Digitally Empowered PSUs In India

India is going through a rapid digital transformation. The government’s Digital India programme-which is an initiative to “transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy” is seen as a major propeller of digitisation. Digital India is a significant enabler in the journey towards this transition.

Public sector undertakings (PSUs) are considered to be vital and crucial pillars for strengthening country’s economy. They have been  playing an essential role in achieving the goal of economic development by going digital to maintain transparency.

India is leading the emerging economies that are driving business impact from their digital initiatives. This points out that India is getting digitally transformed at a rate unprecedented in world history. From large enterprises to medium- and small-scale businesses, and individual users, everyone in the country agrees: digital is the only way forward.

Digital innovation is disrupting economies, sectors and industries across the globe and transforming the way we live, work and run businesses. From entertainment to commerce, education to health, a digital society is at the heart of this worldwide transformation. The ICT industry is connecting billions of people by the transformative power of the Internet and mobilising every device we use in our daily lives.

The JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) revolution brings together the triad of financial inclusion (The Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana), biometric identification (Aadhaar), and mobile telecommunications. The revolution is to link all Indians into one common financial, economic, and digital space. The Jan DhanYojana is aimed at ensuring various financial services to the economically weaker sections of the society. Bank account creation and issuing RuPay debit cards have been the greatest takeaways under this scheme.

A solid technological core

Enterprises are opening up their data through APIs and adding to the API economy by developing apps based on data exposed by others. For example, IndiaStack APIs allow the government and private players to build apps that targets a presence-, paper-, and cashless service delivery. Thanks to IndiaStack APIs, Aadhaar Payments, eKYC, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and DigitalLocker are made available to millions of people in the country. This highlights the importance of technology without which the transactions would have been deemed impossible.

Digitisation for tax compliance

The uppermost layer of the digital transformation of India is all about achieving tax compliance. Through the government’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, which aims to transfer social subsidies directly to the people through their bank accounts, financial leakages will be plugged and tax evasions, reined in.

Digitization is also playing a vital role in transferring social services by the government to the people. The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) , “facilitates online procurement of common use goods and services required by various government departments/ organizations/ PSUs” through GeM.

Thus, technology is an enabler for our country to progress socially and economically. The thrust is now to take these benefits of technology from the block level to the district level. Let’s see on how these PSU’s helping to India to go digital.

1. NBCC taking India to the next level of infrastructure development

NBCC (India) Limited

Head of the organization –    P K Gupta (CMD)

Website - http://www.nbccindia.com/

A Government of India Navratna enterprise and a Central Public Sector undertaking, NBCC has categorized its operations under three main segments - Project Management Consultancy (PMC), Real Estate Development and EPC Contracting. To execute projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojna (PMGSY), Solid Waste Management (SWM) and developmental work in the north-eastern region, the company is also implementing agency.

NBCC (India) has joined hands with Raipur SMART City Limited (RSCL) where the former has been appointed as RSCL’s Executing Agency for the various infrastructure works at Raipur. For this NBCC has charged project management consultancy (PMC) fees of 8% on the actual cost of work.

In line with the Skill India Mission initiative, NBCC has implemented‘Recognition of Prior Learning’(RPL) programs at various project sites across the country. The objective of this initiative is to promote skill development and discover uncertified talented workforce in the construction sector. At IIT-Delhi project site, NBCC has facilitated and certified the workers.

2. TCIL continues to strengthen India with its technology expertise

Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL)

Head of the organization –    Rajiv Gupta (CMD& Director Projects)

Website -    https://www.tcil-india.com/

Incorporated in 1978, TCIL is owned by Government of India Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India. It was set up for providing Indian telecom expertise in all fields of telecom, Civil and IT to developing countries around the world.

TCIL has won Government of India’s ambitious project BharatNet worth Rs 1490 crore in two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The program aims to provide fibre-based broadband connectivity to more than 6 lakh villages through 2.5 lakh gram panchayats or village blocks.

Also, TCIL is supplying, deploying and commissioning a mega VSAT (very small aperture terminal) initiative in the Ku frequency band. It is providing satellite-based bandwidth in several states including Northeast, Jammu & Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh. Out of 4,800 VSAT terminals, TCIL has installed more than 1,000 terminals and has already established gateways at Ahmedabad and Ranchi.

3. ITI Limited widening its focus area­­

ITI Limited

Head of the organization - Rakesh Mohan Agarwal (CMD)

Website -    http://www.itiltd-india.com/

Established as a departmental factory in 1948, ITI Limited is the premier telecom company and multi-unit central public sector undertaking in the telecommunications segment. It offers telecom turnkey solutions and customized support. It has manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru, Naini, Rae Bareli, Mankapur and Palakkad along with an R&D centre in Bengaluru and 25 Marketing, Services & Projects (MSP) centers in India, which are located at Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi and 17 other places spread across the country.

In a bid to fortify the electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem in the country, ITI Limited has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA). According to the MoU, ITI will facilitate its infrastructure to manufacture electronic products with special focus on telecom and allied smart electronic products. The MoU envisages setting up of infrastructure to enable ITI develop intelligent electronics ecosystem in the country inclusive of product design, development and manufacturing with a focus not limited to areas such as Telecom, Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Smart Manufacturing, Smart Agriculture and others.

