities through partnership with various agencies, reveals Jhanja Tripathy, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to three central ministries — Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and DoNER — in an interview with Gautam Debroy of ENN

T

ell us about some of the major initiatives of the Ministry of Urban Development?

There are four major initiatives of the Ministry of Urban Development: first is construction of 100 Smart Cities; second, upgradation of country’s heritage cities, under which we will be making our heritage cities tourist friendly and clean, in line with the rest of the world; third initiative is urban renewal of at least 500 cities across the country; and fourth one is undertaking Swachh Bharat Mission in urban areas.

We are paying a lot of attention to creation of 100 smart cities across the country. The aim is to make brownfield satellite towns smarter. We can develop small satellite towns into fully integrated satellite towns, which will be smart, having proper connectivity of the government services with each and every citizen of the country.

In short, I would say, the services would be on a smart platform which everyone would be able to access in an equitable manner. Besides access to the government ser-

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vices, there should be good mass transport facilities in a smart city, for which we have already started talks with all the stakeholders.

Would you be adopting the Private Public Partnership (PPP) model for smart cities?

The government finances are very limited, so the entire project would veer around partnerships. So, we are trying to provide a platform of policies in such a manner that numerous agencies are able to participate instead of just a few. But, I will not call it a PPP exactly. I will call it participation by various agencies.

In a PPP model, the fruit of development takes place in a particular place, but by ensuring participation of various agencies, we want to give it a shape of an overall development.

It is projected that urban India will contribute nearly 75 percent of the national GDP in the next 15 years. Cities are, therefore, referred to as the engines of economic growth.

government

Jhanja Tripathy There is accordingly a crying need for the cities to get smarter to be able to handle this largescale urbanisation and finding new ways to manage complexities, increase efficiency, reduce expenses and improve the quality of life. Fruits of development should reach one and all.

How do you intend to deal with the issue of communication?

Our cities are facing the problem of rapid motorisation.

This has led to severe congestion, deteriorating air quality, increasing incidence of road accidents and a rapidly increasing energy bill. Walking and cycling have been rendered unsafe due to poor infrastructure, while public transport is simply inadequate. So far, the urban transport planning has focussed on facilitating plying of personal motor vehicles, while the public transport systems have been planned in isolation; as a result a well-integrated multi-modal transport system is missing. This has resulted in high-cost facilities without the desired outcomes.

On the other hand, ease of moving from one place to another is at the core of a smart city. Seoul, Singapore, Yokohama and Barcelona (all considered smart cities) have a sound transport system as the core of their ‘smartness’. The smart transport system emphasises walking, cycling and public transport as the primary means for mobility, with personal motor vehicles being actively discouraged. In fact, smart cities lay considerable emphasis on walkability and cycling in the city. The pedestrian is given a place of prominence as every trip has a leg that involves walking.

But, smart city needs to look into the bottlenecks of road/rail networks also, and wherever required, underpasses, elevated roads and additional rail networks have to be put in place.

Do you think that the GIFT City of Gujarat is going to be the first smart city of India?

I think Gift City is the first smart city having proper residential as well as developed office facilities. But there are several other cities in the country, too, which do have smart connectivity and other well-equipped services similar to a smart city.

What is the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in a smart city?

I think ICT has a very vital role to play in a smart city.

We plan our urbanisation strategy in the right direction by taking advantage of the latest developments in technology, especially in ICT. It is this factor on which entire connectivity and services depend. We need take ICT within every citizen’s reach.

What are the challenges on way to smart cities?

There are two-three major challenges that we have to deal with while developing a smart city. Right now, we are talking about smart cities in brownfield areas, where cities have already developed. But we also need to consider those areas where there simply nothing.

In a smart city, we need to create scope for economic activities. But, to bring everything on one platform is a challenge. We have too many legislations, some in the central sector and some in the state sector. But now, we also need to have business-friendly legislations. In one line I would say that we need cooperation of all.

Ease of moving from one place to another is at the core of a smart city. Seoul, Singapore, Yokohama and Barcelona (all considered smart cities) have a sound transport system as the core of their ‘smartness’ How can we bring north-eastern states of India on the smart city platform, where there is lack of communication, transportation and overall development?

Yes, we need to escalate the concept of smart city in the hilly areas, the north-eastern states. There should be total integration...there are places, which are not developed and those can kill the efforts. In fact, northeastern states are rich in resources, such as human and power, so unique development can be brought about in the region. The government is also giving proper attention to the north-eastern states.

Just as we are planning to develop satellite towns next to big cities like Delhi and Bangalore, capital cities of Northeast and their satellite towns can also be developed on the same lines.

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government

Saurabh Kumar

Chhattisgarh on Digital India Path Electronics manufacturing is a key component of the Digital India vision, and the State of Chhattisgarh is making an all-out effort to give a boost to the sunrise sector, says Saurabh Kumar, CEO, Chhattisgarh Infotech & Biotech Promotion Society (CHIPS) in an interview with Nirav Soni of Elets News Network (ENN)

G

ive us a brief about Chhattisgarh Infotech & Biotech Promotion Society (CHIPS).

Chhattisgarh Infotech & Biotech Promotion Society or CHIPS is a society registered under the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, promoted by the Government of Chhattisgarh. It is a Nodal Agency for all projects in the state under the National e-Governance Programme (NeGP) of the Government of India as well as the State Government projects. This department is headed by Hon Chief Minister himself. So, there is an absolute clarity on different policies and directions with respect to what step the state needs to take for the growth of IT and ITeS.

What are the different ICT initiatives undertaken by the Society in Chhattisgarh?

Historically, CHIPS has been a pioneer in delivering Government to Consumer (G2C) services. If one remembers the scenario of 2005, the implementation of different e-Governance projects under NeGP was in nascent stage and CHIPS would implement G2C projects under the PPP mode. The CHOICE initiative is one of such projects. Apart from this, we have also implemented ICT in digitising the lifecycle of procurement (e-procurement), student lifecycle (Gyan Vinimay), a specific application for the Panchayat & Rural Development Department (e-Gram Suraj), Digital Secretariat, SSDG and e-District, to name just a few.

What are the challenges you are facing in bringing about ‘transformation’ in various departments?

One must understand that business process re-engineering,

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government

Saurabh Kumar especially in the Government ecosystem, is a continuous and in-depth process where we have to see how a particular service was delivered previously and what are the various stages. This is necessary as the Department of IT will have to intervene in a similar manner. For example, in CHOICE project, we have seen that simply putting the mechanism in place for delivery of services does not work.

We have to involve different departments and exhaustive training to these departments has to be provided, so as to make them realise the importance of the project. The most major challenge in the Government is to convince the department concerned to own up the project. We involve departments from the very start — from the stage of preparation of the DPR. However, this has been a major challenge for us.

What are your views with regard to the ambitious initiative of Digital India?

It is an excellent umbrella initiative of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). Lots of work has happened in the past also, but this initiative gives vision and clarity on where the nation is headed for. There are 9 pillars to this initiative and the crucial part is focus on ‘electronics manufacturing’ in India. Today, the electronics manufacturing is at USD90 bn and we aim to reach USD350 bn a year by 2020. This may be a challenge, but this is also an opportunity to check our money from going out of the country and to create more jobs within the country.

How is Chhattisgarh ready to contribute to the Digital India mission?

We are ready and have already undertaken lots of initiatives and finished many as per the Digital India guidelines.

For Example, NKN (National Knowledge Network) needs to be integrated with SWAN (State Wide Area Network).

Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country to have completed this work, and has helped not only create redundancy but also leverage both networks. On electronics manufacturing front, we have already signed an MOU with a Chinese company for Tablet manufacturing, and we are expecting an investment of `100 crore to happen before the year closing.

That means electronics manufacturing is a key focus of Chhattisgarh?

Yes. Electronics manufacturing is a sunrise sector. Although we also focus on IT, it is this sector will define the growth of different states in the times to come.

What are the incentives provided to the firms coming and establishing manufacturing facility in Chhattisgarh?

Chhattisgarh is a state with 24X7 electricity, abundant

Today, the electronics manufacturing is at USD90 bn and we aim to reach USD350 bn a year by 2020. This may be a challenge, but this is also an opportunity to check our money from going out of the country as well as to create more jobs within the country water supply, availability of land at attractive prices and good amount of manpower that can be trained. This state is ideally located and well connected through the national highways to all the parts of country. We have developed a new airport and also developing Naya Raipur. Within that city, an EMC (electronics manufacturing cluster) has been sanctioned by the Government of India. We are also in the process of coming out with separate Electronics Manufacturing Policy, wherein a host of incentives will be defined.

Apart from this, we offer the ease of doing business.

We have absolute clarity that enough investments have happened in other core sectors like steel, power, coal, etc, IT, ITeS and electronic manufacturing are the new focus areas. CHIPS is now the Nodal Agency for IT and electronics manufacturing. We will soon launch a portal that will facilitate absolutely non-physical contact with all departments for any further process, and because of this, the entire process of submission of applications until the approval will be completed in four weeks’ time. This will be notified through MIS and monitored by the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister on a regular basis.

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government

Dr Rathan Kelkar

In Tune with digital

India Vision Karnataka is in the forefront to ensure that National Optical Fibre Network reaches each and every Gram Panchayat in the state, asserts Dr Rathan Kelkar, CEO, Centre for e-Governance, Government of Karnataka, in an interview with Nirav Soni of ENN

W

hat are the ICT initiatives undertaken

by Karnataka Government and how your department is helping in making departments e-enabled for G2G and G2C services?

The Centre for e-Governance (CeG) has been mandated to e-enable the government. As a part of that mandate, we maintain core infrastructure of the state like State Data Center, WAN, Secretariat LAN, touch points like ‘Bangalore One’ and ‘Karnataka One’ for the citizens and run common applications for the government like HRMS (payroll and service register maintenance). HRMS is widely accepted by employees working in the government where salaries and service matters are dealt with. Then, we have an e-procurement portal where any procurement above Rs 5 lakh is covered.

We are also responsible for Aadhaar enrolments for the entire state and have covered 82% of the population with an aim to complete the rest by March 2015. Also, as a part of UIDAI, we maintain Karnataka Resident Data Hub (KRDH) and we have come out with Version 3.0, which is ready to go for all departments to use and seed their databases with Aadhaar.

Besides, CeG has a mandate to build the capacity of departments for handling e-Governance activities. We do National Institute for Smart Government (NISG)-related module called STEP (Support to Training & Employment Programme) for employees and also conduct vast trainings for any new application and computer-related activity. We also help departments in clearing their annual action plans and give consent for their e-governance initiatives, so that there is no duplicity and the best practices are followed.

What is ‘Karnataka Mobile One’?

