(C-DAC's new eGovernance initiative)
Pune, Dec 12, 2001

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), has been entrusted with the task of designing and developing an Online Management and Monitoring System (OMMS) for the Union Rural Development Ministry's Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Project and making it operational at various State and District Centres across the country.

Having successfully executed a number of large Government projects in similar areas, C-DAC was adjudged as an appropriate institution by the Union Rural Development Ministry to undertake this work. The project, which involves the design, development and deployment of software has an outlay of Rs. 16 crores, and is scheduled for completion within 2 years and supported thereafter.

The objective behind developing the OMMS comes from the resolve of Government of India to significantly emphasize rural development through a series of measures. One of the measures is to connect villages around the country through motorable roads, designed to improve the livelihood and economy of the rural poor. Accordingly, a nationwide rural development program has been launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Development to connect 1,40,000 villages all across India, which has a population of 500 or more. The program has been launched under the Union Government's Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for empowering Rural India through road connectivity.

The PMGSY program has been approved by the Government with an anticipated outlay of Rs. 60,000 crores of which works worth Rs. 7,500 crores are in different stages of execution. The program would be implemented in different phases to be completed by the year 2007. The resources for this Project are to be met from the diesel cess collected by the Government and from resources to be raised from other sources.

The program involves massive works services countrywide involving the Central Government, the State Government, the expert bodies connected with rural roads and a large number of contractors through which the projects are to be executed. In view of the complexity and the size of the program, it was decided to have an effective Online Management and Monitoring System (OMMS), which would deal with the proposals preparation and approval, estimation of costs and timeframes, tendering evaluation and award of contracts, and the execution of works services.

The Core Team set up by the Union Ministry of Rural Development to assist C-DAC in the development of OMMS met today, at C-DAC. The Core Team meeting was chaired by Dr. J.S. Sarma, Joint Secretary, in the Ministry of Rural Development. The initial development work carried out by C-DAC on preparation of Master data and the monitoring system software was presented to the Core Team. The prototype Website of this program also developed was presented to the Core Team. These have been proposed to be launched in early January 2002.

Dr. Sarma said, "The PMGSY Project is one of the most complex and large civil construction projects ever taken in India, and throws challenge to our Civil Engineering, and felt confident that with successes of the civil engineering services in India in the past, this project would also be commissioned successfully. Use of computing tools for effective management of such large projects therefore becomes essential. Hence, an important component of this project was to develop and implement the OMMS project as awarded to C-DAC."

Welcoming the Core Team, Shri. R.K. Arora, Executive Director, C-DAC expressed confidence in designing and developing the software and effectively deploying with the guidance and help from the members of the Core Team and support from the various States and Ministry of Rural Development, and stated that C-DAC team is fully geared to meet the challenge of this large project.

Shri. Arora quoted from the PMGSY project document, "It is a program with vision, clarity of purpose, professionalism, transparency and accountability. A program to transform the lives of 30 crore people through roads and would bring change, employment and growth. A program that would enable 10 crore rural poor to cross the poverty line."

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