RTI Call Centre & Portal Project

Transcription

1 RTI Call Centre & Portal Project Department of Personnel & Training Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Volume I National Institute for Smart Government

2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Request For Proposal Structure What is the Right to Information? Critical challenges in Implementation Citizen side challenges Government side challenges Project Background About Department of Personnel & Training Project Objective Key Stakeholders Envisaged benefits Benefits to the Citizen Benefits to the Government SolutionOverview RTI applications and First Appeal Trends Proposed Alternate Communication Channels Call Centre Communication Channel Call Centre Access Numbers Web Portal Communication Channel Payment Gateway service Process steps Dropped calls or Web Portal Interruptions Department of Personnel & TrainingApplications dealing with subjects related to different central public authorities Geographical Scope of Project RTI Application and First Appeal Process Flow Back End Processing RTI Application Processing First Appeal Processing Scope of Work Scope of Work Setup, Operate and Maintain RTI Call Centre Develop, Implement and Maintain RTI Portal

3 3.1.3 Provisioning of Data Centre Disaster Recovery Centre services for hosting of Portal Training to Government Personnel on Portal Detailed Scope of Work Software Development Process Audits and Testing Third Party Application Testing Quality Audits Security Audit for Hosting at Data Centre - Disaster Recovery Centre Security Audit for Integration with Payment Gateway Training Adherence to Standards Preference for Open standards Compliance with Industry Standards Technical Requirements Call Centre Automatic Call Detection Use of Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) Computer Telephony Integration Logger Customer Relationship Management Portal Presentation Layer Application Layer Data Layer Content Management (CM) General Architecture Specifications Hardware Requirement for Portal Deployment Specifications for Servers SAN Storage Disk System Specifications SMS Gateway Specifications Suggested Deployment Architecture Data Centre Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Problem and Incident Management

4 4.3.3 Network Related Availability Strategic Control and Security Power Supply Environmental Conditions Physical Security Functional Requirements Generic Functional Requirements Call Centre Functional Requirements SMS Portal Functional Requirements Functional view of Portal Functional requirements of Web Portal Payment Gateway Operational,Security and Reporting Requirements Operational and Maintenance Requirements under this Project: Security Requirements under this Project Reporting requirements under this Project Deliverables and Implementation Schedule Project Deliverables Implementation Schedule

5 1 Introduction In order to promote transparency and accountability in administration across government departments, the Indian Parliament enacted the Right to Information Act (henceforth referred to as Act ) in the year The Act, which came into force on 12 October 2005 empowers Indian citizens to seek information from a Public Authority and is aimed at making the Government and its functionaries more accountable and responsible. The Act has now been in operation for over five years and has benefited many, including the poor and the underprivileged. It is a matter of pride that we have given to ourselves, a tool which has the potential to usher in transparency, and reduce corruption. The following achievements are notable: a. The basic tenets of the Act have been implemented and the institutional mechanism is in place and is in use by citizens b. Civil society organizations and the media are using the Act for bringing in transparency and objectivity c. Government employees / Public Authorities are aware of the basic elements of the Act d. Various State Governments have taken up initiatives, which go beyond the stipulations of the Act, and further the spirit of the Act Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is the nodal Department of the Government of India responsible to provide administrative support for the implementation of Act. In 2009, Department of Personnel & Training sponsored a study on Understanding the Key Issues and Constraints in implementing the Act. The report highlighted among others, the following key findings: i. Inconvenience to Citizens in filing RTI Requests ii. Ineffective record management practices leading to delays in processing RTI requests iii. Low awareness level among citizens on their rights under the Act Taking insights from the study and its recommendations, Department of Personnel & Training has initiated a project to bring in more citizen centricity in RTI service delivery across Central Public Authorities, approximately 2000 in numbers across the country, especially targeted towards improving access for the illiterate and rural citizens, with the help of Information and Communication Technology tools and applying industry-standard Portal and Call Centre management practices. The project has been named RTI Call Centre and Portal Project. To implement this project, Department of Personnel & Training has decided that it will engage a professional Implementation agency to design, develop, set up, operate and maintain the proposed integrated service delivery system and the associated infrastructure as specified in this Request for Proposal. Department of Personnel & Training is looking at this engagement as a complete solution to be provided by the selected Implementation Agency and not as a hardware & software supply agency. 5

