TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

:CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS-ROLE OF

SUBDIVISIONAL INSPECTORS

Project undertaken by IP Induction Group C

Debarchan Kheti
Vyas Muni Pathak
Md Musahid Faizan
Vishesh Bamel
Deepak Kumar
Jit Mukherjee

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CONTENTS

1 Acknowldgement 3

2 A short history of the Department of Posts 4

3 Technological Changes in Department of Posts 4

4 Meghdoot 4-8

5 Reasons for further upgradation in IT Project 2012 8

6 Vision of IT Project 2012 9

7 What the IT Project aims to achieve 10

8 Business Priorities of Department of Posts `10`

9 Governance structure of implementation of IT Project 2012 13

10 Services to be offered by IT Project 2012 14

11 RFP Structuring – Total 8 RFPs 16

12 Impacts of the various projects in different areas 17

13 Role of Subdivisional Inspectors in IT Project 2012 18

14 Core System Integrator 18

15 Rural Information and Communication Technology 20

16 Challenges to be faced by SubDivisional Inspectors in implementation of IT 21

Project 2012

17 Proposed solutions to the above challenges from the subdivisional level 22

perspective :

18 Conclusion 26

19 Macro Assumptions on prospective reach of RICT &IT Project 2012 27

20 Future Expections on IT Project 2012 28

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Acknowldgement :

We hereby thank all the respected faculties and staffs of PTC Mysore for their kind help and guidance
leading to completion of the project.

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A short history of the Department of Posts :

The Department of Posts (DoP), trading as India Post, is a government-operated postal system in India.
Generally referred to within India as "the post office", it is the most widely distributed postal system in
the world.[2] The postal service is under the Department of Posts, which is part of the Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology of the Government of India.

As of 31 March 2015, the Indian Postal Service had 154,939 post offices, of which 139,222 (89.86%)
were in rural areas and 15,826 (10.14%) in urban areas. It had 25,560 departmental Post Offices and
129,379 Gramin Dak Sevak, Branch Post Offices. On average, a post office serves an area of 21.22 square
kilometres (8.19 sq mi) and a population of 8,054.[3] Because of its reach and presence in remote areas,
the Indian postal service is also involved in other services such as small-savings banking and financial
services.

The country has been divided into 22 postal circles, each circle headed by a Chief Postmaster General.
Each circle is divided into regions, headed by a Postmaster General and comprising field units known as
Divisions. These divisions are further divided into subdivisions. In addition to the 22 circles, there is a
base circle to provide postal services to the Armed Forces of India headed by a Director General. The
highest post office in the world is in Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh operated by India Post at a height of
15,500 ft (4,700 m).[4]

Technological Changes in Department of Posts :

The department of posts has come a long way back from the days of employing runners to a vast
network of Branch offices which form one of the largest postal networks across the world.But as our
technologies are evolving more and more ,hence gradual implementation of newer technologies are
also being done across the department in all levels.In the initial stages of computerization,we had used
DOS based platforms for computerized transactions.From there we moved on into the era of Sanchay
Post and Meghdoot.While Sanchay Post was a good software,the chief problem with it was the lack of
centralization .Same problem remains with meghdoot software also.However unless the IT Project 2012
reaches completion,meghdoot shall remain in operation.Hence we shall give a brief overview of
meghdoot before we proceed further.

Meghdoot

Meghdoot package consists broadly of the following modules :

1>Point of Sale Module :

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The Pointofsale module of Meghdoot software aims at computerising the PO counter work. All the
counter operations except savings bank transactions can be carried out through this package. The
software is capable of handling all the following transactions that are performed at the PO counter

Booking of all categories of accountable articles of inland mail like registered letters/parcels/packets,
insured letters/parcels, VP letters/packets/parcels etc.,

Undertaking financial transactions like booking of various categories of money orders, accepting PLI
premia, accepting telephone bills, accepting miscellaneous receipts, sale and payment of Indian Postal
Orders etc.,

Booking of speed post articles domestic/foreign

Booking of all categories of accountable articles of foreign mail.

Attending pincode enquiry

Two components of the package are available. One is the standalone version and the other, client-server
version. Option is also available to link the client-server version with other modules.

2>Postman Module

The Postman module of Meghdoot software, which aims to computerise the delivery work of the Post
Office, is capable of handling the followingitems of work of delivery department.

Receipt of registered / VP / insured letters / parcels, issue to postmen, watching delivery of the
articles issued, delivering articles across the counter and maintaining accurate account of the articles
handled.

Issue of money orders received for payment to postmen, watching delivery, payment across the
counter and maintaining account thereof

Maintaining account of unregistered articles received for delivery that are unpaid/insufficiently paid,
issuing these to postmen and watching delivery thereof

Attending to enquiries about the articles received and disposed.

3>Sub Account Module

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Sub accounts module of Meghdoot package computerises the compi -lation work of the subordinate
offices accounts under a Head Post Office. With this module, the following operations of the sub
accounts branch can be perfor -med Accounting of the subordinate office accounts(Sub Offices and
branch offices) reported through daily accounts, consolidating the transactions under various
transaction heads, editing the transaction figures under individual heads and in the end preparing a
consolidated report(SO/BO Summary)

Confirming the balances reported by subordinate offices in their daily accounts, through S.O/B.O slips,
accounting of remittances of cash/stamps/cheques made to the subordinate offices and generating
reports of unadjusted remittances(SO/BO transit/advance)

4>Treasurer Module

Treasurer module of Meghdoot package computerises the treasury work of the Head Post Office.

With this module, the following operations of the Trea -sury branch can be performed Maintaining
Cash and Stamp Balance of HO Maintaining of Cash and Stamp advances given to counter and also
remittances received form the counters Generation of treasures cash book.