4. ONGC leverages technology for competitive advantage

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)

Head of the organization - ShashiShanker (CMD)

Website - https://www.ongcindia.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/home/

India’s Maharatna, ONGC is the country’s largest crude oil and natural gas company. It contributes 75% to Indian domestic production. This largest natural gas company ranks 11th among global energy majors (Platts).

ONGC has created a benchmark for industry by setting up EPINET. With this a live E&P information network and a virtual database has been developed for Basin & Petroleum System Modeling of various basins. Through SCADA all production and drilling executives at different levels utilize and reap benefits of online SCADA data for enhanced operational efficiency and productivity.

The Maharatna has also come up with 3D virtual reality centres known as ‘Third Eye’ for real-time supervision of the Oil & Gas fields, bridging the gap between centres with parallel computing technologies for all its major projects.

The IT mission of ONGC has been realigned ‘To develop an integrated, flexible and standardized Information Technology architecture to position ONGC towards fundamental competitive advantage’. The existing standalone applications (UFSO – for Financial Management, SHRAMIK for Human Resource Management, IMMS for Material Management etc.) and other legacy information systems were brought together under a common ERP platform. This gave the birth of Project ICE, Information Consolidation for Efficiency. The project comprises of 23 SAP modules in more than 500 physical locations across the length and breadth of the country, starting from mobile Survey units at Jwalamukhi of Himachal Pradesh to Deep Sea vessels at Bay of Bengal, from Production installations at far flung areas of Assam to Drilling rigs in the desert of Rajasthan.

5. BBNL empowering rural India digitally

Bharat Broadband Network (BBNL)

Head of the organization –   Sarvesh Singh (CMD)

Website - http://www.bbnl.nic.in

Formed under Administrative Ministry of Communication & IT, Department of Telecommunications by Government of India for the establishment, management and operation of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN). Under this program, a total of around 2, 50,000 Gram Panchayats spread over 6,600 Blocks and 641 Districts are to be covered by laying incremental fiber. The aim is to improve telecommunications in India and reach the campaign goal of Digital India.

The last mile connectivity with a total of 700,000 wi-fi hotspots to cover all 625,000 villages of India have been created by connecting high-speed 4G base tower stations of commercial telecom operators to BharatNet. BBNL will add 2 to 5 wi-fi hotspots per gram panchayat and minimum one wi-fi hotspot per village, whereby commercially non-viable wi-fi hotspots will be subsidized by the union government grant of ₹36,000 million to sustain the operation.

6. NPCI leading India towards Digital payments

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

Head of the organization –   DilipAsbe (MD & CEO)

Website - https://www.npci.org.in/

To create a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been set up. It is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.  In its journey till date, it has made a significant impact on the retail payment systems in the country. The Company is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology for achieving greater efficiency in operations and widening the reach of payment systems.

NPCI products include National Financial Switch (NFS) and Cheque Truncation System (CTS), which are the flagship products. Apart from these Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have been termed as two most revolutionary products in the Indian payment system. The other products include RuPay Credit Card, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) and National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC). Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a mobile payment App developed by NPCI that makes payment transactions simple, easy and quick using Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

With the outbreak of novel Coronavirus outbreak, NPCI has started a campaign called ‘India pay safe’ to boost digital payments, so that people will stop exchanging cash which could spread the virus.

7. STPI encouraging software exports from India

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

Head of the organization –   Dr.OmkarRai (Director General)

Website - https://ibps.stpi.in

To encourage, promote and boost the Software Exports from India, Software Technology Parks of India is set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in 1991. 

To encourage Digital India program SPTI has come up with the India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) which seeks to incentivize the establishment of 48,300 seats in respect to BPO/ITES operations across the country. This is expected to help in capacity building in smaller cities in terms of infrastructure and manpower and would be the basis for the next wave of IT/ITES led growth. This scheme has potential to create employment opportunities of around 1.5 lakh direct jobs, while also creating a good number of indirect jobs. In a joint venture with the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), STPI has set up an 'Electropreneur Park'. This will support 50 start-ups working on electronics product designing and development over the next five years.

8. CERT-IN protecting the cyber security space of India

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN)

Head of the organization –   Sanjay Bahl (Director General)

Website - https://www.cert-in.org.in/

Formed to arm the Indian cyber space, CERT-In has been designated under the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008. Its primary role is to raise awareness among India’s cyber community, to provide technical assistance and advice to help them recover from computer security incidents. It serves in the area of cyber security as a nodal agency to perform - Collecting, analysing and disseminating information on cyber incidents; Forecasting and alerting of cyber security incidents; issuing emergency measures for handling cyber security incidents; Coordination of cyber incident response activities and Issuing guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and whitepapers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response and reporting of cyber incidents.

The agency has signed few Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs)with ministries of seven countries like Korea, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Uzbekistan which encourages the participating companies to exchange technical information on cyber-attacks, response to cyber security incidents and find solutions to counter the cyber-attacks. The MoUs will also help to strengthen cyber space of signing countries, capacity building and improving relationship between them.