6 To this end, the specifications laid out in this Request for Proposal are indicative of the minimum requirements and the bidders are expected to focus on the objectives of this Project and formulate their solution offerings in a manner that enables achieving those objectives both in letter and spirit. 1.1 Request For Proposal Structure The content of this Request For Proposal has been structured in three volumes as explained below: Volume I: Functional and Technical Requirements Volume I of Request For Proposal intends to bring out all the details with respect to the solution and other requirements that Department deems necessary to share with the potential bidders. The information set out in this volume has been broadly categorized as Functional, Technical, and Operational covering multiple aspects of the requirements. Volume II: Commercial and Bidding Terms Volume II details out all that may be needed by the potential bidders to understand the commercial terms and various bidding processes. Volume III: Draft Agreement including Service Levels Volume III explains the contractual terms that Department wishes to specify at this stage. It basically consists of a draft of Agreement that needs to be signed between the Department and the successful bidder (Implementation Agency). This Agreement includes a separate Article on Service Levels. This volume is Volume I. 1.2 What is the Right to Information? This section gives a brief about RTI for understanding of the bidders in keeping with the provision of RTI Act. "Right to information" means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to: Inspection of work, documents, records; Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; Taking certified samples of material; Obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device The Right to Information Act, 2005 gives Indian citizens a powerful tool to obtain information from the Government as a matter of right. The Act is very comprehensive and 6

7 covers virtually all matters of governance. It has the widest possible reach, being applicable to Government at all levels Union, State and Local as well as recipients of government grants. The Act empowers citizens to inspect work and documents and to seek certified photocopies of records from the Government that are held by the public authorities. A citizen who desires to obtain information from a public authority is required to send, along with the application, a demand draft, banker s cheque, Indian Postal Order or pay in person the RTI fee of Rs 10. Through this Act, the Government seeks to inculcate a culture of transparency and accountability in the working of public authorities. The smooth implementation of the Act is crucial to its effectiveness and its ability to reach the masses. Experience shows that information seekers face problems in making use of the Act and that the officers of the public authorities face problems in implementing the provisions of the Act in earnest Critical challenges in Implementation In 2009, Department of Personnel & Training sponsored a study on Understanding the Key Issues and Constraints in implementing the Act. The report highlighted several challenges in the implementation of the RTI Act. Some of the critical challenges are: Citizen side challenges 1. Many Citizens are illiterate. 2. Citizens do not know whether or not they are writing to the correct Central Public Authority. 3. Each Central Public Authority has numerous Central Public Information Officers and Appellate Authorities. 4. Depositing the application fee of Rs. 10 is time consuming for citizens. One has to either go in person to the concerned office to deposit cash or make a demand draft or a postal order to send it by post. 5. Applicants incur substantial transaction costs (transportation or postal charges, DD or PO charges, printing charges, etc.) in submitting RTI applications, in addition to the RTI fee Government side challenges Apart from the challenges underlying the access of service, bottlenecks are prevalent also on the delivery side. Some of the supply side issues are given below. 1. Record retention schedules are not properly followed, with the result that the concerned Central Public Information Officers/ Appellate Authorities have difficulty in tracing records. 2. Almost all the information under the purview of RTI is available in a physical format. Thus, obtaining the right information quickly to address an RTI query becomes extremely difficult. 7

8 3. Unavailability of adequate staff as compared to the increase in the workload after the introduction of the RTI Act in a Central Public Authority is an issue. 4. Identifying and categorizing the documents or files pertaining to RTI requests or those that are subject to RTI requests is difficult. 5. Senior officials of the Central Public Authority cannot track and monitor the status of RTI applications as the system is manual, and there may be no Management Information System in place. 6. A large number of applications are non-contextual or are concerned with grievance redressal and are thus out of the purview of the RTI Act. Processing of these applications wastes a lot of the Government s time. A copy of the RTI Act, 2005 can be found at Project Background About Department of Personnel & Training Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is the nodal Department of the Government of India responsible for administrative support for the implementation of Act. The role of Department of Personnel & Training can be conceptually divided into two parts. In its large nodal role, it acts as the formulator of policy and the watchdog of the Government, ensuring that certain accepted standards and norms, as laid down by it, are followed by all Ministries/ Departments in the recruitment, regulation of service conditions, posting/ transfers and deputation of personnel as well as other related issues and issues guidelines for the same. Secondly, it is the co-coordinating Department for RTI and issues guidelines to all the Central Ministries/ Departments for its successful implementation Project Objective The e-governance strategy is based on the vision that all services which can be electronically delivered should be available in that manner to citizens. The strategy proposes that these services should be accessible over the Internet and through a Call Centre. The strategy sets forward a vision for electronic service delivery that does not do away with the need for personal contact but rather calls for it to be better supported by new technologies. Ensuring effective implementation of the Act for people s empowerment and its effectiveness in reducing inefficient practices in government offices, Department of Personnel & Training has embarked upon this project to use Information and Communication Technology innovatively and effectively to meet the following objectives: Simplify the process of filing RTI applications and first appeals by opening alternate channels Ensure accessibility of these alternate channels to citizens and help them in filing RTI applications Make the entire process of filing RTI applications and first appeals, user friendly, convenient, efficient and transparent. 8

