eGov May 2016

eGov Magazine

DR SWATI S GODBOLE Mayor, Jabalpur

JABALPUR

HISTORIC PAST TO

SMARTER FUTURE

VED PRAKASH

Commissioner, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation

Once the land of Kalchuri, Gond , Mughal & Maratha Dynasties, Jabalpur is all set to become a hi-tech Smart City

GAJENDRA S NAGESH

Addl Municipal Commissioner & CEO-SPV, Jabalpur Smart City

SUMMIT

SMART CITIES IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL INDIA CONFERENCE | AWARDS | EXPO

JABALPUR SPECIAL

12 VED PRAKASH

MAY 2016

Commissioner, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation

VOLUME 12 n ISSUE 05

COVER STORY

14 GAJENDRA SINGH NAGESH Additional Commissioner, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation & CEO - SPV, Smart City

15 DR JITENDRA JAMDAR Director, Jamdar Hospital Pvt Ltd, Jabalpur

16 RAHUL SINGH Deputy Commissioner, Jabalpur

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Smarter Days Ahead for Historic Jabalpur

18 DR RAJESH B DHIRAWANI Managing Director, Jabalpur Hospital & Research Centre

CORPORATE

20 ASHISH KHARE Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) - Crime, Jabalpur

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STANLEY SAMUEL

PITAMBER AHUJA Director, Datamini Technologies India Limited

NOSHIN KAGALWALLA

GOPAL JOSHI

Founder & CEO, ECOSOFTT, Singapore

Managing Director, SAS

SURENDRA YADAV

Vice President-Sales (India & Saarc), ZyXEL Technology

Chief Public Relations Officer, West Central Railway

24 PUSHPA BERRY Sanchalika, Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad

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VIVEK NAIDU

SRINIVAS POOSARLA ANSHUMAN HALDAR

KARAN BAJWA

Vice-President, Information Management (India Cluster), Kodak Alaris

VP & Head (Global), Privacy & Data Protection, Infosys Ltd

Managing Director, Microsoft Corporation India

GM – Channel Business of Network Connectivity Organisation, Schneider

KAMLESH SRIVASTAVA

SPECIAL INTERVIEW

Executive Engineer, Water Works Department, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation

SPECIAL FEATURE

44 RAJESH AGGARWAL Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt of India

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NIKHIL KUMAR

SALIL PRABHAKAR

DEEP AGARWAL

Director, Technical Marketing (SAARC Region), Trimble

President & Chief Executive Officer, Delta ID

Regional Sales DirectorIndia, Zebra Technologies - Asia Pacific

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / May 2016

42 NEETA VERMA Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC)

28 PRAVIR KRISHAK Founder & CEO, C-Net Infotech Pvt Ltd

EDITORIAL

For the People, by the People...

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s the BJP-led NDA Government took the reins of power in New Delhi and announced within months creation of 100 smart cities across the country, little would have an average Jabalpur-ean thought that his city would be among the first 20 cities chosen to be developed as smart cities! It came as a pleasant surprise to them that they are well on way to become one of the first citizenries in the country to have this honour.

What’s more, it ranked even ahead—at 7th position—of the state capital Bhopal and financial capital Indore, which were placed at 20th and 11th position, respectively. So, who does the credit for this rare honour go to? Well, one won’t disagree that since before the inclusion of its name in the coveted list of 20 cities, the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC) has been pursuing the agenda of people’s welfare in a way that few civic bodies can boast of. It has been implementing one digital service after the other to make the life of people living within its jurisdiction easier.

However, a sizeable portion of this credit must also go to the local populace, which has been a much more disciplined lot compared to denizens in other cities even within Madhya Pradesh and proactively adopting the technology-led governance introduced by JMC. After all, a city is only as good as its residents. So, in other words, making of Smart City Jabalpur will be something akin to the age-old adage – “of the people, for the people, by the people”!

Now, having achieved this feat, the next big challenge facing the city is how to meet the cost of developing it as a smart city; although the Centre and the State Government will be together extending Rs.1,000 crore, this joint funding may fall much short of the requirement.

In this background, Elets Technomedia, in association with JMC, has organised a “Smart City Conclave - Jabalpur” on 26 May 2016, with “Smart Investment for a Better Future” as the theme of the conference.

The meet, which will see participation of top government officials from both within and outside the State, and experts and stakeholders in the Smart City domain, will brainstorm over how to evolve a smart city model that is sustainable both infrastructure-wise and financially, and both in short and long run.

The fact that we chose to organise this event in Jabalpur is a humble acknowledgement of the great effort that JMC has put in over the years for the welfare of its people, and a tribute to the local citizens, who have been awake and alert to their rights and duties in equal measure.

We dedicate this special issue of eGov magazine to the citizens of Jabalpur!

RAVI GUPTA Ravi.Gupta@elets.in

Email at subscription@elets.in to get previous issues

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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CONFERENCE | EXHIBITION

KALYAN-DOMBIVLI

17-18 June 2016

COVER STORY / JABALPUR SPECIAL

Smarter Days Ahead for Historic Jabalpur Little would have the citizens of Jabalpur realised that they would soon be on way to becoming the proud denizens of a Smart City. On the lines of the age-old cliché “of the people, for the people and by the people”, Jabalpur is all set to become a high-tech, new-age city on the back of the efforts of its citizenry only, writes Gautam Debroy of Elets News Network (ENN)

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egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

Dr Swati Sadanand Godbole Mayor, Jabalpur

Mahesh Chandra Choudhary District Magistrate, Jabalpur

JABALPUR SPECIAL \ COVER STORY

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bout 2.5 million population of Jabalpur were in for a pleasant surprise when came to know that their small but beautiful city had been included in the Government of India’s first list of 20 cities to be made “smart” under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM).

Jabalpur stood at seventh number in the list, while the two other cities of Madhya Pradesh — Indore and Bhopal — were placed at 11th and 20th position, respectively.

“It was due to the enthusiasm, a keen desire to achieve the coveted status of Smart City and the necessary cooperation on the part of the people of Jabalpur that we jumped to the seventh slot,” said Dr Swati Sadanand Godbole, Mayor of the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC), in an interview to Elets News Networks (ENN).

The elaborate proposal that was submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development by the JMC incorporated city’s profile, area-based development concept, a pan-city proposal, implementation of various plans as well as financial strategies.

However, the point that was highlighted most by the Corporation in its proposal is the untapped potential of tourism and garment sector.

“We highlighted in the proposal the scope and prospect of the tourism and garment sector.

In fact, we want to make Jabalpur a gateway to eco and ethnic tourism as well as a garment hub,” Jabalpur Municipal Commissioner Ved Prakash told ENN. In fact, its excellent road condition, rail and air connectivity, adjoining national parks and sanctuaries plenty of excellent water bodies, vast forest and tribal land project Jabalpur as a natural gateway to eco and ethnic tourism.

“The City of Jabalpur can be developed as a hub to facilitate and harness the potential of all sorts of tourism and recreational activities related to nature, ethnicity and culture,” said Prakash.

Jabalpur has excellent rail-road and air connectivity, and its adjoining national parks and sanctuaries are filled with plenty of excellent water bodies. Its vast forest and tribal land project makes the city a natural gateway to eco and ethnic tourism Over the last decade, Jabalpur has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the garment manufacturing sector. At present, more than 50,000 skilled workers are employed in this sector. This activity can further be organised and taken forward on professional lines by developing forward and backward linkages using IT solutions.

At a recent meeting in New Delhi with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Commissioner Prakash even explored the possibilities of skilling the youth of Jabalpur.

“Yes, Jabalpur has a good potential in several sectors. We are ready to extend a helping hand for both skilling of the youth and overall devel-

opment of the city,” said Jaikant Singh, head, Partnership & State Alliance of NSDC. The SWOT analysis of the smart city proposal submitted by the JMC reveals a structural shift in the economy from large-scale manufacturing to small-scale firms with informal workers, and an increase in the service and knowledge based industries.

The proposal also highlighted some of the critical issues that the Corporation is fighting with.

Jabalpur did not witness a rapid industrial growth, preventing emergence of new avenues of employment. It is reflected in its industrial growth rate of 29.49 per cent as against the national average of 31.80 per cent.

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COVER STORY / JABALPUR SPECIAL

Although major roads are covered by the public transport system, feeder roads are yet to be covered by the same. The issue of last-mile connectivity needs to be addressed.

However, Jabalpur has good citizens’ involvement that has led to the quality of governance being good.

The Municipal Commission, too, has carried out intensive citizen engagement exercise for preparing the Smart City proposal. The total outreach was more than 2,56,300, which is about 20 per cent of the city’s population. The exercise was extensive both in terms of participation as well as diversity of mediums used.

The extent of consultation through various online media was more than 99,462 and through offline media was over 1,56,838.

And, the consultation covered diverse segments of the society, including students (41 per cent), women (7 per cent), senior citizen (5 per cent), businessmen/traders (12 per cent), service providers (17 per cent), and specially-abled children, slum dwellers and helpers (18 per cent).

Jabalpur’s citizens engagement strategy “Samvad” was targeted at reaching out to the maximum number of citizens to be a part of the process to shape city’s future by co-creating solutions for common urban problems – all resulting in a smarter Jabalpur.

Jabalpur has a unique location, surrounded by hills, built around water bodies, structured by cantonment area, railway lines and river.

The area-based development (ABD) strategy for Jabalpur is, in fact, an opportunity to contribute positively to the urban landscape through a compact, well-designed development model that integrates with the existing urban structure.

The ABD may also have government, spatial, economic and social impacts Government impact: Improvement in service provision and recovery of charges on account of establishment of SPV. Spatial impact: Built form changed to incorporate more density or more public space.

Economic impact: New commercial space created for organised economic activity.

Social impact: Poor and declining neighborhoods will be provided affordable housings.

Sustainability including environment impact: Intensive 24/7 use of public space results in reduced traffic and reduced pollution.

In pan-city angle, too, JMC is a pioneer in solid waste management (SWM) and waste-

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JABALPUR AT A GLANCE l l l l l l l l l l l

Population (2011 census): 2,463,289 Male: 1,277,278 Female: 1,186,011 Population Growth: 14.51% Average Literacy: 81.07% Male Literacy: 87.29% Female Literacy: 74.37% No. of Blocks: 07 No. of Tehsils: 07 No. of Gram Panchayats: 542 Area (Metropolis): 367 sq km (142 sq mi)

to-energy (WTE) in the State. Thus, leveraging existing effort in the city, RFID-based, real time, smart waste management system has been selected as a pan-city initiative.

Now, Jabalpur and its administration are all set to implement the projects necessary to transform it into a Smart City. Union Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba recently called a meeting of a few cities (selected in the first list), including Jabalpur, to discuss the road ahead for developing Smart Cities across various states in India.

Gauba, according to the government officials, in the meeting asked the municipal commissioners to expedite implementation of the Smart City projects in their respective cities.

The Union Cabinet has allocated `48,000

crore towards creation of smart cities and each city will be funded Rs. 100 crore per year for the next five years.

There will be an Initial investment of Rs. 5,000 crore for the selected cities to prepare City Development plan. Allocation of funds to be provided by the Centre will be 60 per cent in infrastructure, 10 per cent for e-governance initiatives and the rest will be equity contribution for building townships, along with private developers.

Each state will form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for smart city financing, it has been decided.

The total project investment under the Jabalpur Smart City project, to be spent across mission period (2016-17 to 2020-21), is `3,998.5 crore. It has already formed SPV under the chairmanship of Jabalpur District Magistrate Mahesh Chandra Choudhury, whereas Gajendra Singh Nagesh, the Additional Commissioner of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, has been appointed CEO-SPV. “Now we will definitely implement all the projects in a phased manner. Jabalpur is very rich in tourism and garment sector, so we will also try to bring big players to invest in this city,” said Choudhury.

Jabalpur now wants big investment on its soil and that is why they are ready to extend all possible help to the big players and corporates.

“We are ready to provide all necessary help to the domestic as well as foreign players, who are ready to come and invest in Jabalpur,” said Commissioner Ved Prakash.

SUMMIT 30 June 2016, Le MĂŠridien, New Delhi th

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JABALPUR SPECIAL / JMC / VED PRAKASH

Citizen-Centric Approach for Smarter Cities Ved Prakash, Commissioner, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation (JMC), is a dynamic personality and a man of commitment. Prior to being posted as a Municipal Commissioner, Jabalpur, he served as the Municipal Commissioner, Gwalior. Prakash is a very positive in his thinking and attitude. An old adage reads: ‘Attitude determines altitude’, and this absolutely applies to a character like Prakash. Under his leadership, Jabalpur has seen phenomenal changes in the recent years. In an interview with Elets News Network (ENN), Prakash tries to cover the whole gamut of activities that the Municipal Corporation has undertaken to make Jabalpur a Smart City 12

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

VED PRAKASH \ JABALPUR SPECIAL \ JMC

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ow do you feel on Jabalpur being featured in first 20 Smart Cities list?

We feel elated that the city has been selected in the first 20 cities under the Smart City Mission (SCM) launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From time to time, we invent various programmes, and these programmes are big platforms for public consultation and planning for our own city. These programmes are for making people aware about Smart Jabalpur, and have been designed on the basis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis.

How do you propose to procure funds apart from getting it from the Centre and the state?

The seed capital will be given by the government. But we need to explore Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to procure more funds for transforming the city to a smart one. Apart from that, Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), solar power, service ducts, transports need to mobilise and liberate funds.

We can also monetise our Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The Municipal Corporation Jabalpur also lease lands under its jurisdiction. Therefore, JMC also can have some funds from leasing the lands under it.

What major challenges do you foresee in making Jabalpur a Smart City?

Ensuring finance will be the real challenge in my view. Attracting funds or investments will be a big task. The State Government and the

District Administration can lease government land under the control of Municipal Corporation for institutional development, and this way we can progress towards “Skill India” to “Make in India”.

What are your plans on engaging the local citizens?

The real stakeholders of development are the people of this city. The city should be developed on people’s mapping skills. There should be regular and quality supply of skilled people.

That apart, huge investment is required for economic reform and revival. We are going to the citizens at various stages from consultations/ feedback to making them an actual partner of development.

Involving them is indeed a difficult task but the people here, in a manner, are self- involved.

Machine can create smart infrastructure but people only can create Smart City.

How do you perceive tourism as an area of focus in Jabalpur?