9. BEL leveraging next generation technologies to keep the country ahead in Defense space

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)

Head of the organization – M V Gowtama (CMD)

Website - http://www.bel-india.in/Default.aspx

BEL was set up in association with CSF, France (now, Thales) to manufacture basic communication equipment.  Owned by the Indian Government, BEL primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry of Defence and has been granted Navratna status by the Government of India.

To tackle the present ongoing pandemic, Coronavirus, BEL in partnership with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Rishikesh have developed a monitoring system to remotely assess the health of COVID-19 suspects/patients quarantined in homes and hospitals. This solution is helpful in reduction of the risk of exposure to healthcare workers and is also expected to reduce the increasing demand of PPE and other logistics.

In another MoU with Tech Mahindra, BEL collaborated to design and build cutting edge Digital Solutions for Aerospace and Defense. They will jointly develop solutions in the field of Defence products and systems for the Armed Forces leveraging next generation technologies like Aerospace and Defence (A&D) Engineering Services, 5G and Cyber Security.

10. LIC encouraging India towards digital payment system

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

Head of the organization – M R Kumar (Chairman), T.C. Suseel Kumar (Managing Director)

Website - www.licindia.in

LIC is a common name in every household of India. It is one of the leading life insurer and is moving fast on a new growth trajectory. LIC has issued over one crore policies during the current year and has crossed the milestone of issuing 1, 01, 32,955 new policies in the year 2005.

To order to attract the millennial of the country LIC has upgraded its online platform where customers can pay online, raise a demand for policy loan, and change address. Not only this, the PSU also pushes for digital payment drive. It is planning to provide Point of Sale (PoS) machines to its lakhs of agents who collect around Rs 1.5 lakh crore premium annually. As part of the strategy for the cash-less economy, LIC is gearing up for premium collection to be done in digitally.

The state-owned insurance behemoth is also looking at initiating Aadhaar-linked digital transactions that will help policy holders in the rural areas to avoid payment of premium in cash and cash handling burden of agents would come down significantly.

11. NHAI harnessing the digital potential to make highways hassle free and safe

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

Head of the organization – Dr.Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, IAS (Chairman)

Website - https://nhai.gov.in/

Established from an act of Parliament, NHAI is responsible for National Highways Development Project along with two minor projects.  

Riding on the digital potential and to empower economy by increasing fuel efficiency and reducing traffic delays, FASTag was introduced.FASTag seamlessly employs the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The tags are affixed on the windshield of a vehicle which get detected by the  tollplaza sensors. The toll amount gets automatically deducted from the user’s prepaid account, reducing the dependency on cash transactions, greatly reducing waiting time and hence, the traffic build up.  

NHAI has also planned to install video surveillance system in few toll plazas to control the traffic congestion and keep the highway commute hassle-free. Under this advanced video surveillance system, NHAI is deploying hi-end cameras at the toll plazas that will send the real-time feed to the concerned regional traffic control rooms and NHAI headquarters. There will be an imaginary IP line set which will be integrated with these cameras and once the traffic queue reached this IP line these cameras will switch to video mode and start sending the video feed to the regional traffic control room.

12. CSCs enabling rural India digitally

Common Service Centres (CSC)

Head of the organization – Dr. Dinesh Tyagi (CEO)

Website - https://csc.gov.in/

The Common Service Centres (CSCs) are the facilities which deliver Government of India’s e-Services to rural and remote locations. This comes under Digital India and the Programme of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). The centres are the access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, education and agriculture services, apart from host of B2C services to citizens in rural and remote areas of the country. It is a pan-India network enabling the Government’s mandate of a socially, financially and digitally inclusive society.

After assessing CSC scheme, the government has come up with CSC 2.0 scheme in 2015. It focuses on creating a self-sustaining network of 2.5 lakh CSC centres at Gram Panchayat (GP) level under Digital India and deliver various citizen centric services. It is envisaged as a transaction-based and service delivery-based model, delivering a large bouquet of e-services through a single delivery platform, which would increase the sustainability of the CSCs across the Country. The project proposes to strengthen the CSC network across the country.

CSC has come up with an initiative called E-Mulakatin 24 districts of Jharkhand. Through this, relatives of prison inmates can interact with them through video conferencing. With this service it is expected to reduce administrative and security overhead at jails by more than 60% as large number of visitors have to put in a manual request for visit approval and visit in person for knowing the status of approval and for meeting the inmates.

13. MyGov.in aims to bring government close to commoners

MyGov.in

Head of the organization –    Abhishek Singh IAS (CEO)

Website - https://www.mygov.in/

With an idea of bringing government close to the common man by the use of online platform, MyGov has platform has been established. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the social and economic transformation of India. The website is hosted and managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

During this ongoing pandemic across globe, MyGov along with WhatsApp have come up with India specific coronavirus and Covid-19 alert service. The latest and official alerts on Covid-19 and coronavirus will be available through a phone number. The service is going to run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

14. PSP makes passport services easy and convenient

Passport Seva Project (PSP)

Head of the organization –    Arun K. Chatterjee (Joint Secretary - PSP & CPO)

Website - http://www.passportindia.gov.in/

Passport Seva Project is focused to provide a better services to citizens which in turn has also revolutionized passport and the related service delivery in India. PSP is enabling Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to deliver passport services in a reliable, convenient and transparent manner. It has 36 Passport offices across the country and 190 Indian Missions and Posts abroad. Apart from creating a countrywide networked environment, it integrates with the State Police for physical verification of applicant's credentials and with India Post for delivery of passports.