9 Make it easier for the respective Ministry/ Department to track the status of RTI applications through the Portal and to monitor the applications through Management Information System reports Key Stakeholders Following are the key stakeholders in the proposed project. The various channels and stakeholders interaction with the system through these channels are also indicated in the table: Sl. No Stakeholder Roles Interface 1 Citizen Files RTI application Tracks RTI application and appeals Mediated interface at Call Centre via telephone Direct interface at RTI portal 2 Central Public Information Officer 3 Appellate Authority Downloads RTI application from interface Processes RTI Application Sends response to applicant electronically and by post Closes the request by entering closure information in system Receives first appeal Responds to appeal Direct Interface at Portal Direct Interface at Portal 4 Call Centre Executive Responds to calls for RTI information, application and appeals Indirect Interface at Portal 6 Central Public Authority Submit RTI application on behalf of citizen in system Submit RTI first appeal on behalf of Citizen in system Provide facility for conducting capacity building trainings Nominate Nodal Central Public Information Officers to provide response to RTI applications / Appeals Direct Interface at Portal to Central Public Authority officials 9

10 Sl. No Stakeholder Roles Interface 7 Implementation Agency 8 Nodal Officer, DOPT 9 Project Sponsor / Department of Personnel & Training Design, develop, implement, manage, operate and maintain the proposed system Keep this initiative in context as specified in this Request For Proposal Provide the Data Centre (and Disaster Recovery Centre) facilities for the System Primarily responsible for supporting Department of Personnel & Training in supervising, monitoring and evaluating the development and implementation of the project Responsible for RTI and its implementation Developer of the system Direct Interface at Portal and Call Centre Direct Interface at Portal and Call Centre Table 1: Key Stakeholders of this Project Envisaged benefits Benefits to the Citizen Power of information is just a phone call away Removes the hassles of physical presence at Central Public Authority for filing application Money saved by way of travel time / wage loss as well as for making Drafts/ Postal Order from Bank and Post Offices Government bears the cost of transmitting the application to the Central Public Authority Citizen s handicap arising out of literacy level variations could be overcome by the Call Centre executives, who would understand, screen and do the necessary handholding in filing RTI applications Benefits to the Government Systematic management and real time monitoring of RTI applications and first appeals Further improvement in transparency in government functioning Empowerment of Common man through easy information dissemination 10

11 Man-hours spent by individual departments in collecting RTI applications can be saved by centralizing the process on the Portal. Support data analysis indicating area of improvement as well as sectors demanding intervention 11

12 2 Solution Overview The Proposed Solution is to provide alternate channels to ensure that the Citizen can have Anywhere Anytime access to RTI services. These proposed alternate channels are: a. Computer Telephony Integration enabled Call Centre Setup a call Centre which would provide information on RTI Act, file RTI / First appeal applications over the phone and track application/first appeal status and maintain the Call Centre. b. Web Portal Develop a portal which would provide information on RTI Act, file RTI / first appeal application online and track the application/first appeal status and maintain the Portal. Call Centre and Portal would be integrated to ensure timely information flow to and fro between Call Centre and the Portal application. The Portal application would also be the interface of the system to Public Authorities officials. The Portal application will be hosted on servers to be located in Data Centre. Call Centre Operations shall be based on a Cost per connect minute basis. The figure below shows the process involved in submitting an RTI/First appeal application and providing a response to the application using the proposed alternate channels Figure 1 : Process involved in the submission of RTI application /first appeal 12

13 2.1 RTI applications and First Appeal Trends The historical trend in the receipt of RTI applications / appeals is as follows: Historical Trend (in Lacs) Historical trend in RTI Applications / Appeals received over the previous years Annual Reports of the Central Information Commission can be accessed at Table 2: Historical trends of RTI Applications /Appeals It is expected that the current trend of annual growth is 30-35% in RTI applications will continue for some more years before it stabilizes. It is DOPTs assessment that due to ease of filing, the Call Centre and Portal will become the single largest mode of filing RTI Applications in a years to come. However, DOPT, GoI does not guarantee specific volumes and the bidders are required to make their own assessment about the growth in the volumes of RTI Applications/Appeals which would be handled through the Call Centre and Portal. Call Centre payment shall be based on the actual number of Call minutes (refer Volume II of this Request for Proposal for payment terms) 2.2 Proposed Alternate Communication Channels The figure below depicts the various access channels available to citizens for filing RTI application / First appeal Call Centre Users Post RTI Facilitation Centre CPA RTI Portal CPA Proposed Alternate Channels Existing Channels CPA Figure 2 :Communication channels available to citizens 13

