‘To make it the country’s first eLiterate state and to be a 100% digital society’, that is the dream of Kerala’s IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan.

Sundararajan’s dream is slowly but steadily becoming a reality. The state government has rolled out several eGovernance initiatives in a bid to address the digital divide in the state through an integrated and holistic approach.This is by way of providing information and communication technology access to all sections of the society.

A comprehensive IT policy has been in place since 1998 with a specific intent on taking IT to the masses. It has helped in the development of minimum skill sets to all the people through functional IT literacy training, creation of relevant local contents to benefit all the interest groups, thereby being an enabler in generating massive economic growth.

It has also enabled the creation of direct employment opportunities in the state so as to develop the socio economic scenario in the state.

The government has also been organizing eLiteracy campaigns throughout the state in an attempt to bridge the digital divide.

The Akshaya project has helped in taking IT to Malapuram district, the remotest part of Kerala

The underlying objective of the campaign is to remove the "fear of the unknown" that common people have about technology in general and computers in particular.

Here are some of the successful eGovernance models developed in Kerala and garnered international recognition.

Connecting People—The FRIENDS Model
 One of the very first and the most successful initiatives Kerala government put in place was the Fast Reliable Instant Effective Network for Distribution of Services (FRIENDS). The aim of the FRIENDS project is to create a single window, enabling the citizens to pay taxes and other utility payments. The project was first launched in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in 2000. The participating departments were given the freedom to maintain payment counters in their office premises as well. The project was then rolled out to other districts. The FRIENDS counter today handles bill payments of seven departments – revenue, motor vehicles, civil supplies, local bodies, universities, electricity, water, and telephones. Close to around a million people have used the FRIENDS service so far and it is growing at about 150% every year. The FRIENDS centers were initially conceived as a multi purpose service center, helping not only bill payment services but also acting as information kiosks on government activities. But due to various constraints this has not been implemented so far, but the government recently has taken the lead and decided to set up a call center for the FRIENDS facilities. To start with, the Thiruvananthapuram facility will be enabled with a call center that would provide information to the citizens on various government procedures and norms. For instance, if anybody wants to acquire a ration card or a building permit, the person can just ring up the call center and get the procedural details.

The Akshaya Project
Launched in November 2002, Akshaya (perpetuating prosperity) is an effort on the part of the IT department to ‘bridge the digital divide’. By the end of the 3-year project, organizers hope to have set up a network of 6000 information centers that have the potential to impart basic IT literacy to at least one member in each of the 6.5 million families in Kerala; generate and distribute locally relevant content; improve public delivery of services; and create employment opportunities. The Akshaya project is being implemented through Panchayati Raj Institutions, and involves private enterprise in the development of training institutes and content generation.

The project has helped in taking IT to the remotest part of Kerala- Malappuram. Incidentally, Malappuram has become the country’s first 100% eLiterate district. People of this district are today conversant with the use of IT and are even savvy with Internet usage. The project has created over 620 kiosks and generated employment to over 2500 people in the area. Says Sundararajan, "With the success we have derived from Malappuram, the government has decided to replicate the Akshaya model in other districts of Kerala. Our vision is that by 2006, Kerala should become India’s first fully eLiterate State."

Akshaya eCenters provide training that not only familiarizes people with the basics and scope of IT, but also ensures hands-on skill in operating a computer. The project aims at providing e-Literacy to one person in every family. A carefully designed content module in Malayalam of 15 hours duration per person is a major highlight of the project. The process of providing the skill sets is creating a long lasting relation between the Akshaya centers and the families in the area. On a macro level, this will generate a statewide data warehouse and repository of relevant content for the families. Around 6 lakh people in Malappuram were trained since June 2003.

The eSavvy Panchayat
The Vellanad Panchayat in the state has been declared the first fully computerized Panchayat in the country. The Panchayat has been automated by two software solutions– Sulekha and Sevana. These solutions are being used for the operations of the Panchayat and the social security schemes respectively. The government is also in the process of putting in place initiatives that will replicate the Vellanad model in other Panchayat entities in the state.

Secretariat Wide Area Network (SWAN)
A massive automation process of the state Secretariat, which houses 37 departments across six blocks, is in full swing. The project christened SWAN, will link key areas of the Secretariat- the annexe, Vikas Bhavan and the Public Office in a phased manner. These implementations will also scale up the current system: Secretariat Internet Communication System (SICS). Meanwhile, the government is also in the process of establishing a statewide area network aimed at linking the various district head quarters with the capital. This infrastructure, once completed, will become a platform to deliver various eGovernance services. Also, the government has decided to set up accelerated data centers at Kochi and Kozhikode. The bandwidth for interconnecting is also being given free of cost by the service providers - Asianet, Reliance and Bharathi.

Shrikanth G in Thiruvananthapuram

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