The project has been executed in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode with Tata Consultancy Services. The sovereign and fiduciary functions like verification, granting and issuing of passport, while also the ownership and strategic control of the core assets including data/information have been retained by MEA.

A new initiative of e-passports may soon be adopted by the government. The passports will come with a chip which will help in rolling out of advanced security features in the near future.

15. GSTN aims to integrate indirect tax ecosystem on a shared IT infrastructure

GSTN – Goods and Services Tax Network

Head of the organization –   Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey (Chairman); Prakash Kumar (CEO)

Website - https://www.gstn.org.in/ 

To establish a uniform interface for the tax payer and a common and shared IT infrastructure between the Centre and States, the GST System Project has been set up. Earlier, the indirect tax administrations of Centre and State has worked under different laws, regulations, procedures and formats and the IT systems work as independent sites.

Integrating them for GST implementation would involve integrating the entire indirect tax ecosystem so as to bring all the tax administrations (Centre, State and Union Territories) to the same level of IT maturity with uniform formats and interfaces for taxpayers and other external stakeholders.

A robust settlement mechanism amongst the States and the Centre is required for GSTN and this is possible only when there is a strong IT Infrastructure and Service backbone which enables capture, processing and exchange of information amongst the stakeholders (including tax payers, States and Central Governments, Accounting Offices, Banks and RBI).

16. GeMmaintains transparency in online procurement of goods & services

Government eMarketplace (GeM)

Head of the organization –    Talleen Kumar (CEO)

Website - https://gem.gov.in/

Created in a record time of five months, Government eMarketplaceis a dedicated e-market for different goods & services procured by Government organisations/departments/PSUs. It eases the procurement process. It also enhances transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement, the platform provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, achieve the best value for their money.

GeM is planning to come up with its 4.0 version where over 100 new features will be added in the existing portal to make it more transparent. It will be implemented by September 2020.

17. BEML expanding its horizons

Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML)

Head of the organization -   Deepak Kumar Hota (CMD)

Website - https://www.bemlindia.in/

BEML Limited which falls under Government of India’s ‘Miniratna-Category-1’ caters to sectors like Defence, Rail, Power, Mining and Infrastructure. BEML is heading towards becoming a system integrator by outsourcing a substantial part of manufacturing activities from Indian vendors, enabling BEML to enhance the capacity, attain cost effectiveness and improve competitiveness in the global market.To facilitate outsourcing, the company has well established policies, procedures and guidelines.

BEML has signed a MoU with Wipro Infrastructure Engineering to work together in Aerospace, Industrial Automation, 3D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, and Hydraulic System Engineering space.

BEML has adopted SAP business suite to bring a more integrated and seamless approach to internal processes pushing the company towards digital transformation. The business applications will provide BEML better insights into the enterprise-wide analysis, based on real-time data and key performance indicators.

18. BIS fortifying India’s position in relevance to standardization

Beauru of Indian Standards (BIS)

Head of the organization - Pramod Kumar Tiwari (Director General)

Website -https://bis.gov.in/

The Nation Standard Body of India, BIS has been set up for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways by providing safe reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing

With an aim to strengthen India’s position at International level from ‘Standard takers’ to ‘Standard makers’ by involving young minds in the area of standardization, BIS has inked aMoU with IIT Bombay and according to it the later will develop infrastructure support and provide IT based technological solutions for various activities of BIS.

In another MoU signed between BIS and IIT Delhi, both the organizations have agreed to set up a Centre of Excellence in the field of Standardization, Testing & Conformity Assessment at IIT Delhi campus to further boost the R&D Projects of relevance to standardization.

19. NSE a forerunner in electronic trading system

National Stock Exchange (NSE)

Head of the organization - VikramLimaye (MD & CEO)

Website -https://www.nseindia.com/

Established in 1992, National Stock Exchange (NSE) is recognized as a stock exchange by SEBI in 1993 and started its operations in 1994 with the launch of the wholesale debt market, followed shortly after by the launch of the cash market segment.Located in the Mumbai, NSE is the first organization to dematerialized electronic exchange in the country. NSE was the first exchange in the country to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based electronic trading system which offered easy trading facility to the investors spread across the length and breadth of the country. 

In order to keep its customers ahead of IT security challenges, NSEIT, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Stock Exchange of India, has acquired cybersecurity company Aujas Networks. For almost a two decades, NSEIT provides IT services to the exchange ecosystem, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI).

