Smaarftech Rolls Out e-Shakti Project In Bihar Under NREGS

Glodyne Technoserve, a technology infrastructure management services company, through its subsidiary Smaarftech Technologies has partnered with the Rural Development Department of the Government of Bihar in implementing and managing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) project in Bihar.

The NREGS scheme, an initiative of Government of India, guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to below-the-poverty-line (BPL) households. This scheme treats employment as a right and the programme is intended to be demand driven.

Bihar is the first state in the country to have launched the Scheme in the entire state through e-Shakti project, which is completely technology driven. A consortium led by Smaarftech Technologies and consisting of Face Technologies, a provider of identity management solutions from South Africa and Anil Printers will be instrumental in the implementation of the e-Shakti Project. The project seeks to bring in contactless smartcards for workers registered with NREGS for their wage disbursement, identification, and a host of other service features.

The e-Shakti project has the potential not only to generate more employment directly and indirectly, but also to transform rural economic and social relations at many levels.

In the first phase, the e-Shakti project will cover beneficiaries from the Patna District and in the subsequent phases the project will be scaled in the entire state. With e-Shakti, processes such as registration, receipts, job demand, muster rolls, works, attendance, calculation and disbursement of wages will be digitalised saving all the paperwork and complexity and giving the rightful benefit to cardholders.