Karnataka mobile One is a single unified mobile platform launched by Hon’ble President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee, along with Hon’ble Governor and Hon’ble Chief Minister, on the 8th of December 2014. Karnataka Mobile One offers services on SMS, USSD, IVR, mobile web and mobile apps. We have on-boarded over 37 departments offering over 650 G2C services and more than 4,000 B2C services. The Department of Telecommunications has allotted 161 for IVR and *161# as USSD number, which has been opened across all major telecom companies. The response to the platform is very encouraging and it has been receiving excellent reviews on the project. We intend to on-board many other departments and citizen-centric private services as well in the future.

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government

Dr Rathan Kelkar Every government initiative involves ‘transformation’ and ‘adoption’ issues. How have you dealt with the twin issues?

Capacity building is a very important part of any e-Governance initiative. We conduct trainings in Kannada language as well. NISG has given us a positive rating stating that we are one of the best states in implementing the capacity building programmes and have completed more than 40 such programmes in the last 10 months. We also send our staff to places where we identify good practices. Recently, our staff went to Hyderabad to study some of the good applications in use in the State of Andhra Pradesh. We have consultants who are given exclusively to respective departments for smooth handling of affairs and encourage officials to be part of the transformation process. We also have State e Governance Mission Team (SeMT), which is used by all government departments for preparing different requests for purchase (RFPs) and for furthering their e-Governance initiatives.

What are your views with regard to the Digital India campaign initiated by the Government at the Centre, and to what extent Karnataka is ready for it?

We are seeing a lot of co-ordination among various stakeholders with respect to the Digital India programme.

Karnataka is in the forefront to ensure that NOFN (National Optical Fibre Network) reaches each and every Gram Panchayat in the state. We have been assured by the Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) that entire Karnataka would be covered by December 2015. The second aspect is to connect all departments through this line, which is happening through Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN) 2.0. We have already released an RFP for the same on gen-next architecture.

From the state’s perspective, we have a good data center and we are coming with a backup DR site. One of the touch points and focus for Digital India is reaching the

One of the touch points and focus for Digital India is reaching the citizens at their doorsteps, and we have already launched ‘m-Governance’ platform bringing services to the finger tips of the people citizens at their doorsteps, and we have already launched ‘m-Governance’ platform bringing services to the finger tips of the people. We are also looking at a cent-per-cent e- literate state in the near future.

Thank you so much for giving your time for this wonderful interaction.

I thank Elets Technomedia for motivating and giving insights into various innovations from time to time and wish the Elets family the very best!

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government

Tejaswi S Naik

Using Technology t0

Transform Bhopal The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has implemented ERP-based Municipal Administration System to cover all citizens facing civic service issues as well as to facilitate better back-office operations, says Tejaswi S Naik, Commissioner, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, in conversation with Souvik Goswami of Elets News Network (ENN)

G

ive us an overview of the overall operations of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation.

(including birth and death registration, marriage registration, commercial licences, etc.) and Property tax, among others.

Bhopal - City of Lakes is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh having population of about 20 lakh citizens, spans about 286 square kilometres.

The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is responsible for maintaining the city. For this, BMC undertakes many activities including solid waste management, water supply, maintenance and management of urban infrastructure (including roads, parks, bridges, flyovers, BRTS, sewerage lines, parking, etc.) issuing permits/ licences/ certificates

What all citizen-centric services are being offered by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation?

Almost all BMC services are being offered through the Corporation’s Portal/Customer Felicitation Centres/ BMC offices. Key citizen-centric services include Property Tax collection, water supply, birth and death registration, marriage registration, providing ration cards, grievances redressal, permits and licences, solid waste management, maintenance of parks and gardens, lake conservation, development and upkeep of city infrastructure (like roads, pavements, flyovers, etc.), public transport – BRTS, disease control, etc.

It is often being said that use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can help in providing government services to the citizens.

How Bhopal Municipal Corporation can fit in this scheme of things?

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) are complex constructs, delivering multiple urban services at the same time.

Moreover, in the recent times, ULBs’ role in generating revenue and managing their own resources has substantially increased – necessitating the need for efficient and citizen/customer-friendly operations, including: • Shifting to e-solutions and minimising paper barriers; • Integration and single version of reality; • Providing comprehensive solutions with wide appli-

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government

Tejaswi S Naik an integrated application-enabled one, the promoting Wi-fi city concept, introducing intelligent systemsenabled city buses, etc.

How do you see the transition from e-Governance to m-Governance taking place in the country? e-Governance to m-Governance is a logical progression as more and more people start using mobile platforms to access information and to reduce the time lag between logging on to a separate system than using the already existing access to a mobile. Android platforms are user-friendly and real-time platforms and hence are the obvious choice for planners and administrators.

The Government of India has launched “100 Smart Cities” programme. What steps are being taken to make Bhopal a smart city?

Already most of the required infrastructure—like integrated database (say ERP), analytical team, payment gateway, hardware, etc.—is in place with the Bhopal Municipal Corporation. What is required is to shape cability to cover all front-office and back-office functions of BMC; and • Creating universal backbone for long-term relevance and support.

ICT helps cities deliver improved services and effective administration. The benefits of using technology in administration and service delivery manifest in the form of enhanced transparency and accountability, minimisation of use of paper, better data reconciliation and management, minimisation of room for human errors, and efficiency advantages in terms of manpower and processes.

While desparate attempts at automation and IT-enabled services have surfaced in many ULBs, the challenge remains to have systems that are comprehensive, integrated, modular and universally acceptable to ensure their sustainability in the dynamic environment of urban governance.

With this background, BMC has implemented ERPbased Municipal Administration System (MAS) to cover all citizens facing service issues as well as to facilitate better back-office operations.

What are the e-Governance programmes being implemented by your organisation?

Subsequent to successful implementation of MAS, BMC plans to further enhance the MAS outreach and improving lifestyle of Bhopal citizens. For this, the Corporation has identified several initiatives, such as making BMC services also available through MP Online Kiosks, replacing the existing call centres with

Benefits of using technology in administration and service delivery manifest in the form of transparency, accountability, better data management, minimisation of room for human errors, and efficiency the same and integrate it with a smart and semi-smart concept to increase efficiency.

As a key policymaker in the country, what is your opinion on the ‘Digital India’ campaign of the Narendra Modi-led Government?

Digital India is all about use of technology to ensure better services to the citizens of the country, overcoming our handicap in data analysis through smarter systems. We not just hail the initiative but have also taken numerous initiatives, so as to increase people’s participation in day-to-day affairs of the Corporation.

What is your vision for further development of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation?

I look forward to a Bhopal where there is an easy and smooth access to information for every citizen, which enables him/her to approach the authorities in a hassle-free manner. The idea is to make BMC more people-friendly, so that there is efficiency in grievance redressal, revenue generation, welfare measures and overall improvement of city life.

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BFSI

Mohan Tanksale

Technology Changes Banking forever Be it Internet Banking, Mobile Banking or banking through handheld Points of Sale (POS) devices, technology has facilitated the ease of banking like never before, says Mohan Tanksale, Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association, in an interview with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN)

T

echnology has been adopted across sectors. What is the ground reality of its implementation in the Indian banking sector?

Technology has made it possible to deliver services within and beyond the bank branch network, providing instant updates on transactions, rapid movement of money, etc.

Technology has also helped in efficient customer acquisition, better risk management and better customer service by bringing transparency in their operations.

The introduction of ATMs in banks has transformed banking by providing banking services anytime, anywhere.

To supplement the efforts of banks in providing banking services to people in unbanked or under-banked areas, non-bank establishments were permitted to install and operate ATMs with greater focus on Tier III and Tier VI centres.

A total of 1,960 White Lable ATMs (WTAs) were deployed

by April 2014.

The grid based Cheque Truncation System (CTS) in Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi facilitate clearing of all cheques drawn on bank branches within the grid jurisdiction as local cheques, thus eliminating the levy of speed clearing charges/outstation cheque collection charges, etc. Technological advancements in Internet and mobile phone are now on the boom. Banking through Internet has emerged as a strategic resource for achieving higher efficiency, control of operations and reduction of cost by replacing paper-based and labour-intensive methods with automated processes thus leading to higher productivity and profitability.

However, worldwide it has been recognised that mobile phone has the potential to universalise access to banking and payment services in a low-cost and seamless manner

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to the existing and potential customers. The Interbank Mobile Payment Systems (IMPS) is a mobile-based payments system that facilitates access to bank accounts and transfer of funds through mobile phones.

Now the attempt is to provide front-end consolidation to banks in the form of common Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform to enable the users to use low-end mobile handsets that do not require any specific application to do mobile payments/ banking.

What innovative technologies can be expected in the Indian Banking sector in the near future?

The Payment System Vision Document – 2012–15 of the Reserve Bank of India envisages to encourage electronic payment systems for ushering in cash-less society in India. The vision is to ensure that payment and settlement systems in the country are safe, efficient, interoperable, accessible, inclusive and compliant with the international standards. Certain major payment system initiatives, such as RTGS, NEFT and ECS, have been game changers

BFSI

Mohan Tanksale helping millions of people transfer money faster from one place to another.

The purpose of the proposed introduction of International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) would be to facilitate domestic/ cross-border inter-bank electronic payments and avoid routing errors in domestic/cross-border payments, among others.

The Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is a major component of the retail payment transactions. BBPS will function as a tiered structure for operating the bill payment system in the country with a single brand image providing convenience of ‘anytime anywhere’ bill payment to customers.

What are the operational challenges that the banking industry is facing in Tier II and Tier III cities?

Generally, in these cities infrastructure bottlenecks, like proper road, transport and connectivity issues, are the major problems. Further, petty crimes and other social unrest also affect the operations of the banks. Low volumes of transactions and lack of financial awareness of the people about banking products are also a challenge to the banks.

Banks alone will not be able to achieve financial inclusion... Support of policymakers, regulators, governments, IT solution providers, media and the public at large alone can bring about a universal financial inclusion

Share with us your views on Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), an ambitious programme on financial inclusion to cover about 7.5 crore unbanked households in the country, was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister within a target deadline of 26th January 2015.

The current policy objective of inclusive growth with financial stability cannot be achieved without ensuring universal financial inclusion. Our experience suggests that the banks alone will not be able to achieve this unless an entire support system partners them in this mission. The support of policymakers, regulators, governments, IT solution providers, media and the public at large alone can bring about a universal financial inclusion.

Financial inclusion of the unbanked masses is expected to unleash the hugely untapped potential of the sections of the society that constitute the bottom of the pyramid. However, in pursuing the FI mission, the normal banking model has been found wanting in terms of cost, scalability, convenience, reliability, flexibility and continuity. To ensure that the banks give adequate attention to financial inclusion, they must view this as a viable business proposition rather than as a corporate social responsibility or a regulatory obligation.

ATM density in the Tier II and Tier III cities is very low. How can this issue be resolved?

Each bank branch is provided with an onsite ATM, with 60% of them located in the urban and semi-urban areas.

