Abridged Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Challenges ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Initiatives................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Implementation in DSSP ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 NGO-GO Interface ..............................................................................................................................................................................

Introduction The Department of Treasury (DOT) has for long been in the disbursal of Social Security Pensions (SSP) funds. Old age, destitute widow and physically handicapped citizens are the beneficiaries to these pensions. The department had offices in 33 District with 183 sub treasuries and catered to 7 Lakh employees. However the disbursal of SSPs was contingent on two other departments- the Revenue Department and the Postal Department. Challenges The SSP program is facing many problems. These problems are spread across departments. Revenue Department: Inefficient processes: The pen and paper mode of operations take much more time that an integrated MIS would have taken. This also creates problems for applicants who dont have a common place of submission (North and South offices). Definitions of roles are not efficient wherein case writers are involved at multiple times for assignments which can be done by anyone else, viz. preparation of records etc. Multiple processing and inefficient tracking due to lack of unique ID given to each applicant at the start of the application, leads to huge time delays. Processing done in batches of one month instead of just in time leads to amplification of seasonality and inefficient resource utilization. There is no appraisal system in place and most employees do not have any targets to meet. This leads to laxity for some and frustration for over worked employees. There is a huge integration and synchronization problem across departments which lead to long delays and a lot of rework. E.g. delays between issues of orders and dispatch of sanctions lead to a month of delay. Accountability is lacking as case writers on leave lead to rework. Standardization of processes in terms of file management is required for easy tracking and requests for change of details. Processing is not intelligent and no FIFO system followed which can potentially delay applications by 3 months or more. Department of Treasury: Digitization in bits and parts has actually led to a lot of man hours going waste without significant returns. The bottleneck is not being addressed and hence investments in digitization are not reaping returns. Infrastructure problems with problems of space constraints, lighting, ventilation leads to lower productivity. Error mitigation systems not in place and this leads to resending of applications back to Revenue department. Problems in tracking of sanctions which have been delivered to applicants lead to confusion and multiple processing. MOs being transferred in batches leads to sudden pressure on Postal departments. Postal Department: Postal department does not have a system for tracking of mail in place. It is also expensive in terms of the 5% commission required. Postman are mandated to verify beneficiary details post sanctioning which can be done away with bank transfer and verification using Unique ID. There is no proper system for relaying back of undelivered MOs and is a financial cost is for the DOT. Initiatives Revenue Department: Revenue department should make a switch from the pen and paper mode of operations. An integrated system of e-governance across the three or at least two departments (Revenue and DOT) for accepting and processing applications has to be implemented. Since most of the applicants are old, widows or handicapped it is unreasonable to expect them to submit applications online. Hence either the case writers or the vendors outside the office should be allowed to set up terminals to help applicants in online applications. This will save them the money for application which can go as income to the vendors. Vendors and case writers should be trained to use the system. Unique IDs should be issued to each applicant at the time of application to avoid multiple processing and easy tracking. The online portal should divert the applications directly to the case writers based on the area of jurisdiction (South, North). Thus the systems will be able to track the applications processed by the case writer in a month and help in his performance appraisal. Part of the verification can be made automatic and online. (Applications with unanswered queries will not get submitted- this will reduce the number of rejected applications and save time for case writers). Scanned copiers of documents required for verification should be attached along with the application. Originals can be taken directly to the assigned case writer by the applicant but need to be passed on for further processing. Post verification, Revenue Inspector should be given everyday targets (say 40 address verifications daily) instead of the ad-hoc so system. RIs should report at the end of each day, the targets achieved which will be useful for his appraisal. Instead of the case writers, the managers should
