e-governance

LBSIM- 2013-2015

IT PROJECT ON THE ROLE

OF TCS IN

E-GOVERNANCE

SUBMITTED TO: EFFORTS BY:DR. V.M. MATHUR SOMESH PAL (88) S NEHA ROSE

CHACKO (90) AZIZ BHATIA

ILESH GHEVARIYA (89)

S IDHARTHA BORPUZARI

PRADEEP

LBSIM- 2013-2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2. PREFACE

3. INTRODUCTION TO E-GOVERNANCE

4. E-GOVERNANCE IN INDIA

5. VARIOUS COMPANIES IN E-GOVERNANCE

6. ABOUT TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES

7. SOME SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS BY TCS IN E-GOVERNANCE

8. MCA21

9. DATABASES USED IN MCA21

10. SERVICES PROVIDED BY MCA21

11. ENABLING FACTORS

12. HELP BY GOVERNMENT IN E-GOVERNANCE

13. GLOBAL SCENARIO OF E-GOVERNANCE

14. RECOMMENDATIONS

15. CONCLUSION

16. REFERENCES

LBSIM- 2013-2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We chose the MCA21 as the topic of our Information technology end term project as it was (and is) one of the major project undertaken by TCS in e governance. We came to know its functioning and working and also the limitations that were faced in MCA21.

This being our end term project, all of us put in a lot of effort into making this project. However, it was the able guidance of Information Technology Professor, Dr VM Mathur for his guidance and support which made sure we treaded the right path all along. We thank him for extending us such support.

I would also like to acknowledge all those who have directly or indirectly helped in making this project a reality.

Section B

PGDM 2013-15

LBSIM

LBSIM- 2013-2015

PREFACE

For a country to be considered to be technologically advanced, e-Governance is a key requirement and measurement. The World Economic Forum’s league table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations, places Denmark at the top of the list for technological advancement, with other Nordic countries Sweden, Finland and Norway claiming second, fourth and 10th place respectively. E-Governance is not just about improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and government employees. It is also about blending Information and Communications Technology (ICT) with administrative reforms to make government more efficient, drive down costs and increase transparency in how government departments work.

In India many major companies are working on various e governance projects. These projects form the backbone for successful working of various applications of government that we use in day to day life.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

INTRODUCTION TO E GOVERNANCE

India’s central and state governments have tended to follow a silo approach to e-Governance - some implementation has taken place but has tended to be piecemeal and disjointed and, consequently, having little impact. This has prevented the absolute necessity for the benefits of IT to percolate to the grass root level and has left the disjointed silos ineffective and (relatively) unused. Today, there is a proliferation of portals in India. Most states have their own portals. But a majority of these portals cannot be considered to be anywhere nears the ‘one-stop-shops ‘that should provide end-to-end services to citizens. Ministries and individual departments have separate websites.

In a majority of government departments, computerisation exists to the extent of having desktop computers for the required staff and department-wise applications. These applications, however, cannot interface with each other and significantly impact interoperability not only currently but also in future when integrated and holistic IT implementation will become the norm of the day.

E-Governance has the potential to benefit India’s citizens exponentially and maximise the return on the government’s investment in it. The contradiction in India is that the country is rightly recognised a global leader in the delivery of IT services, but it suffers from very little internal IT development in the country. Whereas technology leads, it tends to be in the private Sector, by companies, corporations and non-governmental groups. Where it is the weakest – and where it can have the greatest impact - is in the public sector.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual e-readiness ranks India at 54 out of the World’s 69 largest economies Along with the Philippines. India has moved down by one rank since 2006. The NASSCOM report on Information Technology on the Economy of India highlights that, despite India's global IT dominance, internally, the country has a low level of IT investment - only 3.5 per cent of total capital – and minimal dispersal of IT capital of 30 countries evaluated. The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Information Technology Report (2006-2007) ranks India at 44 (out of a total of 122 countries).

Ahead of India are countries including Tunisia, Qatar, Thailand, Italy, Lithuania, Barbados, Slovak Republic, Latvia and Cyprus. The WEF’s ‘Global Competitiveness Report (2007-2008)’ also ranks India at 45 out of a total of 122 countries. India has come down by 3 ranks from 42nd in 2006-2007 to 45 in 2007-08.The World Bank’s Doing Business 2008 report data positions India at 120 (out of 178 economies) in the overall "Ease of Doing Business" ranking.

E-governance is the application of information & communication technologies to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational & transactional exchanges with in government, between govt. & govt. agencies of National, State, Municipal

LBSIM- 2013-2015

& Local levels, citizen & businesses, and to empower citizens through access & use of information.

E-Governance is not just about improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and government employees. It is also about blending Information and Communications Technology (ICT) with administrative reforms to make government more efficient, drive down costs and increase transparency in how government departments work. If implemented properly, it can be an asset for the un-served and under-served areas in India and help drive new levels of efficiency to government services in India

The Government of India has launched the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) with the intent to support the growth of e-governance within the country. The Plan envisages creation of right environments to implement G2G, G2B, G2E and G2C services.

