India Post 2012 February 2011 Project Management Unit Project Overview In August 2010 Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the INDIA POST 2012 IT Modernization project with a total outlay of 1877.2 crores. As part of 11th five year plan, this IT modernization project has been undertaken in two phases. In Phase-I, post offices up to double handed levels were supplied with IT hardware and in Phase-II, the program has been built on 3 cornerstones as follows: Infrastructure The project aims to establish Vision Data Centre / disaster recovery centres to house all transactions and data, nationwide India Post 2012 aims at transforming Department of Posts into a Technology Enabled, Self Reliant Market Leader. This translates into 5 initiatives covering increased market share and revenues, new products and services, improved service delivery, motivated workforce and rural development networking of all post offices including rural post offices, supply of computer hardware to noncomputerized post offices, mail offices and rural post offices with a vision to create a fully managed, secure and centrally governed IT.infrastructure More inside! Pg. 3 1
Project Implementation Structure The IT Modernization project has been designed to be implemented in 8 contracts: Rural ICT Hardware: This vendor will supply and install Rural ICT Hardware devices and provide for network connectivity to approximately 1.30 lakh GDS Post Offices which will enable post offices to perform all transactions electronically. Rural ICT System Integrator: This vendor will develop the platform for all applications that will reside in the Rural Hand held devices. Data Centre Facility: This vendor will provide centralized Data Centre Facility for hosting all applications and Disaster Recovery Center. Core System Integrator: This vendor will be the core integrator for all the applications that will run in the post and mail offices. The vendor will deploy mail applications such as track & trace and point of sale and develop applications for all accounting modules and personnel management. The CSI will also create and manage India post website, a customer service call center and introduce ecommerce solution for Department of Posts. Financial Services System Integrator: This specialized vendor will cater to deployment of Postal Banking & Insurance solutions; enabling the department to perform anytime anywhere banking. The vendor will also install 1000 ATMs and create mobile and web based access for all the users. Network Integrator: This vendor will ensure networking of DoP s departmental offices across India and design DoP networks including network security. Mail Operations Hardware: This vendor will be responsible for procurement of hardware for Postal and Mail Processing offices such as desktop computers, printers, scanning devices/hardware and around 15,000 departmental postmen device hardware. Change Management Vendor: This vendor will be responsible to manage change and prepare the staff for this massive IT modernization project of Department of Posts by conducting surveys and understanding concerns of postal employees. Dear Colleagues, I am delighted to address you through this newsletter about the IT modernization programme that we have undertaken. The journey which started on January 2009 with Business Process reengineering exercise has reached a stage of take off now. As you are aware, Department of Posts embarked on the ambitious IT Modernization Programme India Post 2012 with an objective of transforming Department into a Technology Enabled, Self Reliant Market Leader. The Department hired the services of a reputed IT consultant to prepare the blue print of the Project and successfully accomplished the preparation of Detailed Project Report. Based on the inputs in the Detailed Project Report, the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved proposal of Department of Posts recommended by the EFC. The project aims at creating a robust IT infrastructure and applications for all the services of Department of Posts viz. mail, retail, banking and insurance. The rural ICT solution in all BOs would facilitate reaching our services to the rural population in a seamless manner. Four RFPs are issued and four more are in the pipeline. The project is expected to be completed in 2012-13. This will make the Post offices the largest electronic network in the country. It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with this programme which will bring a paradigm shift in the way the Department meets the needs of the customers. We look forward to your continued support and participation to make this project a success. With regards, S. Samant (Member Technology) 2
Project Overview Software Solutions Creation of contd. integrated, modular software solution covering Postal operations, Banking, Insurance, logistics, help desk and call centre. The IT project also envisages accrual based accounting and centralized payroll processing. The project will also bring in ecommerce solution enabling India Post to make all web and mobile based transactions. Approach to Deployment The deployment will be Three Wave/ Phased Change/Project Management The IT Approach involving Pilot in select offices, Phase I in 6 circles and subsequently phase II involving rest of Project mandated changes in operational the 16 circles. procedures and processes. The Department 1. 2. 3. has done a detailed business process re- Pilot Each solution will be rolled out in pre-defined offices in specific locations which will give an ideal representation of a sample of the offices pan India. Feedback of users from Pilot locations will be gathered and this will enable enhancement of the application as needed engineering exercise and prepared the ToBe document for future applications. Therefore, during the implementation of the project, there would be an immense requirement of employee participation and Phase I Post successful completion of Pilot, the solution will be rolled out in 6 circles namely, Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. This will help ensure that geographical challenges faced (If any) during Phase I will be suitably addressed in the next phase. change management activities to ensure Phase II In this stage the solution will be rolled out to all the remaining 16 circles. employees. It will also cater to readiness of employees to adopt the solution. The IT Project will carry out this important activity by conducting workshops, training, re-skilling for enabling change and addressing concerns and issues of communication and awareness at regular intervals to drive change. Solution Development Approach: The vendor once onboard will design/develop the solution across all India Post locations as per the implementation plan and will follow the approach outlined below: Design Development Deployment Pilot Location Integration & Testing 3 Phase I Phase II