20.BSE provides highly secure, efficient and transparent market for trading

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

Head of the organization - Ashishkumar Chauhan (MD & CEO)

Website -https://www.bseindia.com/

Incorporated in 1875, Asia’s first and fastest stock exchange in the world’s with the speed of six micro seconds, BSE which is formerly known as Bombay Stock Exchangeis among the leading exchange groups. The organization provides an efficient and transparent market for trading in equity, currencies, debt instruments, derivatives, mutual funds.  Following the vision of India’s Prime Minister BSE has come up with India INX, India's 1st international exchange, in Ahmedabad.

BSE understands the growing importance of data and guard against breaches of privacy,the organization endeavours to secure interests of stockbrokers with the help of cutting-edge technologies and security services. So for that BSE has inked a MoU with Si Consult to strengthen cyber security services and safeguard the interests of stockbrokers.

21. C-DOT enabling India in indigenous design, development and production of telecom technologies 

Center of Development of Telematics (C-DOT)

Head of the organization - VipinTyagi (Executive Director)

Website -http://www.cdot.in/

An autonomous telecom R&D centre of Government of India, Center of Development of Telematics (C-DOT)is a forerunner of indigenous telecom revolution in the country. For more than three decades, it is putting its relentless R&D efforts in the indigenous design, development and production of telecom technologies suited for Indian landscape. It has always contributed significantly to the Indian telecom network’s digitization.

C-DOT has recently come up with new technologies like “C-Sat-Fi (C-DOTSatelliteWiFi)” and “XGSPON (10 G Symmetrical Passive Optical Network)” which will be highly instrumental in providing Wi-Fi in all villages through GramNet. 

22. C-DAC keeps India ahead in IT & Electronics R&D space

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)

Head of the organization –Dr.HemantDarbari (Director General)

Website -https://www.cdac.in/

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) strengthens India’s position in R&D in IT, Electronics and associated areas. It is a premier R&D organization which comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). C-DAC has been at the forefront of the IT revolution, constantly building capacities in emerging/enabling technologies and innovating and leveraging its expertise, caliber, skill sets to develop and deploy IT products and solutions for different sectors of the economy.

23. CIL paving its way towards Digital Transformation

Coal India Ltd. (CIL)  

Head of the organization -Pramod Agrawal (Chairman cum MD)    

Website - www.coalindia.in

A state owned coal mining corporate with a modest production of 79 Million Tonnes (MTs) at the year of its inception, Coal India Limited (CIL) is the only largest coal producer in the world. It has its operation in 83 mining areas. CIL is an apex body with 7 wholly owned coal producing subsidiaries and 1 mine planning and consultancy company spread over 8 provincial states of India.

CIL has inked a deal for five years with Tech Mahindra which is worth an INR 270 Cr. The deal is aimed at enterprise modernization and digital transformation.The primary objective of setting up an integrated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system in Coal India and its subsidiaries is to deploy state-of-the-art information technology system, which can provide all necessary information based on real-time data and help the management in taking quick and timely decisions to achieve the desired results.

24. DBT revolutionizes the mechanism of transferring subsidies by government

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)

Head of the organization -Saurabh K Tiwari (Joint Secretary)

Website - https://dbtbharat.gov.in

Direct Benefit Transfer was started with the aim of reforming the delivery system of government by re-engineering the existing process in welfare schemes for simpler and faster flow of information/funds and to ensure accurate targeting of the beneficiaries, de-duplication and reduction of fraud. It tries to realize the dream of MAXIMUM GOVERNANCE, MINIMUM GOVERNMENT.

In the first phase DBT was initiated in 43 districts and later on 78 more districts were added in 27 schemes pertaining to scholarships, women, child and labour welfare.7 new scholarship schemes and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was brought under DBT in 300 identified districts with higher Aadhaar enrolment.

Till date, over 22 crore Jan Dhan Accounts, more than 100 croreAadhaar and about 100 crore Mobile connections provide a unique opportunity to implement DBT in all welfare schemes across the country including States & UTs.

25. ECIL continues to keep India ahead in the growth of Information Technology and Electronics

Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) 

Head of the organization - Rear Admiral Sanjay Chaubey (Retd.) (CMD)   

Website - http://www.ecil.co.in/

To generate indigenous capability in the field of professional grade electronicswith its focus on indigenous Nuclear energy, space and Defence sectors, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) was formed under Department of Atomic Energy.

It has a strong presence in indigenous Electronic Security, Communications, Networking and e-governance domains. The company played a very significant role in the training and growth of high caliber technical and managerial manpower especially in the fields of Computers and Information Technology.

ECIL has a number of firsts in its kitty like it is known for producing the first indigenous digital computers called the ‘TDC 12’, solid state Black and white TV called ‘Apsara’, and the first earth station antenna of India.In the area of e-Governance, ECIL provides information technology solutions such as sales tax automation, bus pass computerization, electronic land records automation, and road transport office automation. Under the National Population Register (NPR) project, ECIL has completed data digitization, biometric enrolment and card personalisation in various states.

