In run-up to implementing a single-window online clearance system nicknamed ‘Nivesh Mitra’, Uttar Pradesh industrial development department is training officials for behavioural and attitudinal changes.
The training aims at cultivating positive response towards the new technology and the officials’ dealing with entrepreneurs. The government had joined hands with Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of management and Development Studies for the training.
A total of 18 districts have been taken up for the purpose, where Nivesh Mitra would be implemented in the first phase. Local and nodal officials of 11 government departments in these districts are being covered under training that commenced from January 2011.
So far, 16 districts had been covered and only Aligarh and Mahamaya Nagar (Hathras) are left, Uttar Pradesh special secretary industrial development Anamika Singh told Business Standard.
The training programmes in these two districts got delayed due to the recent incidents surrounding land acquisition and farmers’ issues in western Uttar Pradesh.
The 18 districts are Rampur, Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Moradabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Barabanki, Kanpur, Unnao, Lucknow, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kushinagar, Mahamaya Nagar, Aligarh, Agra, Fatehpur, Ghazipur, Mathura and Gonda.
“Almost 30 to 40 officials are selected for training in each districts,” she added. The training is followed by an interaction with local entrepreneurs for their feedback.
Meanwhile, Nivesh Mitra online suite is being revamped by Delhi-based Hollywood Multimedia Limited by adding advanced features for making it more investor-friendly.
The suite would also be linked with social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, for enhancing its reach and impact. Once implemented, Nivesh Mitra would replace physical processes for clearance of investment proposals in these districts.
Nivesh Mitra promises time-bound approvals. Any application can be tracked by senior officials and responsibility fixed in case it is not processed in stipulated timeframe.
It was first launched in July 2009 by industry interface Udyog Bandhu and meant to encourage investment in the state by simplifying procedures through online single window clearance.
However, still personal visits to some departments and physical processes by investors were involved. Hence, the government decided to address such bottlenecks with domain expert and add more investor-friendly features, Uttar Pradesh infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) V N Garg had earlier said.
An integrated online payment system linked to banks would facilitate net banking, credit/debit card operations and offline payment mode.
Meanwhile, the department held a meeting with State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) representatives regarding the online payment gateway to be incorporated in Nivesh Mitra.
The suite will be put on ‘in-house trial’ soon for analysing its efficacy, before it goes online in the first half of the current financial year.
Gradually, the government will extend Nivesh Mitra scheme in other districts. So far, over 1,600 entrepreneurs had been facilitated by it.