5>SpeedNet Module

SpeedNet module of Meghdoot package computerises the Delivery and Tracking of Speedpost articles
.Further This module takes care BNPL account.This module will perform the following activities,

Delivering Speedpost articles

Tracking Speedpost articles on internet

Maintaining BNPL customer accounts.

6>Accountant Module

The Accountant package of Meghdoot undertakes to computerise the work of Accounts section of the
Head Post Office. The accounts branch of the Head Post office is responsible, apart from drawl of salary
for all the members of staff including those working in subordinate offices, for the consolidation of the
accounts of the Head office as a whole and to prepare various reports connected thereto .The following
are the items of work performed in this branch, which this package is able to handle

Drawing of establishment pay bills of all the officials of various categories, maintaining relevant

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registers, keeping an account of bills paid/unpaid, preparing salary slips etc.,

Maintaining GPF accounts of the employees , preparing bills for advances/withdrawals from the fund.

Preparing pension vouchers of pensioners drawing pension through HO and subordinate offices,
maintaining the details of periodical payments made, drawal of arrears in case of enhancement of any
component of pension.

Preparation of schedules for transactions like Unclassified receipts/payments, remittances exchanged

with other head offices and other offices, remittances exchanged with banks, bills paid, pension paid
etc, and comparing the transactions reported through individual vouchers for these components with
the total amount reported through daily accounts and HO summary

Drawing any other category of bills throughout the month, based on sanctions and watching for
payment thereof.

Maintaining database of Postal life insurance policies, entering details of premia accepted / related
payments and generating periodical reports.

Adjustment of remittances exchanged with the banks on receipt of scrolls from the bank and
preparing reconciliation statement

Maintaining details of petty expenses and preparation of reports thereof through NPC bills

Follow up of the employees' salaries and other payments for calculation of income tax.

Apart from Meghdoot,some other software environments which are used are being listed below :

1>Philately Explorer

Philately Explorer is a software for exploring the stamps released in India. This package can
perform the following activities, Software can show list stamps released in alphabetical order and
chronological order .

Selected stamps, picture, date of release etc... will be displayed by click of a button.

Administrator can add, delete and modify the stamps.

2>Database Workshop

Database Workshop Sites is a tool for updating MS-SQL Server ver 7.0 or ver 2000 databases.

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This package can perform the following activities,

Modification of databases at user end.

If errors are there after modification ,generates error report.

Reasons for further upgradation in IT Project 2012:

Even though Meghdoot and other allied software services are good and efficient in the respective
areas,still they have left the Department with a large number of avenues for upgradation and
improvement,eventually leading to the planning of the IT Project 2012.The broad reasons which led to
this conceptualization of the aforesaid project are being listed below :

 Modernization and computerization

 Development of scalable, integrated and modular software covering all operations of the
Department of Posts such as Mail Operations, Postal Banking, Insurance, Finance and HR;

 Establishment of required IT Infrastructure including Data centre, Wide Area Network (WAN)
based networking of the departmental post offices;

 Deployment of Rural Information Communication Technology (Rural ICT) infrastructure in all
~1,30,000 Rural Post Offices.

The Department of Posts has a network of approximately 1.55 Lakhs post offices, of which 1.3 Lakh are
rural post offices. The IT Modernisation project will rebuild the rural postal infrastructure to create
institutional last mile connectivity for service delivery of Post, IT based services including banking &
insurance and Govt. schemes like MGNREGS, Social Security etc. This infrastructure will form the
platform for the electronic delivery of postal, financial, insurance and Government services to the 80
Crore plus rural population through Post Offices.

The project will also unlock revenue streams previously stymied due to lack of automation and radically
improve delivery of mail to urban customers. This will help increase revenues in the banking and mail
businesses thereby leading to the economic sustainability of the Department of Posts.

 Providing e-services to the citizens in efficient manner at affordable cost with greater
Accountability & Productivity

 Maximizing revenue from various services and products

 Enhancing customer satisfaction through provision of - need-based products and services, the
improvement of service quality, speed of delivery and reliability

 Ability to promote, provide its services in a user friendly, competitive manner in attractive
environment

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  Consolidate current IT Infrastructure, migrate to an efficient, reliable, user friendly IT System

 Planning & Setting up pan India network which supports planned IT Systems, flexible to support
Applications

 Existing Application study, consolidation & migration if necessary

 Optimal Resource utilization and leveraging strengths of extensive retail network

 Introduction of Commercial Accounting System ( Accrual Based Accounting)

 Acquiring Brand equity of a leading edge service provider

 Employee delight

Vision of IT Project 2012

IT Project 2012 aims at transforming the DoP into a “Technology Enabled, Self-Reliant Market Leader”.
This translates into 5 initiatives covering increased market share and revenues, new products and
services, improved service delivery, motivated workforce and rural development.

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What the IT Project aims to achieve :

However in order to understand and study the implementation aspect of IT Project 2012 ,we must first
study the business priorities of the Dept of Posts.