26. EESL encouraging e-mobility adoption across India

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)

Head of the organization - Saurabh Kumar (Managing Director) 

Website - www.eeslindia.org

EESL empowers consumers, industries and governments to effectively manage their energy needs through energy efficient technologies. It is a joint venture of four National PSEs – NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, REC and POWERGRID, and was set up under the Ministry of Power.EESL is implementing the world’s largest non-subsidised energy efficiency portfolio across sectors like lighting, buildings, e-mobility, smart metering and agriculture at a scale which no organization has been able to achieve.

To boost e-mobility adoption across India, EESL has joined hands with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)for the installation of public charging stations. EESL will set up public charging stations in 1000 BSNL sites in a phased manner on a pan India basis.

In another effort to save energy, over 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed till date, enabling an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kWh per year by EESL under the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) programme. LED streetlights have been installed in various states across the country.

27. GAIL bracing itself with technology

GAIL (India) Limited (formerly known as Gas Authority of India Limited)

Head of the organization - Manoj Jain (CMD) 

Website - http://gailonline.com/home.html

A Navratna of Government of India, GAIL is a state owned natural gas processing and distribution company of Government of India. It comes under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It has the following business segments: natural gas, liquid hydrocarbon, liquefied petroleum gas transmission, petrochemical, city gas distribution, exploration and production, GAILTEL and electricity generation.

GAIL has adopted latest technologies like mobile application that utilizes space technology for its pipeline safety application. A report system integrated with the Bhuvan-GAIL portal sends alerts to relevant executives via SMS and email, and notes the changes along the pipeline. It has also implemented drone technology to track its wide pipeline networks. It did a pilot project on satellite, surveying its 610 km Dahej-Vijaipur pipeline and plans on extending it to 15000 km based on results.

Furthermore, GAIL has been a pioneer in introducing e-business systems to bring in transparency and accountability in its business processes and systems for the benefit of various stakeholders.

28. HUDCO aims to promote sustainable habitat development

Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) 

Head of the organization - Shiv Das Meena, IAS (CMD)   

Website - www.hudco.org

HUDCO, a premier techno-financing public sector enterprise in the field of housing and infrastructure development in our country. It is wholly owned by the Union Government.It functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. It aims to promote sustainable habitat development to enhance the quality of life. HUDCO started financing for development of infrastructures in 1989. The priority was to provide for infrastructure facilities, including projects in the sectors of drainage, electricity, water supply, sewerage, solid waste management and roads in the urban areas.

HUDCO has joined hands with Intellect Design Arena to undergo a digital transformation with integrated lending and ERP solutions.The partnership will include provision of digital lending, treasury, general ledger and integrated accounting, procurement management among others.

29. IOCL meeting growing demands of petroleum products

Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL)

Head of the organization - Sanjiv Singh (Chairman)  

Website - https://www.iocl.com/

With a diversified presence in all the streams of oil, gas, petrochemicals and alternative energy sources, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL)is the largest oil company in the country. It continues to set up state-of-the-art refineries across the country to meet the growing demand for petroleum products. As on 31st March 2018, the company owns 11 (including two of its subsidiary) of India's 23 refineries with a combined refining capacity of 80.70 MMTPA.

IOCL has tried its hands in latest technologies like IoT, AI, and oil terminals for monitoring the health of fuel stations. It has also come up with mobile apps for ease and convenience of the customers and dealers - FUEL@IOC is an app on which one can search about the nearest fuel stations, while XSPARSH is a mobile app for IndianOil Dealers.

30. IPAenhancing port infrastructure with digital transformation

Indian Ports Association (IPA)

Head of the organization - Sanjay Bhatia, IAS (Chairman)  

Website - http://www.ipa.nic.in/

Constituted in the year 1966, Indian Ports Association (IPA) was formed with the idea offostering growth and development of all Major Ports which are under the supervisory control of Ministry of Shipping. Over the years, IPA has consolidated its activities and grown strength by strength and considered to be a think tank for the Major Ports with the ultimate goal of integrating the maritime sector.

In order to have a smooth business operations by adopting digital transformation and build an advanced port infrastructure in India, IPA has chosen Tech Mahindra as a managed service provider for five major ports at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Deendayal Port and Paradip Port Trust. It also aims to integrate the country’s maritime sector, as well as further accelerate the growth and development of major public sector ports throughout the country.

IPA has also selected global consultancy services provider Ernst Young to assist in conceptualizing the Port-EBS and support the implementation of the system.

IPA has also adopted a cloud based new generation technology - Port Community System ‘PCS1x’. The platform offers value added services such as notification engine, workflow, mobile application, better security features, and improved inclusion by offering dashboard for those with no IT capability.

31. IGL enhancing customer experience with latest technology

Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL)

Head of the organization - Gajendra Singh (Chairman)

Website - https://www.iglonline.net/

A natural gas distribution company, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) was incorporated in the year 1998. In 1999 it took over the Delhi City Gas Distribution Projectfrom GAIL for laying a network of gas distribution pipelines in the National Capital Territory of Delhi to consumers in the domestic, transport, and commercial sectors.

In order expand its network in the city, by adopting IoT based smart gas metering system that underpins strategy to boost efficiencies and enhance customer experience. This is for the first time that this technology is being deployed by any city gas distribution company in India. The new technology will let customers monitor their gas usage more accurately in real-time against available credit, allowing for increased operational efficiency for IGL.