As per the statistics of October 2014, the total number of

ATMs and POS terminals is as follows: The figures indicate that there is no deficiency. NeverNumber of ATMs deployed

Number of POS deployed

On-site

Off-site

On-site

Off-site

91967

81730

1111228

348

theless, BCs are operating at fixed points or are mobile, providing services to customers through micro-ATMs (POS), which is interoperable as a corporate social responsibility or a regulatory obligation.

What measures should be taken to increase financial literacy among people in smaller cities?

With rising population and growing middle class, empowering citizens through financial education is imperative. Institutions should facilitate responsible intermediation and management of long-term financial obligations.

The financial products of banks, mutual funds and insurers are the means to achieve financial inclusion. While these goals have to be primarily set by the individual, it is the obligation of all financial intermediaries to give proper advice.

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BFSI

R K Gupta

Holding The

FI Flag High

Financial Inclusion (FI) has the potential to change drastically the life of the unbanked lot, and we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that, asserts R K Gupta, Executive Director, Bank of Maharashtra, in an interaction with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN)

H

ow do you perceive the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana initiative?

The Bank of Maharashtra has been in the forefront in implementing the Financial Inclusion plan, now known as PMJDY, which aims to achieve the ultimate goal of inclusive growth.

Right now, we are in the process of implementing the National Mission for Financial Inclusion (NMFI) in a stipulated timeframe to make financial services easily accessible to all.

Now, with the introduction of RuPay cards, the accessibility of financial services will become universal and easy for all.

With DBT or DBTL in place, malpractices will be curtailed to a large extent. Besides, there will be savings on account of government expenditure on subsidies. Sanctioning of small overdraft and educating public on this will help improve the habit of loan recovery. This will

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also help avail credit from banking channels rather than the lenders. Under previous financial inclusion programmes, coverage of villages was the focus area, but now individual families are in focus.

What initiatives has the Bank of Maharashtra taken towards implementing financial inclusion?

The Bank serves the customers through multiple delivery channels, viz. ATMs and Business Correspondent Agents (Bank Mitr), besides the brick-and-mortar branches in unbanked areas. The Business Correspondent services are being provided through three Corporate Business Correspondents besides the bank’s own Business Correspondents model, and those are being implemented through Mahabank Agriculture & Rural Development Foundation (MARDEF) Trust. Multiplicity of BC vendors ensures competition amongst Business Correspondent Agents (BCAs) for better performance.

Under the FI initiative, the Bank has opened 41.30 lakh BSBD (Basic Savings Bank Deposit, including 12 lakh PMJDY accounts) accounts so far. The Bank has covered all the 3,048 allotted Sub-Service Areas (SSAs) comprising 10,235 villages by engaging BCAs. The Bank is ready for the second phase of implementation of DBTL (Direct Benefit Transfer – LPG Gas subsidy) in the identified districts. We are in process of testing Debit card operation on Micro ATMs at BCA locations and the same shall be implemented soon. It is also working as State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) convener bank for Maharashtra. 13,075 SSAs have been formed in the state and 12,387 SSAs have been covered. The survey work for identification of uncovered families is going on.

The state will be in a position to complete account opening process by the due date.

BFSI

R K Gupta ing electricity, connectivity. In these areas, even phone usage is going down because of electricity problem. So, we have shifted to VSAT technology, and wherever feasible, we have switched to 3G mobile network. However, there is a pressing need for customer education for using internet banking.

What is your opinion on cashless model in our economy?

Elaborate on adoption of technology by your institution for implementing FI. The Bank has its own FI gateway, which ensures interoperability among all the Business Correspondents. Here, it is important to mention that we have adopted cardless technology. This has helped us improve the transaction method to a large extent, ensuring that all the transactions are now made online.

Banks’ FI gateway is now capable of integrating any number of BCs with common functionality with option of interoperability for customers. Kiosk systems have been introduced for BC agents working under the framework of CSC e-Governance Ltd. Aadhaar and also non-Aadhaarbased transactions can be performed with biometric authentication of the customers through BCAs on Micro ATMs and laptops. The e-KYC utility for opening of accounts by electronically capturing the Aadhaar details has been made available to the branches and BCAs.

Frequent and easy access to ATMs is a problem that people in rural areas have faced over the years. How can this be resolved?

The issue can be resolved if electricity, communication and road connectivity is improved in the rural areas. The solution of this issue can be achieved by promoting solar panels wherever feasible. At present, our Bank is having 1,835+ ATMs and almost all branches are having ATMs including rural branches. Moreover, we are working to provide similar facility on handheld devices using card and PIN authentication. This will give access to even those areas where our bank branches are not there. So, availability of ATMs will not be an issue. Now we should concentrate on customer education to inform them about the Do’s and Don’ts, so that possible frauds could be averted.

What are the challenges faced by your institution while implementing IT in operation modules in Tier II and Tier III cities?

The changes are basically infrastructure related, includ-

Cashless banking can be achieved if we market mobile banking and debit cards in bigger way. Keeping in view the literacy level of users, safety of e-transaction is the prime concern. Even though technology provides safe processing of financial transaction, we cannot rule out the cases of stealing the vital information of the users.

Biometric verification should be used as second the factor of authentication to avoid these probable frauds.

Besides, connectivity and processing time are some of the few constraints that impede the path of technologybased cashless banking.

What new initiatives do you have lined up?

We are in the process of implementing demographic authentication system to match the demographic details as

The Bank serves the customers through multiple channels, viz. ATMs and BCs, besides the branches in unbanked areas… Multiplicity of BC vendors ensures competition amongst for better performance available in our system through UIDAI and based on %age match logic of name and other parameters. It will help reduce the complaints in Aadhaar seeding.

We are also going to match the names of customers as per the NCPI data with our database. This process is for those DBTL customers, who do not have Aadhaar number. We are developing an application in which customers can apply to bank for DBTL mapping based on OMC (oil manufacturing company for gas subsidy) Customer ID number. The process is automatic and will help identify DBTL customers correctly.

To make the internet banking (IB) safe, we have recently introduced an IB app called MahaSecure, which does the client and server authentication on encryption and decryption basis before allowing access to Internet Banking. We have introduced the OTP for all financial transactions in Internet banking and SMS alerts to all the customers. We have recently launched new Mobile banking App “Maha Mobile” which is available on all the commonly available mobile OS like Windows, Android, etc.

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BFSI

K Manohara Raj

PMJDY Opportunity for

Banks, Unbanked The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana is a great opportunity for the beneficiaries to connect with the financial mainstream, while it is a huge opportunity for the banks to explore business, says K Manohara Raj, EVP and Head, Systematic Livelihood Investment, HDFC Bank, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is your perspective on Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana?

The Pradhan Mantri Jan-dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a key initiative to cover the huge unbanked population. It will not only help grow the economy of the country, but also provide the banking sector with opportunities to improve, innovate and implement newer and better practices and technologies.

There has been a spurt in account opening activity, thanks to PMJDY. We have opened over 8 lakh accounts, surpassing the target given to us by the government. Besides being a great opportunity for the beneficiaries to connect with the financial mainstream, the exercise has also helped immensely in spreading financial literacy and generating awareness at the grass root level.

Elaborate on the success of the Systematic Livelihood Investment and the business model.

The Systematic Livelihood Investment model has empowered thousands of people, especially women, in Tier II cities. With this initiative, our institution has been able to reach out to maximum number of unbanked and under-banked population, which in turn also helps a large number of people, as this provides them with livelihood. It is a very successful and sustainable business model with an array of benefits that come along. The business model comes with the facility of custommaking products or services, in line with the requirements of the clients. It ensures our facilitators of a regular generation of income which is equally important to have besides the regular savings. Besides being an essential credit product in the banking sector, it increases the returns on income of our customers.

People in our country lack in expenditure management knowledge and skills. Financial literacy awareness aspect is another lacking area in this context. But, at the same time, it is also important to have some savings with every

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BFSI

K Manohara Raj individual to stand by him in rough times. These dual factors make our presence inevitable and help in growth of the business.

To what extent is the business dependent on technology and what are the challenges you come across in implementing technology in Tier II and Tier III cities?

The primary thing we noticed while operating in the Tier II and III cities is that the people at the bottom of the pyramid are devoid of financial knowledge and facilities that are available for them to avail. Moreover, people are shy to use financial services and withdraw when they are introduced to new technologies. We had to make a lot of efforts to convince people in the rural areas to avail the banking services, which was an additional work to enhance their financial literacy level.

Besides this, there is another barrier that we came across: there is no specific and organised way to establish the identity of people in these areas, basically because of the unorganised proof of residence and their existence. These people do not have any income certificate or credit secured for their bad times. Besides, it is very essential to ensure regular repayments to banks by the customer to build a strong relationship or strike a bonding between the bank and its customers.

What kind of response have you received while introducing Systematic Livelihood Investment plans among women in Tier II cities?

Initially, there were shyness among our target customers — women in Tier II cities of Rajasthan, Gujarat and eastern states of the country — with the major impediment being social barriers and prejudices. These we were able to overcome, after repeated attempts to convince them to use bank accounts.

However, once we were able to penetrate them and convince them of the utility of this product, the response was overwhelming. Their commitment to improve and interest to explore further as customers was much more than we could have expected.

This obviously is a big achievement by us as an institution.

People in our country lack in expenditure management knowledge and skills… But, at the same time, it is also crucial to have some savings with every individual... These dual factors make our presence inevitable and help in the growth of the business

What are the IT tools that have been lately introduced to enhance output and usage?

officers. There are over 1,000 to 5,000 loan portfolios that we have to manage regularly, for which data collection and validation is important, and which are human resourced.

There are three levels of audit, which are, however, initiated using the manual system to ensure minimisation of mistakes.

The institution provides its Business Correspondents with tablets and makes them accustomed to its usage for data entry in the field, with built-in internet facility. Besides, telecom services have been a great support, as mobile phones have played a very important role in customer validation.

Financial inclusion is one of the pillars of progress for any economy. This plan puts new demands on banks in terms of scale and reach. Technology can play a significant role in helping banks meet their goals in a cost-efficient manner.

Please tell us in brief about how we can accelerate the process of Financial Inclusion implementation in India.

How can Oracle fit into the scheme of things with respect to the government’s new financial inclusion initiative?

Implementation of technology in the banking sector is an absolute scalable model, as this sector has witnessed robust growth following implementation of technology. It helps us majorly in data validation which is gathered relentlessly by over 5,000 field

It is very important to have the understanding of the concept among the stakeholders to implement Financial Inclusion perfectly and optimally. As a solution provider, bankers at all levels must have a holistic understanding of the concept to meet the growing client needs, which are often new in nature. Understanding of the business model is equally important for the stakeholders, with mandatory online facilities to ensure huge and seamless network.

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BFSI

Rachna Dixit

Govt, Banks in tandem over FI

It is for the first time that Financial Inclusion drive has been initiated on such a large scale, and the banks are also showing the required level of commitment, says Rachna Dixit, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

T

he government has launched Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana? How does the Reserve Bank of India see the Financial Inclusion initiative in India?

