TCS CSR in Bengal soon
Business Standard — February 25, 2008

Information technology (IT) major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is looking to replicate its 'citizen services' initiative in Bengal.

Currently, citizen services, a corporate social responsibility of TCS through APOnline, a wholly owned subsidiary of TCS, is a digital gateway that offers multiple services to citizens and businesses across the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The initiative has already generated employment for nearly 2,500 rural poor in Andhra Pradesh.

Talking to Business Standard, R Srinivasan, head - pre-sales, global government industry group of TCS, said, "We have been working on various projects with the Bengal government for the last couple of years. Looking at the success of our kiosk-based citizen services model in Andhra Pradesh, we are talking to the West Bengal government to gauge the possibility of replicating the model in Bengal."

"We feel services should be available at a consumer's doorstep. People of Bengal, especially those living in the rural areas, should have the option to make online payments of various taxes and the ability to access information by regular telephone and by mobile phones. APOnline provides over 156 services and we think a similar initiative like this will benefit the Bengal villages too going forward," Srinivasan pointed out.

Under this initiative, an entrepreneur has to fund his own kiosk, which essentially needs a computer and internet connection.

"TCS will select the entrepreneurs for each kiosk. An individual needs basic education and computer knowledge to be eligible," Srinivasan said.

According to Srinivasan, digitising all government departments in Bengal is essential since citizens till date face manual government processes with multiple interactions required to obtain a single service.

This leads to delays and at many occasions, citizens shy away from the service because of the time necessary to navigate the bureaucracy.

Also, for multiple services, citizens have to interact with multiple offices, multiple times.

"If all services are available on the internet it will be less time-consuming and tedious. Moreover, there will be transparency in government services and departments," Srinivasan pointed out. APOnline currently provides citizen services in the areas of health, education, agriculture, government services, and business.

By delivering a wide range of government-to-government (G2G) services from APOnline, the government has improved transparency and accountability and reduced delivery cycles, thereby reducing cost of compliance with governmental regulations.