The coastal state of Goa known for its swaying palms, sunny beaches and progressive life style has not been far behind in the field of information technology. Having bagged the prestigious CSI-NIHILENT: Most Progressive e-Governed State Award in 2006-07 the last few years have seen Goa leapfrog into the cyber age. NIC Goa has played a pivotal role, providing quiet and critical support by developing and implementing applications that have made a difference. Accounts Online: This application has been developed by NIC, Goa for the Directorate of Accounts (DOA), Government of Goa. NIC, Goa has been providing IT support to DOA since 1993. The DOA's and NIC's joint efforts at computerization were rewarded in the form of bagging the prestigious CSI-NIHILENT Award in the department category in 2009. The DOA is the budget controlling authority for the Government of Goa. DOA has two offices one in North Goa and one in South Goa. There are two District Treasuries and 9 Sub-Treasuries. Besides there are various sections doing different kinds of functional activities in DOA. The Accounts-Online a web-based project, has been implemented in the DOA to meet all their functional requirements. Some of the systems implemented are as follows: Integrated Bill Processing System MICR Cheques Compilation of Accounts Budget Processing Treasury Accounting System General Provident Fund System Contribution Pension System Advances Management System Loans Management System Works Audit System Pension Accounting System Online Financial Information System From April 1, 2011, a new system called eDDO will be in place that will allow the Drawing & Disbursing Officers (DDO) of all departments to manage their allotment of funds. With this, the DOA will be opening its database service sphere to other departments. The DOA already has data sharing facility with the Finance Department and the AG, Goa office. The DOA also pays its gazetted officers through the ECS mode of payment. SMS intimation is provided after successful crediting of salary. Dharani Goa was the first state to have 100% computerized Land Records. Both rural & urban Record of Rights (ROR) is computerized. The current version, DHARANI-II developed and implemented by NIC, Goa for the Department of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR) has the following major services: Dharani Rural & Dharani Urban are the textual web-based solutions implemented for maintenance of Rural & Urban ROR's for Government of Goa. Legacy data conversion to UNICODE Digital Crop Survey Under this project, DSLR had issued a Netbook PC to all 200 Talathis of Goa, for conducting crop survey. Each Netbook is provided with ROR data, cadastral maps of saza & a click-once based solution for recording the cultivator entries in the Kharif & Rabi seasons. The recorded cultivator details are pushed through web service, which enables the Mamlatdars (Tehsildars) to certify the cultivator entries using Dharani Rural. Once entries are certified the entries appear on the Record of Rights. Some of the other facilities of DHARANI-II are: A web enabled Touch Screen Kiosk Interface is available at all Mamlatdar offices. Biometric authentication is provided This project was awarded the prestigious CSI-NIHILENT Award of Excellence in the project category in 2010. Dharani-II for Rural ROR is implemented in all 11 talukas of Goa. Dharani-II for Urban ROR is implemented in all 4 City Survey Offices of Goa. 13 Mahiti Ghars issue RORs in Goa. e-Ticketing at the IFFI 2010 Goa has been hosting the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the past few years. And every year NIC, Goa gives all IT support to the organizers. During IFFI 2010, the concept of e-Ticketing was introduced with a view to reduce the queues at every screening venue of the IFFI. The e-Ticketing facility allows all approved delegates and media personnel to create a login using their delegate ID. VATSoft VATSoft is an efficient and user-friendly application for the Commercial Tax Offices (CTO) in the state of Goa. This system is an excellent example of taking e-Governance to the business community. All the seven CTOs are interconnected with the Head Office through the state-wide intranet Goa Broad Band Network (GBBN). The system developed and customized by NIC Goa, has the following features: Automatic generation of TIN number. VATSoft is Web enabled. All statutory forms are bar coded. And can be read by barcode readers. Notification to users on software updates is online. Simplified process for transfer and cancellation of Registered Dealers. Online payment through Cyber Treasury and Banks. Dissemination of online information to the Enforcement Wing through VPN enabled Wireless network. Some of the modules implemented are Registration, Tax Collection, e-Filing of returns, Assessment of dealers etc. With the introduction of the VATSoft system in May 2008, the objectives of providing clean administration of registration of dealers, better and efficient monitoring and collection of tax, online payment of tax have been met. Vahan and Sarathi for the Road Transport Department The Vahan software developed by NIC-HQ is successfully implemented in all 7 RTO locations in Goa in April 2010. This software is primarily designed for Registration of Vehicles. Vahan software has the features like Registration of New Vehicles, Issuance of Fitness Certificate, Road Tax Collection, Transfer of Ownership, Renewal of Registration, Permits etc. The Sarathi software developed by NIC Hyderabad, has also been successfully implemented in all 7 RTO's in GOA in October 2010. Sarathi is used for providing Learning/Driving Licenses to the public. Sarathi Software facilitates Issue of fresh Learner's/Driver's Licence, Renewal of Learner's/Driver's Licence, Duplicate Learner's/Driver's Licence, Change of Name/Address in Driving