Grama Panchayats to Become Tech Savvy

The global software major, SAP, announced its local priorities and technologies solutions for India at its mega event, the SAP World Tour 2011. The company announced several exciting initiatives for making the public sector more tech savvy. One such initiative is “e-Enabling of the Grama Panchayat,” which is being done at Soda village, Rajasthan, and locally headed by Chhavi Rajawat, India's only sarpanch with an MBA. By providing e-governance in the local administrative offices at rural Soda village, SAP is in the process of understanding and re-engineering the sarpanch functions in order to better know the scope of the delivery of citizen services, like birth, marriage and death certificates, and automation of records management for better visibility on budgets, revenues, application of funds for projects and similar functions of the panchayat, among others.

As a part of this initiative, SAP will also set up a computer lab to foster basic computer literacy among the villagers. A larger and similar initiative, called Lakshya is also being executed, which is a program designed to impart basic computer literacy through such labs, on 100,000 underprivileged youth across India by the end of 2011. SAP will implement it along with its NGO partners. The labs will be well equipped with computers preloaded with easy-to-use software, and will act as a hub to provide basic computer literacy to the villagers. Additionally, SAP will provide all the necessary infrastructure and technology expertise and manage the operational costs, such as electricity or solar panels, teachers, trainers and more, as required.

“At SAP, we are focused on getting rural India access to citizen services and an administration that is transparent and accountable,” said Peter Gartenberg, managing director, SAP India. “We have brought that same focus to Soda village; our efforts are to partner on long-term economic development, creating enduring prosperity for the common man.”

“We believe that technology will fulfill the changing needs of citizens, while helping governments to standardize and manage their services and develop the economy,” said Adaire Fox-Martin, head of the Industry and Solutions Group, SAP Asia Pacific Japan. “SAP has reaffirmed its commitment to developing more efficient technologies for our customers in public sector undertakings, helping them to improve processes and public administrations, provide greater transparency and quicker decision-making, and in turn helping them create better communities.”

Emergency helpline for Indians

SAP also announced that it has developed a helpline application to aid Indian citizens with critical, immediate alerts during emergencies. The application will also provide real-time instructions and an expansive resource guide and information for emergency care on mobile devices like smart phones and tablets.

With real-time intelligence capabilities and location-based information, the application will help public safety and security agencies along with state and local governments to drive better preparedness and prevention, enhance service delivery and responsiveness, and improve safety and security outcomes for citizens. SAP will work with local and state authorities and state police departments willing to provide emergency services to its citizens.

At the time of an emergency, a citizen's details can be sent out to a helpline by pressing a designated “hot button,” which is routed to the police control room or to a nearby hospital and citizen activist closest to them for rapid assistance. The application can also send out time-critical information on the victim's location as well as personal data like name, address and contact details, which can be pre-loaded in the application. Additionally, it can offer care instructions and information through step-by-step video narrations and follow-along demonstrations in the event of a fatal health crisis.