Jabalpur has high potential of becoming an

DR RAJESH B DHIRAWANI VED PRAKASH We need to strengthen the public transport system of Jabalpur. We are also trying to shift from motorised to non-motorised system of vehicles to make the city safe and environmentfriendly. That apart, we are working on Transit-oriented Development (TOD)

economic, ethnic, and a spiritual tourism destination.

Resources, be it natural or others, are in plenty in Jabalpur. The only thing required is their integration. So, integrating stakeholders with their potential is the key to develop Jabalpur in a smarter way. Besides that, use of modern marketing technology, will fetch more tourists to the city resulting in more revenue collection.

What are your plans for the Public Transport System?

We need to strengthen the public transport system of Jabalpur. Not only this, we are also trying to shift from motorised to non-motorised system of vehicles to make the city safe and environment-friendly. That apart, we are working on Transit-oriented Development (TOD).

The city and its people must have the time and space for entertainment, education, health and all other such facilities. Transit needs to be minimised. We are working for the last mile connectivity while trying to provide road to everyone.

What are your future plans with regards to green energy, green buildings and waste management, etc?

We have planned for future environmental sustainability with the upcoming projects in the city. We are also working for e-Energy, a project of waste management, that is commissioning in a month’s time.

Solar energy harvesting is another area of development. The city has abundant space which is likely to be occupied by solar power plants.

We also have to conserve water, and treatment of water is also an on-going project to re-supply for sanitary and other purposes. All the green projects are being developed under Area Based System (ABS).

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JABALPUR SPECIAL / SMART CITY / G S NAGESH

Shaping Jabalpur as a Role Model There is a need to develop the educational, economic and administrative setup of Jabalpur to make the city an example to be emulated by others, says Additional Commissioner of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation and CEO - SPV Gajendra Singh Nagesh, in an exclusive interview with Gautam Debroy of Elets News Network’s (ENN). Excerpts:

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What are the major issues that need special attention in a smart city?

hat is your road ahead for Jabalpur. What is your strategy to promote the garment and tourism sector in the city? ?

Jabalpur is a centrally located city in India and we have to maintain its economic and social upliftment. Jabalpur is well known for its garment sector and there is a good scope to make the city a garment hub as well. There are so many individuals and organisations in Jabalpur which are shaping this sector. The garment cluster in Jabalpur is about to start which will pave way for opportunities for the common people and act as a good way to solve the problem of unemployment. We want to see our people as economically sound.

We have good opportunities on the tourism front too. We have Bandhavgar and Kanha National parks which are good spots to attract the tourists. These places are hardly 200-250 kms from Jabalpur. Ethnic tourism too is a good source of revenue for us. We all are taking steps in the direction of making proper use of the resources we have and make the city perfect in all sectors.

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We are going with multi-purpose cards. This will be very useful for people who visit different places on a daily basis. This can easily make for paperless financial dealings. Solid waste management is also a key area for us. Along with it, the domestic and commercial zones will also be regularized in our smart city.

Safety and security of citizens is always a concern everywhere, especially the security of women. What strategy are you adopting for that? “smart city” in the country. Taking clue from the smart cities in developed countries, we would like to take Jabalpur to a level which could be an example for everybody.

You have been appointed as the CEO-SPV. How do you take this opportunity?

You need huge investments to build a smart city. What is your strategy to lure private investors in Jabalpur?

As a CEO-SPV, it’s a very big opportunity for me to include all the necessary requirements needed in a smart city. I can personally create the structure of the smart city. I can have interactions with the personnels and be involved with the citizens of the city at the same time.

I can dream of making Jabalpur as the best

The involvement of private players in a smart city is very essential. We have highlighted behavioral upliftment in the society in our smart city proposal. We want to conceptualize peoples’ vision and build a city accordingly. It should be built by taking all their dreams and aspirations as well as their requirements.

egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

Surveillance security is a key feature for us. We are working a lot on our surveillance system so that the common man feels safe. We are working on intelligent lighting on the streets.

In addition to this, we are creating intelligent groups which will be deputed across the city.

We are already in talks with several agencies to ensure overall security of the people of our city.

What are the challenges you face?

Jabalpur was one of the important centres during the British Raj. But from 1956, we lost this position followed by degradation of Jabalpur especially in the administrative and education setup. We also need to bridge the gap in our economic and administrative set-up and regain our position.

DR JITENDRA JAMDAR \ HEALTHCARE \ JABALPUR SPECIAL

Citizen Involvement Key to Smart Jabalpur Jamdar Hospital Pvt Ltd — a tertiary care, super specialty and multi-specialty hospital in Jabalpur — is one of the largest healthcare providers in the Mahakoushal region, which ensures that services provided are in accordance with the highest standards, says Director of the Hospital Dr Jitendra Jamdar in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN)

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delivery as the city goes from traditional to "smart"?

hat changes do you see once Jabalpur becomes a

The major challenge rests in the thinking or mindset of the people which has to be changed. In carrying out efficient delivery of any service, particularly in the medical field, insurance companies take the shot. Third Party Administrators (TPAs) of such companies bluff people against the claim made by the ones getting treated. There is a need to involve some good insurance companies, which can deliver services in the interest of the people.

The government also has to open up to the private sectors. The people should also understand the need to spend more if they want fivestar treatment.

Smart City?

It’s indeed a great concept by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I can remember those days when the Prime Minister disclosed that his government is planning to build 100 Smart Cities across India, which was followed by a flurry of jokes on the Internet. The people then took it on lighter note. But, we must be thankful to the Prime Minister that he somehow managed to give it a shape. At the same time, people have to understand that any city cannot be made "smart" overnight. For that, their participation will also be needed. And, we expect 100 per cent participation from them, not even 99 per cent.

We are fortunate that Jabalpur has also been listed in first 20 Smart Cities, declared by the Government of India. It will kickstart business in the city. As much as 500 acres of land in Jabalpur has been allotted under the Smart City plan, and luckily, the area of Jamdar Hospital comes under this.

Retrofitting is going to be a major activity for the local administration under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM). We can hope for development of “Jabalpur Smart City” in a way that it should compete with international standards. There must be efficient and uninterrupted supply of power, water, roads and other infrastructure. Once the city becomes smart, there should be proper plantation, drainage, management of squares and plazas followed by proper underground cables and water supply system. Initially, we can also expect a total wi-fi zone, in a few

selected areas and this is how I envision the Smart City of Jabalpur.

As a healthcare provider, what plans do you have for a 'smarter' Jabalpur?

Jabalpur has a fantastic potential in the healthcare sector. I began my practice 33 years ago and ours is the oldest nursing home in the state, which was established in 1958. I joined this noble service of serving people in 1982.

Having said this, Jabalpur is already a tertiary healthcare centre and is equipped with six Cath Labs. Five years ago, I did a surgery of Limb Preservation System (LPS), which was sixth in the country. So there is huge scope in the healthcare sector with no dearth of technology. Let’s see how we can plan on this.

What challenges do you foresee in carrying out efficient healthcare

How do you compare Jabalpur with Bhopal and Indore, which are also slated to become “smart”?

Every city is unique in terms of the demography it has. It is true that Indore has always been treated as the number one medical spot in the State, but Jabalpur too has potential. The only problem is that Jabalpur always had a low profile on the political front, with Bhopal and Indore being politically high-pitched.

Does Jabalpur have the potential to become a medical tourism hub?

It has tremendous potential to become one, rather it is already a medical tourism hub.

Just to speak factually, we have a doctor in the city, who is getting patients from the Middle-East. But the idea of medical tourism is always combined with standard tourism which includes roads, theatre, parks, wildlife sanctuaries and other infrastructural facilities.

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JABALPUR SPECIAL / ADMINISTRATION / RAHUL SINGH

Smart Moves for

Smarter City Rahul Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, is a young, energetic and dynamic personality. Singh is sure that Jabalpur cannot be developed into a Smart City without active participation of its people, and therefore, he is ensuring their maximum participation. In an interview with Elets News Network (ENN), the Deputy Commissioner emphasises on ways to implement the measures to transform Jabalpur into a real Smart City

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hat is your vision of a developed, smart Jabalpur city?

In the first phase, 750 acres of land has been taken into consideration for the process of developing a “Smart Jabalpur�. The development will work like a role model, if the same model is replicated to other areas. This is an Area-based Development (ABD), and we expect to set an example in this kind of development over the next five years. We will also be getting `1,000 crore over a period of five years by the State as well as Centre, with which we intend to generate a corpus to implement the Smart City programme in the area selected, step by step.

We are planning revenue generation in several ways. Through Floor Area Ratio (FAR), revenue generation can be increased from 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent resulting in a corresponding increase in households and property tax. So this way, we will be able to meet the financial requirements to transform the city into a smarter entity.

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RAHUL SINGH \ ADMINISTRATION \ JABALPUR SPECIAL

An artist's idea of Jabalpur Smart City with ample open space for the citizens.

What challenges do you foresee in turning Jabalpur into a Smart City?

Challenges can be in terms of people’s participation or rejection. We are very happy that we have got very good citizenry in the city.

People are actively participating in the process.

Everybody knows that restoration takes some time, and we need cooperation of commoners.

People are aware of this process.

We are also organising different programmes for generating this awareness. The best part is that people are accepting the transformation with free-hands and open arms. So, we are seeing major changes in the attitude of the people as well.

Apart from this, it can be said that in no uncertain terms that the Swachh Bharat Mission is becoming successful to a great extent because of the determined efforts towards implementation of the visions of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM).

What will be the role of the government or the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation in realising the ‘Smart City’ dream?

Many programmes have been organised by us

WE WILL ENSURE LAST-MILE CONNECTIVITY – THE MOST CRUCIAL FACTOR IN AN EFFICIENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM. ALSO, FREQUENCY OF BUSES WILL BE INCREASED so far and we have to take up more initiatives in the future. The programme of Smart City Conclave, Jabalpur, is just the beginning of a long journey.

We are also looking forward to a PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) as a successful model of execution. Apart from this, there is a need to involve private parties, then only a corpus can be created to supplement the funds to be received from the Centre and the state governments.

An efficient public transport infrastructure is one of the major components of a Smart City?

What is your vision to make public transport system more efficient?

We have decided to ensure the last-mile connectivity – the most crucial factor in an efficient public transport system. Apart from that, frequency of buses will also be increased. We have

also proposed construction of Transit Point or Terminus at strategic locations. Under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), provision of e-rickshaws has been made. The NULM is actually converging the scheme for e-rickshaw. Under the Smart Cities Mission, Area Based Work (ABW) is done. The smart city area will have all the facilities – starting from school, hospital, etc., and will be based on the model of Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation is also planning to open Incubation Centres for training people for self-employment. Various vocational courses will be run at these centres, which will be totally free of cost.

I am happy that the people of Jabalpur are taking active participation in the process, and that makes me feel positive about centper-cent success rate. Where there is people’s participation, the programme is destined to be successful.

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HEALTHCARE / DR RAJESH B DHIRAWANI

Jabalpur — A Medical Tourism Hub in Making A consultant maxillofacial surgeon by profession, Dr Rajesh B Dhirawani is the Managing Director of Jabalpur Hospital & Research Centre. Dr Dhirawani, who is also the Director of Hitkarini Dental College & Hospital, Jabalpur, is on a mission to provide patient care, research and education with a professional touch. His areas of expertise are Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery. In a recent interview to Prabhat Kumar Ghosh of Elets News Network (ENN), Dr Dhirawani describes Jabalpur as a ‘future hub of medical tourism’. Excerpts:

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ow do you look upon Jabalpur featuring at No. 7 in the first list of 20 cities to be made ‘smart’?

I am so delighted about Jabalpur being the first city in Madhya Pradesh to feature in the list, even before the state capital of Bhopal. It is being developed as a Smart City under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) of the Government of India.

The Jabalpur Municipal Corporation and the officials are making all-out efforts to make a truly Smart City. With Jabalpur becoming a modern-day city, having all amenities and various opportunities, brain drain from the city will come to halt to a great extent, and they would prefer to stay back in the city and pursue their vocation here itself. Given the government’s zeal and the huge investments they are planning to make, the city will certainly be able to hold back its talents.

Once the city moves on the path of development, we can hope that the younger generation will come back and settled down here after pursuing their education outside the city.

Jabalpur has traditionally been known as a ‘city of traders’ or a ‘city for retired people’. But once it is developed with proper infrastructure and has the high-tech connectivity facilities like wi-fi zones, the image of Jabalpur will change once and for ever.

For a city to become smart, it must have an efficient healthcare system.

What changes do you see once Jabalpur becomes a Smart City?

As far as the medical or healthcare sector is concerned, Jabalpur comes at No. 2 after Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The employees of the Indian Army and the Government of India

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egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

DR RAJESH B DHIRAWANI \ HEALTHCARE

require video-conferencing facility for doctors in the future. In the next 10 years, we will have better infrastructure to practise telemedicine in a more efficient way.

Traffic on the city roads is often chaotic, making it difficult even for ambulances to move. How can the situation be improved? Also, how can air ambulance services be made more efficient and affordable?

reversing, as they are keen on starting their own venture like a clinic/nursing home here.

Ambulances should be allowed in Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS). The public transport system should be made more effective to regulate the traffic flow. If a good public transport facility is there, people would prefer to commute by public transport, like Metro trains, for their treatment.

As far as air ambulance service is concerned, developing a helipad on large open spaces, which are in abundance in the city, will set the ball rolling for such facilities. The seat availability can be made online and patients can be airlifted to and fro. With increase in such services, the costs would become competitive.

What do you think of the present communication system in Jabalpur and how can it be made more effective?

Jabalpur has huge tourism potential. Do you think the city can be developed as a medical tourism hub?

Communication gets simplified with the use of Internet from the point of view of easy contact, which applies to the medical field as well. There is an evolving concept of telemedicine, wherein patients located in far-flung areas can access doctors from wherever they are. It is catching up fast, and will come up more vigorously in the times to come. Using an effective communication technology, even the medical reports can be verified/ approved sitting at distant places. We may also

For a city to become a medical tourism hub, state-ofthe-art medical facilities are a must. With Jabalpur going ‘smart’, such facilities can be safely expected to become a reality. Apart from that, hospitals tying up with some good travel agents to attract ‘medical tourists’ could go a long way towards developing Jabalpur as a medical tourism hub.

Apart from technology, doctors and hospitals also need to be more professional. They need to maintain cleanliness/hygiene, better facilities and provide a conducive atmosphere to those visiting the city for treatment. Patients can come here, stay, get treated and go back cured. Providing such facilities would certainly become much easier in a well-developed Smart City’, which would facilitate the path for the city to transform itself as a medical tourism hub. Having said that, one needs to add that all this just can’t happen without the government’s pro-active support.

