Central govt works from home through e-office tool

NEWDELHI: Last week, some senior officials in a key social sector ministry had to prepare their minister’s written answers for a reply in Parliament.

There was a problem, though. Most of them were at home amidst the Covid-19 outbreak and even a briefing meeting on the questions could not take place in the ministry.

That was last week.

This week, there’s a nearcomplete lockdown , although at least 5% of government officers are still at office; the rest are working from home.

Not surprisingly, the focus is on a tool developed back in 2014-15, the Centre’s e-office.

This was developed to accelerate the movement of files through the bureaucracy and make the latter more accountable.

Now, it has become the veritable lifeline of the Centre as the country scrambles to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

From creating government files online to uploading scanned letters—the e-office is mandated not only to replace physical files but also to keep a tab on which officer is sitting on a file for how long.

“The system also allows colour coding in files to ascertain priorities. If a file needs to be cleared immediately, we mark it in red—a colour which we are using too often over the past two weeks,” said a secretary-level officer in a ministry who asked not to be named.

With travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines in place, the Modi government’s e-office is busier than ever. While decisions are pushed through digital files, consultations happen through videoconferencing.

“It’s not the same government structure anymore,” said another secretary-level officer who asked not to be named. “The Indian bureaucracy dons a corporate set-up.”

Almost 70% inter-ministerial video conferences or files are related to Covid-19, according to officials.

“The system gives you the opportunity to draft a letter or modify one,” said another senior bureaucrat, “Some circulars or guidelines for the states are also drafted online.

The system also records any changes.

“From the author to the date and the content, any amendment is recorded in the system,” said the second secretary-level officer.

For those working from home, the e-office can be accessed through a VPN provided by the National Informatics Centre, which manages the entire e-office.

The virtual office network is used extensively in most of the ministries barring a few that deals with security-related issues or extremely sensitive subjects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during whose tenure the e-office was turned into the government’s fully functional digital establishment, had regularly advocated use of technology in governance.

In 2015, he even addressed a national conference on e-governance through twitter.

“E-governance is an essential part of our dream of Digital India. The more technology we infuse in Governance, the better it is for India,” Prime Minister Modi had told the conference that year.