State Public Service Commissions, the independent and impartial Constitutional Authority, are functional in 28 States of the country. These Commissions have the responsibility of selecting best candidates for various State Government posts, in a professional, transparent and rightful manner as per desired skill/ qualifications, advise State Government on all matters relating to framing of Recruitment and Promotion Rules, changes thereof, principles to be followed in making appointments, recommending departmental promotions, etc.

The PSC-Soft provides an integrated solution for the core functions of any State Public Service Commission with a focus on providing a user-friendly interface for applicants with a one-time registration facility. It is highlighted by the fact that during the initial implementation stage in HPPSC, the applicant queries have come down by 80%, signifying the user-friendliness of this feature-rich product.

The objective of PSC-Soft is to provide a comprehensive and integrated ICT solution for the core functions of the State Public Service Commission, with configurable business processes, formats, messages, language and interactions with stakeholders. The stakeholders include the PSC Administrative and IT officials, State Departments, Applicants and Citizens. The solution aims to provide transparent, accountable and trustworthy services in the selection of the right candidates for the right positions and serves as a decision support system for the PSC management.

Features • Configurable functional parameters/ formats, user roles and workflow • Online Dashboards for monitoring • SMS/ Email based auto alerts • One Time Registration of Applicants • Online Helpdesk • Security features to ensure data integrity • Paperless, workflow-based interactions with stakeholder Departments

PSC-Soft Modules

PSC Administration and Configuration The PSC can configure the software for use as per their business functions, assign roles to officials for software usage, define formats of various notifications/ letters/ admit card/ advertisements/ press notes, add local language labels etc. as requirements. The workflow software can be used internally by the PSC for processing all received requisitions related to vacancies, R&P rules and DPCs. A comprehensive dashboard displays summary of the works of the Commission.

One Time Registration (OTR) The OTR module is exclusively for the aspiring applicants who have to register only once through their Email ID, which is verified and serves as the unique User ID. The mobile number is also verified and can be changed in future if required. The applicants have to fill up their profile, qualifications, address, work experience and upload certificates/ images. After completion of these, their dashboard shows the vacancies for which they are eligible. The OTR module has details of applicants’ applications, fees paid, SMS/ Emails received, admit cards, results, interviews etc.

Direct Recruitment PSC-Soft has a configurable examination process with the creation of a rule-based dynamic advertisement, exam stages such as preliminary, written, mains, interview, screening followed by merit-based selection. Additionally, online allotment of exam centres, generation of admit card and submission of Candidate attendance, Answer key challenge and Data validation are part of direct recruitment.

Recruitment and Promotion (R&P) Rules The Departments send their draft R&P Rules for approval by Commission and also send requests for modifications in these rules. These can be sent to the Commission in paperless mode.

Departmental Promotion Committees (DPC) The lists of eligible officers due for induction into class I or II services through the promotion are forwarded through software along with their ACRs and roaster for holding of DPC in the Commission. The meeting details and recommendations are captured in it.

Departmental Interface All requisitions related to vacancies, R&P Rules creation/ modifications, DPC cases are forwarded to the Commission by Departments directly by using this module. The tracking status of every case sent to the Commission is available to Departments for monitoring purposes.

Mobile Apps Two mobile apps have been made a part of this software, one for Applicants and the other for the PSC Management. The applicants can do all activities as available to them under the OTR module while the officers can monitor the receipt, processing, forthcoming exams/ interviews, new requisitions, DPCs etc. through these Apps.

PSC-Soft is another product in NIC’s line-up, which has replication possibilities in State Public Service Commissions. Inputs have been taken from State PSCs and its demonstrations have been held for all State NIC and some PSCs. I hope that this software will help to reduce the candidate selection process time, facilitate applicants and switch internal functions to this ICT solution. Dr. NEETA VERMA, Director General, National Informatics Centre

Helpdesk The integrated Helpdesk module accepts applicant queries through OTR, phone and email. All queries handled by the Helpdesk personnel are logged into the system. The system generates various reports to analyze the workload and efficiency of these personnel. The OTR queries are available to candidates in their account for future reference and record.

Intelligent Document Management System (iDMS) This module has the facility to scan old records of the Commission, convert these into PDF files and do the text recognition so that all such records become searchable.

Public Website The software has an option at every stage of its internal functions to send documents like advertisement and public notice to the website of the Commission for publishing at the user prescribed date/ time. These stages can also be configured and the public portal itself is CMS based.

Technologies Used • .Net MVC framework • MS SQL Server 2017 • SMS/ Email integration • Highcharts for dashboards • Android/ iOS (Apple) mobile apps • Payment gateway integration • VPN based access for PSC Admin module

Software Architecture The software architecture focuses on very high volumes of transactions on the OTR module and special security features in the internal module of PSC. A single source of data capturing allows for an integrated solution. The hosting of the application requires the following resources/ actions at the State level: • VMs-Web/ DB Servers, Backup, DR facility • SMS/ Email and Payment gateway integration • Security Audit

Benefits • Reduced vacancy requisition processing time • Secure, efficient, transparent, accountable paperless operations • Cost reduction and Technology standardization • Configurable & customizable processes/ formats • Application Submission in minimum time as per eligibility of registered candidates • User-friendly and Simple Interface for Applicants • Integrated, single source of data collection • Covers major functions of the Commission including end-to-end examination processing • Maximizes benefits to applicants and Government

Way Forward The PSC-Soft has the potential for replication in other State Public Service Commission, by hosting it locally in the Government data-centre. Most of the business processes and functions are configurable and hence replication will not take much time. A demo site is created for the desiring Commissions so that they may get to know the various functionalities of this software. In the meanwhile, work is on to include Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for verifying certain content in certificates uploaded by applicants and to provide some kind of guidance to applicants based on their qualifications and competitive exams undertaken.

For further information, please contact: STATE INFORMATICS OFFICER NIC Himachal Pradesh State Centre 6th Floor, Armsdale Building HP Secretariat, Shimla -171002 HIMACHAL PRADESH Email: sio-hp@nic.in, Phone: 0177-2624045