Overall Project Timelines & Milestones Component Rural ICTSolution(RSI) Rural ICTHardware BankingSolution(FSI) InsuranceSolution(FSI) DataCenter Disaster RecoveryCenter NetworkIntegrator Mail Operations Hardware ChangeManagement FY11 March April May June Qrtr 2 ApplicationDevelopment Pilot Pilot ApplicationDevelopment ApplicationDevelopment Vendor Selection&Onboarding Stakeholder Engagement FY12 Qrtr 3 Qrtr 4 Qrtr 1 Qrtr 2 Qrtr 3 Qrtr 4 Pilot Pilot Roll Out - Set up&support Roll Out - Set up&support Roll Out Roll Out TrainingDeployment bysolution Vendor Open House A Vendor Open House was hosted on 31st July 2010. The prospective vendors were invited and briefed about the India Post 2012 Project. The vendors were given a brief about the tentative vendor procurement strategy and the various solutions being proposed for the project. 4
Project Management Governance Structure The project implementation and monitoring has been so designed for full participation and seamless information flow from post offices to Directorate and vice versa Inter ministerial Steering Committee, constituted by the Department of Posts would be responsible for taking all decisions related to overall vision and policy matters and monitor the project. Working Committee will be responsible to ensure that progress on the project and results achieved are in line with the overall project implementation plan and timelines. take stock of the direction the project is taking, including planning, monitoring, and scope management Project Management Unit (PMU) is the overall division that will coordinate and ensure success of the project. PMU will ensure timely implementation and effective communications with the circles The PMU will be assisted by resources contracted from National Institute for Smart Governance who will be experts in various IT field such as Banking, Datacenter, ERP, etc. They will also be responsible for Circle PMUs have been setup which would be responsible for the implementation of the programme at the Circle level under the supervision of the CPMGs. project management and data collection during implementations. Total of 81 project management experts would be stationed at circles PM Tool: The PMU will coordinate with circles, regions, divisions and post offices centrally by using a PM tool to gather data & monitor deliverables 5 and regional offices.
Future Applications Benefits of the Project MGNREGS Mail Operations emo Postal Banking Solution Postal Insurance Solution Third Party Applications Benefits for Customers: Central Server Application Better financial inclusion for the common man in the rural and semi-urban locations at par with the urban locations, through mobile remittances, mobile banking, mobile insurance etc. Effective and transparent delivery of social security and employment guarantee schemes Increased consistency and reliability in mail, parcels and logistics delivery system in line with global standards Multiple channels of access to customers through post office counters, kiosks, internet, mobiles, ATMs etc. Better visibility of various articles in the mail stream and transparency in financial services such as banking, insurance etc. Improved customer satisfaction due to faster and more reliable services in postal, logistics, banking, insurance and retail operations Internet/ Intranet Client Application on Rural ICT Device no se of In ca ivity at ct conne O B Nearest Connected SO/ HO Illustrative Rural ICT Device Spotlight Rural ICT The Department of Posts under Its IT Modernization project India Post 2012 plans to induct electronic means of transaction through all the rural post Benefits for DoP: offices. Under this project, 1,30,000 Branch Post offices would be supplied with Significant enhancement in revenue & market shares as multitude of products will be improved and new products/ services will be launched (e.g. egovernance, Rural ICT) Better decision making and operational planning due to availability of management information in a timely manner Potential reduction in the transaction cost and availability of manpower for redeployment in marketing and other revenue generating capabilities Increased productivity and accountability Benefits for Employees: optimized devices that can work in adverse environments. Provisions would be made to provide connectivity to all of them by use of various communication available channels such as GPRS, CDMA, WiFi, LAN and Broadband. These devices would be equipped with applications and peripheral devices such as biometrics, printers, scanners to enable all postal, banking and insurance transactions. Employees will have an opportunity to learn, build and enhance new skills and expertise Reduction in manual work which will result in enhanced productivity levels Opportunity to deliver enhanced IT enabled services to their customers leading to a significant reduction in customer complaints Improvement in employee engagement and empowerment Provide an opportunity to work in an innovation based culture Opportunity to be part of a growing and vibrant organization With the Rural ICT solution the Department hopes to enable the Last Mile IT Infrastructure and safety net to approximately 70 Crore rural residents. It will also enable the delivery of new rural services in the areas of social security, banking, insurance, micro-financing, utility bill collections etc. 6
Rural ICT and the GDS Employees The Rural ICT solution aims to significantly improve the day to day operations performed at the Branch Post offices in the following ways: 1. All the Postal, Savings Bank, and RPLI functions would be performed through the devices; thus manual record keeping would be reduced 2. The BO Daily Accounts and BO Summary would be automatically generated and electronically sent to the accounts office/ central server 3. Specimen Signature book would be replaced by an advanced biometric method of authentication 4. All new RPLI application forms will be processed through the devices thus resulting in faster issue of policies 5. Improved disbursement of money orders at the branch post offices as a result of enhanced cash management systems 6. Utility bills like telephone, electricity, water etc. can be accepted online through the device in the future and electronic receipts can be given to the consumers 7. MGNREGS payments shall be done using the Rural ICT devices allowing the GDS Post office to validate the identity of an individual through biometric data, thus reducing verification time and avoiding unauthorized users PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT Under the overall Guidance of Shri. S. Samant, Member (Technology) DDG (PMU) Shri. A.K. Dash Directors (PMU) Shri. R. Anand Dr. Kushal Pathak Smt. Rajul Bhatt For Internal Circulation only. Editorial Board: Dr. Kushal Pathak, Director (PMU). The newsletter is also available in the online version and can be downloaded from the Intranet Portal of Department of Posts at: http://www.sahuliyat.com. For comments and suggestions kindly post it at sahuliyat.com or send them to kushal@indiapost.gov.in 7