Last but not the least, such conceptualisation needs a collective vision and all the citizens need to work in a focussed way to achieve the objective. Jabalpur Mayor Dr Swati Godbole, very recently observed that in our pursuit to make the city a Smart City, let’s not stop our efforts until it becomes at par with Singapore.

Students at Hitkarini Dental College & Hospital, Jabalpur

undertakings have large presence here followed by businessmen, who are present in significant numbers. But, they don’t seem to have that intent or resources at their disposal to invest in various ventures, including healthcare outlets, which has a huge growth potential in this region. But with the advent of the idea of a Smart City, the younger generation could feel inclined to contribute towards changing the healthcare scenario of the city. In not-too-far-away city of Nagpur, the younger lot has played a crucial role in strengthening the local healthcare infrastructure.

We (Jabalpur Hospital & Research Centre) were the first ones to conceive of a multi-specialty hospital in Jabalpur. Initially, the doctors pursuing education outside Jabalpur did not want to come back; but of late, the trend seemed to be

DRRAJESH RAJESHBBDHIRAWANI DHIRAWANI DR We (Jabalpur Hospital & Research Centre) were the first ones to conceive of a multi-specialty hospital in Jabalpur. Initially, the doctors pursuing education outside Jabalpur did not want to come back; but of late, the trend seemed to be reversing, as they are keen on starting their own venture like a clinic/nursing home here

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

19

JABALPUR SPECIAL / POLICING / ASHISH KHARE

Ashish Khare, the present Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) - Crime, Jabalpur, is credited with curbing crime in the city with his leadership skills, with help of some really efficient teams constituted under him.

Khare, who additionally holds the office of ASP - Traffic, feels a Smart City means less and regulated traffic, which should be part of the agenda for every Smart City plan. In an exclusive interview with Elets News Network (ENN), Khare emphasises on specific areas calling for attention to turn Jabalpur into a truly “Smart� city on the twin fronts of traffic and security. Excerpts:

Smart Security, Smarter Traffic System on Cards 20 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

ASHISH KHARE \ POLICING \ JABALPUR SPECIAL

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hat are the core issues of Jabalpur, according to you, that need to be handled to qualify for being termed a "Smart City"?

The problem of people must be resolved as the point of focus. For this, the presence of police needs to be increased for which the department has started making the necessary recruitment. Also, there should be less traffic followed by the facilitation of appropriate parking slots.

A Smart City also requires a secure environment which should be kept in mind while executing this plan. Lastly, building of a smart city will also pave way for the industry to get a good platform and prosper accordingly.

How would you apply Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) in the proposed Smart City of Jabalpur?

There will be more traffic once Jabalpur becomes a Smart City but at the same time, people will get benefited after the roads are expanded. Also, a number of new flyovers may come up. The Municipal Corporation has already started its work to remove encroachment. Apart from that, it is hoped that the people will use more public transport, instead of their own vehicles. We will also try to make people aware of the benefits of using public transport leading to saving of time and making the overall system more

THERE WILL BE MORE TRAFFIC ONCE JABALPUR BECOMES A SMART CITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, PEOPLE WILL BENEFIT AFTER THE ROADS GET EXPANDED efficient and effective.

Besides, there will be regulations of vehicular system on the road. One of the things that require attention is the fact that the city is not designed properly which will create inconvenience to the masses resulting in public outcry. There is also a need to divert the vehicular movement to some alternative routes so that there is no major concentration on any particular road without hampering the work in progress.

Central divider for traffic management from Karamchand Chock to Jyoti Talkies in Jabalpur

Is there any security and surveillance plan ready for Jabalpur – the Smart City in the making?

For security and surveillance, there is a system in place. CCTV cameras have already been installed at major junctures of the city. With the unveiling of "Smart" Jabalpur, to be executed step-by-step, the whole city will be covered with such a system. A new

control room is being constructed for monitoring the activities throughout the city as well. There is also a plan to install 125 new CCTV cameras across the squares/crossings of the Jabalpur, not only to control crime, but to regulate traffic and prevent violators of the traffic rules.

Depending on threat perception, installing a security tower will also considered.

Public security may also enhanced with more police force in place . Right now, there are 40 vehicles under ‘Dial 100’ system which may be increased in the future.

How do you propose to implement the concepts of “Smart Policing” and “Smart Transport” to put an effective check on crime and traffic violations?

This can be done by increasing awareness about the present and the proposed security systems in Jabalpur.

As far as the traffic rules are concerned, the measures to prevent violation will be implemented suitably. This is not possible without active participation of the people, which can be achieved by instilling an enhanced sense of confidence in the common man..

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

21

JABALPUR SPECIAL / RAILWAYS / SURENDRA YADAV

Madan Mahal

Soon to Transform into Model Railway Station As India embarks on a journey to realise the Smart Cities dream, with a number of cities across the country all set for a technical revamp, the central Indian city of Jabalpur is next in line to experience such an overhaul. Listed as the seventh city on the first list of to-be-made smart cities, Jabalpur will start developing its suburban area of Madan Mahal, which is known for its historical Rani Durgavati Fort.

Surendra Yadav, West Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), tells Ankur Trivedi of Elets News Network (ENN) that accordingly, Madan Mahal will be developed as a model station and a major junction for economic activity

22 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

SURENDRA YADAV \ RAILWAYS \ JABALPUR SPECIAL

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he locality of Madan Mahal already has a small railway station with the Railways planning to model it as a satellite town in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh government in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

According to Yadav, effective communication in the form of digital, telephonic or public transport is the precursor to the development of any smart city. Building such an technologicallyadvanced entity is not possible in the absence of a well organised public transport system, he noted. This should be well followed by commoners having an integrated system of hotels, taxi services, theatres, restaurant and bars, for the fulfilment of the “smart city” dream.

Yadav said that the Indian Railways can also be a significant contributor in turning Jabalpur into a Smart City even though it does not operate any metro rail.

Following this, the local passenger trains can be converted to Main Line EMU (MEMU) to smoothen passenger traffic once the city starts experiencing heavy footfall post becoming “smart”. For this, electrification of railway tracks, which is already under progress, will help develop an environment-friendly transport system. This is significant as Jabalpur houses the Zonal and Divisional headquarters of the Railways, which in turn is a major contributor of economic activity.

“As far as water conservation is concerned, a major component of Smart Cities Mission (SCM), our new buildings will have a water conservation system along with a mechanism to recharge ground with rain water harvest,” Yadav elaborated.

He further said that the lack of Industrial presence here has led to Railways playing a major role of economic activity in Madhya Pradesh in general and Jabalpur in particular. It is important as without economic activity, it is difficult for a place like Jabalpur, to build infrastructure for becoming a smart city.

Another area where railways can contribute is in harvesting greenery in and around Jabalpur, which already holds a lot of green pastures.

This is being done as part of a mandate from the Forest Department to the West Central Railway to develop a green belt nearby tracks or any other spare land available. In this regard, a Memoranda of Understanding has already been signed with the Punjab and Haryana Governments with similar agreements to follow suit.

Electrification of railway tracks, which is already under progress, will help develop an environment-friendly transport system.

This is significant as Jabalpur houses the Zonal and Divisional headquarters of the Railways, which in turn is a major contributor of economic activity As the focus is likely to be shifted from Jabalpur to Madan Mahal as a centre of major business activities, the Railways have also planned to develop a sport stadium around the area along with the redevelopment of the Jabalpur station.

The Railways have also contributed to philanthropic activities like photography, theatre etc. apart from the distribution of LED bulbs which was started across Madhya Pradesh on April 30. This was a follow-up of a power saving

activity by the Jabalpur Railways Department for creating a green environment.

The resources of water and greenery can be found in ample amounts in Jabalpur. But the million dollar question is how to rightly preserve them for future-use. In this regard, the city is blessed with three national parks with an abundantly-filled River Narmada. If both the resources are suitably used, Jabalpur can become one of the best Smart Cities of India.

Gauri Ghat, which is on the bank of Narmada river, is to be developed by the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation and is under the Smart City plan. The Ghat is to be developed as one of the biggest pilgrimage centres, apart from a tourism spot in MP. A pucca road is also getting constructed to connect the city from that place.

The connectivity is further expected to be consolidated in the future if the city gets connected with Nagpur in Maharashtra through the broad gauge system of railway tracks. The work is in progress and once completed, the flow of business activity from east to west will become easy making Jabalpur reap its benefit in the long run.

Not only this, the system will also connect the eastern and southern Railways to make Jabalpur a likely ideal hub for IT industry.

The Railways have also handed over one of its crossings to the local civic body, which will be developed as the biggest intersection (plaza) of the city.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

23

JABALPUR SPECIAL / ENTREPRENEURSHIP / PUSHPA BERRY

Jabalpur Lijjat Model

Sister-Members are the Owners Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, popularly known as Lijjat, is an Indian women's cooperative involved in manufacturing of various fast-moving consumer goods. The organisation's main objective is empowerment of women by providing them employment opportunities. In an exclusive interview with Ankur Trivedi of Elets News Network (ENN) (ENN), Pushpa Berry, Sanchalika, Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad, talks about the challenges faced in managing its Jabalpur branch without getting support from its head office in Mumbai. She also highlights the need to provide its female workers with a decent living place keeping in mind their security and sanitation needs. Excerpts: 24 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

PUSHPA BERRY \ ENTREPRENEURSHIP JABALPUR SPECIAL

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everything between your working members? ow does your organization work?

In this organization, our female working population becomes the owner and shareholder of the company right from the day they start working without investing a single penny. It is a beautiful and unique concept that we created.

The ladies then share the full profit as well without investing anything. At the end of the year, the full profit goes to these lady members in the ratio of the work they do during the year so that there is no dissatisfaction amongst them. Now, they are paid on a weekly basis for the work they do. These are the main things we keep in mind to provide a good working environment, otherwise there will be frequent dissatisfaction over the amount shared with everyone.

We were running in losses for the first 2-3 years.

After that, we started earning and then distributing the revenue as well. In 38 years in all, we have distributed Rs. 78 crores for the ratio of work the lady members have done. This year, as many as 3,415 ladies will get `9.2 crore which is going to be 125 percent of their earnings. Our branch is the biggest in India housing 3,415 females and the money they get is double the amount of what they are paid in other branches.

Have you been a part of any dispute ever?

We had a fight with our head office. We disputed that all the branches are supposed to be independent in their purchase, sale and policy matters but it wasn’t actually getting practised. So we said that we will do our own purchasing adhering to the same quality which they didn’t agree to. So the head office concluded closing down the Jabalpur branch so we went to the court.

How are you renewing your assets when you are distributing

It is something that people should obviously be aware about in terms of the strategy we adopt for revenue distribution. For example, I have to distribute `9,20,00,000 (for the year 2015-2016) between my working members out which I will transfer `4,50,00,000 crore to their bank accounts. Now, half the amount left with us is invested in the infrastructure of machines and furniture on a month-by-month basis. Then I will start paying the rest of the amount from the next month with a back-date rate of interest.

This way, we will

distribute the entire amount of `9,20,000 in four months through the channel of earning and then distributing.

What are the challenges you face?

The biggest problem is that of dealing with the head office. I don’t take anything as a challenge, rather I try and deal with whatever comes my way. For example, I have been asked to pay income tax on what we earn but I don’t agree to it. My point is that this is the income of the 3,415 ladies, which is then distributed amongst them and I am not their boss. So every year, I have to go to the court consistently to take a stay to not pay the income tax.

Our institution has been recognised under KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission) which entitles us to not pay any income tax. Our head office does not see us as one of the branches. Then we went to KVIC and gave them the right of information letter proving our “branch” status.

Therefore, if we are still a branch, then why should we pay the income tax. We have even submitted our papers in the court showing our acceptance by KVIC.

Do you have any suggestions for our upcoming Jabalpur Smart City event?

The government is talking about developing a smart city today whereas I had mooted the

same idea way back in the year 2000. I had suggested making a place called “Lijjat Nagar” by buying land from the government to develop a respectable place of living for all the female workers of Lijjat along with their families.

The idea was to provide employment even to the non-working spouses of these ladies and give them a better life. But things could not shape up and hence the idea could not be implemented then. But it is better late than never and making smart cities is definitely a welcome move by the government.

Do you want to say anything else about Lijjat?

I would still want to provide a decent place of living for my female working class as a lot of them do not have proper accommodation even now. JMC had proposed giving us flats by taking a nominal amount from us and then investing it further through a loan taken. This was was highly appreciated by my ladies, 700 of whom applied for the same giving their bank account details as well. But nothing happened for the last 3-4 months. JMC had said that it would need to ascertain if these workers fall under any scheme and if at all, have a problem living in their present accommodation. Even after saying so, nothing materialized from their end. I just want to provide my workers with a safer place in the midst of rising threat of robberies. The idea was also to equip them with basic facilities such as the supply of water and electricity.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

25

JABALPUR SPECIAL / WATER WORKS DEPT / KAMLESH SRIVASTAVA

Round-the-Clock

Water Supply on Cards A Smart City is an amalgamation of a lot of high-tech resources, with water being an important element. In an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN), Kamlesh Srivastava, Executive Engineer, Water Works Department, Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, says that a 24x7 water supply system is already on the anvil for Jabalpur

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drinking water facilities here, but we need to develop more. There is a system of Solar Light Water Purifier, which is economical and needs to be strengthened.

hat are the challenges in the Smart City development?

Since the Smart City area development is actually a retrofit programme, there is a need to upgrade the existing elements. It is one of the biggest challenges to not disturb the day-to-day life of people in the process of developing a Smart Jabalpur.

Drawing of design, lining up the contractors, procuring them man and materials for processing can be another big challenge. We hope that things will go the right way along with maintaining international standards.

What is your view on citizen engagement? Where will you get human resources from?

Programmes on citizen engagement are already happening and is an ongoing process.

Is your department doing something to adopt Smart Water Conservation Techniques? Are you looking forward to engaging with any technology partner?

engagement is the key to making Jabalpur a Smart City.

What is the tourism potential of Jabalpur, and what are the provisions of drinking water facility with regard to the same?

WE HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED OUR DRAINAGE WATER REPROCESSING SYSTEM THROUGH WHICH REPROCESSED WATER WILL BE USED FOR GARDENING AND WASHING PURPOSES In the past, we did many programmes to involve the local citizenry and a lot of such programmes will also be done in the future to intensively engage the people. Now, our department is taking them into confidence, so that the work goes smooth. Citizen

26 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

Jabalpur is a place full of natural resources, as we have several national parks around.

