Bangalore One Offers e-Governance

Bangalore One Offers e-Governance
Tech Tree

e-Governance projects have been planned for execution in all states across the country. The e-Governance division of the Govt of India examines the practical implications of IT related issues, with the aim of improving services to citizens.

Since the launch of Bangalore One (B1) on April 2, 2005, the authorities have maintained a very low profile about activities. When asked to comment on this, Vipin Singh, director - Bangalore One, said, "Well, this requires process engineering. We have been very busy getting the implementation effective in every way possible, to make the functioning of all the services flawless. The intention was to get as many services up and running before we talk about it to the public. We are proud of our achievements so far, and we are sure to be able to answer the questions raised by citizens about the activities and services offered by B1."

Based on the concept of a "One-Stop-Shop" facility, Government of Karnataka (GoK) along with its Technology Partner - CMS Computers Limited, has implemented the e-Governance project called Bangalore One or B1. CMS Computers is the main partner; Ram Informatics Limited is the consortium member; and UTI Bank is the banker for the B1 project.

The vision behind the B1 Project is "to provide to the citizens of
Karnataka, all G2C and G2B One-Stop services and information about
departments and agencies of Central, State and Local Governments in an
efficient, reliable, transparent and integrated manner on a sustained
basis, through easy access to a chain of computerized Integrated Citizen Service Centers (ICSCs) plus through multiple delivery channels like Electronic Kiosks, mobile phones and the Internet."

The government departments working closely with Bangalore One are,
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BMP), Bangalore Police Service (BPS), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Regional Transport Office (RTO), Regional Passport Office (RPO), CellOne and the Department of Labour.

Mobile service providers including Tata Indicom, Reliance, BSNL, Cellone and more recently - Spice, have joined hands with Bangalore One to help the customers pay their mobile bills easily.

Presently B1 has 14 centers across Bangalore city with locations at Jayanagar, Yeshwantpur, R T Nagar, Rajajinagar, Vijayanagar, HBR Layout, Air Port Road, etc. All 14 centers provide services from 8am to 8pm on all working days, and from 9am to 3pm on Sundays and holidays. Portal services are offered round-the-clock throughout the year.

The centers offer services like payment of bills; registration of birth and death; receipt of applications for new telephone connections; collection of income tax and filing of returns; sale of stamp papers; providing of exam results; etc.

Satish Jorapur, project manager, CMS Computers, said, "Imagine being able to pay your bills for telephone, electricity, water, and for that matter anything, all under one roof and that too at the most convenient hours, maybe after office hours or before. Moreover we have been successful in maintaining zero waiting time for almost all the transactions so far."

All B1 Service centers are equipped with an electronic queuing system and a help desk; they are manned by manager in charge of activities being carried out at the center. All proceeds are transferred to the UTI Bank on a daily basis.

The e-governance projects have been initiated so as to make citizens feel that government services are equally accessible to one and all, irrespective of social or economic status