Business Priorities of Department of Posts

I. Mail Operations:
Every year the DoP delivers more than 600 crore articles through its elaborate network of Post Offices.
On the delivery side, the DoP has a large workforce of urban Postmen and GDS delivery agents to
facilitate the delivery of mail to the final recipients. Mail Business is optimising its products, services and
back end processes to ensure growth in business. Some of the objectives are:

 To increase visibility into mail operations (at the article level and overall volume)
 To enable operational planning for all the DoP facilities through planning tools
 To improve employee productivity through better manpower planning

II. Logistics Post:

Logistics Post provides transportation, distribution, warehousing and logistics related value added
services to the customers. Logistics Post Air, under which air lift is given to consignments, operates in
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and North East. Some of the objectives are:

 To provide end-to-end supply chain services through a technology-driven logistics network that
provides transportation, warehousing, distribution and e-Logistics
 To create warehousing capacity by utilising the DoP’s vacant sites
 To offer e-logistics services to tap into the rapidly growing e-commerce market in India

III. E-Commerce:
The DoP plans to launch its e-commerce website to harness the power and reach of the world wide web.
Some of the objectives are:

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  To share information related to the DoP, its products and services in a consistent manner
 To provide capability to do web based transactions for mails, banking and insurance services
 Online sale of third party products/services
 To provide advertising avenues for advertisers

IV. Postal Banking Operations:

The DoP is one of the largest providers of financial services in the country with an account base of
around 22 crores and a deposit base of over 5,53,234 crores. The DoP’s vision is to be one of the leaders
in providing banking and money remittance services to the citizens of the country with a focus on the
rural population. Some of the objectives are:

 To increase the number of customers from existing 20 crores to 35 crores by 2012

 To provide multiple delivery channels like internet, mobile banking, ATMs, telephone, cards
thereby bringing access to financial services to the doorsteps of the customers
 To enable faster money remittances and funds transfers and increase volumes to capture a 50%
market share by 2014
 To become the one stop solution for financial inclusion & microfinance initiatives of
government, public/private sector banks

V. Postal Life Insurance:

The DoP provides two types of life insurance: Postal Life Insurance (PLI) and Rural Postal Life Insurance
(RPLI). PLI is offered to employees of all Central and State government departments, Nationalised Banks,
Public Sector Undertakings, Financial Institutions, local bodies like Municipalities and Zila Parishads,
educational institutions aided by the Government etc. RPLI is the insurance service being offered to the
rural populace. Some of the objectives are:

 To become the first choice insurer in rural India

 To develop a fully integrated life insurance platform to enable efficient and cost effective service
to existing and new customers
 To improve the quality of service being offered to the customers
 To achieve “financial inclusion” of the un-insured rural population, while minimizing the cost of
operations

VI. Rural Business:

One of the key components of the DoP’s vision is to be a “socially committed organisation connecting
individuals and businesses”. Of the total 1.55 lakh Post Offices, around 10% are situated in urban areas
and 90% are in rural areas. On an average, each Post Office in India serves an area of 21.2 sq. km and a
population of 7,174. Some of the objectives are:

 To achieve “financial inclusion” of un-banked rural population

 To enable Branch Offices to make disbursements for social security schemes such as MGNREGS
 To improve the quality of services being offered to rural customers
 To increase revenues by providing retail post services, third party services etc

VII. Finance & Accounts:

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The Postal Accounts & Finance (PAF) function forms the backbone of the DoP’s products and services. As
the DoP plans for the future, it would be important to tread the path of sustained cost management and
devising effective tools for intelligent business decisions. Some of the objectives are:

 To move from cash based accounting to accrual based accounting in specific areas of operations
within the DoP
 To streamline the processes by eliminating duplication of data entry at different levels
 To bring efficiencies in Inventory management and Procurement with real time validations
against approved budgets

VIII. Human Resources:

Human Resources function comprises of the Personnel (and Establishment) and Human Resource
Development (HRD) groups which serve 2.18 Lakh departmental employees and 2.74 Lakh GDS
employees. In order to support the growth aspirations of the DoP, HR function is looking at redesigning
its processes. Some of the objectives are:

 To provide the administrative offices with centralised and accurate employee information
 Employee development through improvement in training administration and management
 To support optimal utilisation of manpower through accurate and timely analysis of workload

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Governance structure of implementation of IT Project 2012 :

The Governance structure is four tiered with Steering Committee and Project Co-ordination Committee
that will guide and review the work of the project teams from vendor on boarding stage to the solution
deployment stage.

Project coordination committee (PCC): The Project Coordination Committee shall meet on a fortnightly
basis and shall be chaired by the Member (Technology). Responsible for reviewing the project, issues/
risks and taking key decisions with respect to the project.
 Ensure that progress on the project and results achieved are in line with the overall business
strategy, overall project implementation plan and timelines
 Review the issues/ risks with Implementation Committees, Vendors and take decisions as
required
 Management of budget, contract, legal issues and recommendation for sanctions to steering
committee

Project Implementation committee: There will be 5 implementation committees focusing on respective

areas. Each committee will have core sub-committees aligned to the Functional / Business area.

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  Each committee will review, approve & sign-off on the project deliverables in each phase,
finalization of Functional Requirements/ Blueprint document/ Test Plan/ User Acceptance Test/
Data Migration etc
 Technical Projects Implementation will approve and sign-off of all deliverables in each phase of
deployment and ensure compliance to Technical Requirements
 Each Project Implementation Committee will have core sub-committees aligned to the
Functional / Business area

Architecture Review Committee (ARC): The Architecture Review Committee will be responsible for
maintaining the solution architecture & integration between various solutions.
 The Architecture Review Committee will be responsible for maintaining the solution
architecture & integration between various solutions. It will also be responsible for the
implementation of the Change Management Project & day to day resolution of committee /
vendor issues (non-financial only)

Budget Review, Contract and Legal Committee: This committee will be responsible for handling issues
related to financial & legal matters
 Assess and Monitor the budget allocation for various solutions and payment milestones
 Address issues if any w.r.t Contract or other Legal issues
 Ensure payments to vendors are made on time and availability of sufficient funds for
disbursement as per schedule
 Highlight issues/ concerns/ challenges if any to the Project Coordination Committee

Circle Monitoring Committee: The Monitoring Committee in each circle will be chaired by the respective
CPMG and will be accountable for ensuring the progress of the project in the respective circle.
 Co-ordination with vendors’ representatives in the circle
 Migration of data and data validation in the circle
 Change Management and Training Activities in the circle
 H/W, N/W and S/W deployment activities in the circle

Regional Implementation Committee: The Committee will be accountable for the timely completing of
all the activities in their respective Regions. Committee will also act as bridge for sharing information
about the project with the field teams.