To ensure Interoperability among e-Governance applications, Government of India has setup an Institutional mechanism for formulation of Standards through collaborative efforts of stakeholders like Department of Information Technology(DIT), National Informatics Centre (NIC), Standardization Testing and Quality Certification( STQC), other Government departments, Academia, Technology Experts, Domain Experts, Industry, BIS, NGOs etc. In this process there is a provision of formal Public review also.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

E-GOVERNANCE IN INDIA

India’s poor position in all the meaningful world rankings clearly indicates a need to take some serious measures to improve the e-Governance scenario in India. The central and state governments need to ensure that the e- Governance initiatives taken are in tune with the best practices recognized the world over. Most of the countries ahead of India in the World rankings tend to have a few common strategies in place that have helped them deliver effective e-Governance from governance at a national level or central level to dedicated e-Champions to deliver e-Governance policies through to completion.

Based on these global experiences, this report recommends that the Government of India adopts a five-point plan to implement effective e-Governance in India. They include:

A nationwide mandate to allocate a fixed percentage of annual budgets to e-Governance.

The need to adopt mature, integrated and holistic solution/services based approach National level governance of the e-Governance programme Key Personnel appointed for the entire term of an e-Governance initiative Standing committee in government A nationwide mandate allocating a fixed percentage of annual budget for e-

Governance initiatives

A Study by Springboard Research indicates that while IT spending in the Public Sector is growing across Asia, there is still a wide gulf between the more mature and emerging countries in the region. Countries such as New Zealand and Australia are spending close to US$ 200 per capita on IT in the public sector, while countries such as India and Indonesia is spending as little as US$ 1 per capita.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Source: Springboard Research, a leading innovator in the IT Market Research industry – Study on ‘IT spending in the Public Sector in Asia: Opportunities Abound, 2005

IT Spending (US$)

New Zealand 198.78

Australia 193.82

Singapore 152.89

Hong Kong 67.22

Korea 52.96

Taiwan 45.22

Malaysia 21.92

Thailand 7.41

China 3.67

Philippines 2.94

India 1.29

Indonesia 1.10

The Government, while recognising IT as a thrust area for growth, had given a directive to all government departments to allocate up to 3 per cent of their annual budgets to computerization. The directive has resulted in the IT policies of many states necessitating all government departments to spend 3 per cent of their annual budget on computerisation. A sample clause taken from the Government of Orissa’s IT Policy (2004) states:

All government departments will be obliged to allocate 3 per cent of their Annual Budget under the head ‘IT Budget ‘for procurement of hardware and software and 5 per cent for building up the IT infrastructure by their own initiative or in conjunction with combined budget allocation of two or more.

However, without some form of an apex central steering committee, the directive is likely to remain on paper alone. It should be made mandatory for all government departments to earmark and spend at least 3 per cent of their annual budgets on IT initiatives.

Hitherto, the in-house IT arms of various government departments have followed the practice of purchasing hardware, software, services and networks from multiple vendors. Many years of following this practice have left these departments with disparate computer systems, standards and technologies that cannot interface and consequently prove to be an obstruction

LBSIM- 2013-2015

to intra and inter departmental information sharing and collaboration. What is required in India’s government sector is a strategic shift from the commodity based IT approach to a mature solution/services based approach. The central and state governments need to start procuring IT services rather than procuring hardware, software and services.

With this new approach, the IT related needs of government are addressed in conjunction by an IT partner and after a thorough consultation process. This Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for managed services enables government to concentrate on core-mission critical value-adding activities while moving the technology-related requirements to IT professionals (IT partner). In other words, it can focus its attention on what it does best; and use the IT partner to deliver what it is most experienced at delivering.

The caveat for such an engagement has to also be based on clear service level agreements (SLAs) that are completely outcome-driven, allowing both client and IT partner to decide and agree on deliverables. The IT partner provides services to the client and is paid periodic fixed amounts. This allows the government department to understand exactly what it is paying for and hold a provider accountable to deliver. If the IT partner breaches any of these SLAs, the department, ministry or state office is able to penalise the provider according to the agreed norms. This total outsourcing model works around the world in government and private companies where the deal tenor is long-term (8 to 10 years ideally). At the end of the tenor, either the deal is renewed or the legal and financial ownership of the IT infrastructure is transferred back to the client.

Projects such as MCA21 and AP Online offer examples and explain the dynamics of a successful PPP.

Advantages offered include:

Technology risk is borne by the IT partner while government bears the business risk only (today both risks are Borne by government).

Governments are absolved of IT responsibility, ownership, obsolescence and upgrades and can focus fully on its core business.

IT infrastructure optimised and sharing possible among departments and state governments.

Single platform and synchronised deployment becomes possible. SLAs ensure service standards with the government paying only for desired service. Project related risks move entirely to the partner as the Government pays only for

desired/acceptable outcomes. Cost of technology is converted into cost of service. SLAs ensure outcome-based investment in technology leading to tangible results and

increased stakeholder value and perception.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

VARIOUS COMPANIES IN E-GOVERNANCE

SerialNo.