Earlier, the company, for better customer experience and to reduce the queues at the CNG stations, has come up with ‘CNG Queue Management’ app which will help people by telling the average waiting time at the stations with a radius of 5 km and beyond.The ‘CNG Queue Management’ app is one of the most vital steps taken by IGL, as part of digital initiatives for improving consumer service and satisfaction.

32. NALCO a well-known entity in the mining space

National Aluminium Company (NALCO)

Head of the organization - Sridhar Patra (CMD)  

Website - www.nalcoindia.com

A NavratnaCPSE under Ministry of Mines, NALCO founded in 1981 have integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power. NALCO is one of the largest integrated Bauxite-Alumina-Aluminium- Power Complex in the Country.NALCO’s presence encompasses the entire value chain from bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium smelting, power generation to downstream products. It is the first PSU of India to have entered in the international market with London Metal Exchange (LME) registration since May, 1989.

To create a Centre of Excellence,NALCO has joined hands with NIT, Rourkela & NIT Rourkela Alumni Association (NITRAA). The objective of the collaboration is to develop entrepreneurs by supporting technology-driven start-up companies to improve manufacturing & service delivery competitiveness.

33. NIC bridging the digital divide and supporting government in eGovernance

National Informatics Centre (NIC) 

Head of the organization - Dr. Neeta Verma (Director General)   

Website - www.nic.in

For the last four decades, NIC is known for its eGovernancesupport to the government and bridging the digital divide. It is a part of the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's, Department of Electronics & Information Technology and is the premier science and technology organisation of the Government of India in informatics services and information & communication technology (ICT) applications.NIC develops and manages almost all Indian-government websites. Besides NIC has been instrumental in steering applications of ICT at various levels in the Government, which in a way leverages Digital India.

Digital Office, a solution by NIC, has been adopted by 345 organizations which covers around 18 state governments. Another initiative, eCourts, has connected 20,000 courts in India. In line with Digital India 2.0, NIC has come up with a no-code platform – Service Plus, which enables configuration of services and making them live in just two days. Haryana government has adopted this platform and with its help the government has launched 400 services. 

NIC’s Kerala state unit has recently designed and developed an information and management portal for the surveillance, care and support of people who are affected or quarantined by COVID-19. It is serving as a one stop platform for the commoners to seek emergency services and information related to the pandemic. The portal has been implemented in 14 districts of Kerala.

34. NTPC diversifying its services

NTPC (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation) 

Head of the organization- Gurdeep Singh (Chairman & MD)  

Website - www.ntpc.co.in

The energy conglomerate and a Maharatna of Government of India, NTPC has established itself as the dominant power major with presence in the entire value chain of the power generation business. From fossil fuel it has ventured into hydro-electricity, nuclear and renewable energy sources.The company also undertakes consultancy and turnkey project contracts that involve engineering, project management, construction management and operation & management of power plants.

NTPC very well understands the importance of latest technologies in improving services and efficiency. NETRA (NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance) set up in 2009 is the outcome of this vision.NTPC aims to achieve 10% of the estimated market share for supply of electricity in E-mobility business.Some of its core areas of research are - climate change, waste management, carbon capture and Utilization, new & renewable energy, efficiency improvement and cost reduction besides providing scientific support to NTPC and external utilities for improving availability, reliability and efficiency.

An NTPC subsidiary, NTPC VidyutVyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN)has tied up with Department of Transport of Andaman & Nicobar Islands to deploy electric buses in the region. The PSU has also collaborated with Andaman administration for setting up public charging infrastructure in the Island. Introduction of electric buses on the island will go a long way in protecting the diverse ecology by completely eliminating tailpipe emission; low levels of sound from e-buses shall also significantly reduce noise pollution.

35. PFC: The financial back bone of Indian Power Sector

Power Finance Corporation Ltd. (PFC)  

Head of the organization - Rajeev Sharma (Chairman & MD)  

Website - http://www.pfcindia.com

Controlled by Ministry of Power, PFC is critical for Indian Power sector, it is the financial back bone. It has received the honour of a 'Navratna CPSE' in June, 2007.It provides financial help to the power projects in the country which includes generation, transmission, distribution and RM&U projects.Recently, it has forayed into financing of other infrastructure projects which have backward linkages to the power sector like coal mine development, fuel transportation, oil & gas pipelines etc.

The Union Cabinet has given a nod to the sale of government’s shareholding in REC Ltd to Power Finance Corporation (PFC) along with transfer of management control.Both the companies will continue to play their respective policy roles and will remain the nodal agencies for implementing the government's power sector policies.

36. PGCIL transforming India with its wide power transmission network

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) 

Head of the organization - K. Sreekant(CMD)

Website- http://www.powergridindia.com/

Engaged in power transmission, POWERGRID or PGCIL is a stated owned Indian PSU. It transmits about 50% of total power generated in India. A backbone of telecom network, it owns and operates 60,946 km of Telecom Network with points of presence in 688 cities across India. As part of its diversification plans, PGCIL plans to enter the power generation sector overseas.