14 With the addition of the new channels, Citizens would be able to file RTI application/ First appeal by using the following channels: a. Send an RTI application/first appeal directly by post to the Central Government Public Authority or directly to a particular Central Government Public Authority b. File an RTI application/first appeal in person at Central Government Public Authority c. Call the proposed RTI Call Centre to file an RTI application/first appeal to the Central Government Public Authorities only d. File an RTI application/first appeal on the proposed Portal to the Central Government Public Authorities only RTI requests via all the above mentioned channels shall be logged in the proposed Portal application Call Centre Communication Channel Citizens can contact the Call Centre for the following purposes: To seek information on the RTI Act. To know the process for submitting RTI application/first appeal to the Central Government Public Authorities only To submit a RTI application / First Appeal to the Central Government Public Authorities only To know the status of the submitted application/first appeal of the Central Government Public Authorities This facility primarily targets the following sections of society: Illiterate citizens or those who have difficulty in writing RTI applications/first appeals Common citizens who face difficulties in submitting RTI applications/first appeals through the existing channel Citizens who are technology savvy and wish to use available electronic facilities for their convenience The Call Centre channel will work on the following broad level parameters: All calls to the Call Centre would be chargeable Originating Calls would be Pan India Pan Telecom Operator Call charges shall be either Non premium or Premium rate depending on the purpose of the call Calls seeking information, status check, and transcribing of RTI application/first appeal shall be charged non premium charges. These charges would be as per the caller s existing call plan. To submit statutory fee for RTI application, premium rate shall be applicable and this shall be deducted in his phone bill. This charge would be in addition to his existing normal call plan. 14

15 The mandatory requirement is to charge RTI application fee (Rs.10/-) from the caller without physical transaction of money. This shall be fulfilled with the help of Premium Rate Services. Premium Service (the RTI application fee plus a transaction charge) is basically a special service availed over the phone network by paying at a premium rate i.e. higher than the normal call tariff. At present there is no provision of charging of fee for filing of First Appeals. If in future, rules may change regarding charging of fee for First Appeals then such provision may need to be made for filing of First Appeals through the Call Centre and the Portal. Procedure of filing RTI application: Citizens can call the Call Centre from any number anywhere in the country supported by any Telecom Service Provider. When a citizen calls in, the Call Centre Agent will provide required information on RTI and if a RTI application is to be filed, obtain RTI details along with mandatory information including, his/her name and address. Once the RTI application is transcribed, a Unique Reference Number (URN) will be generated and provided to the Caller. There will also be a provision for informing applicants of their Unique Reference Numbers (URN) through SMS. Till this time, the RTI application will be stored in the Call Centre and it will not be considered as the filed RTI application by the applicant. Once the Caller will make the payment of statutory RTI fee against its URN by calling/ sending SMS to RTI fee line, then only after receiving the confirmation of the payment of RTI fee, each RTI application shall be assigned to the appropriate Central Public Authority s Nodal Central Public Information Officer in the Portal and shall be considered as filed RTI application. Caller is required to make payment of Statutory RTI fee within 24 hours of receiving the Unique Reference Number. As the RTI application statutory fee submission has a premium charge, public telephone booths are currently out of scope of this project, i.e., callers cannot use public telephone booths to call the Call Centre for submitting a RTI application. Procedure of filing RTI First Appeal: Procedure for filing RTI First appeal is same as the procedure described for RTI application, except for the payment of statutory RTI fee. Each Central Public Authority will have one Nodal Central Public Information Officer and he/ she will coordinate with other concerned Central Public Information Officers in the Central Public Authority. In order to assess the number of nodal Central Public Information Officers, please refer to the list of Central Government Public Authorities as detailed out in the annual reports of Central Information Commission, Government of India. However, the list of nodal Central Public Information Officers will be frozen during the implementation phase of the Project where ids and other relevant details of all nodal Central Public Information Officers will be provided to the Implementation Agency. The Call Centre will currently support operations in two languages Hindi and English with a provision to support regional languages in the future. It will operate on a 12X7X365 basis, i.e., 8 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week in a year. The Call Centre Agent s responsibility for 15