Services to be offered by IT Project 2012 :

Government to customer Services :

 Visibility into mail operations by effective tracking mechanism at the article level

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  Bringing access to Financial / banking services to the doorsteps of the customers through
Multiple delivery channels like internet, mobile banking, ATMs, telephone

 Substantial improvement in the quality of service being offered to the customers especially rural
customers

 Fully integrated life insurance platform to enable efficient and cost effective service to existing
and new customers including un-insured rural population

 Transparency in disbursements for social security schemes such as MGNREGS

 Efficient and timely retail post offices services

 Faster money remittances and funds transfers

 Online sale of third party products / services

 Advertising avenues for advertisers

Government to Government Services :

 Operational planning for all the DoP facilities through planning tools

 One stop solution for financial inclusion & microfinance initiatives of government

Government to Employee Services

 Employee productivity through better manpower planning and timely analysis of workload

 Efficiencies in Inventory management and Procurement

 Employee development through improvement in training administration and management

 Improved & timely administrative services with centralized and accurate employee information

 Faster and more reliable services in postal, logistics, banking, insurance and retail operations

 Better visibility of various articles in the mail stream and transparency in financial services such
as banking, insurance etc.

 Multiple channels of access to the customers through post office counters, kiosks, internet,
mobiles ATMs

 Better financial inclusion for the common man in the rural and semi-urban locations through
mobile remittances, mobile banking, mobile insurance etc.

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  Effective and transparent delivery of the social security and employment guarantee schemes by
the Government

 Availability of a national asset of IT network connecting more than 1,55,000 post offices for use
by both Central and State Governments

 Increasing business in rural postal network would reduce the dependency for financial support
on the government

 Reduction of manual and paper based processing would lead to a greener post office, improving
the environmental sustainability of the postal system
 Increased revenue through higher market shares in the existing products and services

 Potential reduction in the transaction cost and availability of manpower for redeployment in
marketing and other revenue generating capabilities

 Enhanced employee satisfaction

RFP Structuring – Total 8 RFPs

Rural ICT – System Integrator (RSI):

· Development & Deployment of MGNREGS application, eMO application for RICT Hardware Devices
& Deployment of the complete Rural ICT solution including GDS POs’

Rural Hardware (RH):

· Supply of Rural Hardware devices to Davison Offices for further distribution by Dop to GDS Post
Offices, Network Connectivity & support and maintenance during the contract period.

Core System Integrator (CSI):

· Development of Mail, counter operations (POS) including back office and treasury), F&A, HR, CIM
solutions & Data migration, Cross-functional area coordination, Overall integration, centralized 24X7
Service desk operation, call centre and e-commerce

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Financial Services System Integrator (FSI):

· Development of Postal Banking Solution (CBS), Insurance, and Enterprise content management
system (ECMS) solution, Data Migration, ATM Switch (Application & Hardware) and O&M support for
the period of contract.

Data Centre Facility (DCF):

· Provide hosting of Primary Data Centre at Mumbai, facility management services, Disaster Recovery
Centre at the DoP facility in PTC Mysore and O&M for the period of contract.

Network Integrator (NI):

· Networking of all of the DoP’s departmental offices, DC and DRC, Network management &
operations:

Mail Operations Hardware (MOH):

· Hardware for Mail offices and departmental postmen handheld device

Change Management Vendor (CM):

· Change Management for all employees and Capacity Building recommendations

Impacts of the various projects in different areas :

Areas Impact

Postal Banking Solution · Improvements in service level for opening, maintaining and servicing
(CBS) of accounts and certificates.
· Faster disbursements of wages and other payments
· New products and services, e.g. National Electronic Fund Transfer
(NEFT), Real Time Gross Transfer (RTGS), bill payments, 3 rdparty products
· “Anytime anywhere Banking” through multiple channels, e.g. Internet,
ATM and mobile
Mail Operations · Accountable mail booking with electronic proof of delivery even at
Solution Bos
· Additional payments modes, e.g. credit and debit card
· System generate the beat slip, mail list or bag abstract
· Scanning of all incoming and outgoing mails with intelligent barcodes
shall be used for bag tag
HRMS and F&A · Elimination of data entry duplication between BO/SO and SO/HO
Solution (ERP) · Employee self-service for leave, performance and training
administration

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 · MIS Reports to support Establishment decision making
· Integrated software solutions for disbursement with online tracking of
fund transfers and stricter Audit checks through effective use of MIS
Rural ICT (RICT) · Increase rural reach of DoP
· Provision of Rural ICT devices (netbook/handheld devices) to various
BOs
· Enabling BOs to make social security disbursements such as NREGA

Role of Subdivisional Inspectors in IT Project 2012

Subdivisional Inspectors have a major and crucial role to play in the end user part of implementation of
IT Project 2012.As a corollary to the above fact,they would also have to find a solution to the problems
that would crop up.However broadly SDIs have major roles to play in three fields,namely,CSI,FSI and
RICT.In the other parts of IT Project 2012,SDIs don’t have a generalized role to play.Hence we shall
concentrate on these three areas of IT Project 2012.

