Leh, known as the “Land of High Passes,” is a rugged but beautiful mountainous district in Northern India. Its beauty is preserved by rugged mountains, winding roads, and a vibrant culture. After the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2020, Ladakh became a Union Territory in its own right and Leh was designated as its capital. Since then, NIC Leh District Centre is also looking after the affairs of NIC Ladakh UT Centre at Leh under guidance of SIO NIC Ladakh.
NIC Leh District Centre has established itself as a provider of cutting-edge ICT systems to various agencies and stakeholders within the District Administration. It is actively engaged in the development of several citizen services utilising emerging technology for a variety of socioeconomic areas.
ICT Initiatives in the District Registration of Labour (RoL) App RoL Mobile aims to facilitate registration of migrant and native labourers in order to make sure the authenticity of particulars for issuance of labour cards. It has built up a database of labours for assessment of availability of workers for various developmental and agricultural works in the district. In addition to the mobile app, a web portal to assist stakeholders has also developed. The app was built under the District Governance through Mobile Challenge 2020.
LIFMS (https://lifms.ladakh.gov.in) Ladakh Integrated Financial Management System (LIFMS) is a web based application which helps in online budgeting. It provides preparation and authorization of budget alongside expenditure monitoring in a real-time time basis. It aims to provide easy coordination among DDOs, Administrative Departments and Finance Department. The application has been designed and developed by NIC Jammu and Kashmir and implemented by NIC Leh District Centre for Finance Department Ladakh.
eGazette (https://egazette.ladakh.gov.in) eGazette publishes official Gazette and Notifications issued by the Leh District Administration and is being of great use to Industry, Citizens, and Governments. It has been integrated with Parichay for two-factor-authentication. As of now, 146 notifications have been published on the portal.
eHospital (https://ladakh.ehospital.gov.in) eHospital is a hospital management solution that aims to provide better health services with use of ICT. As of now, the District Centre has implemented the solution in One District Hospital and 4 Sub-District Hospitals / Community Health Centres across the district. Subsequently, all other 15 hospitals are planned to be onboarded in phase manner to achieve complete implementation of eHospital in the district.
Ladakh e-Tender (https://tenders.ladakh.gov.in) Leh District Centre has reconfigured and implemented the NIC eProcurement solution for the UT of Ladakh. All Tenders of ₹1.00 lakh and above are floated using this solution. Since 2020, as many as 17921 e-tenders with a cumulative value of ₹8749.99 crore have been published / finalised through the system.
REWA (https://socialwelfare.ladakh.gov.in/rewa) REWA is an initiative of the Office of Lt. Governor for providing financial assistance to students for coaching of various competitive examinations, including NEET, JEE, UG CLAT, and NDA.
eOffice eOffice aims to usher government departments into era of efficiency, responsiveness, and transparency, by providing quantifying government processes. Currently, it has been implemented in District Magistrate and line department offices. For its successful implementation, a number of hands-on training and workshops have been held.
iRAD iRAD is a central accident database, aims to establish an accurate and structured framework for road accident data collection across India. For better implementation, the District Centre has conducted over 100 hands-on training to all the stakeholder departments at their field offices.
LAHDC Management Information System Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) is an Autonomous District Council that administers the Leh district of Ladakh, India. For helping the council in terms of making financial decisions, an online management information system is developed and implemented for the Council. It provides information in terms of scheme wise, object wise status of expenditure books. It also reports availability of funds for taking various decisions.
ePDS (https://feast.ladakh.gov.in) NIC Leh has implemented various web applications viz. Aadhaar Enabled Public Distribution System- AePDS, FEAST – Allocation & Supply Chain Management and RCMS under Public Distribution System for effective delivery of services by Department of Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs.
NGDRS Ladakh (https://ngdrs.ladakh.gov.in) NIC Leh Centre has implemented NGDRS for enabling property registration across all ten Sub-Registrar Offices in Union Territory. The system has been also enabled for backlog data digitization and SMS services alongwith e-KYC and e-Payment. It is also being integrated with e-Stamping, for paying stamping duty electronically.
Fig. 6.1: Parliamentary Standing Committe on Communication and Information Technology visit to NIC Leh District Centre
HME Admissions (https://hmeladakh.org/) The District Centre has designed and developed an online admission application for the Health & Medical Education (HME) Department Ladakh. It helps candidates to apply for seats in colleges for central pool of MBBS and state pool of BDS seats.
Web Development The District Centre is actively involved in the management of District and UT administration websites. Leh District website (https://leh.nic.in), Ladakh UT website (https://ladakh.nic.in), Social Welfare Department website (https://socialwelfare.ladakh.gov.in), and Industries and Commerce Department website (https://industries.ladakh.gov.in) are a few examples.
Other Key Initiatives COVID-19 Response NIC Leh played a crucial role when it came to COVID-19 management. Some of the key activities done by the District Centre are below, Implemented SMS service for RTPCR results and devised a way to report negative results online for immediate notification Supported UT and District Administration with VC and infrastructure services to organise events like live web streaming Implemented ePass service for issuing emergency passes during lockdown Designed a webpage, which act as a single point of various information related to COVID-19 setting and managing District Control Rooms
Elections The District Centre provided its full support to UT and District Administration during all General and UT elections. It has successfully implemented ETPBS, SUVIDHA, CVigil, and other tools needed for smooth pre- and post-election processes. In view of COVID-19, it also provided virtual training to master trainers for election functioning.
Project Implementation District Centre has implemented several State and Central Government projects to boost eGovernance in the District, namely, Vahan, Sarathi, eChallan, eCourts, ePrison, IVFRT, CPGRAMS, NDAL & ALIS, GPF Ladakh, PM Kisan, Birth and Death Certificate Portal, Trade Licence Module, and Rent Collection App.
Important Events Organised Provided VC services for Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Pariksha Pe Charcha and Gareeb Kalyan Sammelan interactive sessions Provided technical support during UT and District Administration events, including ICE-Hockey Tournament, Yoga Day Celebration, Nomadic festivals, Ladakh Festival, and Environment Day Celebration Provided technical support during visits of important dignitaries including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Hon’ble Union Minister of Defence, Shri Rajnath Singh
Way Forward NIC Leh District Centre is committed to provide the best of digital services to citizens of Leh by leveraging the potential of the latest technologies. It is currently working on the several projects such as eOffice and eHospital and plans to roll-out eHRMS, eInventory, RTI Online, LAHDC CCDF, eAbgari, and eDaakhil in near future to benefit both government and society.