Patna, also known as Patliputra is the capital of the state of Bihar in India. One of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, Patna was founded in 490BC by the king of Magadha. It is located on the south bank of the river Ganga. Patna is the 21st fastest growing city in the world and the fifth fastest-growing city in India and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.72%. As of 2015, the GDP per capita of Patna is ₹1,06,000/- and its GDP growth rate is 7.29 percent. NIC, District Centre, Patna along with the District Administration remain in forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. District Administration has created an IT Cell at NIC for compilation of Data generated out of various activities undertaken by Government to tackle Covid-19 pandemic. NIC through Video Conferencing facilities has enabled continuation of communication across various levels of government while maintaining social distancing norms. During the COVID-19 pandemic containment many restrictions existed including physical contacts, maintaining of social distancing, many new IT solutions were initiated in the district. One of the most important was the e-Pass system for the stranded persons across the district. Patna was the first district to launch this in the state of Bihar. A web portal and IT application were also created in which citizens could apply to the e-Pass system with much ease. A large number of citizens have been benefitted from this initiative. Later on, it was extended to all districts of Bihar which helped the people who were stranded and had to travel due to medical or other emergency reasons. Besides, the NIC Patna has helped in communicating with the field offices and also with the State level offices using video conferencing facility of National Informatics Centre for which the NIC officers has worked and rendered support throughout day and night throughout the lockdown period.
- KUMAR RAVI, IAS Former District Magistrate, Patna Government of Bihar
COVID-19 Cell Management System This site hosted at Mini Cloud of NIC Bihar State Unit, was configured with VPN for remote updates. The portal facilitated consolidated Daily review by District Magistrate, Patna of Reports submitted by Covid-19 Cell In-charges. COVID-19 Sahyog Portal Person or families not having Ration Card but who otherwise are eligible for the same were given who are eligible for Ration Card, but they do not have for Ration Cards and also, they were granted one-time help of ₹1000/- from the Government. Detail data of such person was collected by ‘Jeevika Didis’ and was entered at the portal - https://aapda.bih.nic.in/fooddbt/. ICT Support was provided for collection of input details of 1,58,217 families at this portal and also for generating New Ration Cards using ePDS. DM’s Regular Review Meetings Under the leadership and guidance of the District Magistrate (DM), NIC Patna, has implemented all ICT activities to tackle Covid-19 Pandemic. District administration has also analyzed Data/ Reports generated through various systems to take appropriate, effective and timely action to control the pandemic and has set example for other Districts of Bihar. e-Kamaan e-Kamaan is a web-based software which was designed and developed by NIC District Centre, Patna for easy and secure management of selection, deployment and payment process related to Home Guards of Bihar. The software interacts with present manual system and converts it completely into automated system. e-Kamaan is being used by the district commandant offices for compiling online roster register based on missed call, for duty allotment of home guards by randomized kamaan generation, for providing up to-date payments information reporting and for online grievance redressal etc. This system will also provide a Head Quarter module for generating different types of district-wise MIS reports related to home guards. Aapda Sampoorti (Corona Sahayata) http://aapda.bih.nic.in/coronasahayata A one-time help of ₹1000/- were provided to the family of Bihari Mazdoor who were stranded in different States. A mobile App was developed which allows the beneficiary to submit his selfie photo with location coordinates, Aadhaar Number, and Bank Account Number at Bihar against his name. In Patna District, 64584 applications were received and 56032 applications approved for payments. It was the first initiative of its kind and helped the residents of Bihar who were stranded in other states. Later, similar initiatives have been replicated in other states too. e-Pass (Service Online for Covid-19) https://serviceonline.bihar.gov.in NIC, Patna was actively involved in the process of Issuance of e-Pass during COVID-19 pandemic on ServicePlus web portal (https://serviceonline.bihar. gov. in). The passes were meant for the movement of vehicles and persons during the lockdown within and outside the State. e-Pass Application Software has undergone various changes to reflect change in criteria and rules of issuance of e-Pass based on the changed in prevailing guideline issued by State and District Authorities time to time. As on December 2020, 38,073 applications for e-Pass were received, out of which 4161 have been approved, 23589 rejected and 10323 were pending. Summary An unprecedented situation like COVID-19 Pandemic has been tackled successfully by the district administration with ICT support provided by NIC District Centre Patna. With change in pandemic situation, under leadership of the current District Magistrate Dr. Chandrashekhar Singh, IAS, NIC Patna has started working on new domains in addition to other regular eGovernance initiatives of the District. Recently NIC Patna District Centre has developed a Mobile application for responsive administration with social media platform under Digital Governance Mobile Challenge. Initiatives have also been taken for user friendly applications to maintain Law and Order roster duty for the capital.