We have been always working on Financial Inclusion. It has not started for the first time in India. It has been there since 1965 in some form or the other. But we are happy that the Prime Minister has linked it up, and it is for the first time that the drive has been undertaken on such a large scale. We are happy to see it actually happening, as Financial Inclusion is also our focus. We are fully supporting the initiative, so that the scheme could emerge much stronger. It is progressing in a fast manner.

There will be overlaps, there will be some problems. But, if we manage to open even 75% of the targeted number of accounts, initial hiccups are worth it How much you are confident that Financial Inclusion will reach all the unbanked areas?

There will be overlaps, there will be some problems. But, as I said, if we manage to open even 75% of the targeted number of accounts, initial hiccups are worth it. We have, however, added some riders to the proposal. For example, if a person wants to enjoy one lakh rupees insurance cover, then he will have to keep that account at least for 45 days. Previously, there was no such opportunity like DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) and other benefits related to the accounts. I hope it will work this time.

Are public sector banks serious about the Financial Inclusion initiative?

Yes, there is a review that banks have shown due commitment

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and they are also opening accounts either directly or through various agencies. There is also an understanding that there is a social responsibility that we have and it’s a chance to fulfil that. We feel proud about it. It is going very well.

What, according to you, are the other ways in which mobile banking can be promoted and mobile companies can be involved in the banking operations?

The problem with mobile banking is that most of the connections here are prepaid. As prepaid connections are restricted, we cannot offer all the technologies to banks. One can avail most of the facilities with banks by tying up with mobile companies that we are comfortable with. However, since banks also provide insurance, credit and other services, it is not possible to avail all financial services through a handset. It is the banks that can offer better services through their various channels.

Bfsi

Usha Menon

Banking Sector

Glides on IT

The banking sector is now technology-driven and without technology many innovative services would not have reached people, Usha Menon, General Manager - IT, Central Bank, tells Poulami Chakraborti of Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is your perspective on PMJDY? What initiatives have been taken in this direction by the Central Bank of India?

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) announced by the government states that each household in the country needs to be financially included by opening at least one bank account per household and they are to be provided with RuPay debit cards. Initiating projects on mission mode by the government definitely gives an impetus, especially when it is declared by Hon’ble Prime Minister on the Independence Day. While bank accounts have been opened under financial inclusion plan for the last couple of years, the accounts opened this year are phenomenal. The scheme aims to take banking facilities to 75 million-plus households by January 26, 2015.

To achieve this goal, banks have facilitated USBs, BCs with hand-held devices, ATMs etc. This is a very positive step taken by the government. The Central Bank has also opened accounts in all allotted areas with a view to cover all households in such locations. Cards are being issued to all such account holders and technology platform is geared up to enable all touch points to enable the customers to transact.

The bank has opened over 40 lakh accounts exceeding the target assigned. A record breaking 35 lakh debit cards were issued within a period of three months. Besides, customer awareness camps were also organised.

one of the best-in-class Data Centers (DCs) and DR sites.

What new IT initiatives is the Central Bank going to take in the days ahead?

We expect that initiatives will be more in delivery channel products. With the issuance of debit cards, all customers will be in a position to access the ATMs/kiosks, etc. Since mobile banking is coming up in a big way, banks are introducing value added services like Passbook on Mobile, IMPS etc.

Social media is also being considered as an option by banks for transacting business.

According to you, what should be the benchmark for the industry for adopting best IT infrastructure and practices?

Ensuring that the IT Infrastructure set up is totally compliant to the best practices in the industry is essential. Governance is taken up with utmost priority by banks to provide safe banking to the customers.

What are the challenges that your department faced while implementing IT initiatives in Tier II and Tier III cities?

Basic infrastructural issues like unavailability of electricity, inadequate network, lack of support systems and basic amenities etc., are the biggest challenges. These get worsened during adverse weather conditions.

How vigorously IT has been implemented in the banking sector?

Low ATM density in Tier II cities has posed a severe challenge. What can be done to provide seamless service to people in such areas?

The banking industry has adopted every technological innovation in hardware, software and networking. The entire banking is now technology-driven and without technology many innovative services would not have been possible. Banks boast of

Providing basic infrastructure is essential. Promoting White Label ATMs (WLAs) may be an option. ATMs installation on a shared basis may also work considering the high capital involved and the challenge of low hits.

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Bfsi

Bfsi

Vishwas Korrane

Vishwas Korrane

Threats to Banks

Rain From Skies People tend to think of security only after a theft has happened, but banks are gradually moving from reactive to proactive measures, points out Vishwas Korrane, Head Security, IndusInd Bank, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN )

I

n this Internet age, how important is security in the banking sector?

In today’s age, security is divided into three parts — physical security, cyber security and people’s security. If you have information stored in a laptop, there are two ways of stealing it; first is to physically steal a laptop and second by hacking into it. Therefore, we have to have controls for both ways of theft. The value asset of a particular electronic device like phone can be Rs 40,000, but the information value is much more. In the banking sector, most of the banks are following the RBI guidelines and doing online transfer of cash, due to which there is no physical movement of cash. In cyber security, the banking sector is one of the top priorities, but one cannot ignore the physical security as well.

So, is the threat more from cyber security angle?

Yes, there are a lot of cyber threats, and cyber security is a control like various types of firewalls. But the most important factor is what is that one needs to guard. We guard information. In banks, we have a Fraud Department, which handles those issues through not both through reactive as well as proactive measures.

What are major challenges faced while putting security measures in place?

With the growing Indian market, the prevalent culture is more to do with the reactive measures rather than the proactive measures.

Till today, we would think of security only after a theft has happened. But gradually, banks are moving towards proactive measures. However, since the banking regulator — the Reserve Bank of India — is yet to give clear-cut guidelines with regard to security in the sector, as a security head when I present my requirements of cameras and other security equipment, the management asks me about the RBI guidelines. In the absence of guidelines, it becomes difficult to convince the management to take necessary proactive measures.

Also, safety is a legislated sector, but not security. So, it depends on the nature of the individual who heads security wing how the issue of security is driven. If we take example of the Bangalore ATM incident, we would understand another challenge that we face. The security runs on prevention, detection and response. In Bangalore ATM, there were preventive measure and there were detective measures, but the response time was too long.

What are the measures we can take to improve the response time in such situations?

We need to realise that better response will come when you are ready for a particular situation. So, we need to be ready and we need to know what can exactly be done to minimise the damage. There are small measures we can take, like training our guards to let one person go at a time, prevent people wearing helmets from entering the ATM, etc. As for installation of devices like cameras and buzzers, cameras are there but the buzzers cannot be installed at a public place. The best way is to generate security awareness among the masses.

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13th March 2015 New Delhi

Digital India vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims at building Safe and Secure Cyber-space, which augurs well for the security market in India. It is estimated that the domestic security market going beyond $1bn by 2015.

With a view to better understand and assess the challenges and opportunities in the sector, Elets Technomedia is coming up with 6th Annual SecureIT 2015 Conference.

Key Speakers

Dr N S Kalsi Additional Secretary & Adviser, Inter State Council Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI

Ashok Kumar Additional Director General of Police, Uttarakhand

Purshottam Sharma Additional Director General of Police, Bhopal

Theme for SecureIT 2015 Citizen Safety and Infrastructure Security Data Security n Cyber Security and Threats of New Age Social Media n Securing Cities n ICT for Policing n Safety and Security of National Assets and Critical Installations n Disaster Management

Dr B N Ramesh IG & Director, CRPF Academy

Anil Shukla Joint Commissioner (Traffic), Delhi Police

Some confirmations are still awaited

Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India Ministry of Defence, Government of India n Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India n Central Security Forces- CRPF,BSF, SSB, CISF and Others n Various State Police Establishments n Security Experts and Strategic Defence Analysts n

n

n

7A/7B, 5th floor, Tower – 2, C-25, Sector - 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201309, Phone: 0120-4812600, Fax: 0120-4812660

S N Pradhan ADG,CID, Jharkhand Police

Key Attendees

n

Elets Technomedia Pvt. Ltd.

B B Mishra Deputy Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau

For Enquiry Contact

Conference Awards Exhibition

Fahim Haq, fahim@elets.in, +91 - 8860651632

secureIT.eletsonline.com

Looking Past SecureIT Back Conferences

Our Past Sponsers

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BFSI

Tushar Trivedi

Cashing IN ON

Tech Edge

Ours is the first private bank to offer a solution to farmers using a RuPay card, claims Tushar Trivedi, Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is your take on IT implementation in the banking sector?

The use of IT revolves around a couple of aspects in the banking sector. IT can be much more effectively used by customers. But due to lack of awareness among customers, the technology aspect remains mostly unutilised in day-to-day banking operations.

At Kotak Mahindra Bank, we believe that we have an opportunity to offer innovative products and services using cutting-edge technology. As a bank, we act as partners and trusted advisors to our clients, so as to leverage the utility and effectiveness of cutting-edge technology. We believe that technology will play a more important role than ever before in our quest to provide customers with the highest quality of financial services.

What steps have you taken to ensure an effective financial inclusion programme?

Financial inclusion is a broad term and covers many aspects.

It is not restricted only to providing banking services to the unbanked; it also includes automation of various banking solutions and implementing them for long-term benefits. ‘Kotak Samridhi’ is one such project that we have started in West Bengal.

The project has introduced farmers and people in the co-operative sector to formal banking channels and also helped them in easy procurement of raw materials.

We combined automation, and payments and banking, and also introduced the unbanked segment of the society to the mainstream financial system.

What latest technologies have you adopted to ensure smoother and effective operation?

When, we studied the nature and the

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operation module of milk co-operatives and farms, we realised that there is a need for data connectivity that will help farmers in the milk procurement process. We were the first private bank to offer a solution using a RuPay card with the help of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). We also set up our BC network to educate farmers on financial inclusion as well as financial literacy. Now, we can see farmers using their card not only in their villages but also in metro cities. This is a phenomenal change in the scenario.

What is the optimum benchmark that the industry should have on IT implementation?

It will be very difficult to set an optimum benchmark for the industry. What is more important is the willingness of an organisation to actually work with a focussed approach leading to overall enhanced efficient solutions, specifically in the financial inclusion space.

How can the issue of low ATM density be resolved to ensure access to cash anytime, anywhere?

With the increased impetus on Financial Inclusion and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), banks will eventually increase their touch points in rural and semi-urban regions because of the accompanying opportunity. In the case of ‘Amul Samridhi’ programme, we used BCs to increase our reach and ensure access to cash for the milk farmers. There is a lot of work being done in this space and we will see the results soon.

What are the challenges faced while operating in Tier II and Tier III cities?

