NAI DISHA: New Agent of Information-District level Integrated Services of Haryana for All. A Government to citizen interface

Project Description
A web portal designed to provide access to different types of public information in rural areas, NAI DISHA is an IT driven electronic interface between the government and citizens.

Project Objectives
This project has a number of objectives which include strengthening intra district communication, standardizing application packages in order to facilitate their replication and also to provide effective and timely services to the farmers and masses.

Intended Beneficiaries
The major stakeholders are district level officials, citizens of the state, different departments of Haryana, ISPs and the various kiosk owners.

Partners Involved
A number of parties are involved in the creation and implementation of NAI DISHA. The major partners are the Department of Revenue, National Informatics Centre and the District Administration.

Impact: Costs and Benefits
It was funded by the Revenue and IT Department while the software was developed by NIC Haryana. Services of the District Administration are now conveniently accessible. The construction of private kiosks is being contemplated.

Lessons Learned
In order to popularize the project, it is felt that its services should be made available on the Internet. Also public participation in the management of kiosks is essential to make this experiment a success. The importance of nodal officers has also been recognized.

Constraints/Challenges
One of the major challenges is the entry and upgrading of massive amounts of data. Apart from that, following up with various departments is very difficult. The contents varied from district to district and therefore had to be standardized before inclusion into the portal.

Sustainability Factors
A service charge model has been introduced in the Kaithal district and is running successfully. A committee has been set up to finalize the service delivery and payment charges. NIC-HSU provides technical support on a continuing basis.

Recommendations
Many recommendations have been made to improve the services provided. NAI DISHA, being a multi departmental activity, requires full cooperation from the government. All transactional activities should be on a service-charge basis. A tie up with banks for providing online bill payment services also seems like a good proposition.

Project or Related URLs:

http://naidisha.nic.in

http://haryana.nic.in