Shimla, known as the Queen of Hills, was the summer capital of India during the pre-independence era and presently it is the State Capital of Himachal Pradesh. It is a famous tourist destination worldwide and every season of the year has something in store for the tourists. Shimla had been the centre of many historical events, which were held here before independence. The town has some marvelous buildings known for its Architect & Design. The District Centre of NIC was set up in the year 1988 and has witnessed how ICT has become part of life in offices and how it has brought changes in work culture. The advantage of digitization has benefitted the citizens in getting the services at their doorsteps.
ICT Initiatives in the District Shimla District Website The website of District administration at https://hpshimla.nic.in covers various sections and emphasis has been given to G2C and G2G services. This website has separate sections such as Tourism, Citizen Services, Directory, Notifications, Events, etc. The Citizen Service section provides multiple services to the citizens. District web site is frequently visited by citizens and tourists for any type of authentic information. The website has been among the leading sites, which got migrated to the SWaaS platform. The website adheres to the GIGW guidelines and it has been awarded as Certified Accessible Website by STQC in compliance with these standards. The CAW logo is being displayed on the website.
NGDRS (National Generic Document Registration System) The NGDRS Project has launched in District Shimla in two of its Tehsils on the Pilot basis by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Shri Jai Ram Thakur, the software was successfully implemented in these two Tehsils and it was customized as per the local requirements. The successful implementation of NGDRS in these two Tehsils encouraged the District Administration to get it Rolled out in all the 25 Tehsils of the District.
Other Key Initiatives in the District/ Innovations Applied ePermissions Mobile Application The ePermission Mobile Application has been developed by NIC District Centre under the DGMC (District Governance Mobile Challenge). The District Administration is approached by various Individuals, NGOs, officials for grant of permission to hold Events, Functions, Rallies, plying of vehicles, Landing of Helicopter, etc. All this work was done manually in DM Office and Police verification was also done manually, which resulted in a delay of processing the permission work. The idea to develop the Mobile Application for automation of the Permission work was discussed with DC and ADM after the DGMC was announced, and after getting approval from the Administration, the development was started. The mobile app ePermissions is a Bilingual G2C application and it has been developed in Flutter Google UI Framework, DART as a development language. The backend is MSSQL 2008 R2 and the app has a proper user authentication mechanism built in it. The ePermissions Mobile App was awarded Bronze Certificate under the DGMC. The Mobile Application has helped the Administration in providing Faceless Service to the Citizens in a time-bound manner with standard procedures adopted and enforced in the application for granting the Permission.
Video Conference during Pandemic The Covid Pandemic made it difficult for the officials to perform their duties, due to lockdown and other restrictions as the movement was restricted. The Video conference system of NIC was used to its full capacity during this period. The Video Conference of the Deputy Commissioner and other Officers was conducted up to the Sub Division, Block, and Tehsils level by using the Vidyo Desktop facility of NIC. The VC studio of NIC remained fully occupied during this period as officers of Administration, Police, Health and other departments attended Video Conferences from NIC Centre, which were held with Hon’ble CM, Ministers, Chief Secretary and Other Department Heads of the State.
Sugam Centres Sugam Centres are the single point of contact for the citizens, where more than 50 services are provided under one roof. These centres have been set up in Sub Divisions, Tehsils, and Sub Tehsils. The major services provided in these centres are: • Vehicle Registration and allied services • Issuance of 14 types of Certificates • Issuance of New LL/DL and Allied services • Issuance of eStamp papers • Issuance of Nakal Jamabandi • Issuance of Arms License and allied services
eProsecution The eProsecution Module under ICJS (Inter Operable Criminal Justice System) was made operational in the State of HP as this project was coordinated from the District Centre of NIC. The hardware and manpower under the project have been provided to the District Attorney Office across the state. The training sessions were conducted over a virtual medium for the officers of the department. The Police Officials have started online submission of Challans and Draft Charge Sheet for opinion to the District Attorney.
Awards & Accolades District Election Officer cum Deputy Commissioner gave appreciation letter during Parliament Elections for providing the ICT support for smooth conduct of Elections. District Web Site has been audited and approved for certification by STQC for compliance to the GIGW guidelines and had issued CAW (Certified Accessible Website) certificate for District web site. The Bronze Award is given for the mobile application ePermissions developed by NIC District Centre, Shimla.