Core System Integration(CSI)

The main reason behind the CSI is Centralized solution for integrating DOP operations. As we know
earlier transaction were maintained by locally server so many a times it was found that it was
manipulated. Department loses handful of amount. And great benefit for the country as well as to the
environment is that it will reduces the paper use in the offices, which cost a lot, so it saves money of the
department so the country so the common people. It will also increases the efficiency and will bring
transparency. And because of that customer did not trust as trust the department earlier. So it brings
bad name to the department. As it was locally managed so who was little bit technically knowledgeable
person was able to deceive the system as it is as innocent as child, as it lacking own intelligence like
human beings, it takes whatever you feed to it. But the days are gone that can not be the scenario when
CSI will be implemented across India. Because it updates the record in every 20 minutes.
Bundled applications for various operational areas with integrated reporting system:- As we were well
known about the meghdoot system. It was operated by many a platform. For each type of transaction it
had different platforms i.e. for booking of letter we use POS(point of sale), for postman related works
we use postman module, for treasury we use treasury module, for emo we use emo module like that
many a modules were there. The main inconvenience was that they were performing differently. Now
as per CSI all the modules were placed at a single place only.
 Also maintains IndiaPost domain and provides Active Directory and centralised antivirus
solutions
 Includes service desk support to handle employee queries and troubleshoot operational
issues
Integrates with other applications (for eg., FSI):- In meghdoot environment there was no integration
with financial transaction . But it was improvised in CSI ,it integrates with financial transaction with FSI.
 Also provides exclusive email solution for India Post
 The bundle consists of
 SSO (single sign on) – ensures access to various applications through one login: IN
MEGHDOOT I T was
 POS (offline application for booking transactions):- point of sale
 Updates with central server every 20 minutes
 IPVS (Despatch module – implemented in PO/mail office/ NSH):dispatch module

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  DPMS(Delivery Postman system) – to handle articles/emos received for
delivery:postman module
 F&A (SAP application for Finance and Accounts - online)
 Manages cash and inventory balances of office
 HRMS and Payroll system
 To perform employee related transactions like leave management, employee
payments (gpf wdl/advance and other bills)
 Promotions and transfers
 APAR maintenance
 LSS – Labour scheduling system – Handling official movements in an office/set
 CRM – Customer relations management system (creation of new customers and
administering) including creation and administration of customer contracts
 Inventory procurement and supply system
 Budget management
 Users perform operations through
 POS and backoffice application (offline installed application)
 SAP GUI to perform back office transactions
 DPMS, IPVS, F&A, franking, inventory management
 Managing vendor transactions
 Discipline, vigilance and certain HR functions
 Establishment review functions
 SAP Enterprise portal for
 Employee self service transactions
 Manager self service transactions – Leave, promotion, transfer, APAR and
training administration
 Approval of payments like GPF withdrawal, advances and other bills
 Single signon facilitates easy access to multiple applications with a single logon in operative
office
 CSI provides centralised user management
 Every employee carries an employee ID
 Used to login to IndiaPost domain and access applications
 Every PO has a facility ID and every post, a Post ID
 Ability to work from a facility and run applications regulated by HR and identity access modules
 Using Labour scheduling system employee availability in an office or set is confirmed –
employees can also be temporarily shifted among facilities and shifts
 Centralised application – Ensures high availability with disaster management. No manipulation
can be happened so easily. So lesser fraud is anticipated
 No need for domain management and backup services at individual sites as also for version
upgrades
 Lesser need for system administrator services :- so we will have more man power which we can
use them in necessary post and in necessary offices. So it will give us more time.
 Centralised application management – Version upgrades centralised; no need for distributed
maintenance.
 Efficient monitoring of transactions throughout DOP echelon
 Better customer relations:- Lesser frauds means more trust we can build among the customers
which will step towards achieving our mission:- India Post’s products and services will be the
customer’s first choice.
 Efficient management of employee resources through effective use of labour scheduling

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  Better employee relations through transparent employee transactions – leave, employee
payments etc., - status made known to employees . I t is easy for employee to know more about
status about their remaining leave and no need to wait the last working day of the month to see
the smile bringing white page- now onwards we can see it screen.
It will bring a lot relief to the inspecting officers. Now ownwards they don’t have to check those large
register they can now check through the system with their user id and password . Everything about the
post office will be there .

Difference between meghdoot and csi

Meghdoot is LAN based application – tried and tested but outlived its life cycle
Transactions in Meghdoot reside in local database of office –
need extra effort to consolidate and implement security
Difficulty in version management and preventing non standard practices
Difficulty in securing database backup and bringing back systems in case of failures

CSI applications run on centralised network

Easier to deploy, update and maintain
Centralised database consolidates data and provides various reports instantly
Audits access and transaction details for preventive vigilance and security tracking
Supports for issues through Service desk management system

Rural Information and Communication Technology :

This project will first will be launched at three pilot circles in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. By
March 2017, 1.30 lakh hand-held devices will be made available across rural branch offices. This
instrument will revolutionise lives of people across villages. Booking and delivery of Speed Post,
registered mail, money orders, sale of stamps and postal stationary will be done through these devices
and paper receipts will be generated instantly. The scope of work includes supply of mobile computing
devices and peripherals, installation of solar UPS, connectivity to access the application by service
providers along with maintenance for five years.

Broad Areas of implementation :

1> Booking and delivery of Speed Post, registered mail, money orders, sale of stamps and postal
stationery will be done through these devices and paper receipt shall be generated
instantaneously thereby eliminating chances of overcharging and other problems associated with
manual transactions. Savings Bank deposits & withdrawals, PLI/RPLI premium deposits and loan/claim
payments will also be done electronically on these devices.

2> Immediate uploading of transaction data and financial reconciliation- Using mobile connectivity, data
pertaining to all transactions done on the hand-held devices shall be uploaded onto the central server.
E-Money order will reach the destination post office instantaneously unlike present day where the

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money order is digitized at the nearest computerized Post Office and leads to delay in delivery. All
financial transactions shall also be reconciled immediately without any manual intervention and Cash on
Delivery amount collected in the village shall be immediately credited to the account of e-Commerce
Company. Similarly the artisans would be able to fulfill e-commerce orders and receive immediate
payment for their sold products online. This will have a positive impact on the overall economy of the
villages.