16 an RTI application/first appeal ends after the application/first appeal is recorded and saved in the Call Centre Customer Relationship Management application Call Centre Access Numbers The Call Centre shall be accessible through two different tolled lines owned by Department of Personnel & Training through DOT. 1. RTI Application line: The information line shall be used by a citizen to ask any general questions on RTI, check the status of his/her RTI application/first appeal, as well as to submit the RTI application/first appeal. This number shall be a tolled number with normal call charges (chargeable to the caller). The Call Centre agentshall understand the requirements of the caller and transcribe the RTI application/first appeal. After finalization of the RTI application/first appeal a unique reference number would be generated against the RTI application/first appeal. The RTI application at this point shall not be registered in the system as the statutory RTI fee is still to be collected from the caller. 2. RTI Fee line: The RTI fee line shall be used to formally register a RTI application. The RTI fee line is not required for RTI first appeal. This second tolled number would be for charging the statutory RTI fee (plus a transaction cost) and this would be added to the telephone bill of the applicant. Once RTI application is finalized, the applicant is required to call the RTI fee line and punch in the unique reference number to formally submit the RTI application. Department of Personnel & Training shall have the tie up with primary Telecom Service Provider (TSP) to provide for the required ISDN PRI (E1) line(s) and with Department of Telecommunication (DOT) for allocation of the two tolled Numbers. The required mapping of the two tolled numbers with the E1 line shall be done by TSP. The E1 line shall be terminated at the Call Centre premises. Implementation Agency will ensure that the Call Centre shall enable the E1 line termination from TSP. The necessary policy level agreement to ensure that calls can be made to these two numbers from any service provider s phones/ mobiles shall be ensured by Department of Personnel & Training through Department of Telecommunications, (DOT) GoI. The tolled numbers and E1 line shall be made available by Department of Personnel & Training through DOT Web Portal Communication Channel Citizens, who are comfortable using the Internet can access the Portal, find information on the RTI Act, submit their RTI applications and first appeals, deposit the RTI fees and obtain their Unique Reference Numbers online. They can also check the status of their applications on the Portal. A provision will be made to send Unique Reference Numbers to citizens by SMS and or after the submission of their RTI applications/first appeal through the Portal. 16

17 There will be a Management Information System in the Portal to be developed by Implementation Agency. Ministries can generate various reports related to the RTI applications received through the Call Centre and Portal for internal review and monitoring purposes Payment Gateway service The payment gateway services are only required for the RTI applications and not for the RTI first appeals. The provision of a payment gateway facility allows citizens to pay their RTI application fee online (via Portal channel) using any Visa/Master Credit/Debit card or using Internet Banking facility. Card details of citizens will be protected by encrypting the data on a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection. State Bank of India shall provide payment gateway services. It shall be the responsibility of the Implementation Agency to ensure that the Portal application is tested / accredited by a third party security audit agency(empanelled Security Auditors list is available on ) before integrating with SBI s payment gateway. The diagram below shows the steps involved in making the payment through the payment gateway on the RTI Portal. Figure 3 :Payments through payment gateway on the portal Process steps Implementation Agency shall be responsible for RTI Portal related steps whereas Payment Gateway steps shall be the responsibility of SBI. a. An RTI applicant shall complete the RTI application form on the RTI Portal and proceed to pay the RTI fee. RTI Portal shall provide two payment modes Payment through Debit / Credit Card (all banks) Payment through Internet Banking facility a. Based on payment mode selected, RTI Portal shall send required parameters including the below mandatory ones, to SBI s Payment Gateway through secured SSL encrypted connection: 17

18 Department of Personnel & Training unique identifier code (Bank assigned) Unique Reference Number (of RTI request) Amount <Any other parameter to be identified during System Requirement Specifications phase> b. RTI applicant is taken to SBI s payment gateway Portal. c. Based on the opted payment mode, RTI applicant is requested to provide requisite information. Payment Gateway verifies the provided information to authenticate the credential. d. On successful verification, RTI fee amount is deducted from the applicant s credit card or SBI account, as per opted payment mode. e. Payment confirmation details are provided to RTI applicant. The format of this confirmation shall be decided during the System Requirement Specifications phase. This shall be the E-receipt which can be printed for record keeping by the applicant. f. Payment Gateway shall then send a response back to Department of Personnel & Training Portal, with required parameters including the below mandatory ones through secured SSL encrypted connection: Bank unique reference number (Bank generated) Unique Reference Number (of RTI request) Amount Status (success/failure) Status description <Any other parameter to be identified during System Requirement Specifications phase> g. RTI Portal shall also conduct an independent verification of the completed transaction directly with the Payment Gateway server. This should be done both in case of receipt and non-receipt of response from the Payment gateway. Details to be worked out during the System Requirement Specifications phase. h. The Bank shall deposit the RTI fee into Department of Personnel & Training s Pooling account(s) and then remit the amounts to the consolidated fund of India as per the RBI guidelines (to PAO, Department of Personnel & Training through cheque or DD as per agreed time period). i. The Bank shall send a daily report of all transactions made on its gateway to the nodal Officer DOPT and Pay & Accounts office of Department of Personnel & Training. j. DOPT shall reconcile the bank reported transactions against the audit trail maintained/reported by RTI Portal and close all anomalies with the Bank. k. Pay & Accounts office shall also receive a report on the actual funds transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India. Project Management Unit shall use the above bank 18