Company Projects implemented

1 ABM Knowledge ware Ltd 1.Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC)2.Udyog setu3.AQUA(Complete Application Software for Water Billing and Accounting)

2 CMS computers Ltd 1.Bangalore One2.KAVERI (Karnataka Valuation and e-Registration)3.Punjab Land Records Systems (PLRS)

3 Coromandel InfoTech 1.Electronice Public Distribution System (e-PDS)2. Electronic Ticketing Machine (e-TM)3. Mobile Cops (m-Cops)

4 C-DAC(Centre for Development of Advanced Computing)

1.Octroi management, Maharashtra2.State legislative assembly/council operation computerization3. Telephone revenue billing (pune telecom)

5 Vakrangee software’s Limited 1.AADHAAR (UIDIA) generation2. White Label ATMS (WLAs)

LBSIM- 2013-2015

ABOUT TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation that delivers real results to global businesses.

TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery ModelTM, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development.

A part of the Tata group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 276,000 of the world's best trained consultants. The company generated consolidated revenues of $11.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2012 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange in India.

TCS has the depth and breadth of experience and expertise that businesses need to achieve business goals and succeed amidst fierce competition. TCS helps clients from various industries solve complex problems, mitigate risks and become operationally excellent.

TCS is headquartered in Mumbai, operates in 44 countries and has more than 199 offices across the world.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

SOME SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS BY TCS IN E GOVERNANCE

Project Akshaya

‘Akshaya’, an IT dissemination project, was launched on 18th November 2002 as a pilot in Malappuram, a district in Kerala. The project envisaged development of 5000 networked Multi-purpose Community Technology Centers - Akshaya e Kendra’s - to provide ICT access to the entire population of the state. The objective of this project was to make at least one person in each of over 65 Lakh (6,500,000) families in the state e-literate. Run by privateentrepreneurs, each e-Kendra was envisaged to be set up within 2-3 kilometres of every household to cater to the requirements of around 1000-3000 families to make available the power of networking and connectivity to the ‘common man’ or citizen. Akshaya is a social and economic catalyst focusing on the various facets of e-learning, e-transaction, E-governance, information and communication. The success in Malappuram has led to a state wide roll out of the project.In Malappuram alone, the project has trained more than 5.9 lakh (5,900,000) people (out of the 6.5 lakh households).65 per cent of the trainees are women. Akshaya e-pay has recently touched 4 crore (40 million) transactions in Malappuram. A total of Rs. 32.2 crores has been invested by entrepreneurs, local self-government and state government. The first phase of the state wide roll out is estimated to train 25 lakh (2,500,000) persons. An investment of Rs. 76 crores has been made for this phase by entrepreneurs, local self-governments, beneficiaries and state Government collectively.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

MCA21

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is responsible for administration of the Companies Act, 1956, other allied Acts and Rules & Regulations framed for regulating the functioning of the Corporate Sector in accordance with law.The programme was implemented in a record time of 78 weeks. This project is India’s 1st mission mode project (the highest priority rating assigned by the Indian government) under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).MCA21 has enabled 100% electronic filing, electronic payment mechanisms, use of Digital Signature Certificates for all transactions, delivery of more than 90% of services by MCA offices within charter defined by Ministry, significant increase in rate of compliance, green project resulted in saving of ~ 60 acres of forest land till date.

The programme has phenomenal success with more than 90% of e-filing being done by stakeholders (as against the target of 25%), total transparency for service delivery to stakeholders through online reports, more than 40% electronic on-line payments , very high level of stakeholder satisfaction.The implementation of such a large-scale transformation project, in the shortest possible time, is a landmark and has established a benchmark for such a program not only in India but across the world.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

AP ONLINE

APOnline (www.aponline.gov.in) is a digital gateway of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to provide multiple government services through multiple channels, anytime and anywhere to citizens and businesses through a single window. The bi-lingual portal has redefined government-citizen interface and government-business interface by providing information, interactive and payment services to the citizens. The APOnline solution is based on the lifecycle event model, dictated by events in the citizen’s lifecycle.APOnline has a self-sustaining delivery model and is currently working through 1300 kiosks and franchises. APOnline delivers government information and services through Internet, manned and unmanned kiosks and collection agents. The model had generated employment for over 2000 people in the state.

AP Online has developed a host of applications for the benefit of rural citizens and farmers. It has also helped bridge the digital divide to a great extent.The portal has resulted in greater transparency, convenience, accountability and responsiveness for citizens and businesses and lower overall costs for citizens and businesses. It has also helped governments enjoy an improvedImage and cost-savings by reduced delivery cost.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

E-Choupal

The E-Choupal model, http://www.itcportal.com, is centred on a network of ‘e-Choupals’ which are information centres armed with a computer connected to the Internet. The e-Choupals, information centres linked to the Internet, represent an approach to seamlessly connect subsistence farmers with global markets. E-Choupal has helped link the largest labour force with the mandis, the international markets as well as the final consumer at much reduced transaction costs. The e-Choupal initiative; one of the largest information technology-based intervention in rural India has transformed the Indian farmer into a progressive knowledge-seeking netizen. It has enriched the farmer with knowledge and elevated him to a new order of empowerment.

