Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the country accounting for about 17 percent of the country’s total population. It is the fourth largest state in terms of size with 75 districts and nearly 1.06 lakh villages. However, it is a little known fact that Uttar Pradesh was one of the first states to kick start ICT initiatives in e-Governance. The state already has a fully automated treasury system; online land records information, fully functional transport system, web based commercial tax & social welfare portals, online recruitment and transfer processes. Many other sectors like land registry, urban & rural development, health & family welfare are already at advanced stages of computerization. Uttar Pradesh is also leading in implementation of a number of NeGP projects such as e-District, SSDG & SWAN. Established in 1988, NIC, UP has partnered with the State Government in its endeavour to automate the government processes and reach out to the citizens using ICT. During this period of 25+ years, NIC has rolled-out a number of initiatives using the latest trends and technologies in IT, driven by an aim to develop the state by empowering the masses. These e-Governance projects are not only making the lives of the citizen easier by taking government services to their doorsteps, but have also made the administration quick, responsive, transparent, hassle-free, and easily accessible. Presence & Services NIC has presence in all the districts of the state and strategic departments such as Chief Minister’s Office, Board of Revenue, High Court, Finance Department etc. to provide 24x7 IT Support. The network connectivity through NICNET, NKN, SWAN & SCAN (Sachivalaya Campus Area Network) has more than 15,000 nodes, 10,000+ email accounts and 10 Gbps Internet bandwidth extended to all Tehsils & Block level through 885 PoPs (Point-of-Presence) of SWAN. NIC Data Centre houses more than 100 servers hosting 450+ databases and 200+ websites. NIC also extends studio & desktop based video conferencing services to various functionaries of the State Government, districts courts and jails. Software Projects at State Level (Design, Development & Implementation) The e-Governance initiatives in the state cover the entire spectrum of interfaces - G2G, G2C, G2B, G2E & G2S. Majority of these initiatives are aimed at bridging the digital divide and to extend the many potential benefits of ICT to people residing in remote and far flung areas of the state, in particular, to improve their social, economic and cultural wellbeing. There are more than 50 large scale IT projects implemented across the state. Ranging from citizen centric services to recruitment processes, online counselling, direct to bank transfers, Net banking, mobile based applications, online information access to people and government departments, handling of public grievance and secured financial transaction. eDistrict: Service Delivery at doorstep of citizen (http://edistrict.up.nic.in) eDistrict is a State Mission Mode Project under NeGP. The project was started with 6 pilot districts (Sitapur, Raebareli, Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Budh Nagar & Ghaziabad) in 2008. It provides 22 services ranging from certificates, pensions, ration card, employment registration etc. to the citizens from the eDistrict Centres & Common Service Centres/Lokvani Centres established in districts and villages respectively. The complete process right from application to final delivery of certificates has been automated. The web based application ensures 100% round-the-clock electronic workflow and application tracking. Dashboard based MIS & Escalation Matrix ensures the adherence to the service levels and technology such as digital signatures has been used for approving the application & issuing the certificates. More than 120 lakh certificates have been issued to people through the system. Recently, online facility for the services has been launched for the citizens. The project is being replicated in remaining 69 districts. State Portal, SSDG & eForms (http://uponline.up.nic.in) It is another citizen-centric project that provides 26 services to the citizens from Common Service Centres & Kiosks right at their doorstep. In addition to the 14 eDistrict Services, the portal also provides the facility to apply for certain social benefit schemes from the Woman Welfare, Handicap Welfare and Social Welfare Departments. Implemented in 69 districts in 2012, the project has already delivered 2.5 crore services to the citizens. Integrated Social Pension System (http:// sspy-up.gov.in) The system has been implemented to benefit more than 1 crore pensioners of the state through direct transfer of pension to their bank accounts for four schemes (Old-age, Widow, Handicap & Samajwadi pensions). It is a major step towards financial inclusion and is one of the few systems integrated with banks & Public Financial Management System (PFMS) of GoI for ensuring that the benefit reaches the correct individual. The system was launched by Hon’ble Chief Minister on 4th November 2014. Nearly R 1,800 crore as pensions was distributed in 2013-14 through the system. Empowering & Educating through ‘eScholarship’ (http://scholarship.up.nic.in) ‘eScholarship’ is a first of its kind project