e-Shakti Project was conceived to consolidate the implementation of NREG Scheme in the state by encouraging application of modern advancement in Information & Communication Technology. The purpose of the project is to improve transparencies and fast track implementation of NREGS Bihar.
The goal of the project is to ensure correct and timely wage payment to right beneficiary at right time. In order to achieve this goal, it was realized that correct beneficiary identification at the time of attendance at work site and at the time of wage disbursement was absolutely critical.
This project is expected to serve NREGS related need of all villages, Gram Panchayats, CD Blocks, Districts of Bihar state. It is going to strengthen capacity of the villagers, PRIs & Other implementing agencies, state NREGS administration & the service providers as well. The total duration of the project is 5 years from inception. The e-Shakti project will be implemented in phases. Phase in is pilot phase and will complete in year one .Further roll out will be stated after successful completion of phase - in The learning and best practices of phase one will be incorporated in next phase implementation.
In this project Biometric Smart Card are envisaged as an Identification tool which can be used for correct identification of beneficiary for efficient delivery mechanism across various government schemes. Fingerprints of all the eligible beneficiaries in the rural areas of the state will be collected for the issuance of Smart Card. Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) will be deployed which will find duplicates in the collected database of fingerprints. This is to ensure false and duplicate registrations. An e-Shakti customised application tuned to NREGA Soft of NIC. Financial inclusion of the beneficiaries would be done by opening their bank accounts and the end user will be trained for the system.