Given the low levels of literacy in the rural sector, the role of the lead farmer of the village, in facilitating physical interface between the computer terminal and the farmers is central to project e-Choupal. e-Choupal delivers real-time information and customised knowledge to improve the farmer's decision-making ability, thereby better aligning farm output to market demands; securing better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. The model helps aggregate demand in the nature of a virtual producers' co-operative, in the process facilitating access to higher quality farm inputs at lower costs for the farmer. The e-Choupal initiative also creates a direct marketing channel, eliminating wasteful intermediation and multiple handling, thus reducing transaction costs and making logistics efficient.

Smart Cards enable farmer identification to provide customised information on the echoupal.com website. Online transactions are captured to reward farmers for volume and value of usage.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

MILESTONES:

Commencement of initiative in 2000, 9 states covered, 38,500 villages covered, 6500 e-Choupal installations.

AGENDA FOR 2012:

15 states to be covered which include over 1 lakh Villages to be covered. More than 20,000 e-Choupals to be installed and 10 million farmers will be e-empowered.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

MCA 21

NEED FOR THE PROJECT

In the year 2002, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (then known as the Department of Company Affairs) was faced with the problem of providing services to nearly 7.5 lakh corporate entities. Vast amount of paperwork was to be processed. This was to be expected because with globalization and interest shown by foreign companies in India, the number of documents being handled was constantly increasing even as the expectations were increasing.

MCA21 PROJECT (PREVIOUSLY CHRISTENED DCA21) - A RECAP

In the context of a globalizing world, it is important that Indian industry remains in the reckoning in a competitive environment. Therefore, the regulatory framework must facilitate compliance of rules at a minimum cost and with convenience to the stakeholder. MCA21 is founded on the Government’s vision to build a healthy business eco system and make the country globally competitive.

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

The bottom line of this unique initiative is the improved speed and certainty in the delivery of MCA services. This improvement is primarily enabled through the mechanism of electronic Filing (e-Filing) for the services and back office automation by harnessing the right technology enablers.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

PROJECT PROGRESS

The MCA21 project was formally awarded to a consortium of TCS Ltd. and CMC Ltd. on 1st March, 2005 on the basis of an open bid process. It is expected that by the end of the year 2005, pilots will be launched at both Delhi and Coimbatore and by mid-2006 the nationwide rollout of the project will be completed. This would mean that by mid next year, any of the transactions with the RoC, with the exception of the functions related to the Official Liquidator (OL) can be carried out electronically. Besides the solution development, the process of digitization of the company’s legacy records has also been commenced.

IMPLEMENTATION

MCA21 project is designed to fully automate all processes related to the proactive enforcement and compliance of the legal requirements under the Companies Act, 1956. This will help the business community to meet their statutory obligations. The major components involved in this comprehensive e-Governance project are Front Office and Back Office. From the customer perspective, the Front Office operations assume significance, which would be administered through the Front Office portal. The entire Back Office operations of the MCA would be automated so as to achieve the objective of a user-friendly computerized environment. MCA portal is the single point of contact for all MCA related services, which can be easily accessed over the Internet by all users.

The project also envisages a cost-effective integrated software solution for computerizing various in-house functions like Human Resources Management, Payroll, Accounting and Finance for internal users (employees) of MCA.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Adopting international best practices, MCA21 application adds immense value to the stakeholders. The following points highlight the project’s invaluable importance:

Enable the business community to register a company and file statutory documents quickly and easily.

Public will get easy access to relevant records and get their grievances redressed effectively.

Professionals will be able to offer efficient services to their client companies. Financial institutions will find registration and verification of charges easy. MCA will ensure proactive and effective compliance with relevant laws and corporate

governance. Employees will be enabled to deliver best of breed services.

The re-engineered electronic forms, also called e-Forms, are capable of helping the citizens in the process of filling the information electronically. Lifecycle of e-Forms, the key interface to most MCA transactions, is automated from submission to the delivery of services requested therein. It covers dissemination of e-Forms in a reliable manner, efficient filling of information by eliminating re-entering data submitted in the past, electronic payment for and delivery of services as requested in the e-Forms. The business community can also track the status of their e-filing online.

The capability to automate the e-Form processing has also been extended to the Back Offices to meet the service levels committed to the business community. The e-Forms and attached documents, all in electronic format, are automatically assigned to the MCA staff and the progress tracked until the service is delivered to the citizens.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Besides e-Form service delivery to the business community, the MCA system includes tools for the analysis of corporate data for proactive surveillance and prosecution resulting in efficient investor protection.

FOLLOWING IS THE MAIN WINDOW OF MCA21

LBSIM- 2013-2015

DATABASES USED IN MCA 21

Company Master Database

The Company Master Data and Charge data has been migrated from the legacy system

This is the central database where the company information is stored. It is implemented by a Production Server where all the database information is stored. Every company is assigned one corporate identification number (CIN) which is a unique key.

Companies Index of Charges (Bank)

The companies need to file Form 8 in connection with the modification/ satisfaction of charges so this database is required. On Login the system requires a reference to the document ID vide which the charge was created in the first instance or modified at a subsequent stage and only then the subsequent transaction goes through.