3>Automatic track and trace- Speed Post and Registered letters/parcels and money remittances will be
trackable at the Branch Post Office level and booking/delivery information will also be uploaded to
central server immediately.

4> Fraud and leakage elimination- As Savings Bank and Postal Life Insurance transactions will be done on
a real-time basis and through immediate generation of receipt and voice message, chances of fraud
would be eliminated. Biometric authentication of MNREGS and social security beneficiaries at the time
of pay-out would also reduce leakage in the schemes.

5> Post Offices as Common Service Centres- Branch Post Offices shall be able to work as Common
Service Centres and offer services such as Railway Reservation, online bill payment for electricity and
water utilities, mobile and DTH recharge, insurance policy premium payments & transactions for partner
banks/insurance companies/mutual funds etc

The Rural ICT solution aims to significantly improve the day to day operations performed at the Branch
Post offices in the following ways:

1. All the Postal, Savings Bank, and RPLI functions would be performed through the devices; thus manual
record keeping would be reduced
2. The BO Daily Accounts and BO Summary would be automatically generated and electronically sent to
the accounts office/ central server.

3. Specimen Signature book would be replaced by an advanced biometric method of authentication.

4. All new RPLI application forms will be processed through the devices thus resulting in faster issue of
policies.

5. Improved disbursement of money orders at the branch post offices as a result of enhanced cash
management systems.

6. Utility bills like telephone, electricity, water etc. can be accepted online through the device in the
future and electronic receipts can be given to the consumers.

7. MGNREGS payments shall be done using the Rural ICT devices allowing the GDS Post office to validate
the identity of an individual through biometric data, thus reducing verification time and avoiding
unauthorized users.

Challenges to be faced by SubDivisional Inspectors in implementation of IT Project 2012:

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1> Availability of telecom network connectivity: This is one of the major hurdles to be faced in coming
days by the SDIs across large parts of India.Rollout of IT Project 2012(RICT,CSI etc) would require smooth
connectivity of internet to the farthest BO across subdivisions and divisions.But as of now that is a very
major hurdle to be overcome.

2>PanIndia Geographical Spread : At present there are around 25000 SOs and 130000 BOs across
India.This mammoth figure in itself makes the whole IT Project 2012 a vast and complicated one.Even in
a single subdivision,sometimes an inspector need to look into almost 100 BOs simultaneously for
smooth implementation of the project.

3>Integration of the software environment :

Migration from almost 56 stand-alone applications presently being used
in the Department to an integrated IT platform is a major barrier in the implementation of the
project.The separate work being done by all these 56 stand-alone applications currently,needs to be
integrated into one whole through the implementation of CSI.This would also be a tough area for an
individual SDI,since all BPMs currently have no training on this integrated platform.

4>Huge workforce with lack of requisite skills : IndiaPost currently has a workforce of over 4.5 lakh
persons.The vast majority of this huge manpower have become accustomed to working on the older
platforms and manual processes.Considering this from a subdivisional perspective,each SDI has to guide
and monitor the working of nearly 100 people,if not more.So initiating this transition of a 100 people
from older platforms and disintegrated manual work mode to a centralized integrated IT Modernisation
wont be an easy task.

5>Tardy process of Public Procurement in India : Laxity in speed of working of vendors or finalization of
contractual targets given to them might hamper the work and responsibility of the SDI in ensuring
availability of hardware for the BOs or post sell services from the vendors.

Proposed solutions to the above challenges from the subdivisional level perspective :
Firstly it should be clarified that at the level of SDI,some of the challenges cannot be solved
directly,apart from otherwise providing feedback to the concerned departments of Govt of India from
the side of the SDI.However there are two broad aspects on which the SDI can work in order to bring out
the solutions to the above challenges,namely Human Resource Development and Infrastructure
Development.We shall explore into those areas now :

Human Resource Development

1>Training
This is one of the important areas where the SDI has direct roles to play,and forms the vital aspect of
Human Resource Development.Here the roles of SDI are manifold and significant.We shall try to chalk
out a model plan for the SDI on this area step by step.

a>Firstly the SDI can make a detailed list of the profiles of all BPMs across his Subdivision,particularly
focusing on their ages,educational level,and exposure to modern technologies.Then he can sort out ,on
the basis of this compilation,the BPMs who are in the age groups of 50s or 60s and completely
disconnected from even basic electronic devices like mobile phones etc.Accordingly a plan should be

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chalked out so that these BPMs ,who are not even using basic keypad mobile phones,atleast get
acquainted with the operation of keypad based handsets.This would be the first step in ensuring that
even the most technologically lacking BPMs get their first initiation into use of technology.

b>Now simultaneously the SDI can focus on those groups of BPMs who are comfortable in using mobile
phones or basic handheld devices but have never come in touch with computers or PCs.For these group
of BPMs,the inspector can directly initiate a subdivisional level basic computer coursework ,in a
batchwise fashion.This would ensure that these group of BPMs would be ready for implementation of
RICT once the project implementation starts.Since the RICT device itself represents a mini computer in
structure,so this form of training would make the BPMs comfortable with it.

c>Now for the BPMs who are acquainted with use of both computer and mobile phones ,or are literate
in use of technologies,the SDI can directly call them to a training module on use of RICT
devices.However initially the BPMs should be clearly guided with the help of simulation softwares into
the exact correlations of RICT device process with the current manual processes they are accustomed to
do.Finally it is the BPM who would deliver the services to the end user,so every BPM should be
thoroughly comfortable with the use and concepts related to RICT handheld devices.

d>The group of BPMs who have been mentioned in step (a) would gradually progress through step(b)
into step (c),before they are given the RICT devices for commercial use.Similarly the group of BPMs who
are in step (b) level of expertise,can proceed to step c,once their training in step (b) is over.This is how
the SDI can bring all BPMs from diverse levels of expertise into one common platform of skill related to
RICT.

