Amravati is also known as Amrawati or Amraoti. It is believed to be the city of Lord Indra, the king of gods. The city boasts of historical temples of goddess Amba, Lord Shri Krishna and Shri Venkateshwara. But today the district is known for its robust ICT implementations, advanced communication technologies and effective e-Governance support to the citizens. All this has helped to usher in the required transformation in government to ably meet the challenges of the new millennium. N IC District Unit, Amravati was set up in 1988 and since then it has developed and implemented many Management Information Systems and Decision Support Systems for the District Administration. The centre is also extending ICT support to other government departments in the district through software develop- ment, implementation support, training etc. SOFTWARE DEVELOPED AND BEING IMPLEMENTED BY NIC AMRAVATI Project Affected Information System: This system has been designed to compile the data of peo- ple affected by some large projects in the district such as construction of dams, industrial projects etc. The software maintains the details of all such affected people, their name, address, qualifications, project name and category. The informa- tion is later used by the district administration during the recruit- ment of project affected people in various departments of the district. The software has enhanced the transparency in the system and has facilitated both the district adminis- tration and the general public. GIS of Amravati District: A Geographical Information System (GIS) has been developed in Amravati to maintain the informa- tion of the district and all its four- teen tehsils. The software has linked most of the indicators of the census data such as population, sex, area, literacy rate, rainfall, family details etc., and other attributes such as caste, income to the tehsil and vil- lage code. This information can be displayed in the form of graphical images, maps or text as and when required by the district administration for planning purposes. Clerk Recruitment Information System: This MIS has been designed to automate the recruitment system for the post of clerks. The complete details of the candidates are fed into the system. The marks obtained during the written and oral examinations are updated and a plethora of reports are generated during the recruitment process. The system is very useful for the district administration and has been replicated in a number of other districts as well. Counting Staff Randomization : This system is used for the selection and deployment of counting supervisors, assistants and static observers randomly during the parlia- mentary elections. It involves collection of data from differ- ent state and central government departments, randomiza- tion in presence of returning officer & observers and gener- ation of orders for assigning officials to the polling stations and during counting of votes. VNSS Mission Web Portal: The objective of Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission Portal (http://vnss-mis- sion.gov.in) is to provide information of various schemes & special packages being implemented by the Maharashtra Government and the Central Government for farmers of the Vidarbha region with a hope that it will help in solving the problem of suicide by farmers in the seven districts of the region. Both, the High Court and the state government are constantly monitoring the implementation status of various schemes on the VNSS portal. The data is being updated fortnightly using VPN connectivity. Amravati District Web Portal: The official web site of Amrawati (http://amravati.gov.in) provides detailed static and dynamic information of district including its history, tourism, vision for future, great personalities from the dis- trict etc. Recently new sections have been added to provide information on district BPL list, details of beneficiaries under different schemes and packages, waiting list of Indira Awas Yojana and information pertaining to RTI. MAJOR NATIONAL AND STATE E-GOVERNANCE PROJECTS Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY): RSBY has been introduced by Ministry of Labour and Employment, GoI to provide health insurance to the BPL families. In first phase the scheme is being implemented in Amravati along with seven other districts of Maharashtra. The system involves three stages - enrollment, hospital transactions and monitoring. As part of implementation activity a dis- trict level workshop was conducted for all SDO, Tahsildars, BDO, Medical officers, Talathi and Gramsevak. BRGF - Planplus: As part of the BRGF and Planplus imple- mentation in the district three workshops have been con- ducted for the officials and staff of DRDA, Panchyat Samitis, DPO and Municipal councils. Village level plans are also being prepared with technical support of NIC, Amravati. e-Post: e-Post is a National project for computerization of post by using various applications such as iMO, Speed Post Track & Trace, Public Grievances etc. It is a service under which printed or even handwritten messages of customers are scanned and transmitted as email through internet. At the destination offices, these messages are printed, enveloped and delivered through postmen like other letters. For this purpose, e-post centers have been set up in Amravati and Parathwada Post Offices with the help of NIC, Amravati. OTHER SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS In addition to these, many other applications are being implemented in the district such as CIPA, NREGA, Confonet, Agmarknet, CODISS, Panchayati Raj Portal etc. ICT support is extended to Commissioner of Revenue and Police, Zilla Parishad, SP office, District Court, Treasury, Transport, Employment and other offices. Training pro- grammes have been conducted for e-Governance projects & technologies and web services have been extended to vari- ous departments of the district. For further information Arun M. Ranvir District Informatics Officer NIC, Amravati-Maharashtra Ph: 0721-2662893 mahamr@nic.in