Project : Electronic Payment and Application System for Scholarships (ePASS)

User Department(s):

Social Welfare Department, Government of Telangana, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Jharkhand

Project Brief:

The Government of India has been offering scholarships to students since 1948 with those belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and eventually extending the coverage to backward classes, disabled, minorities and the economically backward classes over the years. Today, Government of India is offering Pre-Metric and Post-Metric scholarships through three ministries. The Government of Telangana recognizes education as highly important and supports the study of economically poor students in the state by providing Pre-Metric and Post-Metric scholarships to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, Minorities and Economically Backward Communities with income less than Rs. 2 Lakh. Understanding the ease of e-Governance, Government of Telangana proposed Electronic Payment and Application System of Scholarships (ePASS) for more transparency, accessibility and accountability. Welfare Departments of Telangana proposed this project to Centre for Good Governance (CGG).

ePASS, developed by CGG

• Facilitated students to apply for scholarships online, and track their application status at every stage
• Helped to avoid errors; and also re-engineered the processes followed from decades by Government, facilitating timely payment of Scholarships to students
• Reduced the leakages and also lessened the time consuming manual visits for verification
   

ePASS application has successfully facilitated around 90 lakh applicants in the disbursement of Pre-Metric and Post-Metric Scholarships under 14 Schemes over a period of 4 Academic Years. More than 13 lakh students have applied for scholarships during the academic year 2016-17. With the successful implementation of ePASS, the project is extended to Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura.

Benefits/uses of the application:

• Telangana ePASS application has disburdened the huge labour effort placed by officers of SC Welfare, ST welfare, BC welfare, Minorities and Disabled welfare departments
• Created a hassle-free application system for Students, with transparency and accountability in the scholarship process
• Avoided fictitious colleges and ghost students
• A time-saving process which eliminates Physical verification of applicants and data entry at District office
   

Achievements:

• CSI-Nihilent, e-Governance Award: 2010-11 Project Category G2C – Award of Excellence
• CSI-Nihilent, e-Governance Award: 2015-16 Appreciation for Sustenance Category
• 49 th SKOCH Summit 2017: Smart Governance Category: ePASS Project awarded the SKOCH Platinum Award

Link to the website/application:
http://telanganaepass.cgg.gov.in
http://karepass.cgg.gov.in
http://ekalyan.cgg.gov.in
http://hpepass.cgg.gov.in
http://tripuraepass.cgg.gov.in