2>Change Management :

This point of change management is common to both Human Resource Development and Infrastructure
Development.Here we shall discuss on the HRD aspect of Change Management.

a>Firstly the inspector should have the idea that his subdivision might consist of BPMs and manpower
who are not comfortable or outright unwilling to make a transition from current manual processes to
RICT based work environment.So at the very outset,he can tackle this problem by calling his BPMs in
scheduled batches and conducting motivational interactive sessions with them on the pros of RICT
implementation from a employee centric perspective.We have already listed the benefits that
employees would get due to implementation of IT Project 2012.But still we are summarizing the
following points that the SDI can focus on in his interactive sessions with BPMs :

 i> Effective and transparent delivery of the social security and employment guarantee schemes
,which would also greatly reduce the work burden of BPMs,who do all these things manually.

 Ii>Reduction of manual and paper based processing would lead to a greener post office,
improving the environmental sustainability of the postal system

 Iii>Total reduction in chances of unwarranted mistakes or errors that BPMs might commit in the
current manual transaction process.

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b>Now after this initial phase of interactive sessions are over,the Inspector can move on to rapid
deployment and scheduling of training modules for all BPMs as has been mentioned in the Training sub-
topic above.

c>In the final step of change management wrt HRD,the inspector should ensure that all BPMs get to
convey their own problems and feedbacks which might help in smoother implementation of
RICT.Otherwise in certain BOs there might be some localized problems being faced by the BPMs ,that
cannot be generalized to other BOs.

d>In some areas BPMs may request direct intervention of the SDI to make the villagers of fringe villages
aware on this upcoming project.The inspector should assure this as much as possible that the customer
base of the BPMs don’t show unwarranted animosity wrt the newer technology based work
environment in the BOs.

3>Changes in Rules and Procedures

As per the upcoming IT environment in post offices,some of the existing rules and regulations need to
be modified and restructured as per newer technical implementations.Some of these are as follows :

a>Introduction of complete biometric system of attendance along with use of RICT devices in
subdivisional level along with electronic monitoring of the same.

b>required changes to simplify the existing procedures followed in official filework,so that procedural
delays do not become a hurdle on the way of ensuring speed through IT Project 2012.

These are the broad areas of implementation of HRD aspect at the subdivisional level for IT Project
2012.

Infrastructure Development :

Apart from the HRD aspect of tech implementation discussed above,there is another major aspect that
the SDI should look into,namely the Infrastructure Development planning.HRD is broadly employee
centric,while Infrastructure Development is mostly establishment centric in nature.We shall try to chalk
out an outline on how the SDI can meet the challenges that arise from infrastructural problems.

1>Network Connectivity Issue

This is one of the most crucial problems that SDIs would face in the upcoming days as they go on for
complete enrolment of IT Project 2012.Since the connectivity of RICT hardware would be ensured
through sim card of telecom service provider companies(presently AIRTEL),it should be ensured that the
said service provider is being able to give a decent level of signal connectivity to the remotest BOs in the
subdivision.In this aspect,the SDI can check the connectivity of the service provider in every BO before

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the RICT hardware gets introduced.He should physically visit the BO and check network connectivity.In
this aspect he can classify the BOs into three categories :

a>BOs that already have a strong network connectivity.

b>BOs that have some fluctuations in network service.
c>BOs that are completely devoid of any network connectivity.

For the first group of BOs ,the SDI need not do anything on the aspect of network connectivity.For the
second set of BOs,the SDI should inform the problem to both the Dept of Post through proper channel
and to the said service provider,as and when applicable.For the third set of BOs,that may not be having
any signal strength,the SDI can choose a newer location for the BOs in the vicinity where network
connectivity might be available.Unless last end connectivity is assured,the vision of IT Project 2012 to
integrate whole of RICT into one single platform can never be fulfilled.

2>Distribution of Rural Hardware

Since the distribution of Rural Hardware is going to take place in a phased manner,the SDI has a role to
play in selection of BOs for different phases.In the first phase,the SDI should choose only those BOs
where the BPMs are most comfortable with use of computers and mobile phones and have undertaken
complete training of RICT system(BPMs classified in Sub Point C of TRAINING in Human Resource
Development).Next would come those BOs where BPMs had formal introduction to computers only
through departmental training but are otherwise comfortable with use of handheld mobile phones and
electronic devices(Sub Point B of TRAINING in Human Resource Development).Lastly those BOs would
be selected where BPMs are completely disconnected from technologies and have to undertake
complete training in each and every aspect of using electronic gazettes(Sub Point A of TRAINING in
Human Resource Development).

3>Installation of Solar Panels :

Since the RICT Devices would be running on solar power,hence installation of solar panels is also part of
the IT Modernisation Project.Solar Panel installation and initiation comes with a host of problems and
issues,we shall highlight the important and common ones :

a>Installing new panels of old roofs :

Ideally, the array’s life and the roof life should be about the same. Having such a system installed on a
roof that only has about 10 good years left is asking for trouble. Many roof systems, such as a metal roof
or cool roofing membrane, can last 20 years or more and are well suited to support a solar array.

b>Unsuitable roof problem

A roof has to provide just the right conditions for your solar panels to perform well. For example, panels
should be oriented toward the South or the West to get the most sun. They generally work best in
cooler environments, making a cool membrane ideal. Most roofs are not designed to support the weight
of a solar array or the foot traffic introduced by installation and maintenance. And in most cases,
numerous penetrations will be made into the roof to mount the panels, which may be against the
recommendations for many roofing systems.