19 (reconciled) report for reconciliation of actual RTI fee amount received as reported to the Pay & Accounts office Dropped calls or Web Portal Interruptions All dropped calls will be logged separately in the Call Centre and Portal system. If the call to the Call Centre gets disconnected, the agent shall have to save the incomplete applications with details including phone number, date and time of call. The Citizen can call back the Call Centre and can continue to complete his application. The system shall retrieve such incomplete application based on the caller s phone number. Portal shall auto save applications periodically (details to be finalised during System Requirement Specifications) to enable Portal users to be able to retrieve last saved application status in case their connectivity to the Portal is disrupted. Portal users can then complete their application and submit their RTI application/first appeal. In both scenarios, the solution shall be designed to retain the incomplete RTI applications / first appeals only for a period of 12 hours Department of Personnel & TrainingApplications dealing with subjects related to different central public authorities If the information requested in the RTI application concerns two Central Public Authorities, the Portal shall have the functionality (provided to Nodal Central Public Information Officer) to support forwarding appropriate part of the application to the respective Central Public Authority. However, if the information requested relates to more than two public authorities, then the application will be processed with regard to the part that concerns the public authority to which it is assigned and the applicant shall be informed to make a separate application to the other concerned public authorities. In the case of applications which require information from more than one Central Public Information Officer within a single public authority, the nodal Central Public Information Officer will have the facility to forward the application to multiple Central Public Information Officers via the Portal. All these parts of the application will be linked to one single RTI application. Multiple Central Public Information Officers can process the same application simultaneously. When the concerned Central Public Information Officer has prepared his response, he/she shall send it to the applicant Geographical Scope of Project Currently RTI applications related to approximately 2000 Central Public Authorities located in Delhi and outside Delhi can only be submitted through the Call Centre and Portal. All citizens across the country will be able to use the Call Centre and Portal for filing RTI applications and first appeals. List of current registered Central Public Authorities with Central Information Commission are available at 19

20 2.2.6 RTI Application and First Appeal Process Flow The process flow for the RTI application/first appeal and information flow from the Call Centre and Portal is shown in the figure below. All RTI application/first appeal submitted through the Call Centre shall be registered in the Portal. The process of periodically transmitting such RTI application/first appeal shall be defined during System Requirement Specifications phase. Once the RTI application/first appeal is entered in the Portal (either via Call Centre or by Citizen) the Nodal Central Public Information Officer of the Ministry will forward the same to the concerned Central Public Information Officer(s). These officials will then download the RTI application/first appeal from the Portal and begin processing it in order to provide a response to the RTI applicant. The status of the RTI application shall be updated on the Portal by the concerned Central Public Information Officer(s) whenever there is any change in the status of the application. The Ministry s response will be sent to the applicant by post to the address provided in the RTI application/first appeal and as well as uploaded on the Portal. The link will be sent to the applicant by SMS and . Call Centre will be available 12x7x365 and the Portal will be available 24x7x

21 Figure 4 :Process flow RTI Application & First Appeal Process Flow Citizen Citizen of India Citizen can via the available channels: - File RTI/ First appeal Application - Request information about RTI Act - Enquire about status of hi/her application Post & Courier RTI Counter Call center Web Portal Citizen on being requested by CCA, calls RTI Fee line number Citizen on being requested by CCA, sends SMS to RTI Fee line number Citizen pays Additional fees either via Portal or sends by Post/Courier Citizen documents his RTI / first appeal on the portal and selects appropriate CPA for his application Call Center Is the call for filing RTI application No Yes Is the call for filing First appeal Agent Captures the details & saves it in CRM, URN is provided to citizen. For RTI applications: Citizen requested to either call or SMS the URN to the RTI Fee Line number Yes Agent selects appropriate CPA against the request in CRM Agent provides required information about RTI Act/ Status of logged application IVRS requests caller to punch in the URN Call Ends CRM periodically transmits only the logged applications to the Portal application CRM updated about the receipt of RTI application fees against the URN and flags the request as logged. No Portal If additional payment from the applicant is received via Portal, Portal workflow engine updates CPIO/AA about the receipt of additional fees. Portal sends /sms to applicant to inform about the availability of the response on the Portal, Portal sends the URN as confirmation of logged application via /SMS to applicant Citizen uses Portals epayment gateway to pay RTI Fee/ Additional Fee Additional fees paid via Portal Public Authority RTI Facilitation Center Nodal CPIO uses portal functionality to assign the application to either a CPIO or an AA CPIO / AA processes the application and collates the required Information Facilitation center sends request via Post for additional payment to applicant Is additional fee required No Yes If additional payment from the applicant is received via Post / Courier, facilitation center updates the Portal about its receipt CPIO/ AA updates status on Portal & requests RTI facilitation center to inform application for additional payment CPIO / AA writes his response, scans any supporting documents & uploads the same on the Portal. CPIO requests RTI facilitation center to dispatch the response via Post Facilitation center dispatches hard copy response & any Supporting documents to the applicant via Post Facilitation center scans the application received via Post/ Cornier/ in Person and uploads the same as a new request on the Portal. URN is provided to citizen. A Nodal CPIO is assigned for the request Additional fees paid via Post / Courier 21

