Department of Industry set to go digital

KATHMANDU, Feb 25:

In a bid to provide quicker and reliable service to people, Department of Industry (DoI) is all set to digitize its services.

Officials of the department said DoI will become paper-less office within a year. International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is partially funding the automation project.

“We are preparing to change the existing manual system by a fully automated system within a year,” Maheshwor Neupane, director general of the department, told Republica. “Introduction of eServices will help us to provide quicker and reliable service to people.”

Neupane also said IFC will support the department to build website, prepare software, install networking system and provide necessary training to workers. “For this, we will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IFC soon,” he added.

As per the draft MoU, DoI will have to bear hardware and administration costs.

“We have asked the government to allocate Rs 7 million in the upcoming budget to implement first phase of the project,”
Neupane said. “Once our services are automated, people can acquire/renew license from their homes or workplaces. Once can file application even from abroad.”

Office of Company Registration (OCR), an agency under Ministry of Industry (MoI), has already eServices. Majority of its works are now done online. OCR introduced online-based system with the help of IFC.

“Our focus has been on introducing eServices in government agencies,” a source at IFC told Republica said, adding: “If Banks and Financial Institutions (BFIs) can be this technology-driven, why not government bodies, their work and services?”

Source: Republica