What is Telecommuting ? Telecommuting in IT- Led Governance NICNET - the ideal vehicle for Telecommuting Telecommuting Services over NICNET How to join TSN ? Training Help Desk
Are you the one who sits late in the office frequently to finish off important jobs?..or the one who usually has to rush to the workplace even on weekends to access a document on the office PC ? If yes, the Telecommuting Services of NIC are just for you !!
It has always been a dream for the high profile Executives and Officers in today's competitive world to have a ready access to the work lying in their office computer from anywhere in the world, including the comfort of their homes. It is no longer a dream - it is now a reality with the concept of Telecommuting.
What is Telecommuting ?
Telecommuting is the name given to the revolutionary concept of work culture in which employees work at any time and at any place that allows them to accomplish their work in an efficient manner. Telecommuting is being heralded as a new solution of the Information Age in the new millennium as it promises to completely re-engineer conventional jobs, by effectively eliminating the physical distance between you and your workplace. It offers you something more than just Internet Access or Email, it allows you to have secure access of all the information lying in your Office computer from practically anywhere in the world. An Effective utilization of this technology could mean that you can work on your office files, attend important meetings and discussions, access public and government databases and web sites ..all from a remote location.
Telecommuting in IT- Led Governance
As we move further from the 'Industrial Age' to the 'Information Age', the Information Technology Task Force set up by the Prime Minister of India has made several recommendations to ensure the implementation of IT-led Governance in the Country. A significant recommendation among these, is Recommendation 91 (part I) which deals with 'Telecommuting' and makes it essential for the Government to provide "Office to Residence" computer communication linkage to the Officers at the decision making level. The task to carry out the recommendation has been assigned by the Government to The National Informatics Centre.
NIC's Telecommuting Programme aims to provide a panorama of services through NICNET, the nationwide computer-communication network, to the category of 'serving and retired Officers of the rank of Joint Secretary or equivalent and above in Central Government as well as equivalent ranks in State Governments'. A high level committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary had earlier approved that the respective Ministries/Departments would provide Internet ready computers at the residence of the Officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above in line with the recommendations of the IT Task Force.
NICNET - the ideal vehicle for Telecommuting
Through its nearly 2000 nodes, NICNET, the satellite communication network of NIC, connects the National Capital, the State Capitals and the District Headquarters to one another.
NIC has also set up Sectoral Intranets through Local Area Networks in various Central and State Secretariat Buildings, in collaboration with the respective Ministries, Departments and State Governments. All these networks are interconnected and in turn connected to INTERNET through NICNET.
This vast infrastructure and the wide array of services already in place, makes NICNET the ideal vehicle for Telecommuting. With NICNET, you can not only surf the Internet for web sites but also have a round the clock uninterrupted access to the secure databases of your Department if your office building's LAN is connected to NICNET.
Telecommuting Services over NICNET
If you are an enlisted User of the Telecommuting Services of NIC (TSN), the following services can be availed of :
E-Mail : Your personalised E-Mail ID through NICNET which shall also act as your Telecommuting Name
Surfing on the World Wide Web : (unlimited for NICNET Servers but limited upto 500 hours in a year for Internet)
Hosting Your own web site : You may design your own web site and host your profile on the TSN web server, for free !!
Access to Ministry/Department's Intranet Servers : If your Ministry already has a LAN connected to the NICNET, TSN provides you an exclusive facility to access your Intranet servers and be in constant touch with your Office from wherever in the world you are. Even if you are on a visit to a remote District of India, NICNET allows you to access your office computer at the cost of a local phone call !!!
Access to India Image Programme : India Image is a unique project of NIC which is a consolidated portal of over 120 web sites of various Ministries/Departments/Organizations and State Governments. TSN allows you an unlimited access to the India Image site and the web services offered by its constituents.
Access to Government and Public Databases : TSN promises a fast and uninterrupted access to numerous useful databases which are available in the Govt or Public Domain.
All this is available to the members in the first stage itself. Further, the R&D teams are already working for the second stage to serve you with Voice Recognition Systems in Roaming Terminals (no keyboard !!), Telecommuting access to huge encyclopaedias, millions of pages of text, Bibliography of thousands of Journals, to mention a few.
How to join TSN ?
If you are of the rank of a Joint Secretary or above (or equivalent in Central/State Government) and have a PC already installed at home, all you have to do is contact the address given at the end of the story and fill up the requisite form. NIC shall get back to you with your TSN id and password within three days.
Training
The realisation that the members would like to know more about how they can optimally utilize TSN has prompted NIC to initiate a series of specialized training programmes exclusively for TSN members. These training programmes are being conducted after office hours for the convenience of the participants.
The main objective of these training programmes is to apprise the Senior level Officers of the potentials of IT Tools so as to enable them to use their existing computer infrastructure more effectively. The participants are shown how they can effectively extend their offices to their homes or to a remote location through telecommuting via dial-up and subsequently have the same services available in the office like Internet, E-mail, Access to public databases etc from their home or anywhere in the world. Useful technologies like Via Voice Dictation software (where the computer recognizes the human voice as the means of inputting data), Video Conferencing, Office Automation Package for monitoring pending files etc. are demonstrated during the course of the training. The concept of Intranets within the Ministry/Department is also dealt upon.
This training has been specially designed and meticulously structured keeping in view the different levels of computer awareness and working knowledge of the participants. Hence, the number of lecture sessions have been kept at the required minimum so that more emphasis could be laid on practice sessions. The participants are given a choice of working with work books, assignments etc. depending upon the individual level of computer knowledge. Also in order to provide better assistance, special feedback email accounts have been created where the participants can send their suggestions for improvement in future training programmes.
During the inauguration of a training programme for senior officers on "Computers and Internet" held recently, Dr.N.Seshagiri, Special Secretary and Director General, NIC, stressed on the importance and need for concepts like Telecommuting in order to achieve India's aim of becoming a global super power in the field of IT during the next millennium. Dr.Seshagiri also emphasized on the need for effective usage of Internet technologies for accessing Govt Databases which exist in large numbers and also on selective dissemination of information. He further said that although the Telecommuting Services of NIC are currently limited to Joint Secretaries (or equivalent) and above, there are plans to extend these services to other ranks of Govt Officers in the near future.
Help Desk
In case of any difficulty in Telecommuting over NICNET or any query with regards to any service, one may contact the special Telecommuting Help Desk, operational 24 hours a day..seven days a week at :
Tel No. : 91-11- 4360088 Fax : 91-11-4363665 Email : tsn@nic.in