Although tourists visit this place, they don’t stay here beyond days. So, there is a need to organise some recreational activities to hold them back longer. We do have some existing

Madhya Pradesh and Jabalpur in particular, has plenty of water. We supply 147 litres water per household per day as against a standard of 35 litres per household per day. Therefore, the water reserve needs to be increased at the same time.

Apart from that, 30-40 per cent water loss has to be decreased. The best thing we are planning to do is provide a 24x7 water supply system for Smart City area. We are working on hydraulic modelling and a tender has been issued to approach a consultant in this regard. We have also developed our Drainage water reprocessing system through which reprocessed water will be used for gardening/washing purposes.

Once the system becomes operational, two connections to every household will be given.

What is your organisation doing for rain-water harvesting?

Under the water harvesting rules, the Municipal Corporation levies some charges from public during the construction of their house itself. So, what our plans are that if the rules are not in existence, it will be done. Besides, groundwater level has to be increased.

A simple technique of rainwater harvesting is plantation or forestry. The technology is available and other techniques can also be adopted for the water harvesting programme.

SUMMIT

CORPORATE / C-NET INFOTECH / PRAVIR KRISHAK

Delivery with Excellence With technology playing a significant role in the governance ecosystem, several major IT players are providing hardware and software solutions to ease the functioning of governments. C-Net Infotech Pvt Ltd (C-Net) is one such organisation that provides enterprise solutions based on cutting-edge technologies and next generation products to its Indian and overseas customers spanning across major industry verticals, writes Pravir Krishak, Founder & CEO of the company, for eGov magazine

C

-Net is a leading software service provider in India with its corporate office in Cyber City Gurgaon (NCR), and a world-class development and service centres in Bhopal, Guwahati and Jaipur in India.

Today, C-Net is a fast-paced company in terms of serving its customers with a motto of “Delivery with Excellence”. The vision of the company is to become a leading player in the technology space not only in India but beyond the national boundaries also. It is backed by a strong workforce of more than 300 employees and has developed very strong practices in ERP, Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Cloud Services, Portal Solution, Big Data, IT Consultancy and eGovernance.

The Approach The company follows a development approach to generate high business value for its customers and rich dividends to them in the form of a continuous/perennial stream of repeat business. Its customer-centric philosophy is further strengthened by a robust Key Account Management process to find more ways to delight the key customers and grow mutual market share. C-Net is also a key IT partner to Government and the local IT industry, thereby enhancing India’s inclusive development.

With a rich and varied experience of over 15 years of business and technology and in-depth understanding of the eGovernance and corporate needs, the company provides innovative solutions that enable clients to improve transparency, efficiency and serve the citizens better.

Since its inception, C-Net has successfully executed more than 50 eGovernance projects of

28 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

PRAVIR KRISHAK \ C-NET INFOTECH \ CORPORATE

Case Studies SN

Client Name

Project Name

Scope of Work

1

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi

Application development and deployment of a software solution so that requisite information/ videos from work site can be captured using I-Pad/Tablet/Mobile Phones.

l Website  /I-Pad/ Tablet/ Mobile-based MIS reporting

Design, Development, Deployment, Operation & Maintenance of Toll Information System (TIS) Design and Development of the Vedic Heritage Portal and IGNCA Web portal including Social Media Optimisation, Mobile App Development and Content Management Services

l Website and Mobile App Development & Management l Web-based interactive application linking GIS maps &

2

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi

system for NHAI l Provisioning of dedicated server, memory, processing

capacity, storage, security, internet bandwidth etc. l Study of existing RIS/CPIS software applications and devel-

opment of a middleware to integrate the proposed system with RIS/CPIS so that the data captured in the proposed system is populated in the existing RIS/CPIS database. l Website hosting and Server Management

l l

l l l l l

spatial database and compatible with all major browsers and accessible from any internet enabled device (including hand-held devices) accessible through an easy-to-use portal that shows easy-to-read electronic maps.

Website Hosting and Server Management Security audit from empanelled security Auditors on Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the Department of Information Technology, Government of India, having a valid empanelment certificate SMS facility to know toll fee on particular toll plaza 24*7 support for any production issues Regular backups of all related data Regular application updates to web-portal The system shall maintain an audit trail of all changes

Major Clients l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi Department of Information Technology & Communication, Govt. of Rajasthan Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Guwahati, Assam Reserve Bank of India Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited( BHEL) Urban Administration and Development Department (UADD), Government of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh Text Book Corporation Madhya Pradesh Livestock & Poultry Development Corporation Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd Directorate of Estates, Government of Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, Jabalpur Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Madhya Pradesh Directorate of Veterinary Services, Government of Madhya Pradesh Election Commission of Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Ltd Madhya Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh State Minor Forest Produce Co-operative Federation Ltd, Bhopal Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC) Madhya Pradesh Housing Board, Bhopal Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation, Bhopal

the central and state government Departmentss and PSUs.

Accreditations The organisation has been accredited with various Global Quality Accreditations including CMMI Level 3, ISO 27001:2013 and ISO 9001:2008.

C-Net is also a member of NASSCOM, an industry association for IT-BPM sector in India.

The company is in the process of establishing a world-class integrated IT campus with state-ofthe-art facilities in approximately 217,800 square feet space at IT Park, Bhopal, located in the vicinity of world-class Bhopal International Airport.

This integrated campus will house a 1000-seat Software Development Centre, Incubation Centre, KPO and Integrated Common Facilitation and Resource Development Centre.

C-Net Infotech is currently focused to developing software products and services for the upcoming areas like, Internet of Things (IoT), Enterprise Android and Application Modernisation, among others.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

29

CORPORATE / ECOSOFTT / STANLEY SAMUEL

Development of smart cities has attained global significance with countries all over the world on the path of turning their cities “smart”. Singapore is one of the smarter cities that treats water conservation as an important element of growth. In an exclusive interview with Elets News Network (ENN), (ENN) Stanley Samuel, Founder & CEO, ECOSOFTT, Samuel Singapore, underlines the same focus for India and highlights the need of an integrated approach to realise the “smart city” dream. Excerpts:

Driving Cities to

Path of Water Management

E

COSOFTT had been closely associated with development of Singapore as a smart city. What solutions is your organization providing for creating better infrastructure in Singapore?

Singapore has transitioned from the spectrum of being a third world nation to serving as an example to many first world countries in less than 50 years. Water security and its management as an invaluable resource has and continues to be a national priority. Singapore has worked relentlessly to meet its water demand through its four national taps i.e. imported water, rainwater or storm-water manage-

30 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

STANLEY SAMUEL \ ECOSOFTT \ CORPORATE

ment, desalination and recycling sewage for reuse to the highest quality standards. With aspects of water, urban planning, governance, infrastructure, Singapore endeavors to take the path of becoming a smart nation.

ECOSOFTT is engaged in the design, development and deployment of "Water SMART Blue Buildings". Going beyond the concept of "zero-waste" or "zero-discharge", we are working towards "net zero" buildings with a focus on water management onsite.

The solutions we provide, enable buildings and mixed habitats to reduce their fresh water footprint, recover, recycle and reuse all the used water (sewage) and discharge any surplus in an environment-friendly way so as to reduce load on the grid or where there is no grid, to protect ground and surface water sources.

What’s your take on the Government of India’s "Smart Cities" mission?

It is a great initiative that holds a lot of promise and is well intended. The current cities are unable to cope with the overload and Municipal services are unable keep up with the urban sprawl. The whole process of identifying, announcing and awarding smart cities has been very exciting for all the stakeholders involved.

We wish all the smart cities announced in the first round a success as they will set the pace, tone and standards for the next wave.

What are the challenges in developing smart cities in India?

This can be summarized into three broad areas: a) Lack of master planning for the whole city or district or division will create further dissonance and misalignment between urban, peri-urban and rural areas. The smart cities must integrate the interests of the surrounding rural areas so that development has a positive impact on both and not provide any adverse effect to either. b) There is more to smart cities than a drive towards enhancing the ICT sector. Basics such as water, storm water, energy, transportation, infrastructure, waste management, health care, education, financial services, people-centric services and a human centered design are some of the aspects that are likely to be in conflict with each other. Moreover, the tenure of most bureaucrats is between 12-18 months

for a maximum of two years. As of today, there is little or no pro-active collaboration or co-ordination between even the key stakeholders of the SPVs. c) There seems to be a lot of details and guidelines that are being developed “on the go” including “copy-paste” from other projects.

The vision has to be backed up with clear blueprint and orchestrated action on the ground. While no two smart cities will be alike, yet there has to be balanced “scorecard” approach or an assessment wheel that covers all facets a smart city will be designed for and measured against. The program has to be continued despite any party in power along with going beyond vested interests and short sightedness. This cannot be a “race against time” project.

As for Jabalpur Smart City project, what is your strategy

Apart from Jabalpur, which other cities are on ECOSOFTT’s radar, and what are the prospects there?

We are not PMCs. We are dedicated, focused or obsessed with the decentralized and integrated management of water, used-water and environmental services. We are certainly engaging with other smart cities and would like to stay the course in where Singapore’s interest lie and where its companies can play a part together by drawing upon synergies, be it via G2G or via local partners.

As a global player, what basic differences you see between working in India and elsewhere?

What changes would you suggest?

In the specific area of water, India will reach or has reached economic water scarcity owing to a multitude of issues hitherto unaddressed. The importance and value of water is significantly

WHILE NO TWO SMART CITIES WILL BE ALIKE, YET THERE HAS TO BE BALANCED 'SCORE-CARD' APPROACH OR AN ASSESSMENT WHEEL THAT COVERS ALL FACETS A SMART CITY WILL BE DESIGNED FOR AND MEASURED AGAINST and which specific segments are you targeting?

Having been born in Jabalpur and now living in Singapore, my involvement is beyond strategy and segments. I wear two hats. One as a son of the soil, my endeavor is to bring the best solutions to the city’s leadership responsible for shaping the Jabalpur smart city plan. My priority and focus in on master planning and that the SPV should engage the best project monitoring or management consultants. The other hat as a social enterprise, our main goal will be specific areas such as water and usedwater management, conservations of lakes, water bodies and abatement of pollution into rivers and lakes. In addition to technology and engineering-driven solutions, we intend to leverage education to bring about a perceptible difference in how water is managed or can be better managed.

lower than most other countries we work in.

The focus is mostly on access to drinking water or agriculture with little or no efforts in the conservation and replenishment of sources.

Almost 80 percent of India is reliant on monsoons, ground and surface water bodies. On the other hand, over 80 percent of untreated or poorly treated sewage goes back to sources.

Over-extraction of ground-water, depletion and pollution of sources such as lakes, rivers and ground-water aquifers are some of the sustainability issues that need to be addressed.

Other differences are lack of integrated approach to development of smart cities to achieve a common goal with accountability and empowerment. There is a gap between political will or rhetoric and the bureaucratic system. Poor track record or mixed outcomes of past program casts a long shadow on the future and success of current programs.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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CORPORATE / DATAMINI TECHNOLOGIES / PITAMBER AHUJA

Datamini Technologies, in association with MAIT and Intel, recently launched TPOS7 ‘Janunnati Pad’ to support a number of government programmes.

The Pad is fingerprint scanningenabled mobile device, which can be used for Aadhaar authentication for a number of government programmes, including numerous DBT schemes.

The IT Enabler for

Govt Programmes Datamini Technologies hit the headlines recently following the launch of its Aadhaar authentication-enabled ‘Janunnati Pad’.

Pitamber Ahuja, Director, Datamini Technologies India Ltd, in an interaction with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN), says they are working towards supporting all the major government initiatives with their end-to-end IT solutions

D

atamini Technologies is a hardware and IT solution company. Kindly take us through your journey in the Indian market ecosystem.

Not only a hardware company, Datamini is also provides complete solutions, which include total solution for system integration, solutions required for networking, etc. We have tied up with a lot of software solution providers and other companies, which need IT solutions. A far as the Indian market and the IT industry here is concerned, as an individual I am accustomed to this ecosystem since 1976. Later, in 1991, we started this company, initially focusing on exports only. In the year 1996, we did

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PITAMBER AHUJA \ DATAMINI TECHNOLOGIES \ CORPORATE

a tie-up with a Singapore-based company, who were selling Datamini products and solutions in countries, like Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. We tied up with this company as a critic partner. Later, we set up our factory in Daman and launched Datamini in India in 1997. We started selling IT solutions to the industry over the last decade. However, we have been more focused to manufacturing of mobile devices in the past three years.

Given your long experience in the industry, how do you gauge Datamini’s presence in the Indian market?

We feel that now is the most exciting time for the industry, with newer initiatives of digitisation, like Aadhaar enrolment and other initiatives being launched. These initiatives are affordable for common people. This complements the tech-evolution that the market has seen in the past few years. Even government initiatives, such as Make in India or Digital India, open newer doors for the industry to operate and explore market trends. These opportunities excite us to operate in the Indian market and we are excited about it.

has seen maximum tech-transformation and evolution. In government departments, wherever there is slightest digitization happening, we would like to be there, like government distribution, time and attendance or health department. Besides, starting with the Government of Maharashtra, we have been able to penetrate other state governments, like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and others, as well.

What have been the roadblocks or major challenges that Datamini had to come across as an organisation?

The major challenge that we face while

etc. We will soon start to develop the applications around these products, so that we are able to provide complete solutions involving these products.

What marketing strategy does Datamini adopt to excel in this highly-competitive market of emerging technologies?

As a service provider, our prime concern relating to the market has been to provide end-toend solutions to the customers and not just a specific product or service, which includes devices, their servicing, the applications required in it, etc. Whether it is government

PITAMBER AHUJA We feel that now is the most exciting time for the industry, with newer initiatives of digitisation, like Aadhaar enrolment and other initiatives being launched. These initiatives are affordable for common people. This complements the tech-evolution that the market has seen in the past few years

Can you elaborate for us the USP of Datamini over its competitors?

In the present times, it is important that organisations win over the trust of their customers in the market, besides the other factors that affect market dynamics for a company. We at Datamini have won over the trust of our customers by maintaining clarity and transparency with our customers. Besides, we as a company have emerged out to be a flexible entity by providing solutions to a varied number of companies in the market. We have also emerged out to be one of the largest players in the space, which provides quality solutions and products to the industries operating in the market.

What are the market segments or industries, in which Datamini would like to penetrate?