Licence, Duplicate Driving Licence etc. Goa is the first state in the country to introduce vehicle registration at Dealers' location. NIC Goa has developed a web-based module to facilitate vehicle registration at Dealers' location and seamlessly integrated this module with the Vahan software. File Management System The File Management System (FMS) is a web-based system, designed with the sole purpose of facilitating tracing of files and documents within a government department as well as between departments. How it works Every time a letter/file is inwarded at the entry point in a government office, a unique number is generated. This number is used to trace the movement of the letter/file in the government department and also if it is marked outside the department to another department. Some salient features of this system are: Online help available. The system has different roles for different categories of users such as central registry, sectional inward/outward, dealing hand, super user and administrator to cater to functional requirements of a department. An exhaustive list of MIS reports is available for departmental use. Letter/file can be moved between departments seamlessly. Tracing mechanism is available. One has to remember only the unique number generated at first entry point, in order to trace letter/file. FMS designed and developed by NIC, Goa was successfully implemented in the state Secretariat in September 2010. FMS is now being replicated and implemented in other departments. Till date, more than 800 people from 20 departments have been trained in the use of FMS. This system available through the state Intranet GBBN is now being used by the departments to track their files. e-Services This year on 26th January 2011, the e-Services facility for citizens, government and business were inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Goa, Sh. Digambar Kamat. The portal aims to provide the facility for citizens to submit online forms for the services identified by the state to be delivered online and through Lok Seva Kendras (LSKs). This portal will also cater to the requirements of all the Government departments to access and process the e-Forms submitted online. e-Services managed by NIC, Goa are as follows: Land Records Services Application for Form I & XIV Application for Form D RTO Services Application for Grant of Learners Licence (Form 2) Application for Licence to drive Motor Vehicle (Form 4) Application for Renewal of Driving Licence Application Duplicate Driving Licence Application for Grant of Yellow/ Black Taxi, Autorickshaw, Motorcycle Application for Subsidy for replacement of 15 year old bus/minibus Municipal Services Search Birth/Death Records Application for Copy of Birth Certificate Application for Copy of Death Certificate Application for Issue of Income Certificate Application for Copy of Construction Licence Application for Copy of Occupancy Certificate Village Panchayat Services Search Birth/Death Record Application for Copy of Birth Certificate Application for Copy of Death Certificate Application for Issue of Income Certificate Commercial Tax Submission of Application for Dealer Registration under VAT/ CST / Luxury Tax/ Entertainment Tax/ Entry Tax/ TDS Renewal of Registration under VAT / Luxury Tax/ Entertainment Tax/ TDS Filing of Returns for VAT/ CST/ COT/ Luxury Tax/ Entertainment Tax/ Entry Tax/ TDS Payment of VAT /CST Collectorate & Taluka Officer (South Goa) Application for issue of divergence certificate Application for issue of income certificate Application for issue of residence certificate Application for issue of caste certificate Renewal of Arms license Application for issue of domicile certificate Video parlour license-new license/renewal license Application for issue of sound permission With the introducing of e-Services, the Goa government's serious intent at providing various utility services from a single portal has been vindicated. The e-Services portal is a Single Window Service Delivery Channel for G2C and G2B Services for ensuring accessibility, convenience, transparency and timeliness in service delivery. DCSuite & TalukaSuite DCSuite and TalukaSuite are an integrated suite of applications for the South Goa District Collectorate and Taluka offices based on an integrated solution architecture covering all functional areas and activities of the South Goa District Collectorate and Taluka offices. It is a web enabled solution built on industry standard software technologies and best practices. DCSuite & TalukaSuite project aims at making all the services of the South Goa District Collectorate and Taluka Offices more accessible to the citizens. Public Access, Transparent Administration, and Service Delivery are the key features of this project. DCSuite & TalukaSuite will help the South Goa District Administration to achieve: Less Paper Office Efficient Monitoring Transparency Speedy Disposals Best Citizen Services delivery With the total computerization of the South Goa District Collectorate and all the five Taluka offices, people would be able to track the status of a file or an application in the South Goa District Collectorate and Taluka offices easily either through the Citizen Facilitation Centre or through the Touch Screen based Kiosks installed at the important places or through the SMS based service provided by the South Goa District Administration. Passing Remarks: With most IT initiatives running successfully to completion, Goa hopes to reinforce its image not only as an international holiday destination, but also as a state that provides SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Transparent and Responsive) governance to it citizens. For further information JJR ANAND State Informatics Officer NIC, Goa H-Block, Paraiso-De-Goa Porvorim Goa Ph: +91-832-2410160/2410816 sio-goa@nic.in