Over the past decade, technology has played a critical role in increasing the reach to Tier II and III cities. However, the issue is no more about Tier I or II cities but about adapting to the speed at which technology is evolving. Banks have to continuously build on infrastructure and skilled manpower to make the best use of the advancements in technology.

corporate

Sanjay Kapoor

Aiming to Be in

Global Top Five Moving beyond the perception of global handset makers about India, Micromax developed an insight on the requirements of an Indian consumer, and we are a favourite brand today, says Sanjay Kapoor, Chairman, Micromax Informatics Ltd, in conversation with Souvik Goswami of Elets News Network (ENN)

T

ell us about the genesis of Micromax and its journey so far.

Our exciting six-year journey has been based on two interesting phenomena – first, emergence of next-generation entrepreneurs, and the other, to bring about future technological disruptions to market. The amalgamation of these two phenomena has created one of the finest companies like Micromax.

It was the time when India and other emerging markets across the globe were dominated by global players and there was very little room for local brands.

In such a scenario, a group of four people came together as entrepreneurs and saw an opportunity in the fact that the global brands believed in ‘one-size-fits-all’ concept and would also not necessarily understand the Indian consumer’s behaviour. One of the key insights that metamorphosed the entire Indian handset market was the fact that India was a multiple SIM market and most of the people were carrying multiple phones with them. So, we realised the importance of dual SIM phones and then pursued a product design around that. It acted as one of the watershed events in the history of feature phone market in India, and then there was no looking back.

In a country like India, which has a severe power issue, Micromax realised that Indians need phones with long battery life. With this fact in mind, we came up with mobile phones with 30-day battery life. Micromax also gave emphasis to women as an important segment and ‘Bling’ series was born out of that innovation. All these made Micromax one of the favourite brands of Indians.

How did Micromax handle the shift from feature phones to smart phones?

The company was put to acid test when the market was migrating from feature phones to smart phones.

The key question was whether company can be as

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corporate

Sanjay Kapoor successful in the smart phone market as compared to feature phones market? Feature phones work around two applications – voice and SMS, but smart phones are about entertainment, data, security and plethora of other things. And, once again we emerged successful. Hence, today the market share of Micromax smart devices is much more than in the feature phone market.

We showed it to the world that it is a company, which can take the challenges head on.

Share with us the future plan of Micromax.

The company is witnessing transformation of sorts. In this regard, we need to completely professionalise our processes to take the company to the next level, apart from becoming a billion-dollar company. We are putting efforts to convert the company into a Device and Services company from a devices-only entity. Amidst all this lie various opportunities. Going forward, we aim to take the brand from India to other emerging markets of the world, apart from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Russia, where we already have an overwhelming presence. Moreover, out of the two types of markets — operator-dominated market and open market, we are focusing primarily on the second one.

We are also looking at other business avenues, like accessories, embedded services, etc. We are aiming to be amongst the top five device brand companies of the world.

Hand-held devices, tablets and TV screens – all these will be the smart devices of the future and we are focussing on that.

‘Make in India’ campaign is on roll now. How can this help the Indian device companies?

Let me give you a larger picture of it. At present, almost all the devices of the world get manufactured mostly in China, apart from Taiwan and Korea. China actually dominates and it is a high-risk strategy for the whole world to put all their eggs in one basket. Outside China, India is the most potential market, as the local markets should also have a high demand where manufacturing takes place. I think our Prime Minister is right when he talks about ‘Make in India’ campaign.

However, we need to keep in mind the definition of manufacturing. The manufacturing of smart devices involves many factors. To me, the biggest factor is to understand the requirement of the local customer. Then comes the software-hardware designing part of the phone, and components and assembling of parts. We did a preliminary study and now work on insights in India only. We design software in Bengaluru facility and hardware designing is done in a facility in China and assembling of phones is done in other parts of that country. I think with this ‘Make in India’ campaign, more and more large manufacturers will be interested to shift base in India and we will be happy to become

the anchor customers for them. According to me, India is the best country apart from China to make this transformation. On the other hand, the government should have the right policy and better incentives to offer to the companies.

e-mode to m-mode shift is taking place in India.

How can Micromax fit into the scheme of things?

I think India has already moved to m-mode. For most of the Indians, the only computing device they have ever owned is a mobile phone and it is more powerful than what PC was a decade back. Micromax is already playing a pivotal role in empowering consumers. We were amongst the pioneers to have identified that world-class products need to be made available to Indian consumers at affordable prices. The fact that we are selling more than 3 million devices every month is a testimony to how we are emancipating the Indian consumers through smarter devices. It is heartening for us to see how India is today connected to the world through mobile phones.

Do you think that the ‘Digital India’ programme will be the game changer?

Five important verticals of the ‘Digital India” campaign are – Accessibility, Devices, Applications & Content, Storage and Analytics. India will never be deprived of digitisation for paucity of devices, applications or content. but I think the major challenge for us will be the access. We don’t have video-ready network yet. Plus, spectrum is also very expensive. Besidea, storage and analytics also need to be more powerful. So, I think the government should focus on these aspects to make the ‘Digital India’ campaign a real success.

What are your expectations from the government in terms of doing business in India?

At the outset, I would like to congratulate the new government for creating such a positive sentiment for India Inc across the world. Going forward, the government should persistently pursue the reform agenda. I strongly suggest that the government work in partnership with the India Inc in a manner that the task of policy making remains with the government, while execution is left to the industry.

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corporate Chet Kamat

Technology Tools for

Financial Inclusion

Technology can play a significant role as an enabler for banks to achieve their financial inclusion goals, says Chet Kamat, MD & CEO, Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd, in an interaction with Souvik Goswami of Elets News Network (ENN)

G

ive us an overview of Oracle’s operations in BFSI sector world over.

Oracle is the leading provider in the BFSI space.

Globally, we have over 9,000 clients like banks, investment management institutions and insurance firms.

Oracle offers an end-to-end software spectrum for financial institutions, including vertical specific solutions, cross industry solutions, middleware and database as well as hardware. Our solutions are available for both on-premise deployments as well as for the cloud. We aim to help financial institutions reduce complexity and cost, and focus on innovation.

Oracle’s Financial Services Global Business Unit provides an integrated suite of standards-based industry-specific applications for banks, insurance companies and capital market firms. Our solutions for the financial services market empower modern financial institutions to enhance customer intimacy, build competitive advantage, reduce costs and mitigate risks.

What kind of opportunities India offers to Oracle with regard to the BFSI sector?

Oracle set up its first India development centre in 1994 and expanded applications footprint with its investment in i-flex in 2005. India is one of the most exciting markets and we see several opportunities in the BFSI sector.

Various aspects contribute to the growing opportunities in India. First, a burgeoning middle class population has initiated a digital revolution in India. Several sectors such as communications and e-commerce have already undergone tremendous change and we believe that the financial sector is on the cusp of change with the surge of digitisation. This is a huge opportunity for banks as well as Oracle.

Globally, fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in the banking industry. Electronic payments fraud is on the rise and

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is multiplying by the day. Risk, Regulation and Compliance govern the banking sector, and therefore, the need for technology. Banks in India will need to take cognizance of these global trends and invest in the right technology to address these issues.

Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications (OFSAA) helps financial institutions measure and meet risk-adjusted performance objectives, cultivate a risk management culture, lower the costs of compliance and regulation, and improve customer insight to prevent fraud and ensure safe lending.

Furthermore, the future looks extremely bright with the gush of the digital wave endowed by the new government and the new impetus to financial services growth provided by the Reserve Bank. We believe that the financial sector will undergo metamorphosis while SMEs and other related industries will prosper.

Shed some light on Oracle’s solutions and services for the banking industry in India?

Oracle has a rich portfolio of applications and technology which can help banks in various initiatives. In order to help banks drive customer intimacy with digital and social banking, we offer solutions for end-to-end customer experience management, which include our leading solutions for mobile and internet banking.

To help banks differentiate themselves with rapid product innovation and scale for growth, we offer rich capability to cater to their product configuration and processing needs with Oracle

corporate

Chet Kamat

FLEXCUBE. As I stated earlier, for risk and compliance, we have a leading solution in OFSAA. Our solutions for Customer Relationship Management and Enterprise Resource Planning offer rich customer service and business operation management capabilities. Our middleware, database and hardware product lines facilitate building robust, scalable and secure infrastructure.

Besides, we back all these solution capabilities with a large pool of experts who can provide the required implementation and support expertise needed to run the bank. In essence, Oracle is the only company which can claim to have the largest portfolio of products and services for banks in India.

Given your worldwide presence, how do you think the best global models/solutions can be implemented in India, where banking sector is huge and growing every day?

Oracle’s methodology is to build solutions for the global market place and then adapt it to regional and countryspecific requirements. Our product strategy, management and development processes have been refined over the past three decades, whereby we take global best practices, regional trends and anticipated global banking shifts into account and build out a spec for solutions for global applicability. For example, one of our first variations of text-based banking (SMS Banking) was evolved from a need in India in early 2000, and developed into a global solution. Our solutions for fraud and risk management leverage some of the best global statistical models and are available to banks in India.

The Indian banking customer is today a global consumer who is on social media, who is hooked to online shopping and used to an online lifestyle. The key for banks in India will continue to be to uptake software and business practices from global players and drive for innovative solutions. At the same time, we also know that there are specific needs for Indian banks in sectors like the priority sector lending and financial inclusion where we can help bring in innovation and cost advantage.

The Government of India has launched ambitious Jan Dhan Yojana for effective financial inclusion in the country. What is your opinion on this?

Financial inclusion is one of the pillars of progress for any economy. This plan puts new demands on banks in terms of scale and reach. Technology can play a significant role in helping banks meet their goals in a cost-efficient manner.

How can Oracle fit into the scheme of things with respect to the government’s new financial inclusion initiative?

We have worked with a number of institutions globally on financial inclusion and have learned a lot in the process. There are a few key aspects of achieving financial inclusion:

• Reach: This is the first pillar wherein banks need to leverage new technology, mobile and tablet platforms to be able to reach every corner of our vast country.

• Products: Financial inclusion calls for a different product set than what one would be traditionally used to. For example, in a number of geographies we find that banks have evolved schemes like group loans which are not backed by security but by the promise of the group.

• Origination and collection processes: These processes need to be treated differently and need to be optimised if the bank has to make the business work profitably.

• Regulatory requirements: As the processes and frameworks for inclusion are widened, the changes in regulation, KYC and reporting, in particular, will need banks to be ready to respond quickly.

Technology can play a significant role in helping banks achieve the goals and help in realising the true potential of a financially-integrated nation.

Financial inclusion is one of the pillars of progress for any economy. Technology can play a significant role in helping banks meet their goals in a cost-efficient manner What is your vision for Oracle with respect to positioning in India?

We at Oracle are very excited by the developments in the Indian banking environment. We are supporting private sector and public sector banks with software, which is helping them innovate on a daily basis. We are also working with a number of global banks who have set up operations in India. We are also working with a number of mutual fund companies and transfer agencies for their investor servicing solutions.