in the country to have used IT based initiative for electronic transfer of scholarships directly to the bank a/c of the beneficiaries. The project was aimed to reach the right and deserving candidates within time frame and without leakages, increase transparency in distribution of scholarships to the students and build a comprehensive MIS for the Government & devise a tool for proper monitoring, control & planning. Implemented in 2008, the project benefits more than 4 crore students every year through reimbursement of scholarships and fees for higher education to students of OBC, SC, ST, Minority & General categories. The project is the winner of NASSCOM Social Innovation Honours 2013, eMaharashtra & Manthan Awards. Commercial Tax Computerization (http://comtax.up.nic.in) Uttar Pradesh is also a pioneer in VAT (Value Added Tax) Computerization. The project started in 2008, as soon as VAT was adopted in the state. The main highlights of the system include. yyA Web based Single Window Receipt & Registration process for dealers yyVyapari Suvidha Kendra at 94 locations across the state acting as one stop shop for all type of receipts yyNET Banking through ePayment & eChallan to provide easy & efficient financial transactions without standing in queues yye-Return filing for traders yyAutomated Input Tax Credit yyOnline TDF Generation for transit authorization of goods yyOnline eSancharan (Form 38,31,21) & CST e-Forms(C,E1,E2,H,F,I) The application & services offered have received widespread appreciation from the business community. The major achievement has been that traders are no longer required to visit the Commercial Tax Offices for each and every activity. There are 11 lakh registered dealers in the system and more than R 1,75,000 crore has been deposited by ways of eReturn. Transport Computerization VAHAN-Vehicle Information System & SARATHI – Driving License Issuing System are two core activities of the transport computerization that touches the lives of almost all citizens. VAHAN has automated services like vehicle registration, fitness, fee/tax collection, permit and enforcement under a secured environment. While Smart Card based Driving License (SCDL) issuance through SARATHI software ensures issuance of tamper proof plastic card with microchip processor embedded in it. The system restricts the issuance of fake driving licenses and helps in maintaining the complete database of licenses issued. Other online services for citizens include: yyOnline Tax Payment System for commercial vehicles of UP yyOnline Tax Payment System for commercial vehicles from other states yyOnline Booking System of fancy Registration Numbers ‘OASIS’ – Online Application Form Submission Information System for UP PSC This is probably the only application in the country that has converted the entire recruitment process into an end-to-end electronic process right from application to final result announcement and issuance of letters. yyAll recruitments direct or examination based since 2010 yy7 recruitments including PCS Prelim carried out in 2014 yyThe time taken for complete selection process reduced from 200+ days to 45 days. yyRemarkable improvement in number of out of state applications yyMore than 10 lakh registrations in 2014 & 20 lakh in 2013 yySMS and Email to provide registration & fee related information yyFee deposition through e-Challan/i- Collect from SBI & PNB yyAdmit Card generation and result announcement through web The system has been adopted by UP Police Recruitment Board for their recruitments. The list of successful applications is long as it features-Ration Card Computerization for the entire state, the data of 17 crore beneficiaries is available on NET, eProcurement System through which tenders worth R 1 lakh crore have been published and awarded, Treasury Computerization whereby the entire treasury transactions are available online, Land Records with Khatauni on web, Court Case Computerization, Web Based Revenue Court System, Urban Local Body Computerization, Hospital Management & Online Drug Procurement & Inventory Control System, eOffice implementation, etc. There are many innovative applications developed and implemented at the district level which are making news across the country such as Easy Gas and Kisan of district Gonda, My City of Kanpur, Jan Suvidha Kendra of Jhansi and Mother & Child Health System of Aligarh. All these are small steps towards building an IT enabled state where citizens are benefited with the IT enablement of the services. Even the State Government is focusing on both - the backend process automation of the government departments with adoption of projects such as eOffice and online recruitment/transfers, and also on the front-end-where services are being provided to the citizens in an easy and affordable manner through Internet or nearest kiosk. Various IT policies have been adopted, infrastructure is being enhanced and a large scale Government Process Re-engineering is going on to modify the archaic rules into simpler procedures. UP being a large state, the impediments are many but it is a belief that if an application is successful in UP then it is has already benefited one fifth of the population and is ready for the country by passing the diversity test to a great extent.