Login Screen

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Companies Signatory Details

The Ministry has scanned and digitised all the subsisting charge documents and the index of all such documents is available for viewing without any charge. This avoids against any theft or piracy thus maintaining a high level of security.

Login Screen

SERVICE PROVIDED BY MCA21

LBSIM- 2013-2015

The services covered under the project include:

Online filing of documents Online registry of documents Registration of Companies Easy public access to Corporate Information

Furthermore, the project further seeks to achieve inter-operability with the National e-Governance Services Delivery Gateway (NSDG), which will help extend MCA services to businesses via multiple front-end delivery channels, and which will also help provide other value-added services over and above the base services offered by MCA21.

a. Digital Signature Certificate:

The provision to use Digital Signatures on the documents submitted in electronic form under Information Technology Act, 2000, ensures the safety and legitimacy of the documents filed electronically. This is the only protected and bona fide way that a document can be submitted electronically. All filings done by the companies under MCA21 e-Governance program are required to be filed with the use of Digital Signatures by the person authorized to sign the documents. Under the provisions of IT Act, 2000, seven Certification Agencies are appointed by the office of the Controller of Certification Agencies (CCA) that is authorized by the CCA to issue the Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has stipulated a Class-II or above category certificate for e-filings under MCA21. The price of DSCs includes the cost of medium (a UBS token which is a onetime cost), the cost of issuance of DSC and the renewal cost after the period of validity. The DSCs are typically issued with one year or two year validity. These are renewable on expiry of the period of initial issue. The use of the Digital Signatures other than by the authorized person is illegal. Another new feature which is being added in the MCA application is the Role check for Indian companies. Role check can be performed only after the signatories have registered their Digital signature certificates (DSC) with MCA. Once the role check is implemented, system shall verify whether the signature on the e-form filed, is of signatory of the company.

B. e-Filing:

LBSIM- 2013-2015

MCA21 replaces the erstwhile practices broadly consisting of physically filing of documents, incorporation of companies and inspection of documents with the Registrar of Companies. This project is the first of its kind and is intended to create a health business ecosystem constructive for foreign investment thereby boosting the Indian economy.

From September 16, 2006, it is compulsory that all filings are to be made only under the Digital Signatures of the authorized person (MD/ Director/ Company Secretary as the case may be). There are various channels available to stakeholders to enable them to do the statutory filing with ROC offices across the country:

The Virtual Front Office through www.mca.gov.in portal. Registrar’s Front Offices set-up under the project and managed and operated by 53

Operators all over India. Certified Filing Centres or CFC managed and operated by the Professionals on user charge

basis (550 plus centres approved all over India at 85 cities).

Companies can do e-Filing in three different ways:

The Company representative can upload the e-Forms on the MCA portal through the ‘Annual Filing Corner’ link (after registering oneself as a user of the portal) at his convenience from his office/ home. This is the most convenient way of e-Filing.

The Company representative can prepare the e-Forms as per guidelines, get them digitally signed by the authorized signatory, copy them in a CD or a pen drive and visit the nearest “Registrar’s Front Office” (RFO). RFO staff will assist in uploading of e-Forms on MCA portal.

The Company representative can also contact any of the Certified Filing Centres (CFCs) for the Annual Filing of e-Forms by paying the service charges to the CFCs. The details about the CFCs are available under the ‘Certified Filing Centre’ tab on the homepage of MCA Portal.

It has been decided to set up Facilitation Centers/ Registrar's Front Offices at 53 locations throughout the country as a part of the Project to facilitate e-filing by professionals/ company representatives. The e-filing services in these Facilitation Centers are made available without charges for a period of 3 years which got over in January 2010. 48 of these centers have been closed now and helpdesks have now been set up at ROC locations for providing level-1 information services. However, many of the showcase facilitation centers located at major metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai would be continued till the end of the project cycle and in these centers the e-filing services would be offered free of charge.

To further disseminate the facilities for e-filing, it has been decided to provide an opportunity for the Professional Institutes (ICSI, ICAI and ICWAI), their Regional Councils/ Local chapters, individual practicing members and firms of professionals to create and set-up the Certified Filing Centers. While the services available from the Facilitation Centers set-up by the Ministry would be without any charge, the services provided by these Certified Filing Centers will entail payment of service charges.

http://www.mca.gov.in/

LBSIM- 2013-2015

This arrangement is formalized through this "Scheme for Certified Filing Centers (CFCs)" launched on 4th August 2006.

The process of approval from CFCs is a three stage process:-

i. He interested applicant submits his application through the respective Institute for approval of his name for the CFC.

ii. The Institute forwards the list of the applicants on an on-going basis and the Ministry takes a decision regarding approval. On approval, the communication is sent to the respective Institute and the Approval Certificate is in turn issued by the respective Institute to the applicant.

iii. Upon approval, the CFC user id and password shall be created and communicated by mail to the CFC Manager. Once the user ID and Password is communicated to the approved applicant, it is ready to operate as a CFC for providing services to the stakeholders.