There is immense potential for growth in the banking sector and the Indian consumer is going to be the ultimate driver of transformation.

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corporate

Puneet Gupta

Cyber Security Focal TO

Digital India The blueprint for ‘Digital India’ needs to be very strong, as later on or in-between the implementation, it will be too expensive to again think through, says Puneet Gupta, Managing Director – Enterprise & Public Sector, CISCO, in conversation with Nirav Soni of Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat are your views with respect to ‘Digital India’ initiative taken by new government at the Centre? How is it different from NeGP that was rolled out about a decade back?

This is a common question. People often want to know the difference between the NeGP (National e-Governance Plan) rolled out by the previous government and the Digital India initiative of the Narendra Modi-led Government. In fact, NeGP was the first eGovernance programme that India had. The whole idea of NeGP was to get basic technology infrastructure in place — at the all-important Centre and state ministries. It was aimed at modernising the government departments. But the Digital India mission is larger than NeGP. It is going to be a very inclusive programme covering the larger population of the country.

A major pillar of Digital India initiative is NOFN (National Optical Fibre Network). Once fiber optic network is laid across the length and breadth of India, every citizen including those residing in remote villages will have access to information and citizen services via the Internet.

NOFN will connect the unconnected citizens of over 2.5 lakh village panchayats into the ecosystem of digital world.

Connectivity will be offered not only through the fiber network but also wirelessly in schools, colleges, universities, government offices, railway stations, boats, trains and all public places, so that even citizens on the move could stay connected. It means that people who were not there in the digital framework earlier will now come under it. Every utility will be offered as a service. According to industry reports, 81% of today’s population in India is connected through mobile phones and some 10% have smart phones. As smart phone penetration increases, the pace of connecting

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corporate

Puneet Gupta

the unconnected will speed up. So, as I said earlier, Digital India will be a very inclusive programme for the country.

What, according to you, can be the challenges in rolling out Wired to Wireless Network through the Digital India initiative?

There would be many challenges in laying the network across India. Firstly, the scope of physical work involved in digging and then laying fibre, especially in hostile places and difficult terrains, will be challenging and time taking. Secondly, the implementation of project of this magnitude is going to take four-five years and hence we have to have a strong blueprint before the execution begins, as later on or in-between the implementation course, it will be too expensive to again think through. Getting the right technology is not going to be difficult; the major challenge would be to reach out physically to all the difficult terrains and then ensure efficient execution.

How can we overcome these challenges?

Timely and efficient co-ordination between the States and the Central Government as well as getting the local stakeholders involved will be critical to ensure the success of connected India. Besides, the larger ecosystem in terms of support from private players is also going to be a crucial factor.

Once the network is in place, how can the security of data and information be ensured?

Honestly, there is no one answer that can fit all scenarios.

For example, I may not have a solution to provide security against a malicious malware being sent by someone in the form of an email through an open system, from a remote village. So, the government will deploy strong security solutions to protect sensitive data like income tax data, passport data or customs data. Besides, government departments already have a robust security system in place. Today most Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) ensure security. Nonetheless, the answer to the million-dollar question ‘whether

Timely and efficient co-ordination between the state governments and the Central Government as well as getting the local stakeholders involved will be critical to ensure the success of connected India – Digital India every network is 100% secure’ remains a NO. The government is aware of these challenges and a lot of investments have been made in the last couple of years to create awareness about information security threats and deploy solutions to avert cyber threats. In fact, Cyber Security will be an important focus in the Digital India initiative, especially as the Internet becomes the new weapon for fighting wars.

What are CISCO’s offerings to make networks reliable and secure?

CISCO’s fundamental strength is our Intellectual Property. We are the market leaders in the space because of our cutting-edge technology in making networks secure and reliable. We have set up large networks around the world and we bring that learning and wisdom to the table. We will bring the best technology to the market, to the government and to the customers at large to realise the vision of Digital India. We build the architecture framework as per our customers’ needs, and once we get that right, i.e. the blueprint, then deployment becomes far easier. We manage endto-end process from getting the framework right, getting the architecture correct, offering the right support to the government and then bringing the right people to work with different stakeholders. Besides, in the last 10 years, most networks in the country have been built on CISCO’s platforms and we have good experience of working with governments. We will execute the projects with awareness, alertness and readiness to meet the expectations.

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corporate Ajay Singh

Venturing into

eGovernance arena Forbes Technosys Ltd is venturing into enterprise mobility solutions and various eGovernance solutions to meet the growing requirements from the government initiatives such as Jan Dhan Yojana, digital inclusion and modernisation of railways, says Ajay Singh, CEO, Forbes Technosys Ltd, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN) Give us a brief about the products and services offered by Forbes Technosys.

Forbes Technosys Limited (FTL) is a pioneer and market leader in Transaction Management Solutions and Self Service Automation products. Forbes Technosys’ solution portfolio includes Self Service Kiosks, comprising Cheque Deposit Kiosk, Cash Deposit Kiosk, Bulk Cash Deposit Kiosk, Multifunction Kiosk, Multifunction ATMs, Internet Banking Kiosk, Queue Management Solutions, Currency Counting and Sorting machine, Fake Note Detectors, etc.

With its end-to-end banking solutions, comprising front-end platforms and back-end software, FTL has developed expertise in customised banking software. The company is establishing itself as a front-runner in software development and system integration domain. Forbes Technosys has a dedicated centralised remote monitoring center for live monitoring of kiosks as well.

Forbes Technosys has an ISO 9001:2008 certified manufacturing facilities, too. Moreover, FTL has a dedicated team to design and develop software solutions, thereby ensuring complete IP ownership. It also has a "Centre for Innovation" where all the prototypes

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are designed and tested.

Besides, FTL operates a National Network Operations & Control Centre (NNOCC), from which it provides a wide range of Managed Services, such as – Centralised helpdesk support, incident management, customer communication and feedback, spares management, remote health monitoring, real-time transaction monitoring, MIS reports, Asset management, first-line maintenance and second-line maintenance services.

Please share your future plans for Forbes Technosys.

Forbes Technosys has different verticals catering to the needs of Banks, Power, Retail, Insurance, Government, etc. In fact, it established itself as an end-to-end solutions provider and system integrator. It has also developed Vanbased E-Lobby solutions to cater to the needs of remote areas, depending upon the requirement of the bank(s).

Now Forbes Technosys is also coming out with the facility of Cheque Truncation. The company already has the Cheque Deposit Kiosks where customers get the image of the cheque in the acknowledgement slip, along with the cheque details. Also, it has implemented its Cheque Truncation Solution (CTS) services across various grids of India, after the RBI mandate to implement CTS solution in India.

Forbes Technosys is also venturing into providing enterprise mobility solutions and various eGovernance solutions to meet the growing requirements from government

corporate

Ajay Singh

initiatives such as Jan Dhan Yojana, digital inclusion and modernisation of railways, etc.

How is Forbes different from other kiosk companies?

A number of companies exist in the kiosk space. But, the key point that separates Forbes Technosys from the rest is its end-to-end solution customised to suit customers’ requirements, consisting of hardware design, branding as desired by customers, and software architecture and customised integration with respect to the bank’s CBS. Further, FTL follows a constant innovation model.

Forbes Technosys is the only company to have developed Multifunction ATMs and Multifunction Kiosks. The company’s Cash Deposit Kiosk implementation in India is also one of the most coveted success stories.

Tell us about the major changes that you have witnessed in last few years in eGovernance in India?

India being one of the fastest growing economies, it is witnessing change in governance as well. Given the large populace, the need of the hour is to deliver government services and facilities through alternate channel and multiple mediums. Information Technology is becoming the most brewing sector and the rate at which the people are getting used to new technologies is also changing rapidly.

The government is delivering eGovernance through multiple mediums, such as website, G2C centers and through multiple platforms such as Self Service Kiosks in form of G2C Kiosks and Information Kiosks, Tabs and mobile applications.

You have a strong focus on BFSI sector. Share your views on the viability of financial inclusion plans in the current BFSI landscape and readiness of banks to execute these schemes.

There has been an emphasis on banks to implement financial inclusion schemes in India. Various banks are

addressing the issue in different ways. The banks are facing challenges in terms of geographical reach, lack of service delivery platforms, operational and executionrelated issues, and the ones linked to ensuring security and regulations.

Currently, banks do not have any unique platform catering to the needs of the people. They are experimenting for the most feasible and viable solution that best suits their needs. Banks are also looking to partner with technology and solution providers like FTL. Forbes Technosys has designed various centralised and doorstep service delivery solutions capable of addressing multiple requirements like account opening, KYC, cash deposit and cash withdrawal facilities.

Forbes Technosys has different verticals catering to the needs of Banks, Power, Retail and Insurance sectors, Government, etc. It is now as an endto-end solutions provider and system integrator What’s your view on viability of mobile technology for financial inclusion?

India has witnessed huge mobile penetration in a short span of about 10 years. We must call it a mobile revolution.

Further, given the wide acceptance of mobile phones in India, there has been increase in availability of wide variety of phones as well. A large number of models are now available in India, equipped with numerous features.

However, in rural areas, CDMA phones are still more popular than smart phones. Hence, delivery of Financial Inclusion services through mobile is still a distant dream.

Also, security of these low-end phones poses implementation issue. Nonetheless, mobile technology as a tool for taking financial inclusion to the remotest corners of the country remains a strong possibility.

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corporate

Ramsunder Papineni

Making Applications

Impregnable

The cyber security market in India is going to grow exponentially and this growth will mostly happen in the next-generation threat prevention space, says Ramsunder Papineni, Regional Director – India & SAARC, FireEye Cybersecurity Pvt Ltd, in an interaction with Nayana Singh of Elets News Network (ENN)

D

igital India vision of the Prime Minister talks about building safe and secure cyber space.

How are you planning to contribute to this vision?

A lot is happening centering the Digital India vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are already working with a lot of government organisations at various levels. The biggest challenge that is going to be there is the next generation of threat prevention. Today, most of the attacks happening are signature-less, unknown attacks. So, traditional defences are failing. The adversaries are spending millions of dollars over stealing data, and India remains a big target for many of these countries involved in hacking. We will, therefore, continuously work with the government to thwart such attacks with our next-generation of threat-prevention platform, also a signature-less technology.

What is important, when you are looking at a digital era, or a digital security era, one is to look at the next-generation of threat prevention.

So, you need a technology that can help you detect these attacks — a technology that is not really a point product, because no point product can really give you the security. However, threat prevention cannot be fully achieved only through technology platforms; one needs to back it up with intelligence and services. There are agencies in India well-equipped to provide such services. We would like to engage with these organisations and see how we can be back-end for them. We would also like to align with the government agencies like CERT, which are involved

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in internet security, and provide them whatever help they would need. So, two things emerge here: the technology as a platform and the services. We would certainly like to work closely with organisations delivering the services.

