<p>Starting March 1, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and the Centre for e-governance will operationalise a call centre to provide information to the public about government departments. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The calls to the unique number dedicated to provide government services to citizens will be attended by trained professionals proficient in three languages. The initiative is in conformity with the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act (KGSCA), 2011 and the call centre will provide details pertaining to 11 departments and 151 services that fall under the Act. The centre will operate out of Bangalore, but will cater to callers across the State. <br /><br />The DPAR plans to start operations of the call centre to coincide with the launch of the pilot phase of KGSCA in April. The Act will be implemented on a trial basis in four taluks of four districts. During this period, the public can use the call centre facility to find out the status of their applications in any of the 11 departments. <br /><br />The call centre will be managed and operated by a private agency which will have only seven days to set up the hi-tech centre. While at present, the service is planned to be operated from 9 am to 6 pm, it may become a 24-hour centre if the need arises, said Shalini Rajneesh, principal secretary, DPAR. “The call centre will support the Act as rural people without access to internet can dial this number and get details of a particular department they want to know about,” she said.<br /><br />A Complaint Registration System will also be developed for easy recording of grievances. In case of a complaint not being addressed within 30 days, the system will automatically forward the matter to the senior official in the department concerned. <br /><br />T Prabhakar, project director - capacity building, Centre for e-governance, says: “This project is similar to the Right to Information call centre our department is planning to start. This will be used by lakhs of citizens in the State every day and will be of great help to those without internet connectivity.”<br />Features<br /><br />* Unique number * Not toll free * Complaint handling * Self-Help Interactive Voice Response System * Computer Telephony Integration * SMS Integration * Penalty of Rs 10,000 per day will apply for each day of delay in providing information* Timings: 9 am to 6 pm (may be extended to 24 hours)</p>
<p>Starting March 1, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and the Centre for e-governance will operationalise a call centre to provide information to the public about government departments. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The calls to the unique number dedicated to provide government services to citizens will be attended by trained professionals proficient in three languages. The initiative is in conformity with the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act (KGSCA), 2011 and the call centre will provide details pertaining to 11 departments and 151 services that fall under the Act. The centre will operate out of Bangalore, but will cater to callers across the State. <br /><br />The DPAR plans to start operations of the call centre to coincide with the launch of the pilot phase of KGSCA in April. The Act will be implemented on a trial basis in four taluks of four districts. During this period, the public can use the call centre facility to find out the status of their applications in any of the 11 departments. <br /><br />The call centre will be managed and operated by a private agency which will have only seven days to set up the hi-tech centre. While at present, the service is planned to be operated from 9 am to 6 pm, it may become a 24-hour centre if the need arises, said Shalini Rajneesh, principal secretary, DPAR. “The call centre will support the Act as rural people without access to internet can dial this number and get details of a particular department they want to know about,” she said.<br /><br />A Complaint Registration System will also be developed for easy recording of grievances. In case of a complaint not being addressed within 30 days, the system will automatically forward the matter to the senior official in the department concerned. <br /><br />T Prabhakar, project director - capacity building, Centre for e-governance, says: “This project is similar to the Right to Information call centre our department is planning to start. This will be used by lakhs of citizens in the State every day and will be of great help to those without internet connectivity.”<br />Features<br /><br />* Unique number * Not toll free * Complaint handling * Self-Help Interactive Voice Response System * Computer Telephony Integration * SMS Integration * Penalty of Rs 10,000 per day will apply for each day of delay in providing information* Timings: 9 am to 6 pm (may be extended to 24 hours)</p>