A new SMS facility has been started by the Ministry which is applicable only for Annual Filing e-Forms i.e. 20B, 23AC, 23ACA, 66 and 21A."

C. e-Stamp:

In continuance of e-Governance initiatives, now the provisions regarding stamp duty applicable on filing of e-forms have been amended and stakeholders shall have facility to pay stamp duty in electronic manner also. Previously, physical submission of documents is mandatory where stamp duty is levied in order to ascertain that applicable stamp duty has been paid. Therefore, even though the e-Form is submitted instantly, the RoC office has to wait for the receipt of physical stamp papers to initiate necessary processing. It results in service delivery time getting longer.

As of now, e-Stamp covers Form 1(including MoA, AoA); Form 5 and Form 44 only, accordingly revised e-forms are being introduced w.e.f. 12.09.2009. These provisions shall be applicable to the e-forms filed subsequent to this amendment. In case e-forms filed earlier are 'Resubmitted' after implementation of this change, e-stamp shall not be applicable.

The process of e-stamp has not been made mandatory. Therefore, stakeholders have option to pay stamp duty in electronic manner through MCA21 system or in physical form as per the existing procedure. Further, this process shall be applicable only to such States/Union Territories which have agreed to the request of Ministry of Corporate Affairs for collection of e-stamp duty on their behalf.

List of e-Forms to which e-Stamping will be applicable include:

Form 1, (including MoA, AoA)

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Form 5 Form 44 Form 67

Other services/facilities that can be availed through MCA 21 website include:

Transaction Status Tracking Tracking Payment Status Easy access to Public documents Searching CIN/ GLN Fee Calculator

MCA Payments

For the purpose of collection of payments more than 200 branches in all major cities and towns of the following five Banks have been authorized:

State Bank of India Punjab National Bank Indian Bank ICICI Bank HDFC Bank

At the time of submitting the form at the MCA21 portal, the system will provide a pre-filled bank challan that can be printed out by the applicant. Using these challans a teller payment is made at one of the authorized bank branches convenient to the applicant. Upon completion of the MCA payment, the electronic documents are authorized for processing by the banks on the day following the payment. These authorizations are provided electronically through highly secure processes. In the case of credit cards the authorization to the MCA21 system is instantaneous.

Back Office Operations

LBSIM- 2013-2015

The MCA back office efficiencies that brings about speed and certainty in the delivery of services are enabled through the concepts of electronic documents incorporated in automated workflows. The workflows for the bulk of the services are pretty much standardized and provide adequate system features for monitoring and control. As a result, the electronic documents move quickly from one desk to another and after completion of processing, finally reaches the electronic document repository. As the documents build up in the digital archive and there is a progressive reduction in the dependence on physical paper documents for RoC processing, predictability in service efficiencies can be achieved. It is possible, in the envisaged scenario for public to have access, for instance, to the charge documents within a day of its being filed as part of the inspection of company’s documents.

Citizen Facilitation

When implementing a sophisticated ICT based solution such as the MCA21 solution, citizen facilitation becomes critical to ensure the success of the system. It especially becomes very relevant in the Indian context where the ‘digital divide’ is very steep, to address the needs of the stakeholders who do not have access to a computer system, an Internet connection and those who are not adept in using computerized applications. In order to address this, a wide network of Physical Front Offices (PFO) will be established. These will be conveniently located at all Metros, major cities/towns and in Special Economic Zones.

Citizens will, thus, have the choice to do electronic filing either directly at the MCA21 portal or seek the services of a PFO. This would eliminate the arduous task of the citizen physically going to a RoC or other offices of MCA to complete a transaction. More importantly, the transaction can be carried out from any location as physical boundaries have been eliminated - for instance a company with its corporate office at Bangalore and its registered office at Kolkata can conveniently choose to file from a PFO that is located at Bangalore or for that matter any other part of the country.

Processing Hub

LBSIM- 2013-2015

A National Data Centre at Delhi and a Disaster Recovery Centre at Chennai will be established to exclusively support uninterrupted 24 x 7 operation of the MCA21 system. The solution also provides for a high bandwidth nationwide connectivity across all offices of MCA and facility to allow access to several thousand users at the same time, whether it is for citizen or back office access.

Public Inspection of Documents

Another key feature of the MCA21 system is the online viewing of documents of RoC by anyone desirous of inspecting these documents. In order to make this possible, nearly six crore sheets of existing documents will be scanned into the system. The company’s permanent documents, most recent annual report and subsisting charge documents will be scanned as digital documents, authenticated by a competent authority of MCA using a digital signature and made available to the viewers. When the system goes live, the records of any company can be viewed from anywhere through the Internet on payment of the necessary RoC fees. However, it will be limited to only those documents that are currently in the possession of the RoC files. But the repository will progressively build up with the new electronic documents that will be filed by companies and within a few years the electronic repository is expected to have rich contents. Citizens can also request certified copies online as part of the proposed solution.