Mostly, we target the government service segment. Wherever there is a hardware requirement or solutions requirement in that segment, we aim to cater to the specific requirements.

Secondly, our preference would be to cater to the banking sector, as it is an industry, which

operating in the Indian market is that government action or their working system is pretty slow owing to the lengthy decision procedures to follow.

How do you perceive the technology adoption in the India?

The tech-adoption rate in Indian cities is at par with any city across the globe. The younger generation, which has tech-oriented set of mind and is receptive to any major change happening in this sector, is willing to adapt to all these changes and learn newer things.

Hence, we feel there is a greater need of both hardware and software IT solutions in both Tier II and Tier III cities.

Please elaborate on the roadmap of Datamini for the coming five years.

Well, we have penetrated the Indian market well with a few of our products, like biometric fingerprint authentication, iris authentication,

sector or banking sector, our products and solutions are very well accepted and we are finding the demands increasing with each passing day because of the end-to-end solutions. We are going to further improve our end-to-end solution profile. In fact, we observe that the banking industry in India will be going through further changes in the coming few years. The payments sector has seen a vast change in the past a few years, given the adoption of technology, and we are hopeful to cash in on this shift in trend well with our products and services.

What are your strategies with regard to the Government’s Digital India initiative?

As for the Digital India initiative of the central government, we are providing solutions for whatever the government is keen to work on. Initially, we have manufactured devices to support digitisation, thereafter we aim to provide end-to-end solutions for the same product range.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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CORPORATE / SAS / NOSHIN KAGALWALLA

SAS Pushes Up

Data Analytics Bar With the rise in volume of digital data being generated every day, India is increasingly feeling the need to adopt analytics in a large way. Noshin Kagalwalla, Managing Director of SAS—a company specialising in the domain—reflects on this trend in the Indian ecosystem in an interaction with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN). Kagalwalla also highlights the huge benefits data analytics is reaping and suggests leveraging external data, along with internal one, in the midst of ever-increasing data traffic

S

AS is a company that is primarily into data analytics, globally.

How do you perceive the scope of analytics in the Indian context?

Data management and analytics is widely adopted in India, across all industries. Traditionally, early adopters of analytics have been the banking industry, mainly because of large volumes of structured data. Over the time, the banking industry significantly leveraged the technology to its advantage. We have noticed that across verticals, our customers are finding it necessary to use data analytics. Beyond banking, we have telecommunications, manufacturing and public sector, among others, witnessing increased use of data management and analytics.

The primary reason for the extensive use of data management is because of the volumes of data available with us and that the scope for their expansion is tremendous. When we talk about structured data, it is probably found in Core Banking or ERP solutions, in a manufacturing system or in the billing system of the telcos; while unstructured data is found in social media sites, blogs etc. We look for leveraging their external data along with internal one, leading to data management and analytics being used extensively for social media.

How do you perceive the presence of SAS in Indian market?

SAS has been in Indian market for 18 years

34 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

now. We started our journey in Mumbai, followed by our offices in Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. Our clientele covers sectors like banking, telecommunication, manufacturing, and public sector, etc. SAS has got a very strong focus on India in which we continue to invest, be it in market strategy or in terms of a strategy for building a strong partner ecosystem. We are also working with building talent in India, specifically around analytics and big data.

Is SAS also working for the Government sector?

Extensively. We are working closely both for the Central government and State govgov ernment and is involved in a lot of projects.

Besides, we observed that the public sector in India is adopting analytics in a large way. We been working with several state

NOSHIN KAGALWALLA \ SAS \ CORPORATE

workshops and carry out customized trainings for our customers, partners and public as well. We have also tied up with authorized training partners to help build the talent pool and recently, started working with the leading business schools in providing management development programs on SAS.

Have the private and public sector enterprises grown any affinity towards SAS? Both the private and public sectors are our customers and we are working to provide solutions to them. From manufacturing and telecom companies to banks, we have our clientele base in all the sectors of operations. They are using SAS solutions from a technology perspective, data and information management to a host of other solutions that we provide. Besides this, our products are being used in the field of taxation, security etc.

Were there any roadblocks that came across while operating in the Indian market?

governments and helping them identify frauds, because this is a clear revenue leak‌it directly impacts the revenue collections. Once identified, the system starts throwing alerts which can be further investigated. So, the other areas that SAS is working in the public sector is by identifying the sentiments of the citizens from the structured and unstructured data available.

ness problems with a strong investment carried out in India. We are also investing significantly in our partner ecosystem to make sure that all

NOSHIN KAGALWALLA We been working with several state governments and helping them identify frauds, because this is a clear revenue leak‌ it directly impacts the revenue collections. Once identified, the system starts throwing alerts which can be further investigated

Please elaborate on the USP that SAS vouches on while convincing a prospective customer in a highly competitive Indian market.

SAS has been the market leader for analytics for several years. We have been in the business for the last 40 years and we have grown yearon-year since our inception. Analytics and Big Data have been our focus since we started and its core to our business. From an R&D perspective, we invest almost 25 per cent of our revenue in guarantee and quality, whereas the industry standards are 12 to 13 per cent. Significant amount of our revenue are ploughed back into our technology, innovation and solutions.

Finally, we look to solve our customer’s busi-

I am surprised by the adoption of analytics in the Indian ecosystem. There is no doubt about the immense volume of data available in the market, which is huge by any standard. However, the pain area remains in the region of skill-gap from the end-customer perspective.

the projects that we embark on are successfully delivered to the end-customers.

Another area that we focus on is the skill gap or the right profile of people being reached to in the field of big data and analytics; SAS is also investing significantly in building the talent pool in the market. We do a lot of training

Thus, we are working in building the talent pool in the organization as well as investing in training programs, by tying up with business schools. These major steps are sure to bridge the skill gap. We want to assure that people who are SAS certified are having the right amount of knowledge to leverage technology.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

35

CORPORATE / ZYXEL TECHNOLOGY / GOPAL JOSHI

‘Vendor of Choice’

Moving in Sync with Digital Age Demands Starting India operation way back in 1994 through its partners, ZyXEL Technology made its direct presence in 2006. Ever since, the company has earned the reputation of being the ‘vendor of choice’ with various telecom and enterprise customers, says Gopal Joshi, VP-Sales (India & Saarc), Technology, in an interaction with Nirmal Anshu Ranjan of Elets News Network (ENN)

H

ZyXEL has a whole range of electronic products. Have you been able to exploit the benefits of Make in India campaign being promoted by the government?

ow long has ZyXEL been in India and how well does the company understand the requirements of India market?

Since ZyXEL Technology is registered in India and we are closely working with various government agencies. We are soon going to announce how we can involve and serve customers under the Make in India programme launched by the incumbent government.

ZyXEL first came to India way back in 1994, but that wasn't a direct presence; in 2006, we started our direct operations. Our products and solutions have been there in the market for over two decades now, and we've been the vendor of choice for various telecom and enterprise customers, including the government and corporate sector.

With a number of tech-driven programmes being launched by the Government of India, currently India is a ‘land of opportunities’ for technology players. How would you react?

You rightly mentioned India as a ‘land of opportunities’, going by the way the government is launching numerous initiatives for creating e-infrastructure for all. Every OEM/ vendor from different sectors will have plenty of business opportunities.

Talking about ZyXEL, we are the only vendor in the country, which can provide customers the independence to select any medium for creating a network. Such mediums can be an electrical

36 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

You are also a strong player in Health, Education and BFSI domains. Would you elaborate? cable, a telephone-grade copper wire, Ethernet or MMF, SMF, Coaxial Cable, Wireless, etc.

Are you associated or going to associate with the Digital India programme or the Smart Cities Mission of PM Modi? If yes, which all projects?

We are following and working with multiple smart city/ township projects and the Digital Indiarelated initiatives, along with some premier government nodal agencies. We have been awarded contracts for a few smart township projects, which are under execution. Soon the nodal agencies concerned will announce their completion.

We are a strong player in the mid-market segment, and offer end-to-end solutions to the customers, be it Education, Healthcare or Banking & Finance sector. In telecom sector, we are the leader and serve most of the telecom operators, whether a government-backed company or a private sector player.

As a global player, do you find the kind of Ease of Doing Business in India that you experience elsewhere?

Till now we have not faced any policy hurdle in our business, and hope that going forward, too, the policies of the government will help create a business-friendly environment.

CORPORATE / KODAK ALARIS / VIVEK NAIDU

A ‘Yatra’ to Connect Products with Users Key goal of undertaking the ‘Yatra’ campaign is to connect the end-user community with our range of products, says Vivek Naidu, Vice-President, Information Management (India Cluster), Kodak Alaris. In an interview with Poulami Chakraborty of Elets News Network (ENN), Naidu talks about the company’s new products and their future expansion plans.

Excerpts from the interview:

P

lease take us through the journey of Kodak Alaris in the Indian market.

Our journey started in 1990, when digitisation started making its presence felt in the Indian market, and people learned to convert paper documents into digital images and started storing those in computer discs, unlike the previous practice of storing print documents. So, we started off with a new product range called document scanners. In the first decade, between 1990 and 2000, large-scale operations took place. We got associated with the Registrar General of India in the year 2000 in a very big way by becoming a dominant partner by producing scanners and that really marked the footfall of Kodak Alaris in India.

The second decade of our journey—2000 to 2010—witnessed various enterprises joining the digitisation wave. Today, a number of enterprises are providing digitised solutions to sectors like Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Healthcare, Education, Retail, Logistics, etc.

The third and ongoing decade from 2010 till now has actually seen the transformation from digitisation to information management. There are two broad components of digitisation – enterprise content management and customer experience management. Kodak Alaris is the only company across the globe that deals professionally with expertise on information management and stands us out from the pack. In India most high-end organisations are our customers, including private and public sector banks and healthcare industry.

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VIVEK NAIDU \ KODAK ALARIS \ CORPORATE

technological inventions and implementations in the sector. We also look forward to catering to the government sector, as governments are also leveraging technology to improve information management, so as to further the goals of better governance as a part of the Digital India campaign being run by the Central Government.

There are 31 mission mode projects (MMPs) and we understand that the business opportunity and goals in government projects are huge and big. Our other key focus area is the healthcare sector. The objective is to provide easier last-mile connectivity to the citizens by digitising all past clinical records of every single patient.

With the Digital India campaign moving ahead with full force, how do you perceive the evolution of digital documentation market in India?

As a matter of fact, this is the right time for businesses like ours, as there is a strong acceptance in the government sector in

What was the idea behind the launch of your new initiative ‘Yatra’?

The key goal of ‘Yatra’ is to connect the enduser community with our range of products.

We are not selling just commoditised point solutions, but end-to-end solutions, which also include technical skills, which is not very easy to learn in classrooms. For this project, we have embarked on a 14-city campaign, including Tier II and Tier III cities, and conducted a road-show of our products and service capabilities.

The idea behind ‘Yatra’ is to cultivate dedicated set of partners, who would be able to propagate and evangelise our set of products and services and gain businesses for themselves. We provide the technology part, while the partners provide the implementation part and thus we enable people in developing parts of the country to consolidate their business model through our product range. We targeted about 500 partners across the country this year at different locations. We are providing them all the building blocks for a successful business model with our products, complementary to the IT infrastructure of their organisations.

And, it’s not only for ‘Yatra’; our overall goal is to cater to the customers in the BFSI sector, as globally maximum investment is made in

is why, one of our key strategies for this year is going to be to work closely with our customers and understand their needs, enhance their business knowledge, and our product knowledge and the multi-location facilities that we provide. We have outsourcing partners across the country, so that our products are available to them easily. The key to our success lies in enhancing the effectiveness of our partners and their ability to reach out to our clients, and providing them the right solutions, so as to win over their confidence.

Digital India is Rs 2.5 lakh-crore e-Governance initiative to happen during 2015-2019. How much prepared is Kodak Alaris to make the most of the opportunity?

The Government of India has a very decentralised and federated model of digitisation projects. It has mission mode projects in line with the governance pattern, and the governance structure for any of these is mission

THE IDEA BEHIND ‘YATRA’ IS TO CULTIVATE DEDICATED SET OF PARTNERS, WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO PROPAGATE AND EVANGELISE OUR SET OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AND GAIN BUSINESSES FOR THEMSELVES India that the way forward is digitisation and information management. A lot of research work is being done besides the various security measures being put in place. There is a think tank called, ‘Digital Preservation’ by C-DAC, with whom we work closely to get technology inputs to be implemented.

As far as the corporate sector is concerned, we have realised that the BFSI sector is an evergreen segment, right since the time when basic computerisation of bank branches started. Some banks use our software products for classification of complaints they get from customers.

Is Kodak Alaris using any specific marketing strategy to expand their presence in India market?

Our whole game plan is to work in close coordination with the clients, which will help us generate the frontline demands. That

mode projects led by the Chief Secretary of the state concerned. Hence, we connect with this apex body in any state government, besides the nodal heads of each state government, IT Nodal agencies, etc. Our interface is to stay in touch with these people who are of paramount importance and convincing them about our solutions and products with respect to their project objectives.

About Vivek Naidu Prior to joining Kodak Alaris, Naidu was working with Newgen Software Technologies Ltd as Vice President (Sales & Business Development). With 28-year experience, Naidu has exclusively handled Business Development, Customer Service, Consulting and Operational works majorly for Indian IT companies. He has sharp business acumen coupled with communication skills of a high order, and is very strong in operations monitoring.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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CORPORATE / INFOSYS LTD / SRINIVAS POOSARLA

Emerging Digital Landscape Pushing Data Privacy Quest As the global IT hub involving data processing from countries with stricter data privacy regime, and with increasingly digitally connected citizens, India needs to have welldefined privacy laws, says Srinivas Poosarla, VP & Head (Global), Privacy & Data Protection, Infosys Ltd, in an interaction with Arpit Gupta of Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is the significance of data privacy in Indian IT industry? Is privacy distinct from security?

In India, data privacy becomes important from two broad perspectives. Firstly, it is reasonable to assume that every Indian, particularly those part of the rapidly growing digital ecosystem, would expect some degree of privacy to avoid being victims of identity theft, nuisance calls, profiling, and other harm caused by improper handling of their personal information.Secondly, data privacy is a key enabler for growth of the Indian IT industry, much of which caters to clients from those parts of the world having stricter data privacy regime.

Today, while privacy obligations are imposed on Indian IT organisations indirectly through contractual means, the new GDPR (General Data Protec-tion Regulation) adopted by EU (European Union) is expected to make data processors handling EU citizens’ personal data directly liable, even for entities outside the EU. Moreover, most operaIndian IT and other industry, which have global opera entertions, are headquartered in India where bulk of the enter prise data processing , such as payroll, HR and marketing operations, happens.