22 RTI applications received via Call Centre & Portal after Government working office hours, shall be deemed to have their entries logged on the next working day and their computed due date will commence from that date and time. It will also be possible for RTI cells of the concerned Central Public Authority to upload scans of the applications received by post/courier/rti counter onto the Portal. This will enable easier monitoring of the applications and the generation of comprehensive Management Information System reports on all RTI applications received by the Central Public Authority. If an applicant is not supplied with information within 30 days or is not satisfied with the information furnished to him/her, the applicant may appeal to the First Appellate Authority. A first appeal can be made on the Portal or through the Call Centre within a period of 30 days from the date on which the limit of 30 days for supplying information is reached or from the date on which the information is received. First Appellate Authority can respond within 45 days of receipt of the first appeal Back End Processing RTI Application Processing Sl. No Sub Function Description 1 Pre-condition The proposed system provides new alternate channels to citizens to file RTI application/first appeal. 1. Citizen will be provided two tolled numbers RTI Application Line and RTI Fee line. 2. RTI Application Line: Citizen can dial this normal call rate number and speak to the operator directly for general clarifications, submit RTI application/first appeal, check status pertaining to RTI application/first appeal. 3. RTI Fee line: Citizens can dial/sms this premium rate number to formally submit the RTI application. 4. Citizen can also visit the Web Portal to seek information for general clarifications, check status pertaining to RTI and file a RTI application/first appeal with any Central Public Authority. Citizen can pay the RTI fee for RTI application on the Portal through the Payment Gateway. 5. Information from all channels will converge to a central database. Government officials can access this common database through the Web Portal. 2 Processing Call Centre Channel: 1. Citizen calls the RTI Application Line. 2. Caller describes the type and details of information sought and the agent services the call. Call Centre agent shall counsel/guide the applicant and transcribe the RTI application. 22

23 3. For filing valid applications, Agent captures the relevant details of the applicant to file the RTI application. Agent also resolves to which Central Public Authority this request should be forwarded. 4. Once filled, he reads out the RTI content to the applicant and upon confirmation saves the form. Agent provides Unique Reference Number of the RTI application and requests the caller to call/sms the Unique Reference Number to the RTI Fee line. 5. Caller then calls/sms the RTI Fee line and RTI fee plus a transaction cost is charged to the caller s telephone bill. Only then will an application be considered to be submitted. 6. The detail so captured is in the Call Centre Customer Relationship Management application. All filed applications needs to be periodically transferred to the Web Portal application. Web-Portal Channel 1. Citizen will log on to the portal which will have basic information about RTI such as procedures, validation criteria, fees as well as directory of Central Public Authorities. 2. Citizen will open the relevant form for filing RTI application 3. Citizen will select the Central Public Authority concerned from the built in directory. 4. The citizen will enter his details such as name, address, contact and as well as information sought under RTI, its particulars and form of delivery. 5. Once the form is filled up and confirmed by the applicant, he is directed to a payment gateway. He will make the payment through the Banks Internet Banking / Any bank s debit or credit card. On successful payment, the application is filed. 6. Unique Reference Number shall be sent to applicant via . SMS shall be sent (by the Portal) to the Applicant in the following cases: i. Information regarding Unique Reference Number through the RTI application line of the Call Centre ii. RTI fee payment made either by calling RTI Fee line or via Payment gateway iii. Uploading of response in the Portal by Central Public Information Officer. Details of SMS shall be finalized in the System Requirement Specifications. 3 Attributes The RTI application process captures various details. Typical attributes 23

