Driven by India's National e-Governance Plan, local government of Punjab looked forward to leverage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to transform the lives of people. It sought to structure all the Government departments, services, and offerings through online channels, connect them centrally, and make them available to people at their doorstep.
Punjab Government envisioned setting-up of fully digitized centers or E-Sewa Kendras (e-Service Desks) operating as front-end service delivery outlets across the length and breadth of the state of Punjab. Out of the total of 2147 E-Sewa Kendras, 1758 were to dedicatedly serve the villages of Punjab.
Hitachi has over 100 years of rich technological heritage. Hitachi continually invests on developing newer and innovating existing technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Infrastructure Technology, and Operational Technology, among others.
With a massive budget earmarked for the project, Punjab Government sought to collaborate with a partner who not just endorsed its socially innovative vision but could also match the scale.
It involved close scrutiny and evaluation of solutions proposed by various technology providers for feasibility. Backed by Hitachi's technology and socially innovative vision, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic bagged the prestigious project.
The collaboration was to take technology, and deliver its benefits to the remotest and most deprived locations in Punjab.
The ambitious project brought along with it a series of implementation challenges for Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic. The project was spread across Punjab, with 1758 E-Sewa Kendras named as Type – 3 Kendras to be set up exclusively for the rural areas with significant connectivity restraints. The requirement was to set up 1 Kendra per cluster of 3 - 4 villages. The remaining 400 Kendras were to come up in urban areas.
A total of 3380 counters were to be set across locations. Broadly, application requirements for all E-Sewa Kendras included Passive Networking, D-Link Switches, Rack 6U, CCTV Fixed Camera, Token Management System, Biometric Attendance System, Desktops and Printers, among others.
There were 13 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), distributors and vendors that Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic had to strike balance with for all the hardware related requirements such as cables, cameras, printers, computers, digital scanners, etc.
The successful execution of the project relied heavily on Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic's ability to effectively manage these suppliers and procure qualitative deliverables at all 2000+ locations within stipulated timelines.
Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic deployed approximately 100 resources to survey and ascertain the readiness of the Kendras to undergo complete IT transformation. The meticulous planning by Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic meant that it took only 10 days to complete the phase 1 of the project.
In order to ensure efficient hardware ordering and delivery, the state of Punjab was divided into 3 zones. Further, 2147 Kendras were divided into 3 Types based on geographical proximity. This helped in efficient ordering and delivery of hardware consignments across Kendras.
Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic has offered a 5 year services support across E-Sewa Kendras in Punjab. To make this possible, the company has come up with 22 dedicated teams of 1+1 engineer & trainee aligned district wise & as per their residence ensuring less commute and more convenience.
The successful execution of the E-Sewa Kendra project has delivered significant benefits to people, and society. People now have access to over 249 public services at a location convenient to them. They can deposit utility bills, apply for arms license, birth and death certificates, and do a lot more at an E-Sewa Kendra in their village.
In addition, the E-Sewa Kendra project has also generated jobs for around 130 people in Punjab. It is among one of the largest executions in terms of scale in the state of Punjab by any IT company in India.