This requires that such data acquired from clients, employees, vendors etc., from vari various parts of the world are processed in India according to data privacy regula regulations of the applicable countries.

Yes, Privacy is different from security - it is about giving choice or information to individuals on data being collected

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SRINIVAS POOSARLA \ INFOSYS LTD \ CORPORATE

about them, how it will be used and protected, with whom it will be shared, etc. Security, on the other hand, is about CIA (confidentiality, integrity and availability) for not only personal data but any type of information that an organisation may process. But, both are equally important.

SRINIVAS POOSARLA Not only the awareness on data privacy is low in India but also it is often misconstrued to be fully a subset of security. As a result, many organizations included this as part of CISO function, although slowly Data Privacy is emerging as an independent function

With emerging technologies, such as IoT and Big Data, and the proportionate rise in the threat landscape, what are the challenges and solutions to meet the security and privacy needs?

In traditional IT systems and Internet applications, personal data is exchanged between a user and a service provider, such as a bank, e-commerce store, etc., and data processing is based on an agreement called privacy notice or consent. Depending on the exact choice exercised by a user, data processing must be restricted to only agreed purposes. However, for applications, such as Big Data solutions and Smart Cities, with data sharing across entities, newer threats will get introduced for various use cases, which need to be mitigated by appropriate methods, and tools such as differential privacy, data obfuscation, etc. But we also need regulations and industry standards to ensure adoption of such measures by the industry.

For data privacy, regulations are essential to bring accountability on organizations, but they

to immensely benefit the consumers and society at large. It also has a high potential to introduce newer privacy and security threats, if adequate safeguards are not deployed. Some of the key privacy considerations identified in IoT are aspects such as: l The need to uniquely attribute a “thing” to an individual, particularly in multi-user applications such as a home thermostat or connected cars l Capture and management of privacy choices where multiple stakeholders are involved such as device manufacturer, utility service providers, ISP, and other actors l Authentication of a data subject when a device is not in physical proximity to the user l De-identifying a “thing” when its ownership changes or it is lost/damaged l Data sharing without consent for intrusive

cannot specify how organizations can design, develop and manage their. products and processes on personal data. Moreover, it is difficult for regulations to keep pace with emerging technologies, such as IoT, Big Data, etc. which have significant impact on data privacy. This is where standards play a key role.

IoT is one of the focus areas and is expected

purposes that offer business benefits to one or more of stakeholders in IoT ecosystem Following deliberations at the SC27 meeting in Tampa in April 2016, it was decided to grant a one-year study period to examine this in-depth and come out with findings, including the need for standards. As a designated expert in ISO Committee on Security &

How are you contributing to shaping up standards on data privacy?

Privacy, I was assigned the task to study this, along with a senior expert from South Korea, and obtain inputs from other international bodies and groups.

Is there a scope for more organisations other than DSCI and Nasscom to support initiatives on strengthening data privacy environment in India?

Today the only privacy regulation we have, apart from few provisions in some sectoral laws, is the IT Rules 2011 from Section 43A of the IT Act, which is also not as comprehensive, and hence this gap needs to be filled on priority. Needless to mention, such privacy regulation must be drafted keeping in view the unique cultural and demographic needs of India, while emulating best practices from other countries’ experiences. This will not only alleviate the privacy concerns of citizens, but also help Indian industry use it as a market differentiator. This cannot be achieved without contribution from stakeholders from all sections of the community – industry and public bodies, civil society organisations and individual experts.

Today DSCI is one organisation which promotes data protection among the Indian industry and works closely with the relevant government departments to bridge the gap. But we need greater participation from law schools, human rights and consumer organisations. Data privacy should no longer be the focus area for only IT and outsourcing industry, but for all kinds of organisations, government bodies and citizens.

Views expressed above are those of the author’s and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company he is attached to.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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SPECIAL INTERVIEW / NEETA VERMA

National Cloud Launch Pad for Digital India The use of cloud in delivering government services is gaining momentum, with departments such as National Informatics Centre (NIC), offering the solutions to satisfy this growing demand. Neeta Verma, the newly-appointed Director General of NIC, in an exclusive interview with Souvik Goswami of Elets News Network(ENN), talks about how NIC’s National Cloud is facilitating various eGovernance initiatives under the Digital India programme, such as Digital Locker, Scholarships, MyGov, eHospital and Skill India. Excerpts:

A

s the new Director General of National Informatics Centre (NIC), what are your plans for the organisation?

NIC has worked with different government departments to build a number of eGovernance solutions, and a lot of systems to deliver citizen services have been designed and developed by our team. We shall strengthen these solutions with emerging technologies, with Cloud, Analytics and Mobile being an integral part of it. We plan to set up competency centers in our offices across India to leverage their strength in emerging technologies and build nationwide solutions. Our focus shall be on building platforms and products for Digital India programme.

NIC has also set up a nationwide ICT infrastructure for the government to facilitate eGovernance across the Central Government, State Governments, districts and the sub-districts. Data centers, high speed network, cloud, cyber security, video conferencing, messaging, web hosting and GIS Infrastructure set up by NIC helps governments deliver citizen services at a much less cost

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NEETA VERMA \ SPECIAL INTERVIEW

What are your expectations from the industry on using cloud for government services?

NIC Cloud Services : Objectives

We need skilled manpower to assist us 24x7 for operating our cloud services. But, getting such human resources having optimal experience is a real challenge. Automation in cloud provisioning, operations and management is another priority, as it will increase productivity of our team manifold. Development of eGovernance software systems that can leverage the potential of cloud is another domain where a lot of work needs to be done. Getting solution architects and system designers for web scale applications is another requirement. Hence, we look forward to Industry collaboration in all these domains.

Speeding up the IT procurement cycle Moving from Capex to Opex Providing Secure Cloud Services Infrstructure elasticity - scale up & scale down Optimum Utilization of IT Infrastructure Greem Data Centres Generic Architecture

and launch new services within a short time. With the Digital India Initiative of the government, demand for these services has increased manifold.

We plan to strengthen our ICT infrastructure with new technologies and capacity to cater to the demands of the Digital India Initiative.

The Government of India has initiated the ambitious Digital India programme. How important is ‘National Cloud’ as the core of this initiative?

The Digital India programme includes a number of eGov initiatives, which are using ICT infrastructure in a big way. Initiatives like Digital Locker, Scholarships, MyGov, eHospital and Skill India are powered through the National Cloud set up by NIC. It also offers departments the ability to implement projects quickly since they do not have to go into procurement and commissioning of infrastructure. One of the important benefits of the National Cloud is that government projects can go live in a short time, that too at a minimal cost. Cloud also offers the facility to scale up infrastructure at a short notice to cater to the peaks in demand of a government service.

government departments, and even some of the district projects are using National Cloud.

How has been the response of the state governments to National Cloud?

The states are keen to use cloud services and some are in fact already using it. A few state governments have also set up small clouds in their State Data Centres to explore the potential of cloud in government service delivery.

We are also setting up cloud services for our

What is your cloud expansion strategy for the Digital India era?

Under the ambit of Digital India programme, a lot of new large-scale ICTenabled initiatives are being launched by different departments. National Cloud is being further enhanced to cater to meet the increasing ICT requirement of these departments. Increase in cloud resources and addition of new nodes and managed services are some of the key aspects of the expansion strategy. We are also building a new National Data Centre in Bhubaneswar, which will be

NEETA VERMA The National Cloud, set up

by NIC, was the first such cloud setup under ‘Meghraj’ initiative. Today, around 350 government projects are already running through this cloud, with almost all the Digital India initiatives powered through this

What is the present status of National Cloud?

The National Cloud, set up by NIC, was the first such cloud setup under ‘Meghraj’ initiative.

Today, around 350 government projects are already running through this cloud, with almost all the Digital India initiatives powered through this. Over 6,000 virtual servers have been created and allocated to various central and state

650 district centres across India. They will use cloud servers for development of eGovernance applications as well as delivery of services at the district level. This will help us optimise our ICT infrastructure for districts in a big way and also enhance availability of services in remote parts of the country.

completely cloud-enabled as a new node in the National Cloud. Our aim is to provide state-of-the-art and secure cloud services to enable government departments take any initiative in a short time without worrying about procurement or commission of ICT Infrastructure.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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SPECIAL ARTICLE / eGOVERNANCE / RAJESH AGGARWAL

Digital Locker

Unlocking Its Full Potential An informal, unofficial Paper by Rajesh Aggarwal

44 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

Currently serving as the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, Rajesh Aggarwal recounts his experiences of developing “Digital Locker” – right from visualisation until giving it a realistic shape – to make the life of citizens easier in numerous ways. He believes the Government of India’s “Digital India” programme can reach its full potential only if various departments take a proactive approach towards promoting the concept of Digital Locker among the masses. The technocratturned-bureaucrat relives the Locker dream for Elets News Network (ENN)

RAJESH AGGARWAL \ eGOVERNANCE \ SPECIAL ARTICLE

M

y team in the Department of Information Technology, Maharashtra designed and launched the Digital Locker more than one-and-a-half year ago. And then, they shared it with the Government of India. Unfortunately, it is yet to catch the public imagination. This paper tells the story of Digital Locker and its potential usage.

After the formation of the new government at the Centre in 2014, the Prime Minister had asked various Secretaries to make presentations to him. On the web, I saw some slides made by DeitY Secretary Mr. Ram Sewak Sharma, and one bullet point was “Digital Locker”. I quickly assembled my young and gung-ho team of consultants and programmers in Maharashtra, and in less than two weeks, we had the basic Locker up and running on our State Cloud. Later, on request from the Government of India, the Team Maharashtra was happy to hand over the code and the design, for wider use. (www.digilocker.gov.in )

My thoughts before designing the Locker We started with the Signup/Login method, as we were clear that only a citizen having Aadhaar number will be able to Sign Up. You don’t have Aadhaar - sorry, then the Digital Locker is not for you! The philosophy behind this thinking will become amply clear in the next few paragraphs.

Aadhaar provides easy, anytime, anywhere, faceless (remote) identity check. Now, even one time password (OTP)-based eKYC or eSign is recognised by law. However, presently Aadhaar

database has not too many mobile numbers, nor can we be very sure about their accuracy.

Hence, I always advocate having a “verified mobile” tag in Aadhaar centralised database (CIDR). This would happen when a citizen does biometric (fingerprint or Iris) authentication, enters 10-digit mobile number, gets an OTP on that mobile and enters that OTP in the application. Only then this “verified mobile” flag should be ticked in the central Aadhaar database. Thereafter, for all times to come, except for certain critical things, mobile OTPbased Aadhaar linked eKYC or eSign can be

After the formation of new government at the Centre, the Prime Minister had asked various Secretaries to make presentations to him… I quickly assembled my young team, and in less than two weeks, we had the basic Locker up on the State Cloud.

Later, on request, the Team Maharashtra shared the code and the design for wider use by the Centre

used. Probably, Samsung and others will come with Aadhaar-based fingerprint sensors or even Iris sensors on their mobiles in future (sensors now cost hardly a few dollars, and can be miniaturised). But till that time, non-biometric based, just mobile OTP based authentication systems will lead to much wider use of eKYC and eSign.

Difference between eKYC and eSign: For bank account opening, getting a driving licence or a passport or a SIM card etc., – they require the citizen to bring a bundle of papers to prove you are you (KYC- Know Your Customer requirements). Instead of carrying a bundle of papers, you can just key in your 12-digit Aadhaar number, and do an online authentication – this is eKYC. eSign is another kind of digital signature, which replaces wet (ink) signature. Our CCA (Controller of Certifying Authorities) had, as per the IT Act, 2000 (Amended in 2008), allowed dongle-based digital signatures. Citizen has to purchase this physical dongle after an elaborate KYC procedure, remember a PIN number, renew the signature after every two years, and spend about Rs.500 per annum.

Now, the Aadhaar-based eSign is also legally recognised under the IT Act. No KYC, lifelong valid, zero cost! Just do mobile OTP-based or biometric-based Aadhaar online authentication, and any document gets digitally signed. Now Income Tax returns are using this method, and you don’t have to physically send any ink-signed papers.

The tiny nation of Estonia has embedded citizens’ digital signatures into mobile SIM cards, leading to some great applications (including electronic voting).

If we can embed Aadhaar number into SIM cards, then eKYC or eSign become further dramatic. Just one click, two factor authentication through your mobile for all kinds of payments, signatures, voting, and so on!

Use of Digital Locker to a citizen is obviously to store his/her “Government Papers”.

These are typically birth certificate, domicile certificate, caste certificate, income certificate of parents, matriculation certificate, education degrees, driving licence, passport, property-related papers, tax-related papers, investments/ savings/ pension/ insurancerelated papers, employment/business licence papers, Will related papers, and so on. Final certificate to upload would be the death certificate (maybe pushed by municipal authorities into your locker, resulting in automatically MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

45

SPECIAL ARTICLE / eGOVERNANCE / RAJESH AGGARWAL

handing over the Digital Vault to the heirs mentioned in the Will uploaded earlier on the Digital Locker).

Mostly the citizens have “original”, inksigned and stamped papers available with them.

These can be scanned and uploaded. The Aadhaar-based eSign will automatically kick in and the scanned papers will carry the digital eSign tag with time stamp (of the time of upload).

This will be like new-age self-attestation.

These days, a few government organisations have started issuing digitally-signed papers (e.g. under eDistrict project). These certificates, received over email or downloaded from the concerned website, can directly be uploaded by the citizen to his/her Digital Locker.

Third, a few authorities (e.g. some school boards) have opened their databases through APIs. Such authorities can be encouraged to

Mostly the citizens have ‘original’, ink-signed and stamped papers available with them. These can be scanned and uploaded.

The Aadhaar-based eSign will automatically kick in and the scanned papers will carry the digital eSign tag with time stamp (of the time of upload). This will be like new-age self-attestation

The authority has to define Metadata Tags and Standards. When a citizen uploads a scanned birth certificate, it has to go into a bucket/folder or, tagged with document type called “Birth Certificate”. Maybe, the Name and date-of-birth have also to be tagged in a well-defined Metadata standard, so that others can make use of it when they pick up this document. The income certificate may similarly define Metadata standards/tags for the year of assessment, annual income in rupees and so on. Thus, if a citizen uploads scanned document, he or she has to choose the correct document type, and then key in the data in the core Metadata fields associated with that document-type. If a citizen uploads digitally-issued certificate, or if the concerned issuer organisation (e.g. School Board) pushes that certificate into the Digital Locker, the document type and the core Metadata has to get filled automatically.