Tell us more about your India operations in detail — the places you are spread over and the kind of services you offer to the Indian market, government or otherwise.

The technologies, we offer here are the same that we offer worldwide, and we are geared up well to deliver the services here that we deliver worldwide, both directly and indirectly. Our expertise lies in the fact that we can deliver the services from product point of view, technology point of view and service point of view. So, we intend to work continuously with large government/ organisations and help them understand the challenges they have, and then see how we can partner with them to mitigate these challenges. Coming to delivery mechanism, we would like to work with various partner-organisations in India, who are skilled in FireEye to deliver these services.

The security market in India is predicted to go beyond $1bn by 2015, as per Gartner reports. What are your views on this?

I agree. The security market is definitely going to grow and the growth is definitely going to happen in the next-generation threat prevention.

As I mentioned, most of the attacks that are happening today are unknown attacks. So, the best

corporate Ramsunder Papineni of breed technologies are failing and that is where we will see most of the organisations and enterprises spending.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been talking about 100 Smart Cities project, which means a lot to him. Two necessary ingredients of a smart city are state-of-the-art infrastructure and security. We see a role for ourselves there, and therefore, would like to associate with any such project.

with the government. It is good to see that most of the government officials, ministers and the honourable Prime Minister himself understand and take the threat perception for real. This makes our task easier. So, I think we will continue working with them, and understanding their individual problems, and offering solutions to the same. That will be our focus area in 2015.

What are the technology innovations that you are working on at present?

From a product point of view, the core of our technology is our MVX engine. It is a multi-vector virtualisation engine that helps detonate every packet that is coming into your organisation in real time. We can sit inline or in a spam-tap mode and detonate the incoming packets. When we talk of attacks coming in, every message/ every flaw that is happening there could be multiple vectors through which an attack can come in. It could be web-based attack, one could have an email or a spear-phishing mail, which is crafted with you as the target. It has a malicious packet. The moment one clicks on it, call backs start happening.

Today, there are mobile devices that can send malware, social engineering, etc. Everything happens through mobile devices now. There are content servers in organisations where malicious files can be planted. These files can prompt a malicious attack and start sending call-backs.

So, there is an entire platform and multiple vectors through which the attacks can sneak in. Each of these vectors needs to be treated separately, as each one has a different battleground. For this, specialised solutions are required.

And, that is where our expertise lies.

What are the major challenges you come across in your India operations?

We are barely two-year old in India.

So, we are going slow. We are working with a few partners and helping develop solutions. Also, the advance threat treatment domain is a nascent area here. But, fortunately, with the new government in place, lots of things are picking up on cyber security, as they understand the need for new solutions.

They also understand that the challenges of unknown attacks are going to come to India soon. So, I would say, the market is opening up here. There are huge opportunities for us but the challenge would be how we are able to work more closely with these organisations to deliver the services.

What are your future plans as far as India is concerned? How are you looking at it in 2015?

From a 2015 perspective, we will continue to work closely

Tell us about the various stages of a cyber attack and how FireEye handles those.

We need to look at these attacks from different vectors. It is also important that we look at every attack as a lifecycle, which has five stages. It starts with the exploit stage. It is crucial that we catch an attack as early as possible, possibly in the exploit stage itself...just when the attack is being sent, as the exploit stage is meant to find out whether there is vulnerability in the application. That is an area that we really specialise in. In India, most of the solutions available are based out of VM (virtual machine). But a VM-based

We intend to work continuously with large government/ organisations and help them understand the challenges they have, and then see how we can partner with them to mitigate these challenges solution is also vulnerable, because it is a known application/software. People can write a code to skip that. It is important that people have solutions which can protect against this, especially working on proprietary technologies. So, rather than using a known VM solution or Citrix, it’s better to work on a proprietary, because when one works on a proprietary, it is held close to the user. As this is not in sale in the open market, it is also difficult to break into it. The Source Code also remains with the user.

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corporate

Rajesh Ramachandran

Digital India - A Growth

Opportunity

The Digital India mission will bring significant efficiency in the system and unlock growth opportunities for everyone, says Rajesh Ramachandran, CTO & President, Global Products & Technology Solutions, Rolta India in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat are your expectations from the new government?

Things are moving in the right direction and faster. We are excited to bring our unique value to the government’s initiatives across sectors, whether in Smart Governance, Smart and Safe Cities, digital applications in defence, etc. Rolta is uniquely positioned to bring significant value to key programmes with its indigenous solutions that are not only proven globally, but also designed to suit specific needs of the country. Rolta’s domestic business has been strong and it will become a lot stronger with the opportunities we foresee.

How has last year been for Rolta in terms of business and products? What were the major drivers for growth in business?

Last year has been a great year for us in various ways. We had everything that needed to prove Rolta’s focus on ntellectual Property (IP)-driven solutions-based business model. Our investments in 5-6 years’ transformation journey is complete and we have started seeing significant returns in terms of big wins, business tractions, repeat and expanding customer base globally, awards and recognitions, partner value propositions, etc.

Our product and solutions are gaining rapid acceptance and are now the focus of joint go-to-market programmes with global technology leaders, such as SAP and Oracle.

Rolta OneView™ has been recognised to offer high value across a number of industries, particularly in asset-intensive enterprises, for providing operational and asset insights that were previously not available to operations executives. Rolta continues to make significant headway with SAP on its strategic OEM partnership for Rolta OneView™ industry rich Big Data Analytics solutions, Geospatial Predictive Analytics solutions and automated migration solutions to the SAP HANA platform by leveraging Rolta SmartMigrate™. Both companies have also identified “Safe and Smart City” as a strategic vertical for jointly presenting solutions that incorporate each-other’s IP in many parts of the world.

Besides, the company continues to strengthen its position as a provider of indigenous Command, Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C2ISR) software solutions tailor-made to suit the needs of Indian defence and homeland security.

The company continues to win major contracts for Engineering and Geospatial solutions both in India and globally. For instance, Rolta bagged a multi-million order for end-to-end engineering information system for one of the largest petrochemicals in the world.

With new financial year around, what will the focus of Rolta next year?

The company would continue to focus on strengthening its portfolio of solutions built around its IP to provide greater functionality and wider cov-

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corporate

Rajesh Ramachandran erage across verticals.

Rolta is making rapid inroads into significant industry segments like Banking, Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing, Retail and Healthcare, apart from the traditional Rolta domains like, Oil & Gas, Utilities, Government, Infrastructure, and Defence & Security. The pipeline for its offerings in BI/Analytics is now very strong, with some very large companies actively engaged in evaluating proof-of-concept and prototype implementations. This is true for all geographical regions.

Big Data Analytics, Smart and Safe City, Cloud and IT transformation, GeoSpatial analytics, Application modernisation and managed services, Security, IT-OT Fusion and IoT will continue to be the key technology solution drivers.

What are your views with regard to the ambitious initiative of Digital India?

It is an excellent umbrella initiative of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). Lots of work has happened in the past also, but this initiative gives vision and clarity on where the nation is headed for. There are 9 pillars to this initiative and the crucial part is focus on ‘electronics manufacturing’ in India. Today, the electronics manufacturing is at USD90 bn and we aim to reach USD350 bn a year by 2020. This may be a challenge, but this is also an opportunity to check our money from going out of the country and to create more jobs within the country.

What is your view about the government's Digital India initiative as the vision for future?

The Digital India is a great initiative that would bring significant efficiency in the system and unlock new and exploding growth opportunities for everyone. Rolta’s IP-driven solutions would bring significant value to this programme to address the external aspects of eGovernance — public transparency and citizenfriendly single-window system — and the internal aspects of efficiency and automation of eGovernance systems. There is no dearth for technology expertise and capabilities in India. I wish the new government the very best for the Digital India initiative.

Rolta has worked closely with smart city projects. What are your plans on the 100 Smart Cities project of the government?

Rolta is a pioneer in providing comprehensive IPbased solutions for smart and safe cities both internationally and in India. It has a proven record of executing large and challenging technology-driven smart city solutions by combining its deep domain expertise in eGovernance, Economic development, Urban Planning and Development, Land management, Homeland Security, Energy and Utilities, Transportation, etc.

For example, Rolta implemented geospatial-enabled intelligence solution for the Ministry of Economic Develop-

ment, Ontorio, which is helping to attract investors. Rolta has been part of multi-million smart city projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, involving advanced 3D GIS modelling, Identity Management, and Security and Mobility solutions.

Rolta has implemented Smart Transportation solutions in the UAE, Canada and China using Rolta OneView™ and Rolta Geospatial Fusion™.

Rolta’s safety solutions, which include Rolta GeoCAD™, Rolta Command and Control™ and Rolta Crime Analytics™, have been recognised for the significant value they bring to “Safe and Smart City” programmes, and are now being implemented in India in UP and Maharashtra to enhance real-time situational awareness. Rolta has been awarded a prestigious project by the Department of Industries of the Government of Maharashtra for modernizing their eGovernance framework. Recently, Rolta was awarded for its widest range of Smart City and Municipal solutions at a nationwide Smart City summit.

How do you visualise the growth of IT sector in India in the coming years?

India’s IT sector would see phenomenal growth in all dimensions. High-growth verticals such as Retail, BFSI, Healthcare, Telecom would have an edge, while Energy, Power, Utilities, Manufacturing and Transportation would see substantial growth. The Government, including Defence and Homeland Security, would be one of the most attractive and bullish vertical.

Big Data Analytics, Mobility, Cloud and IT transformation would be large technology drivers along with IoT and Social Media playing a larger role in digital transformation and changing workforce and ecosystem.

Rolta India continues to strengthen its position as a provider of indigenous Command, Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and connaissance (C2ISR) software solutions tailor-made to suit the needs of Indian defence and homeland security

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corporate Ajay kumar

instant cards AT

digital branches

Datacard can play a crucial role in the government’s financial inclusion initiative by offering technology-enabled solutions for successful implementation of the programme Ajay Kumar, Head of Marketing - South Asia, Datacard Group, tells Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is your view about the government’s Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and how does Datacard connect with the initiative?

As an important stakeholder of the PMJDY programme, we are very happy about the campaign kicked off by the Prime Minister. As the initiative is high on the government’s agenda, it is modifying the government machinery to suit the requirements of PMJDY. It is coordinating with the stakeholders to streamline the Financial Inclusion initiative. In this backdrop, the role of Datacard is to offer technology-enabled solutions for successful implementation of the programme. For the banks, the initiative, instead of being a liability, is a great business opportunity, since a large amount of money would flow in.

We are very optimistic and eager to be a part of this scheme.

You speak about interoperability. How can Datacard facilitate interoperability?

Interoperability works at the backend: with a single RuPay Card, a number of activities can be carried out; a single Card can be used at various bank ATMs and BC (Business Correspondent) locations. Our role in entire technology is that we provide instant personalisation and customisation of the RuPay Card. This card also works as an ID card. As a cardholder’s name is given on it, one can be recognised by it.