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prepare records of Sanctions given to the DOT. Also this delivery should be integrated with the integrated system and order copies to be sent to the applicants should be generated automatically. There should be synchronisation between delivery of order copies and the dispatch of sanction. The dispatch should happen on a day to day basis instead of once a month approach. The applications should go through the integrated system and it should contain the Unique ID and details of the case writer, the RI and the issuing officer for easy tracking. Before a case writer is sanctioned a leave, he/she should be mandated to complete pending applications to reduce redoing the whole process again. Metrics in appraisals such as number of applications sent back should be included. A physical file management system has to be implemented along with the drive to electronic maintenance of records. All files should be segregated into folders as per date of application and unique ID (to keep applicant in loop). Files should also be segregation according to departments, viz. Income Certificates, Cash Certificates, ST/SC Certificates etc. To reduce burden on case writers, contracting case writers will not suffice as it will be like shifting of bottle neck to Revenue Inspectors. Moreover, people hired on contract should be hired on deputation and should be given incentives for better delivery given the constraint that they cannot become permanent employees. Digitization should be done first for the incoming files and older files can be digitized during weekends with overtime benefits. Disbursing Officer should also check if mal practices are happening from a few case writers and report to Tehsildars. For request of change of address etc. a separate online form which uses the unique Id given at the time of application should be used to easily locate the case writer, the file, the RI, the issuing officer etc. The RI should then make the change in address post a second verification and this should reflect in the department of Treasury automatically. DOT: The DOT requires a dedicated staff/Arm for releasing daily MOs and Bank accounts for pensions as DOT deals with a lot of other things. Due to the digitized feed at the input system, the DOT will now not need to waste resources on the digitization. However, DOT should invest in a better Infrastructure to incentivize employees. Signature verification can be done away by using computerized details of submitter, issuing officer, case writer. Processing of sanctions has to be FIFO to reduce sending back of applications. The system should support both languages and scripts with automatic translation capabilities. Automatic Error Recognition based on Unique ID should be implemented to remove/reduce manual checking and need for reprinting of Journals. Automatic generation of Form 7 records is already happening and should be made more efficient. The situation also demands the replacement of Dot matrix printer by a more efficient printer with auto print command for multiple files at one go so that printing can be left for the night. USBs should be used to prevent power problems. Also, although bank transfers much more reliable, but when money deposited in banks, the bank should be directed to update the Khajana system so that real time information about where disposals are pending can be obtained. The Verification of account details with Unique ID details will obviate the need for postman. With the RBI directive, this can also be outsourced to bank employees. People should be encouraged to use bank accounts instead of MOs. This can be done by giving a slightly higher pension for keeping bank account preference. DOT will save on the commission given to postal department. Finally the money orders should not be dispatched in batched but on a daily basis. Postal Department: Postal Departments traffic has to come down from the present 40% to about 10% as it is costly and inefficient. Hence people should be incentivized to maintain bank accounts. Tie up with SBI can be considered with higher pension for bank accounts. In the short run, the Postal departments should also be kept in the loop of the integrated system wherein undelivered MOs can be returned to Revenue department on a weekly basis with a copy sent to the DOT. However, with Banks in rural areas, the focus should be to encourage bank accounts for the rural people. Implementation in DSSP The key reason for the delay in current system of disbursal is the lack of efficient processes within each department and lack of co-ordination among the departments. DSSP being a standalone department responsible for the pension funds should help in reducing the lack of co-ordination. Care must be taken to develop defined roles for the employees with performance appraisals and accountability. Metrics should be defined using tools
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like SERVQUAL to make DSSP more customers facing. The office can be set up using new IT enabled services and good infrastructure support. Outsourcing and help of NGOs will not lead to ego issues of new employees. However, SSPs should be a separate arm of DSSP with specific assigned people. If DSSP is burdened with too many other government yojnas to implement, then, there are chances of it losing its efficiency. NGO-GO Interface Government NGO partnerships have been successful in the past, e.g. IFAD supported Tamil Nadu Womens development project or the ISKON supported midday meal scheme. NGOs can help in spreading awareness among people about the pension schemes and helping them with applications and documentations. They can also help in identifying beneficiaries for SSP. NGOs can also help in training staff with using the software, performance monitoring, avoiding corruption. Rural based NGOs can help in address verification procedures and helping people understand the significance of Unique ID. However, due to recent controversies, care should be taken while contracting NGOs for role implementation. They should undergo a selection procedure and meet minimum transparency standards as defined by the government. The role of NGOs should be clearly defined. Remuneration of NGOs based on suitable measures is very important to avoid corruption. It should be however kept in mind that NGOs should be phased out eventually and they should not be looked as permanent part of the DSSP.

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