How this benefits citizens or ‘Requestor organisation’?

collaborate with Digital Locker. Thus, a student can just tell his Locker his Board roll number, and then any potential employer or college can dynamically pick up the results from the Board database. There will be great ease of use and full confidence when the Board also has the Aadhaar number embedded in its database. Now, pension, scholarship, income tax and many databases are linking with Aadhaar, so this dynamic sharing based on citizen consent will become more important in the years to come.

The farmer will no longer run around to obtain copy of his land title, he will just tell his plot number to the bank, who will obtain server-toserver land record details and sanction the loan.

Please note that if the documents issued

46 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

by the government authorities are available in that organisation’s database, then rather than uploading an electronic copy into the locker, it is better to just provide unique reference number of that document in the Digital Locker. The most up-to-date copy corresponding to that document (e.g. citizen may have got address modified on passport) will then be pulled whenever needed. (‘Single Source of Truth’ concept) Ok, the citizen has Signed up for the Locker, uploaded or linked the certificate details, now what next? Various Departments or private organisations have to tie up with the Digital Locker authority to make use of the content (pull or push content).

The citizen logs in to Locker, and clicks on “I need a Passport” link. The Passport Department software kicks in, and says – “Ok, I see from your Birth Certificate that you are 20-year-old, and I see from your educational certificates that you have passed Matriculation – so your passport won’t be stamped Emigration-Check-Required. I also see your address from your Aadhaar database – no more papers required – I am passing this information to the police authorities to visit your Home for verification – aha, police system says that they will be visiting you tomorrow evening – here is the name and phone of the constable who will visit you…

And yes, about the fees, since you have linked your wallet/bank account with your Locker, I made a request to the bank and have received the fees… Just fill in these few additional details to complete the Application process… ” The Locker software is smart. (My wish list…). Once police verify the address, and passport is issued, the passport details automatically go into the Locker, and also the Address part gets stamped with the fact that police verified on this date. This increases the Trustworthiness of the Address component of Locker. Also, since the scanned date of birth document and Matriculation certificates were used by the Passport Department, their “trust factor” also goes up.

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SPECIAL ARTICLE / eGOVERNANCE / RAJESH AGGARWAL

Locker software maintains all kinds of log-trails for this purpose.

“Trust Factor” of any document is important. Scanned documents uploaded by citizen can be forged. Hence, as more and more departments use these documents and verify them, the “trust factor” increases. Another way for the citizen is to pay for verifying these old, legacy documents is that NSDL, or other designated Agencies can take Rs.500 or whatever from a citizen, then visit the concerned municipal office to verify if indeed the birth citizen was issued as per their records, and then put a digital stamp “scanned document verified by NSDL on … date after physically verifying record with the municipal authorities”.

Same can be done with Educational degrees.

The employers, including private companies like Tata and Wipro, spend lots of time, effort and money in these kinds of verification checks at the time of recruitment. Thus, if the documents in the Locker have enough “trust factor” by above methods, this can be helpful to so many stakeholders.

In Maharashtra, the joint venture company MahaOnline was implementing eDistrict project, with digital back-end work flow resulting in digitally signed certificates by tahsildars etc. Each Application Form was re-designed to truly leverage Aadhaar ecosystem. A link “do eKYC” would enable a CSC (Citizen Service Centre) operator to ask citizen if he or she had Aadhaar number, click consent field, do biometric authentication, and then quick eKYC would populate Name, Address and Photograph automatically from the central database of Aadhaar.

The citizen sitting at Home could also do this, using mobile OTP-based eKYC. Next was to add

48 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

a link in the Form: “Pick up relevant documents from my Digital Locker”. If this particular Application Form requires four documents, and three are already in the Locker, then the software says “OK, I found three documents, this fourth one is missing. Can you just upload it?” Loop is complete when Tahsildar issues digitally-signed certificate, and eDistrict software pushes this into the Locker.

This also increases the “trust factor” of the four documents used by the Tahsildar.

Can our Regulators like CCA, RBI, IRDA, SEBI, TRAI, UIDAI, CERC etc., agree that the KYC process can be radically modified after the Aadhaar Bill has been passed? Hundreds of crores of rupees can be saved if Aadhaarbased eKYC and eSign are allowed by the Regulators. The citizen logging into the Digital Locker can be treated as “already authenticated and KYC compliant”. Can the links in Digital Locker be “one click and get a bank account”, “one click and get a Demat account for share market” and so on? Can Paytm tie up with the Digital Locker and throw a pop upon login – “Hey, I have pre-approved Paytm wallet with free Rs.100 thrown in for you… Just click here to start using it…?”

The game-changer part Entitlements!

You are a student, a girl student, aged 16 years, studying in 10 Standard in a village school, your family income is about Rs.3 lakh per annum, and you are from SC category. Are you aware which government schemes are available for you? Just imagine, all departments weave their scheme eligibility criteria into the Digital Locker, the Digital Locker can tell you – “Hey, based on your profile in the Locker, I figured that you are entitled to scholarship of the Central Social Justice Ministry…cross-checked that you are not already enrolled there. Luckily, all the documents required were in your Locker. I sent them

across to the Social Justice Ministry’s DBT software which approved it immediately, and I hope that you have already received the SMS from your bank regarding the receipt of first installment of your scholarship”. Dream on…

Can the Digital Locker tell a kid – “Hey, congrats on turning 18 years yesterday… I did some back-end work for you, and have got you added into the Voter list… here are the details.

Would you also like me to apply for your Driving licence?”

Who operates Digital Locker? NIC or CDAC? This probably needs a rethink. Organisations like CDAC and NIC working under DeitY should work with stakeholders to set Metadata standards, to get various ministries and state governments to collaborate with the Digital Locker (as Issuers as well as Requestors of data). Then it should be left to experts. Just as multiple Repositories work for Demat in a Share Market, same way multiple companies be authorised to operate and offer Digital Locker services to citizens. They can onboard private players (Paytm, Vodafone, SBI, ICICI, Tata, Wipro, Universities, Employers, so many others). They can offer verification services for a fee, and so on. One could try Freemium Model – basic 20Mb storage free and consent-based sharing for government services free while charging for other services and extra storage.

Thus, the Digital Locker can be much beyond just a dumb storage for your documents. I find the finer debate missing among the stakeholders, and hope that this paper will stir up some debate. I am deeply aware of difference between Hype and Ground Reality (between what-can-be and what-really-is). For a balancing act, you may read “Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology” by Toyama and also about “Rosser Reeves Trap”. (Just Google it!).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rajesh Aggarwal, a B.Tech in Computer Science from IITDelhi (1983-87), joined IAS (Indian Administrative Service) in 1989. He has served in various positions in Maharashtra and Delhi. He has written a number of papers on eGovernance and handled large number of eGovernance projects. Read more at www.eGovernance.guru

CORPORATE / DIGILINK / ANSHUMAN HALDAR

Digilink to Digitally Link Smart Cities Network connectivity infrastructure will form the backbone of integrated network in the Smart Cities, and Digilink is geared up well to provide end-to-end structured cabling solutions, says Anshuman Haldar, General Manager – Channel Business of Network Connectivity Organisation, Schneider Electric, in an interaction with Elets News Network (ENN)

W

hat is your view on the Government’s ambitious projects like Smart City? What kind of solutions do you have for proposed smart cities in India?

Smart Cities Mission is an excellent initiative to transform the cities from a traditional, silobased model to a more collaborative, integrated service delivery model. It will tremendously improve the quality of life of residents, manage available resources such as roads and water in economically sustainable manner, and reduce environmental pollution. It will be a game changer for each and every sector be it Hospitality, Health, Real Estate, Infrastructure or IT. It will make the way of living more smart, energy efficient, reliable and sustainable.

If we talk about Digilink, we are an industry leader in providing end-to-end range of structured cabling solutions for small and medium businesses. Network connectivity will form the backbone of creating an integrated and connected network infrastructure for the upcoming smart cities. A robust network infrastructure will foster the growth of such cities.

Give us an overview of Digilink and your strategies to expand your presence in the market.

Digilink is an industry leader in providing endto-end range of structured cabling solutions

50 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

ANSHUMAN HALDAR \ DIGILINK \ CORPORATE

for small and medium businesses. It is one of the oldest and also a top grossing SCS Brand in India. Our ‘future proof ’ products deliver unparallel value and enable our customers to excel through lower total network ownership costs, enhanced productivity, total reliability and easy scalability of their networks.

With our wide variety of services and products and our technical expertise, we are able to create unique solutions for businesses — not just the ‘cookie-cutter technology’ offered by many other providers today. We deliver the best solutions today, within the constraints of customer’s budget. At Digilink we are backed up not only with products ranging from 2 to 144 Cores, Single Mode (OS2) and multi mode (OM1/OM2/OM3/OM4), standard and customised accessories, but we also have a strong pre-terminated solution for the Indian market. Having said that, we would like to highlight that FTTX solution is now our forte too.

How do you see opportunities in the hospitality industry and need for cabling solutions?

Structured cabling will improve service and profit in the Hospitality industry. Today, technology is part of the service equation in a hotel, resort, or hospitality property. It’s imperative to provide seamless connectivity experience to guests and a robust network backbone can guarantee it.

thus will create lot of employment opportunities and result in GDP growth.

With the launch of Digital India programme, the government is making a big step to convert

Since the acquisition of Digilink by Schneider Electric, we have been able to maintain a leadership position in the market. We aim at a steady growth through ongoing R&D activities, work constantly towards providing state-ofthe art technology, products and best-inclass services to our customers

How Digilink has evolved as an industry leader in providing endto-end structured cabling solutions for enterprises and business.

What challenges do you face in competing with major players?

Data communication has become an integral part of everybody’s business and personal lives. It is the structured cabling solution that brings reliability and usability for everyone.

Since the acquisition of Digilink by Schneider Electric, we have been able to maintain a leadership position in the market. We aim at a steady growth through ongoing research & development activities, work constantly towards providing state-of-the art technology and products and best in class services to our customers. We work aggressively to buy the mind share of our partners and customers.

What kind of products you are offering to your customers? What makes your customers opt for Digilink’s instead of other options available in the market?

Digilink products are UL and ETL verified for

The Government is laying a lot of emphasis on Make in India and Digital India initiatives to give a fillip to country’s economy and create employment opportunities. What are your views on these programmes?

The Government is definitely taking lot of initiatives in order to boost the economy of the country. Make in India can drive growth in the country by boosting the business environment, creating a more conducive environment via simplification and streamlining of the process to business. It is not only about manufacturing in India, but also about adhering to global sustainability and quality norms. It will also help in attracting domestic and well as foreign investments to create new manufacturing centres across India. Such investment and manufacturing activities will promote small scale and large scale industries

the nation into a digitally motivated knowledge economic system. It will help in creation of Digital Infrastructure and Electronic Manufacturing in Native India, delivery of all Government services electronically and digital empowerment of the Native Indian people.

Our complete range of structured cabling solutions is being made in India. We have a state-of-the-art factory in Goa which produces an array of structured cabling products and 40 per cent of the produce is exported.

We are adhering to the Government’s Make in India initiative and are proud to be associated with it.

safety, performance and quality assured for a reliable data network. From patch panels to cables ,from patch cord to termination tools, Digilink’s copper and fiber solution are always within reach, bringing the customer the advantages of FIRM, LIGHT,SLIM and FAST products to fulfil the network connectivity needs of medium to small businesses and home networks. At Digilink – a brand of Schneider Electric, one can be trained as an SCCE (Schneider Electric Certified Cabling Engineer) and certify installed sites for 25-30 years performance warranty and gain the AMC advantage of maintaining networks.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

51

CORPORATE / MICROSOFT / KARAN BAJWA

Cloud Changing

Governance Dynamics The availability of Microsoft cloud services through local data centers has the potential to make “Digital India” a reality. Cloud can open new possibilities in eGovernance, Financial Inclusion, Healthcare and Education, and impact the lives of millions. Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Microsoft Corporation India, in an exclusive interview with Souvik Goswami of Elets News Network (ENN), talks how cloud computing promotes ease of interaction with citizens and businesses

T

hrow some light on the various cloud computing solutions offered by Microsoft.

Microsoft is the only company building out a hyper-scale public cloud while also meeting customer needs for private cloud and hybrid solutions. Our complete portfolio of cloud services through our local datacenters - Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and CRM Online, are designed to fuel innovation and accelerate India’s digital transformation. The Microsoft Cloud turns massive streams of data into insight, helps drive unparalleled productivity, transforms a mobile workforce into a connected team, and scales rapidly to meet customers’ needs for organizations across verticals. Similarly, cloud can deliver enormous computing power to drive advanced analytics and machine learning, enabling the government to address the country’s pressing problems. At Microsoft, we have analyzed all regulatory, security and privacy requirements of the Government of India and ensure that our datacenters will exceed these requirements.

The Cloud Decision Framework can help government departments unlock the power of public and hybrid cloud with very compelling economic models. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, we are helping the Government predict school dropouts by using Machine learning. We have a 10,000-strong partner community to bring the best in-class technology to the Indian citizens. We and our partners are

52 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

KARAN BAJWA \ MICROSOFT \ CORPORATE

CASE STUDIES

City of Regina, Saskatchewan

In an effort to bring its technological capabilities in line with other major cities, the City of Regina built a portal powered by Microsoft Azure to handle single sign-on for accessing city services and viewing public utility bills. The city also adopted Microsoft Office 365 to increase productivity of government employees and serve citizens more efficiently.

As a result of its move to the cloud, the city enhanced municipal worker output and saves taxpayer dollars in IT infrastructure costs.

Essex County Council

Part of Essex County Council, Target Tracker develops software for schools. Its Primary Target Tracker application—which provides information to support learning—ran on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software. To stay ahead of its competitors, Target Tracker rebuilt the solution using SQL Database in Windows Azure. The firm now has an application that scales to meet the needs of thousands of schools in England and overseas.

helping Government departments, large enterprises, SMBs and start-ups use technology to transform India. We are proud to be a partner in the change the country is experiencing.

There are concerns around trust and security of cloud technology.

How can your organization counter these?