Interoperability definitely works around the banking, but at the interface stage, we have a strong role to play.

There is lack of awareness about technology among the masses. How do you plan to inform people about your technology-oriented initiatives?

Financial literacy is an important part. An account holder, who operates an account, should know what to do with his account and how to get benefits of different plans associated with his account. The banks working with BCs should take steps to educate people in their respective areas of operation.

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What challenges do you see in the entire Financial Inclusion programme?

Also, for the accounts already opened, cards are yet to be issued. That is a big challenge right now, with the finance ministry considering the steps to bridge the gap between opening of bank accounts and issuance of cards. If the cards are not issued soon, most of the accounts will become inactive and the banks will have to open these accounts once again.

Also, 15 million accounts were opened on the very first day of the programme and a total of 75 million accounts are targeted.

But, maintaining the data of such a large number of account holders is another big challenge.

But why this delay in issuing the cards? Who is to blame — banks, services or lack of awareness?

No, it is due to absence of the right technology. Bank gets debit cards printed from card bureaus and then issue those to the account holders. Finally, the card reaches the account holders in 10-15 days, thus creating huge backlog of cards. As a solution, we have a system that issues instant personalised card. We can locate our system at BC locations or at bank’s regional or zonal offices where an individual goes to open his account. This is the best solution to meet this challenge.

corporate K P Saha

Taking Benefits to

Rural India

Senrysa plans to expand the current network of more than 3,000 rural franchisees providing banking and other services up to 5,000 this financial year, says K P Saha, Managing Director, Senrysa Technologies Pvt Ltd, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

G

ive us an overview of the company and its operations within and outside India.

Senrysa Technologies Pvt Ltd is a multiskilled software service provider for Banking, Finance, Governance, e-Commerce, Healthcare etc. In the banking segment, Senrysa is specialised in end-to-end technology solutions for Financial Inclusion

and Direct Benefit Transfer and has placed itself in the narrow band of successful technology providers in India for benefit transfer through Aadhaar authentication.

Senrysa delivers a full range of application outsourcing, business process consulting, systems implementation and integration, professional services and focussed solution frameworks. The company has always believed in relevance, reliability, creativity and cost-effectiveness as key drivers in its initiatives. With these key commitments, Senrysa has striven to upgrade its knowledge base, technology skills and resource capabilities, so as to add significant business value to clients.

How has been the journey of the company to date?

Since inception in 2011, Senrysa has created strong presence in most of the states and a large base in Eastern and North-eastern parts of India. Senrysa plans to expand the current network of more than 3,000 rural franchisees providing banking and other services up to 5,000 this financial year. Senrysa is also launching its own e-commerce marketplace services to reach out to the unexplored areas through its last-mile delivery channel.

The company is already disbursing close to Rs 1,000 Crore government benefits every year to its customers.

It is working with major leading public sector banks and regional rural banks (RRBs) in financial inclusion projects across India.

Recently, Senrysa won a prestigious assignment for providing Financial Inclusion solution to microfinance giant Bandhan, which recently obtained banking license from the Reserve Bank of India. The solution shall be

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corporate

K P Saha

deployed on more than 15,000 handheld devices integrated with the Core Banking System (CBS) for branchless banking.

Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojna is an ambitious programme for comprehensive Financial Inclusion. How does Senrysa Technologies connect with the initiative?

From the moment Jan Dhan Yojana was declared by the Honorable Prime Minister, Senrysa Technologies set to utilise its existing vast field infrastructure of rural franchisees providing banking and other services to the masses. Senrysa responded to the national call and approached the banks offering its services for opening bank accounts, which received the banks’ instant authorisation. Senrysa has brought more than a million people to the banks’ doors since then, and takes pride in making significant contribution to the national agenda.

Digital infrastructure is missing in the far-flung areas of the country. How do you see the future digital landscape of India?

The Indian Government plans to develop a digital infrastructure to ensure that every Indian citizen has in his hand a mobile phone by the year 2019. The digital map of India is now expanding at a very fast rate, and with large governmental investments coming in, we can rest assured that even the remotest rural areas will be covered sooner than we can imagine now.

Senrysa has a number of ICT-based products and services, and therefore, we definitely have a role to play in the fulfillment of the ‘Digital India’ vision

We are basically a company offering financial products and services using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). And, in the process, we have become associated with various government projects in financial areas through banks. Since inception, we have been instrumental in Direct Benefit Transfer projects for disbursement of MNREGA, IAY and NOAP funds in many states of India.

We believe the Prime Minister’s initiative will harness full exploitation of potential and capabilities of the Indian Information Technology industry, and his dream to connect and serve every Indian through e-governance, e-health, e-judicial and e-education will definitely come true. Senrysa has a number of ICT-based products and services, and therefore, we have a reason to rejoice, because we definitely have a role to play in the fulfillment of the “Digital India” vision.

We will convert our franchisees into rural service centers, which connected to the high-speed internet broadband will be able to serve the villagers’ needs through electronic information and delivery system.

What are your future plans and strategies for the Indian market?

How the government can work hand-in-hand with private firms to realise the Digital India vision?

In immediate future, we are planning to enter into e-Commerce business with a bang in the rural areas.

With our long experience in rural areas, we have a deep knowledge of the rural folk’s mindset and their needs and choices. Banking on the same and the immediate proximity of our rural franchisees, we see a good success in the segment in the near future.

India being a vast country with varied culture, a project of this proportion can be well achieved if the public and private sectors work hand-in-hand.

At the rural level, private initiatives will be more effective for delivering services like e-commerce, e-health, e-education, broadband retailing, etc. As the government takes initiatives and creates an enabling atmosphere, the private sector would automatically approach with their expertise and involvement to take the vision to its culmination.

Which all government projects have you been associated with in the past?

Please share your thoughts on PM’s Digital India mission and Senrysa’s possible role in it.

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corporate

Kanwar Singh

Digital Link in

Service Delivery The integrated solutions that our company spans across a large number of sectors and verticals, says Kanwar Singh, Vice President – Operations, Serco Global Services, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

G

ive us an overview of the company and its operations in India and abroad.

Serco is an international service company, which combines commercial knowhow with a deep public service ethos. For over 80 years now, we have been improving essential services around the world by managing people, processes, technology and assets more effectively. Serco Global Services (SGS) is Serco’s business process outsourcing division that brings together its contact centre, customer services, and front, middle and back-office expertise. India’s largest domestic business process outsourcing solutions provider – both in terms of size and presence in the country – SGS has 33,000 employees serving the India market across 54 locations and growing.

How does Serco connect with the Prime Minister’s Digital India vision?

The integrated solutions that SGS boasts of span across government, healthcare, education, retail, financial services, utilities, telecommunications, media and travel, transportation and hospitality sectors. Our government solutions and services are fully aligned to Prime Minister’s Digital India vision based on creating value and a positive impact in delivery of governmentto-citizen (G2C) services. These services include managing citizens’ interactions with various government agencies or supporting departmental enterprise functions.

Our services span across a broad range of front, middle and back-office streams and address government-to-citizen (G2C) services challenges through an integrated focus on creating and nurturing transformational partnerships.

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You also provide backend support to various Indian banks. How do you envisage your role with regard to the government’s ambitious Jan Dhan Yojna programme?

Serco already has partnerships existing for providing contact centre services to customers of various public sector banks, including the largest PSU bank in India. We are ready to leverage our existing partnerships and technology solutions to meet the ambitious requirements of Jan Dhan Yojna programme.

Which all government projects have you been associated with in the past and what has been your experience of working with the government?

Public sector business has always been a focus area for us.

We have the privilege of partnering with many central and state governments departments, including PSU banks and public utilities, to implement robust ICT solutions and delivering transformational services to citizens. Our experience of working with government agencies has been extremely positive. However, a few issues pertaining to one-sided contracts loaded in favour of the government and introduction of more equitable liability/ indemnity clause provisions need to be addressed by the government to enable a more enthusiastic participation by reputed IT & ITeS firms in government projects.

How does Serco intend to enlarge its India programme?

We are very excited by the commitment and clear focus exhibited by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards delivery of many public services using ICT to transform the life of ordinary citizens in every part of our country. Serco is continually striving to add more value to our range of services, across a broad spectrum, to partner in our Prime Minister’s Digital India vision and provide transformational government-to-citizen (G2C) services.

corporate

Gerald Prabhu

Consumer Centric Solutions FROM CCS

CCS services help banks serve different markets in terms of geographies and set of customers, says Gerald Prabhu, Co Founder and Executive Director, C Centric Solutions, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

T

ell us about C Centric Solutions (CCS) and its operations across the country?

C Centric Solutions primarily provides customer management solutions to the banking and financial services industry. We founded the company seven years back and we have offices in Bangalore and Mumbai. Our major customers are in banking and insurance sector. Some of our major clients include Axis Bank, SBI Life Insurance, Vijaya Bank, South Indian Bank and others. We provide solutions for managing customers effectively.

Apart from serving majorly the banking and financial sectors, we also provide services in manufacturing sector in cloud.

In today’s neck-and-neck competition, why do you think businesses and organisations should opt for your mobility solutions?

As for mobility solutions, a few years back, there used to be end-mile street shops with assurance to attract you customers or sort out any complaint while leveraging on the Internet. Gone are the days when people used to go home or office and then access Internet to use the information or update activities. Now-adays, smart phones have become very common. We deal with smart phones, which help enterprises use access information at their will. Whether it is about addressing a complaint, generating a lead or giving some information to a customer, it is all available on fingertips. Instant availability of information is so very crucial. Supposing, one is going to meet a client, who needs more information or some additional data. In that case, we can satisfy

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his queries using the smart phone. Again, if I have to meet with five customers in a day, with smart phone I know who is located closest to my current location and who should be visited next. That helps in better planning of the day. It is these features that make smart phones popular.

The government is stressing on comprehensive financial inclusion. What role do you see there for the CCS? We are providing services to banks whose mandate is Financial Inclusion. They are able to service different markets in terms of geographies and set of customers. Some of them are looking at selling mass insurance products for rural markets.

So, if they are looking towards technology solutions to help them out in their work. One can verify a customer’s identity through Aadhaar-enabled data and issue an insurance policy and collect deposits in a faster manner rather than going through the conventional long process of verification. And, all that now can be done on mobile. We are coming up with such device solutions as well as extending already existing CRM solutions for smart phones, which are both effective and cost-effective.

What are your business plans and strategy for further growth?

We would like to keep our eyes set on the banking sector, which is growing by day. There are public sector banks, which are going more and more digital in approach. In banking, CRM is the heart of entire operation, especially for attracting customers. Then, in terms of marketing, people are getting used to web and they are increasingly getting hooked to the Internet and social media channels. We intend to leverage on equipment and technology, which we have raised on these platforms, and present to financial institutions and banks and take the next step towards customer management. So, my focus would be on digital plan and mobile-enabled services.