VARANASI: The ‘City Eternal’ From Vinod Taneja, Uttar Pradesh Correspondent Varanasi or Banaras is one of the ancient cities of India. Also called ‘Kashi’ or the city of spiritual light, it is an eternal city with rich and vibrant past. The city has an inherent charm of its own, despite not having any exquisitely carved palaces, or impregnable forts, or even architectural splendour to support its history. NIC in Varanasi Established in 1988, NIC in Varanasi spread out to two centers in the city – one serving the needs of the District Administration, and another that of the office of Divisional Commissioner of Varanasi Division. With the active participation & support of its users, NIC Varanasi has so far maintained its position as a premier IT consultant at the District level and has been one of the front-runners in fulfilling the objectives of NIC. Citizen Interface Projects NIC Varanasi is proud to provide direct benefit to the citizens through the development/implementation of the following Citizen Interface Projects at the district level: • Varanasi Development Authority- Complete monitoring of VDA’s Schemes/Sub schemes details. • Cash flow monitoring at Kashi Vishwanath Temple- Monitors donations received and puja performed at the temple. • District Treasury Computerisation- Automates handling of all types of bills and receipts of the state government covering all types of budget heads NIC Varanasi District Unit Internet Services & Videoconferencing Services NIC in Varanasi has covered a long distance since its successful NICNET services. Those who are successfully using the VC facilities and their respective Internet PPP Accounts provided locally by NIC Varanasi include Divisional Commissioner, District Magistrate, District Judge etc. Web Development & Maintenance NIC Varanasi has considerable expertise of dynamic web deployment of any content. A comprehensive website (http://varanasi.nic.in) developed & being maintained is a live example. One of its popular features has been the Primary Census Abstract (PCA-1991). Training NIC Varanasi with its spacious office-space has been conducting regular & frequent introductory, on-the-job & refresher training programmes for its users. Other IT Solutions/Software Products Support to National/State-Level Projects Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)– Computerisation of Export/Import code allotment, receipt & issues of applications, duty entitlement passbook, export promotion of capital goods etc. District Courts- Automation of filing, maintenance & analysis of fresh & old court cases; Networking to facilitate live entry & data access in the court rooms itself of all District Court Judges. Automation of Registrar, Cooperative Societies- Automates various activities of cooperative and gathering of PACKS information. MIS for • Food Corporation of India (FCI) • Ambedkar Grams • District Plan • District & Divisional Statistical HandBook • Census of India Locally conceived Projects which are useful for other districts/divisions MIS for • Revenue Collection and RC issuance at the Divisional & District level- Automates & analyses the collection and recovery of all types of main and miscellaneous dues; Monitors performance, and major defaulters. • Arms Licensing- Monitors issues, renewal, suspension, cancellation, deposits of licences. • District Magistrate- Monitors Public Grievances, Court cases, Dues collection, Land ceiling/acquisition, Audit objections, Pending references, Departmental proceedings. • Social Welfare Pension- Maintains old age/widow/handicapped pensioners’ database, their premium calculation, bank advice etc. • Additional Commissioner (Foods) - Monitors distribution and allotment of essential items, retail and wholesale prices of selected commodities and enforcement of fair price shop. In the words of Commissioner, Varanasi Division, Mr. Manoj Kumar, I.A.S.: “The role played by NIC Varanasi & its officers in the usage of I.T. to solve day-to-day problems of the Government administration in Varanasi has been exemplary – both at the district & divisional level. We find them trustworthy & indispensable during critical times ..... its my privilege to seek their expert technical opinion on city planning and for launching state-of-the-art services like Telemedicine in & around Varanasi”. NIC Varanasi District Unit District Informatics Officer A.K Chaudhary District InformaticsAssociate Prasanna Pandey For further information, please contact : District Informatics Officer NIC District Unit Divisional Commissioner’s Office Compound Varanasi-431601 Email : upvar@hub2.nic.in