Sh. Sanjeev Gupta IAS, Secretary (Information Technology) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh talks to Ajay Chahal, Informatics HP Correspondent
Informatics: The launch of Himachal Pradesh State Wide Area Network (HIMSWAN) is a significant milestone in the state's ICT journey. How is HIMSWAN different from other SWANs in the country and what are your plans for utilizing its full capacity?
S.G. So far, HIMSWAN is the only State Wide Area Network in the country which has wireless connectivity at tehsil, sub-tehsil and block and even Panchayat-level. In a hilly terrain like that of HP, provision of wireless was essential for connecting horizontal offices at various levels and also to link Panchayat level institutions. We have chosen Pre-Wimax solution after rigorous field testing lasting over a fortnight to ensure that at least 384 kbps bandwidth to even far off horizontal offices and Panchayats for voice, data and video services are available down to the panchayat level. This wireless connectivity to Panchayats is in addition to the alternative being worked out through BSNL at the national level. HIMSWAN is the only network having OFC (Optical Fiber Cable) from State to District / Sub-division/Tehsil/ Sub-tehsil levels and then Managed Leased Lines (MLLN) locally at these locations. The network equipment has bandwidth capacity to cater to ever increasing bandwidth needs of the future as per Nielsen's Law (double requirement almost every 2 years). For instance, the M-120 Core Router of Juniper can have a throughput of up to 8 Gpbs in MPLS (as against 24 Mbps today) which is sufficient for 17 years as per above empirical law. The network is being managed by Enterprise Management System (HP Open view EMS) as against Network Management System (NMS) elsewhere. Hence, remote and proactive repair is possible down to the port level from the Network Operations Centre. A very stringent SLA has been signed with HP India. Still, instead of leaving it only on SLA adherence as has been done elsewhere, 103 HP engineers and other IT professionals with pre-determined qualifications and experience (in the RFP) are being deployed for 5 years throughout the State. HIMSWAN also has option of connecting horizontally through a very economical and efficient B-RAS. If this extremely high level of product specifications and severe penal clauses in SLA are considered, HIMSWAN is being implemented at less than half the cost compared to other States. We have provided UTM, Firewall, Anti-virus, IDS and we fulfill ISO 27001 standards.
Having a mesh of wires does not mean anything till the citizen centric services are thrown open through the system. Our services began the same day HIMSWAN was inaugurated and data related to Land Records, Driving Licenses and Vehicle Registration have been integrated. Apart from this, offices of treasury and police departments have also been connected horizontally to the HIMSWAN. HIMSWAN provides VC down to the tehsil level and selected Panchayats.
Informatics: What, in your view, are the major challenges being faced by a state like HP while implementing the e-Gov initiatives, particularly an infrastructure endeavour like HIMSWAN?
S.G. The State has very difficult topography and harsh climate. For instance, one POP Hangrang is at a height of more than 14000 ft. and some locations have temperatures as low as minus 24 degrees. We were very particular right since the inception about having MLLN down to lowest rung and this took considerable time. Also, there is an acute paucity of technical manpower in IT Department as well as BSNL. Since SWAN is a country wide project, a concerted effort had to be made to woo good companies to Himachal Pradesh. Finally, renowned companies like Airtel, TCS, BEL, Wipro, Tulip, HCL and HP India participated in the tender process and HP India was short listed. In fact, this Project has the distinction of having technological inputs from multitude of companies like Juniper, Nortel, Microsoft, Symantec, Polycom, Maksat etc. and getting all these companies to work together seamlessly was achieved with proper coordination. Despite these adverse conditions, HIMSWAN team has setup the network in a record time of exactly 12 months.
Informatics: Could you elaborate on the Government's thrust areas as a part of overall e-Gov implementation in Himachal?
S.G. The State Government strives to use IT tools for citizen centric IT and not technology just for the heck of it. For bringing about such transformation, core infrastructure is required to be put in place. State Data Centre (SDC), Himachal State Wide Network (HIMSWAN) and Common Service Centre (CSC) are the three pillars of e-Governance. We have worked in the direction of developing all three pillars. We have set up SUGAM (Integrated Community Services Centre) Centres for delivery of up to 50 services. Unlike some other States, Utility Payments are only some of the services in SUGAM Centres. We also provide a large number of G2C and G2B services under a single roof. Now, we have finalised a unique web-based workflow to transcend the barriers of administrative hierarchy to enable delivery of services closer to citizen's doorstep. In view of meager population of this State, we wanted to consolidate our experience at higher echelons of administration before plunging down to CSC Project at Panchayat level. HIMSWAN has been setup for connectivity between Government offices and citizen centres. We already have a mini data centre in HIMSWAN which will be extended to State Data Centre under SDC scheme of GOI under NeGP.
Informatics: Which e-Governance Project in the State has been your personal favourite and what kind of citizen services should the State Government provide on priority?
S.G. While HIMSWAN Project was like a mission 'possible' for us, I feel that Sugam Centres and web based interfaces (like Job Portal, HRTC Booking, e-Gazette, e-Procurement) for providing services to citizens in an integrated manner would rank rather high. This is where the masses actually derive direct benefit of IT. I feel that IT in agriculture, employment, education, taxation, PDS, health, police, PWD / IPH and in selection of beneficiaries must be given thrust, if we really want to reform governance processes and help the underprivileged. We are already working on integrating ICDS, BPL and Land Records databases for providing objective and transparent criteria for selection of beneficiaries.
Informatics: What are the ongoing efforts in the direction of achieving a healthy synchronization between the ICT initiatives in HP and DIT's (GOI) implementation of NeGP?
S.G. The State Government is working in tandem with DIT's (GOI) implementation of NeGP by creating core infrastructure in terms of SDC, SWAN and CSC. The State has already taken a lead in implementation of quite a few State MMPs like Land Records, Transport, Treasuries, Employment Exchange, Police, e-Procurement etc. Now, we want to take additional projects for which the Government of India shall be requested.