Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 2: The Jammu and Kashmir Government was today awarded Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Smart Policing Awards 2021 for the e-governed Vigilance Clearance System (VCS) initiative.
The smart digital initiatives by J&K, under the dynamic leadership of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, among which the e-governance initiative i.e. Vigilance Clearance System (VCS), taken by General Administration Department (GAD), and under able guidance of worthy Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, the Information Technology landscape of Governance in J&K has witnessed transformational change and numerous Government services have been made online.
The award is a great achievement for the J&K Govt, as among the 2200 nominations received from across the country under different categories for Smart Policing Awards, the e-governed VCS was awarded among 19 awards.
The GAD and Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) over these years has transformed and brought efficiency and transparency in the system.
The VCS has transformed the process of issuance of No Objection Certificates/Vigilance Clearances to the Government employees within a very short span of time without requiring submitting application in person sans follow up.
The digital intervention has eased the burden of backlogs and departments have been able to conduct their DPCs, issue NOCs for obtaining Passport, sanction study leaves, deputations & foreign visits. Around 7000 promotions and regularization of employees have been done by the departments based on timely availability of Vigilance clearance.
The VCS has been designed and developed by the team of GAD (Vigilance) and Directorate of IT&SS, University of Kashmir (under consultancy mode), in tandem with ACB as a team work and is first of its kind in the country.
Since its inception in July 2021, the GAD (Vigilance) has been able to issue more than 45000 Vigilance Clearances.
The award was presented at FICCI Federation House, New Delhi today while as the award was received on behalf of J&K Govt by Director ACB, Anand Jain; Director IT&SS, University of Kashmir, Dr. Maroof Naieem Qadri and Deputy Secretary (Vigilance), GAD, J&K Govt, Dr Mohammad Usman Khan.
On the occasion, Director ACB, Anand Jain spoke on the use and deployment of technology in vigilance.