ENABLING FACTORS

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Adaptation of MCA forms for electronic filing

The services of MCA are all form driven. The biggest challenge was to adapt the paper forms in a manner that is amenable for electronic filing. This had to be done within the framework of the Companies Act, 1956. The forms re-engineering exercise was carried out with the participation of domain specialists so as to make these forms ready for electronic filing. Each form was meticulously analyzed and redundancies eliminated. In some cases, where feasible, the forms themselves were unified / eliminated so that the number of forms has come down by about a third. These can be further fine-tuned with inputs from industry and professionals once the e-filing starts.

Usability Issues

Form filling will be done using freely downloadable software and it can be done offline, i.e., one need not remain connected to the Internet while filling-in the form. Such an approach ideally suits use of home and small office Internet connections. Form sizes have also been kept in mind and the form sizes have been kept to reasonable limits that will not impinge on response time, though in some very exceptional cases these are slightly high.

Back office

LBSIM- 2013-2015

Lot of attention has been paid to the simplification of key back office operational steps as part of the process re-engineering exercise that was carried out by a team of experts. The back office will have a rich collection of data elements that will be retained in a Relational Database Management System. This transfer of data from the e-forms to the relational database management system is being done using technology components, obviating the need for any manual data entry - consequently the purity of data is retained, as the data entered by the applicant on the form gets transferred automatically into the system for further use.

Change Interventions

It is one thing to write a vision document; it is another to convey it in a multitude of ways, in which the stakeholders can draw a personal meaning from them. It is all the more important for the MCA employees, who are at the forefront of change. Accordingly, change management interventions - that manage the perception from conceptualization to rollout- have been an integral part of the program from day one. The approach has been uniquely designed to proactively manage this change, using a series of training programs and workshops at various levels of the organization. To help employees adapt to the new work culture, the offices are being modernized to be on par with the best in Indian corporate sector.

Challenges

LBSIM- 2013-2015

While making a big leap into the digital era from a classic paper based system, it is only but necessary to introduce a system so complex and such an exercise is not without its challenges. There are certain issues that still need to be innovatively addressed - Stamp duty is one such issue. The new amendments made in the Stamp Act are expected to help address this with use of appropriate technology. Ministry is making efforts in seeking a resolution of this aspect before MCA21 system operation with all concerned States and agencies.

The induction of a large number of Banks authorized to collect MCA payments and acknowledge the same in a timely manner into the MCA21 system is another challenge. The participating Banks will acknowledge MCA collections through electronic means within a day and this would need adapting their core banking software applications to include the acknowledgement facility. The standardization that needs to be achieved and the conformance by these Banks is a non-trivial exercise.

Digital signatures are another new area that needs to be tackled. Though digital signatures have been previously used for specific application such as Customs, this will be the first time when digital signatures will be used on such a large scale - by directors of companies, practicing professionals, representatives of financial institutions besides MCA employees themselves. The process of issuance and renewal of digital signatures would have to be made easier.

Beneficiaries

The focus of the MCA21 program is on bringing about a fine balance of the stakeholder requirements - between facilitation and control - as a blend of well-defined goals and performance metrics. Adopting International Best Practices, the goals have been set to bring immense value to the stakeholders and have been succinctly articulated as under:

1. Business enabled to register a company and file statutory documents quickly and easily.

2. Public to get easy access to relevant records and get their grievances redressed effectively.

3. Professionals to be able to offer efficient services to their client companies.4. Financial Institutions to find registration and verification of charges easy.5. MCA to ensure proactive & effective compliance of relevant laws and

corporate governance.6. Employees enabled to deliver best of breed services.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

HELP BY GOVERNMENT IN E GOVERNANCE

A standing committee having apex level representation from the private and government sector should be formed to oversee the performance of key e-Governance initiatives in the country. It should be a national level body having eminent representatives from political entities, bureaucracy, IT industry and academia.This committee should be made the key authority involved in both planning and execution of e-Governance initiatives in the country.It should also be responsible for providing a nation-wide blueprint for e-Governance initiatives. It would ensure that the central and state governments follow a holistic approach towards achieving ICT-led transformation of the states and subsequently the country on the whole. The committee would make certain that the various technological advancements are planned by taking into account the need for interoperability of state governments and the various ministries within a state government. It would also enable governments to implement e-Governance programmes successfully by leveraging the PPP model. The committee would also encourage and assist in replication of successful e-Governance projects across the country.Recommendations given in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) for Improving the Efficiency of e-Governance Initiatives:

Encourage the use of IP/products developed by Indian companies in e-governance projects.

Encourage the central and state governments to procure e-governance services rather than procuring hardware, software, services, and networks separately. This will bring about a more outcome based procurement model as compared to the current outlay oriented model.

Encourage reusability in e-governance projects at both the infrastructure and application level.

Encourage banks and financial institutions to fund e-governance projects above a certain size as a priority sector funding.

Faster replication of already successful e-governance programs. Define interoperability standards/criteria and ensure that e-governance applications

adopt these standards irrespective of the vendor supplying the technology. Incentivise citizens for using online services. Prepare a detailed e-governance plan for each central ministry and state which details

a time-bound schedule for implementing e-governance. The budgetary support from the central government for the e-governance initiatives can be linked to achievement of specific milestones.