In 2017, infrastructure was created for 4365 number of partially electrified/un-electrified villages under the DeendayalUpadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana (DDUGJY) initiative. Till March 2017, for 79,000 villages infrastructure has been created for electrification and service connections were provided to about 37.5 lakh BPL households. It is also playing a crucial role in the integration of Renewable Energy Resources with the grid and is undertaking development of Green Energy Corridors as well as transmission schemes for Ultra Mega Solar Parks in a number of states.

37. RailTel connecting every corners of India

RailTel Corporation of India Limited

Headof the organization - Puneet Chawla (Chairman & Managing Director)

Website- https://www.railtelindia.com/

A "Mini Ratna (Category-I)" PSU, RailTel Corporation isa provider of neutral telecom infrastructure in India owning a Pan-India optic fiber network on exclusive Right of Way (ROW) along Railway track. The OFCNetwork covers almost 70% of the population in the country. RailTel with strong nationwide presence is committedto bring cutting edge technology and offer innovative services to the IndianTelecom market.RailTelplays a critical role in providing nationwide Broadband Telecom &Multimedia Network in all parts of the country in addition to modernization ofTrain operations and administration network systems. Presently, RailTel hascreated over 52000+ RKMs of fiber network connecting over 5500+ cities/towns onthe network including several rural areas.

To improve governance and service delivery at Panchayat level, Government of India has has agreed to create OFC based Broadband infrastructure. The network shall be used to provide various E-Gov services as well as internet facility to all Panchayats for the benefit of all population.RailTel has been selected as one of the implementing partners to lay the incremental OFC network to connect the panchayats with respective Block HQs on 100 Mbps broadband speed.

RailTel is also involved in strengthening the district network of North-East India. RailTel is responsible for laying of fiber in 6 states of North-East for creation of intra/inter district network connecting all DHQs and SDHQs (Blocks) in the respective States.

38. REC enhancing the rural life with sustainable and affordable powers

REC Limited (Formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited)

Head of the organization - AjeetKumar Agarwal (CMD & Director - Finance)  

Website - https://www.recindia.nic.in/home

A Navratna under Ministry of Power, REC Limited is a Central Public Sector Enterprise which supports the power sector development across India. It has been appointed as a nodal agency for both Saubhagya (PradhanmantriSahajBijliHarGharYojana) andDeendayalUpadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana (DDUGJY), which aims at providing 24x7 sustainable and affordable powers to all households in the country. It has been also appointed the coordinating agency for rolling out UDAY (UjwalDiscom Assurance Yojana) which seeks to operationally reform and financially turnaround the power distribution companies of the country. The company is also focusing on financing renewable energy projects and supporting the flagship programmes of the Ministry of Power.

Over 350Gram VidyutAbhiyantas (GVA) have been deployed to monitor the progress of village electrification. With GARV Mobile App (garv.gov.in), which has been developed to ensure transparency and accountability, GVAs update the field photographs, data and other information.

As a CSR initiative, REC has committed for a financial assistance of Rs1.54 croreto Matrix Society for Social Service (MASS) to provide job-oriented skill development training to a 1000 number of people belonging to economically weaker section in Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh over a duration of 18 months.

39. SIDBI helping MSMEsto grow

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) 

Head of the organization- Mohammad Mustafa (Chairman & MD)  

Website- https://sidbi.in/en

Formed in the year 1990, SIDBI aims to strengthen MSMEs with credit flow and address both financial and developmental gaps in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) eco-system.It is the principal financial institution in the MSME sector.

A memorandum has been signed between SIDBI and Government e-Marketplace (GeM)to onboard women entrepreneurs, Self-HelpGroups (SHGs), women promoted SHGs and various loan beneficiaries under schemes like Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd. (MUDRA), Stand-Up India, Startup India, Womaniya initiatives, National Livelihoods Mission [Rural and Urban] etc.

To bring transformation in MSME credit space, a web portal www.psbloansin59minutes.com was launched. This enables in principle approval for MSME loans up to Rs. 1 crore within 59 minutes from SIDBI and 5 Public Sector Banks (PSBs).

In another initiative of the organization, SIDBI Vision 2.0 which is aimed at accelerating the effort of MSME creditby transforming its current role to that of an All India Financial Institution that can create an integrated credit and development support ecosystem for Indian MSEs, thus promoting their inclusive growth.

40. Aadhaar: The largest biometrics based identification system in the world

Unique Identification Authority of India

Head of the organization- Pankaj Kumar, CEO

Website- https://uidai.gov.in/
 

Established as a statutory authority, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) comes under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (“Aadhaar Act 2016”) on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It was created with an objective to issue Unique Identification numbers (UID), named as "Aadhaar", to all residents of India. The UID had to be (a) robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities, and (b) verifiable and authenticable in an easy, cost-effective way. It is one of the key pillars of Digital India. The largest biometrics based identification system in the world. 

Government of India has recently announced the rollout of Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) services by India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). The move is aimed at expanding access to financial services for millions of unbanked and underbanked customers.