Shri Anand Kishor, IAS, is serving the Government at various key positions in Bihar such as Divisional Commissioner- Patna, IG -Prison, Chairman- Bihar School Examination Board and Director- Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library. He has been successfully transforming innovative ideas into reality in partnership with NIC in most of his endeavors. Here’s the excerpt from an exclusive interview with him by Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh and Shri Rajiv Ranjan of NIC This is your second term as IG (Prison) and you have been instrumental in evolving Prison ERP for Jail Administration in Bihar in the year 2013. Could you please share your experience? The Prison Manual in Bihar was completely revamped in 2012 with a special emphasis on prison reform initiatives, and advocated for the implementation of an Integrated Prison Management System. It laid special emphasis on transforming the prisons into institutions for corrective and reformative prison behavior as well as streamlining the administrative structure and processes for better management of prisons. Keeping it in view, innovative solution for institutionalizing and paperless office for different prisons under Inspectorate of Prisons and Correctional Services of the State of Bihar was conceptualized and developed with NIC as a software suite locally from e-Prison Model of Prison Informatics Division, NIC (HQ), New Delhi for implementation initially at Model Beur Central Jail, Patna, which is being subsequently implemented in other 55 Prisons in Bihar. Why is Prison ERP unique and what technological innovations have been introduced? Prison ERP has provided real-time availability of information and enabled quick access to prisoner’s information and provided effective monitoring system for prisoners’ welfare. There is a mindset change in work-culture with automation and introduction of financial discipline etc. Visitor Management System (VMS) and other modules (Gate management, Stock management etc) were prepared specifically for the state specific requirements, and key features of the application software includes Biometric based authentication/ verification of inmates, storing of inmates’ photograph, monitoring of physical location of inmate, their movements and medical histories, management of information about the inmates eligible for release under section 436/ 436A, management of visitors inside/ outside prisons, providing lookup facility to investigative departments for tracking of inmates, SMS based alerts to prisons/ police officials etc. Key innovative features implemented include use of biometric tools, photo pass for visitors, voice capture, smart card and SMS alerts incorporated in the application software. Department has also taken up a number of other IT Set-ups for Jail Administration. Could you brief us on this please? Besides, Prison ERP, Video-conferencing in each Jail has been established under BSWAN. Recently RF has been put in place. Moreover, CCTV cameras are also being installed in each Jail for surveillance. We are also looking forward for strengthening of ICT infrastructure under e-Prisons scheme of MHA. What are the implementation challenges for rollout of Prison ERP? What approach is being taken by NIC? Capacity building of Prisons’ Senior Officers to rollout Prison ERP and its optimal usage under e-Prisons is utmost important. Hence, NIC has started organizing a Meeting-cum-Workshop on “Prison ERP – interconnecting Prisons across Bihar under e-Prisons” in the background. As of now, all Prisons are using Prisoner Management System (PMS) online. The key challenge at-hand is implementation. The department is looking forward to an early roll-out and utilization of Prison ERP in Bihar. Meanwhile, hybrid approach has also been devised for interconnecting Prisons across Bihar under e-Prisons. Hence, capacity building of NIC officers in districts along with Circle level senior officers’ participation has been crucial for sensitization and effective coordination & implementation. You have taken up a number of ICT initiatives as the Divisional Commissioner of Patna. Will you please tell us about that? Digitization and transparency have been the core of all the initiatives that have been taken. One of the prominent initiatives has been the Executive Court Information System (ECIS). It facilitates viewing of cause list and case status with SMS messaging facility to inform advocates and respondents. In addition, programs like Mobile App for Case Information System, Online Booking of Sri Krishna Memorial Hall and Gandhi Maidan, randomization technique in assignment of teachers for invigilation for matriculation and 10+2 examination have also been implemented. Moreover, Transfer & Posting software has also been implemented in many departments including Home (Prisons). Using this application randomized transfer of different cadres of officers and staff was done. As the Chairman of BSEB, what initiatives you have taken for revamping BSEB through technology? Besides strengthening of IT set-up in Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), a number of initiatives are being taken like Aadhaar seeding with student registration. Moreover, scanning, imaging and on-screen evaluation of answer book and use of OMR sheet and Barcode stickers is being introduced for better accountability and transparency as a confidence building measures. Being the Director of Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library, Patna, you have taken some initiatives for the renowned Library as well. Could you please mention them? Preservation of digitized manuscripts in storage area network (SAN) with 100 Terabyte capacity has been initiated. Moreover, a web based application for reading the digitized manuscripts has been developed with the help of NIC. You are an engineer and administrator, what policy do you think need to be framed for achieving Digital India goal in Bihar? Extensive use of information technology and computerization of existing manual processes in government departments are key factors for improving efficiency, transparency and accountability in government offices. Also, delivery of many citizen-centric services can be improved by use of Information Technology for which special planning needs to be done. How do you visualize the future role of NIC in Bihar? In the light of its wide reach, role and highly competent technical manpower, NIC can be the main nodal/ focal agency for ensuring full computerization of majority of departments and their work processes. NIC also has the unique advantage of implementing many such successful IT projects across different states of country, which can be easily customized as per needs of other states. With these improvements, if the NIC is augmented with proper resources and adequate technical manpower, it can be really instrumental in a PAN-India digital transformation of the country in future.