Ensure that e-Governance applications are IPv6 ready. National programme on replication of already successful e-governance projects

having potential to enhance citizen services. Bring private sector investments and expertise into the e-governance domain by

evolving sustainable PPP models.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

GLOBAL SCENARIO OF E GOVERNANCE

For a country to be considered to be technologically advanced, e-Governance is a key requirement and measurement. The World Economic Forum’s league table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations, places Denmark at the top of the list for technological advancement, with other Nordic countries Sweden, Finland and Norway claiming second, fourth and 10th place respectively. E-Governance is not just about improving delivery of services to citizens, businesses and government employees. It is also about blending Information and Communications Technology (ICT) with administrative reforms to make government more efficient, drive down costs and increase transparency in how government departments work.

Electronic invoicing in Denmark saves an estimated 50 million Euros per year, and administration, hence taxpayers – between 120 to 150 million Euros. If this example could be replicated across the entire EU it could save 15 billion Euros per year.

In Japan, the e-Japan Strategy emphasizes the development of local e-governance schemes, including self-evaluation of online government services, allowing citizens' feedback and participation.

In Africa, many countries are developing National ICTs Strategies that, in some cases, are already producing positive results and are leading (or can lead) to success. Some examples are: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia. Many other countries are embarking on national ICTs strategies and programmes, often "mixed" with administrative reforms, good governance strategies, or decentralisation programmes.

The project of "Application of Hand-held Computers in the Delivery of Health Services in Uganda", managed by the Uganda Health Information Network, aims at determining cost-effective ways of enhancing access, sharing and communication of critical health and medical information in a timely and efficient manner for the benefit of health care providers, managers and planners, in the Ugandan technological and institutional context.

UK is using e-government services to deliver local democracy and reaching out to the next generation of voters with councillor blogs, democracy themed games and national school level debates and voting programmes.

LBSIM- 2013-2015

E-Government Trends

Developed Nations Developing Nations

Portals – Increasing use of e-com and e-biz Portals – Increasing

Consolidation of Websites Proliferation of Websites

One-Stop GovernmentFirst time Creation of huge Government database

Unique Citizen ID PPP model of Financing e-Government

Life Cycle ManagementMobile Governance (M-Gov), Mobile Commerce (m-commerce)

Asset ConsolidationCapacity Building (CB) and Content Management (CM)

Employee Consolidation Policies, Laws Rules and StandardsRadical Organizational Restructuring (Beyond BPR and Change Management)

Increase in Citizen Service Centres (CSC) and Kiosks

POTENTIAL FAILURES OF E GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE

LBSIM- 2013-2015

RECOMMENDATION

There is a clear need to take some serious measures to improve the e-Governance scenario in India. Based on global experiences, this project recommends the implementation following plans by the Government of India for effective e-Governance:

A nationwide mandate to allocate a fixed percentage of annual budgets to e-Governance.

Encourage the central and state governments to procure e-governance services rather than procuringhardware, software, services, and networks separately.

The need to adopt mature, integrated and holistic solution/services based approach. National level governance of the e-Governance programme. Key personnel appointed for the entire term of an e-Governance initiative. Bring private sector investments and expertise into the e-governance domain by

evolving sustainable PPPmodels. Prepare a detailed e-governance plan for each central ministry and state which details

a time-bound schedule for implementing e-governance.

CONCLUSION

LBSIM- 2013-2015

The MCA21 initiative is part of the “Mission Mode” projects of the Government of India. Such mission mode projects have been positioned to be major change agents in the e-Governance space in India. Government agencies and departments and even private entities, which want to play a role in e-Governance transformations, will all be catalyzed to think along the roadmap and imbibe the learning’s from the mission mode projects. The MCA21 program may be looked at as one of the early e-Governance building blocks capable of providing sustainable ethos to the several modernizing initiatives that will be carried out by the Government of India.

There are two distinct areas where knowledge and learning’s can be taken from the MCA21 project - (a) a model for secure electronic filing and (b) a concept for improving Government Back office efficiency. It is needless to say that these two are critical ingredients that can be used in a plethora of situations involving delivery of citizen services by the Government. The experience gained from MCA21 can serve as a solid foundation not just for improving service delivery but help the Government think ‘out-of-the-box’ for innovating and defining new services. In addition to this the following things also we concluded:

Information and communication technologies have a valuable potential to help Indian central and state governments deliver good governance to their constituents.

The potential remains largely untapped to date and there are various gaps hindering effective implementation of e-Governance in India.

The e-governance projects like the one implemented by Passport Department with the help of software giant TCS proves the enhancement of efficiency by e-governance.

The recommendations made, if implemented, can help India become a leader in the e-Governance space.

Globally India has been known to be a leader in the IT arena but the government itself has had a very fragmented approach where every department did its projects separately.

This approach has not allowed government; employees, citizens and businesses reap optimum benefits from a majority of e-Governance initiatives taken so far.

e-governance

Business

grievances redressed effectively

mission mode projects

certified filing centres

digital signature certificates

nordic countries sweden

state wide roll

certified filing centers

pay stamp duty