24 are: Form A a. Application Id b. Name of CPA c. Name of Applicant d. Address of Applicant e. Information required f. / Phone number g. Payment Detail Acknowledgement a. Name of applicant b. Address of applicant c. Date and Time d. Payment confirmation 4. Management Information System Typical Management Information System reports expected include the following. This is an indicative list and reports shall be further captured during system requirement study phase by the Implementation Agency. a. RTI Application filed Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise b. Fees Collected Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise c. RTI Application Dispatch Channel wise: Post, Fax, d. RTI Application closed within time Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise e. RTI Application not closed within time Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise f. RTI Application Rejected Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise g. Delays in RTI Responses Central Public Authority wise, Region wise First Appeal Processing 24

25 Sl. No Sub Function Description 1 Pre-condition The proposed system provides new alternate channels to citizens to file RTI first appeal. a. For filing first appeal the citizen will call the RTI Application line. b. RTI Application Line: Citizen can dial this normal call rate number and speak to the operator directly for general clarifications, submit first RTI appeal and check status pertaining to RTI first appeals. c. Citizen can also visit the Web Portal to seek information for general clarifications, file First appeal and check status pertaining to RTI. d. Information from all channels will converge to a central database. Government officials can access this common database through the Web Portal. 2 Processing Call Centre Channel: a. Citizen calls the RTI Application Line. b. Caller describes the purpose of call as filing of first appeal and provides the RTI application Unique Reference Number against which first appeal is being filed. c. For filing the appeal, Agent captures the relevant details. Agent also resolves to which Central Public Authority this request should be forwarded. d. Once filled, he reads out the appeal content to the applicant and upon confirmation saves the form. e. The detail so captured is in the Call Centre Customer Relationship Management application. All filed RTI first appeals needs to be periodically transferred to the Web Portal application. Web-Portal Channel a. Citizen will log on to the portal which will have basic information about RTI such as procedures, validation criteria, fees as well as directory of Central Public Authorities. b. Citizen will open the relevant form for filing RTI first appeal providing the RTI Unique Reference Number for mapping the appeal. c. Citizen will select the Central Public Authority concerned from the built in directory. d. The citizen will enter relevant details and submit the RTI first appeal. e. Unique Reference Number shall be sent to applicant via . 25

26 f. SMS shall be sent (by the Portal) to the Applicant in the following case: Uploading of response in the Portal by Central Public Information Officer. Details of SMS shall be finalized in the System Requirement Specifications. 3 Attributes The first appeal process captures various details. Typical attributes are: First Appeal Form a. Applicant Name and Address, / Phone number b. Date of submission of RTI application c. Brief facts leading to appeal, including reasons d. Relief sought e. Last date for filing of appeal Attachments: a. Copy of RTI application b. Copy of order c. Copy of document relied upon by applicant (if any) 4. Management Information System Typical Management Information System reports expected include the following. This is an indicative list and reports shall be further captured during system study phase by the Implementation Agency. a. RTI First Appeals filed Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise b. RTI First Appeal Disposal Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise c. RTI First Appeal disposed within time Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise d. RTI First Appeal not disposed within time Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise e. RTI First Appeal Rejected Period wise, Central Public Authority wise, Region wise f. Delays in RTI First Appeal Disposal Central Public Authority wise, Region wise 26

27 3 Scope of Work 3.1 Scope of Work The selected Implementation Agency shall develop a solution to ensure that the Citizen can use the proposed new channels to access information as well as submit RTI applications and first appeals. System shall comprise of the Call Centre and the Web Portal. Department of Personnel & Training would like to maintain a common application to submit RTI applications/first appeals received through the proposed new channels i.e RTI Call Centre and RTI Portal. This common application shall be the Web Portal. Customers can be Citizens as well as Government officials. Broadly, the scope of work will comprise the following: 1. Setup, Operate and Maintain RTI Call Centre 2. Develop, Implement and Maintain RTI Portal 3. Provisioning of Data Centre Disaster Recovery services for hosting of RTI Portal 4. Training to Government Personnel Note: Communication and Awareness Government of India has been running awareness programmes both through print and audio-visual medium, which will continue to raise awareness about RTI Act. Once Call Centre is set up, the availability of the Call Centre and Portal will be added on such communication necessities. However, Implementation Agency will be free to launch its awareness programmes for the popularization of Call Centre and Portal Setup, Operate and Maintain RTI Call Centre Category Setup of a Call Centre Scope of Work a) Implementation Agency shall setup, operate and maintain the Computer Telephony Integration enabled call Centre with Interactive Voice Response System during the agreement period (please refer Volume III), including appropriate number of agents, at its owned/rented premises with well trained staff to handle queries, RTI Applications/First Appeals of the callers and service the call to their utmost capability and also to the satisfaction of the caller. b) The number of Agents, technical and managerial staff, related equipment and infrastructure required for managing the call traffic arriving at the Call Centre shall 27