c>Interruption to the flow of water

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 roofing system is designed to shed water from the rooftop and away from the building. But, when solar
panels are installed without regard for this, racks and wiring often interrupt the flow of water and keep
if from draining properly. Water could even be forced upward, which usually results in a leak. Ballast
material can also escape and clog drains. Repairing a roof can be much more difficult when there are
solar panels installed, so it’s best to make sure these issues are addressed right away.

d>Damages done to construction during installation

A good roof system is durable, but they all have their limits. A solar installer might drag racks and panels
across the roof or drop tools without respect to the shingles or membrane, which can easily cause
penetrations. Debris that doesn’t get cleaned up can clog drains and cause all kinds of problems. To
avoid this,the SDI can consult an installer who understands the needs and nuances of roofing system.

e>Lack of proper maintainance plan

Even without solar panels, a roof will need maintenance and regular inspections. But with solar installed,
that need is heightened. Regular roof and solar panel maintenance is always recommended to keep
small problems from becoming big ones.Many other roofing problems can arise with solar panel
installations, and as installers develop new mounting methods the roofing system must always be a
serious consideration.

As per the above points,the inspector can monitor the housing conditions of the BOs and thereby create
a table based on the structural deficiencies of the BOs.Then he can undertake steps to solve the above
deficits in BO buildings.

4>Post Sale Services and Repairing of Rural Hardware :

The problems related to infrastructure do not trickle down only with the installation of solar panel or
device procurement.It can be presumed that when these hitherto unused devices are distributed at the
subdivisional level,there is a high probability that multiple instrumental errors would be reported.In
some cases the device may get damaged due to unwarranted mishandling.In order to reduce all these
problems,the inspector can approach in the following manner :

a>Firstly the inspector can call BPMs in batches,and discuss with them the points on mishandling or
rough use of the devices.

b>After these awareness classes for the BPMs of the subdivision on proper handling of devices are
over,the inspector should sort out the contact links with hardware vendor/s for post sale maintainance
or service of the devices.

5>Software bugs in devices

Whenever any new software based devices are introduced,it is highly possible that multiple software
bugs might be reported by the BPMs who would be working on the new devices of IT Project 2012 in
near future.Though most software bugs cannot be dealt with at the subdivisional level by the Inspector
as such,still there are some things he can do to assure speedy correctional measures.

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a>He should assure that the software errors are reported to the Rural Hardware System Integrator
Vendor as early as possible,through whatever proper channel would be available.

b>Apart from this,the inspector should instruct the BPMs to keep a manual record of transactions which
are showing anomalies,for any future reference.

Conclusion :

Since IT Project 2012 is a huge planning,so its certain that many challenges would come out,and may
also force the inspector to think out of the box for solutions.However once it is enrolled,it would open a
huge avenue for newer services in many areas.We shall give a tabulation of all these potential areas
where BOs might start operating in near future.

New Postal Services Other Future Services INDICATIVE

1. Mail Services 1. Retail Services
I. Booking an delivery of registered and i. Booking and reservation of train ticket & air
insured articles and MO’s in beat tickets
II. Speed Post delivery & Booking ii. Utility Bill payments-phone/electricity
2. Financial Services etc.
I. Small Savings Scheme—New A/C iii. Commission/Fee Collection
opening, deposits and withdrawals, RD iv. e-Commerce(give orders/view commodity
installment rates)
II. eMO disbursement and booking v. Mutual Fund subscription
III. MGNREGS disbursement vi. Data collection on behalf of other
IV. Disbursements of other Social Security organisations.
schemes vii. Phone recharge coupons
V. ‘No-Frills’ Bank Account enrolment, viii. Transactions on behalf of Banks
Deposits & Operation (as and when it is ix. Educational information
launched) x. Sale of application forms, Sale of Books.
3. Rural Postal Life Insurance xi. Aadhar cards and similar services
I. RPLI – enrolment for new accounts, xii. RGI
II. RPLI renewal premium receipt 2. UIDAI Enrolment
III. RPLI claims

Macro Assumptions on prospective reach of RICT &IT Project 2012 :

§ One stop shop for all financial dealings and communications for the rural population

§ Increased insurance cover availability to the rural populace positively impacting their lives

§ Launch of New Service offerings such as Moneygram, Non-life insurance products, micro finance, and
other products

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§ Development and implementation of state-of-the-art-technology infrastructure

§ Increase asset utilization across existing extensive infrastructure

Future Expections on IT Project 2012 :

 Improved customer satisfaction due to faster and more reliable

services in postal, logistics, banking, insurance and retail
operations;
 Better visibility of various articles in the mail stream and
transparency in financial services such as banking, insurance etc.
 Multiple channels of access to the customers through post office
counters, kiosks, Internet, mobiles ATMs etc;
 Better financial inclusion for the common man in the rural and
semi-urban locations through mobile remittances, mobile
banking, mobile insurance etc.
 Effective and transparent delivery of the social security and
employment guarantee schemes by the Government.
 Availability of a national asset of IT networkconnecting more than
1,55,000 post offices for use by booth Central and State
Governments.
 Improved quality on the services to the common citizen in remote
locations under the USO would enable better social and economic
infrastructure;
 Increasing business in rural postal network would reduce the
dependency for financial support on the government;
 Reduction of manual and paper based processing would lead
to greener post office, improving the environmental sustainability
of the postal system.
 Increased revenue through higher market shares in the existing
products and services. Introduction of new products and services
based on the IT enablement;
 Better decision making and operational planning due to
availability of information in a timely manner like cash transfer,
claim and maturity sanction, cash requirement projection for post
office.
 Ease of service for staff and improved service delivery to
customers
 Financials management and target management
 Staff Managemen

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