NEWS-INDIA: Andhra Pradesh launches 'e-sewa' for citizens

[Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>]

India-IT-Andhra Pradesh     (313 words)

Andhra Pradesh launches 'e-sewa' for citizens

by Mohammed Shafeeq, Indo-Asian News Service

Hyderabad, Aug 25 (IANS) In what is claimed to be the first major initiative
in the country to employ information technology as a tool to improve
services for citizens, the Andhra Pradesh government Saturday launched the
e-seva programme to provide integrated services to citizens of the state.

Andhra Pradesh governor C. Rangarajan inaugurated nine e-seva centers in
Hyderabad, while another nine are to be opened next month.

The e-seva center is a one-stop-shop for more than 30 government-to-consumer
(G2C) and business-to-consumer (B2C) services.

>From payment of electricity, water and telephone bills to the issue of birth
and death certificates, permits and licenses, reservation of bus tickets and
receipt of passport applications, the e-sewa centers offer a wide range of
services under one roof.

Internet services like Internet-enabled electronic payments, downloading of
forms and government orders and filing of applications on the Web are also
offered. The e-sewa centers will function seven days a week.

Madhusudhan Rao, director of e-seva, said the services would be provided
across the counter and also on the Internet. User charges will be collected
for some of the services to sustain the project, which is using high-end
technology.

e-seva is the improved version of a project launched in 1999 to provide
similar  services in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. e-seva
will be extended to all the cities and towns in the state in a phased
manner.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu claimed that e-sewa was one of the few
projects of its kind in the world. Naidu announced that in the next two to
three years, the benefits of IT would reach down to the village level and
pointed out that the government was already working to provide necessary
infrastructure and bandwidth for the purpose.

--Indo-Asian News Service