To support a comprehensive approach to security, Microsoft invests more than a billion dollars in security research and development every year. Microsoft is the first company in the industry to win a certification ISO/IEC 27018 that validates the highest levels of data security and privacy. Our commitment to cloud is

Bahrain Olympic Committee

The Bahrain Olympic Committee promotes the country’s participation in the Olympic Games. To support a new website, the organization needed to find a web hosting solution that offered availability, scalability, and security. The committee chose Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013, running on Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, which provides high availability and scalability, as well as fast performance and strong security. The committee now has a cost-effective web solution that will also support its future needs.

What are the challenges for governments to adopt more and more cloud computing?

The Government recognizes the transformative power of technology and sees it as an enabler to amplify the change that we all seek in delivering better citizen services.

We continue to work with the Government to dispel issues pertaining to data security and last mile connectivity to increase cloud uptake. It is equally important to support policy initiatives that enable thriving and competitive local knowledge economies.

These include open technology standards, intellectual property rights, freedom of expression, and addressing evolving challenges in areas such as data security and privacy.

What is your vision for the use of cloud computing in governance in the Indian context?

Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry

After the Japan earthquake of March 2011, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in Japan (METI) promoted the sharing of information among ministries, agencies, prefectures, and cities. METI worked with partner agencies to connect resources with those needing them. In January 2012, METI launched the Recovery and Reconstruction Support Program Database, powered

by Microsoft Azure. Now disaster victims, companies, and others can use a one-stop public service to search through nearly 500 support programs.

benefits of big IT even on a small budget, at an affordable monthly subscription rate.

reflected in our heavy investment on 100 data centers in 19 regions in over 40 countries, including India. These local datacenters use the next-generation infrastructure, data and developer services, with thousands of servers, petabytes of storage and massive network capacity in the most secure and safe environment.

Can you put some light on some of the global best cases related to using Microsoft Cloud.

Cloud technologies and especially public cloud has been widely adopted by Governments across the world. Public cloud gives the Government ready access to the latest technologies without having to invest in setting up of datacenters. Cloud has the potential to bring Government agencies the

Governments and citizens don’t need innovation for innovation’s sake, they need innovation that enables organizations and individuals to make a real impact on their communities.

Harnessing the power of innovation to address big societal challenges, requires more than technology itself. It requires a holistic and collaborative approach that spans the institution to the end-user. It is critical for stakeholders across the ecosystem to come together - governments, industry players, academics, NGOs and citizen groups, to maximize the impact of the cloud and innovation for sustainable impact across the society. Today, cloud computing is making it possible to drive intelligence and insights from the immense magnitude of data, converting it into predictive and analytical power. This power puts data and cloud computing at the core of analysis and action that the governments world over have set out to address, including poverty, hunger, health and education.

Our vision is to put the infinite power of cloud computing to work for India’s development.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

53

CORPORATE / TRIMBLE / NIKHIL KUMAR

Trimble Leads the Geospatial Space Nikhil Kumar, Director, Technical Marketing (SAARC Region), Trimble, during a one-on-one conversation with Vishwas Dass of Elets News Network (ENN), underlines the importance of geospatial technology in the current global scenario. Kumar also talks about Trimble’s strategies in terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious projects, like Smart Cities, Digital India and Make in India

G

ive us an overview on products Trimble has been offering to its customers?

Trimble is a leading provider of advanced location-based solutions. Today, we serve five primary segments — Building Construction, Geospatial & Cadastral, Precision Agriculture, Transportation and Logistics. We deploy a gamut of technologies, such as positioning and

54 egov / egov.eletsonline.com / MAY 2016

sensing, 3D design, modeling, measurement & analytics, machine and process automation in these markets to maximise productivity and enhance profitability.

Can you elaborate on how your location-based solutions are a help in improving productivity and efficiency in these market segments?

Let us consider Building Construction industry

for instance, where Trimble technologies finds significance in the entire design-build-operate lifecycle. It begins right at the concept level where Trimble offers intuitive and flexible tools, allowing architects to evolve design ideas and document modeling in both 2D and 3D formats.

Building Information Model (BIM) is gradually becoming a norm in the building construction industry. Our Structure solutions comprise BIM software that helps engineers and professionals create and manage highly

NIKHIL KUMAR \ TRIMBLE \ CORPORATE

accurate and detailed constructible 3D structural models.

Then comes our MEP suite of hardware and software solutions, which addresses the entire workflow and helps mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC contractors with enhanced accuracy, productivity and profitability.

Next is build environment where the general contractors are under immense pressure to deliver quality and quantity in time. Trimble Geospatial & Cadastral portfolio of buildingintelligence software, hardware and services help optimise workflows and streamline processes by offering capabilities such as laser scanning and creation of As-Built models, 3D Model Assessment, Constructability and Scheduling Optimisation and estimation.

Our programme management solutions help construction owners control programme delivery by providing a combined and integrated insight into capital planning, programme management, business process and analytics.

Likewise, in the horizontal construction space, which is basically roads, railways, ports and marine, our heavy civil construction portfolio addresses the entire plan, design, build

and operate lifecycle. Right from feasibility and planning stage, to survey, design estimate, earthworks, construction and maintenance, our range of machine control, paving control, constructions software and site positioning solutions help in faster completion, reduced resource rework and environmental impact, besides enhanced safety.

Our Geospatial offerings is kind of horizontal suite of solutions that focuses on survey, geospatial professionals and the deliverables that they provide to different industries and market segments. It provides advanced solutions across the entire spatial data collection, processing, modeling and analysis workflow for consumption of such information in infrastructure, Water, Utility, Oil & Gas, etc.

NIKHIL KUMAR Modernisation of land records is one of the key aspects of Digital India programme. The Government of the day is also giving a lot of importance to modernising land records, because land plays a very important role in any infrastructure development project. Trimble has a unique cadastre solution for land administration and registration The Agriculture solution caters to the needs at various stages, like planning, growing and harvesting cycle. Our water and yield management systems allow farmers to optimise the use of their land. Our Precision Ag systems precisely guide tractors, combines, sprayers and the likes to accurately distribute seeds, chemicals and water, thus leading to better crops, enhanced productivity and higher returns.

Trimble Transportation and Logistics solutions provide for long-haul trucking, field ser-

infrastructure development project. Trimble has a unique cadastre solution for land administration and registration.

Similarly, we have cutting-edge technologies for Smart Cities. Our technologies will help in planning, retrofitting existing infrastructure, building new infrastructure, managing and maintaining assets and optimising resources for utilities, such as water and waste water, electricity, gas, and providing transportation and eGovernance solutions.

vice management, construction logistics, driver safety and various diagnostics and analytics to improve productivity, asset utilisation, compliance and empowerment of filed workers.

How many state governments have successfully used your solutions?

What is your view about the Government’s Digital India and Smart Cities Mission? How crucial are these projects for you, particularly Smart Cities?

Digital India is a huge project of the Government, for which it has made significant allocations. Modernisation of land records is one of the key aspects of Digital India programme.

The Government of the day is also giving lot of importance to modernising land records, because land plays a very important role in any

Trimble is a technology provider and we always strive to ensure use of these state-ofthe-art technologies in large-scale project implementation to drive efficiency, quality and transparency. The central government and many state government departments are using our technology either directly or through various system integrators and service providers. So far, we had been engaging more with the central government agencies, but now that the states have more financial freedom and display greater political will, we have started engaging with several state governments as well.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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CORPORATE / DELTA ID / SALIL PRABHAKAR

Resolving the

‘Identity Crisis’ As the world does away with physical contact in more and more transactions, the importance of biometric authentication goes growing in the same proportion, and that is where Delta ID plays a major role, Salil Prabhakar, President & CEO, Delta ID, tells Fahim Haq of Elets News Network (ENN)

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ell us about the genesis of Delta ID.

When UID/Aadhaar project started in 2009, we started working on Delta ID, which went live in 2010.

At that time, most of the focus was on enrollment using biometrics like fingerprint and iris, and large devices were used for collecting the data of lots of people. On mobile network, you can authenticate anybody, anywhere. That contributed to the idea of Delta ID. We were looking to bring biometrics to mobile devices, because we thought that smartphones have very small screens and entering passwords is very difficult. And, that is how it all began.

We formed the company in 2011 and started developing the technology for mobile devices. There were other iris companies around in the past who typically were targeting physical access control and military usages, but Delta ID from the very beginning started trying to solve the iris recognition problem on mobile devices, which had number of challenges. It took us threefour years to develop the technology.

How has been the journey since 2011 till now?

Core technology takes time to evolve. There was a lot of R&D and it took almost four years for the technology to evolve. As

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SALIL PRABHAKAR \ DELTA ID \ CORPORATE

company grew, it was needed to hire more people. We raised funding. We were funded by Intel Capital and some other prominent investors. Our first product was launched just about a year ago and now we have tied up with Fujitsu.

We provide the technology and the device manufacturer licence for our technology and introduce it in their products. Apart from Fujitsu, we have also introduced it in some other models.

We have several other launches in the market now and in 2016 more products are coming.

What is your vision and mission with regard to the Indian market?

Our vision is to enable all the e-governance services in India. Besides, there are a number of enterprise applications to help people, shopkeepers and others, who are delivering services that need authentication to make sure that the services are going to the right people. And, there are also a number of applications that will evolve for self service. For example, the older people who are on pension. They can authenticate and give proof of life every year using technology in their phones or tablets. We are targeting them all.

is Aadhaar compatible. We are participating in their certification programmes and we’ll get this technology certified, so that the handsets can actually do an Aadhaar authentication or Aadhaar eKYC and then enable any application.

What is the USP of your product?

As compared to what is present in the market, our product is the most user-friendly. It is the fastest authentication method. We provide quick authentication and so accurate…you don’t to repeat it multiple times, unlike passwords, which you need to keep entering until it’s the correct entry. That is what makes our technology fast and user-friendly.

Delta ID is working with defence forces also for border security purpose. How do you do that?

Any technology that enables identity verification has diverse application. Whenever you do a money transaction, or authorising access to a protected data, our technology has a major role to play. You can imagine a device at your hotel door, and when you check in at reception, you don’t get a key – you just enroll there, go to your room, look into the device, match your iris and you enter your hotel room.

These types of specifics about our technology make it more suitable for public facing consumer applications. So, even when I say enterprise, banks may be using it or it could be in healthcare. The basic technology that enables those applications can be written by anybody, so we are not targeting any specific enterprise application.

Any particular state or central government you are currently working with?

In iris recognition, Delta ID provides software and our approach has been to use simple hardware to keep the cost low and size small.

Therefore, we sell mostly the software and the hardware, like camera module or the iris camera system, which can be incorporated in the device. So, we need to work with device manufacturers. Hence, Delta doesn't need to work directly with government agencies. We work with OEMs and provide technology to be incorporated in their handsets. There are a number of applications there, including for healthcare, finance, eGovernance, etc.

Which are the OEMs you are working with?

We are working with quite a few. We are working with essentially who’s who of the OEMs. If you name 5-10 top OEMs in India, most likely we would be working with them.

Modi government’s major focus is on Aadhaar card integration with services. How can you leverage technology there?

The technology that we are providing to OEMs

The technology is quite similar. The underlying technologies—matching iris with very high accuracy and high speed—are the same, though applications are different. In case of Aadhaar, it is strictly a one-on-one authentication. You claim your identity by providing your UID number and then the system says a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.

In case of border control and defence applications, the objective can be to match somebody against a watchlist, a wanted or negative list to prevent unwanted people from entering the country. Delta ID provides such technology to government agencies both in India and abroad.

Currently, your major focus is on device. What is your plan for the enterprise part?

How do you think your application can help Healthcare, Education or Banking sector?

Identity is very important in all these sectors and iris recognition is very a convenient method of ascertaining your ID. So, any money transaction from high value transaction to bank to bank transaction, or whenever money changes hands, both side want to know who is on the other side, especially now when so many transactions happen digitally without seeing the person physically. So, this type of technology can be used for all transactions.

In Healthcare, it’s not so much of transaction, but it’s relevant to the healthcare data, which is very personal data, as you want only it to be accessible to only authorised people.

MAY 2016 / egov.eletsonline.com / egov

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CORPORATE / ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES / DEEP AGARWAL

Connecting Brands with Market As an enterprise asset intelligence company, Zebra Technologies facilitates better visibility to both asset as well people across Retail, Logistics, Healthcare and Government sectors, says Deep Agarwal, Regional Sales Director-India, Zebra Technologies - Asia Pacific, in an interview with Shambhudeep Hore of Elets News Network (ENN)

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We have direct involvement in areas like smart policing, patient healthcare solutions which enable to track patients and properly diagnose and keep records of them. We are deeply connected with the government’s initiatives in the card sector like the voter card and driving license.

our area of operations is diverse. For how many years you have been operational in India?

We were two companies, Motorola solutions and Zebra Technologies. In 2014, Zebra acquired the enterprise division of Motorola. So, this division of Motorola has been there for 14 years and Zebra independently has been in India for 10-12 years now.

What are some of the key technological solutions driving the growth of Retail in India?

What are your core focus areas?

Zebra is an enterprise asset intelligence company. We provide visibility to asset and people. The areas that we operate are Retail, Logistics, Healthcare and Government.

Across these verticals there is a phenomenal need to track movement of assets and people. We have solutions catering to various needs in this particular area.

On the umbrella side, we have wireless infrastructure because everything today is

about connectivity. We are one of the pioneers of wireless infrastructure. In fact Motorola is one of the founding members of global Wi-Fi alliance. So we have been very predominant in innovations in the wireless space.

We have solutions which incorporate various technologies, like bar code technology, automatic sensing etc.

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With emergence of concepts like smart cities and Digital India, do you think the environment in country is conducive for business?

I think the time is good. There is lot of initiatives from the government that we have seen is happening. So there is a lot of awareness and interest among the vendors to explore and invest.

Is your company in alliance with any of the government’s agenda, like Digital India, Make in India or smart cities?

Not in any direct alliance as such, but we have interest in some of these initiatives as vendors or partners to vendors.

One is serving the customer through multiple channels. We have variety of solutions to make retailers successful to provide service to customers like location based solutions. Based on the customer’s location in a super store the retailer can throw e-coupons and the customer can decide which product to go.

How using Zebra’s solutions is helping retailers maintain consistent customer satisfaction?

Having the right product on time! Inventory management as most retailers have back end warehouses where tracking the entry and exit of inventory is most important and that are where we come in.

What steps is Zebra taking to gear up for the IoT market?

We are getting ready by coming out with some unique solutions. IoT is a big world.

There are various components in IoT. For example we have collaborated with NFL (National Football League) of the U.S. where a chip is placed on the shoulder of the player and based on the movement the coach can train him better.