Ensuring convenience to citizens through faster movement of files and documents through different layers of government offices, improving service delivery and ensuring accountability

e-File

Mr. Mong Sao Pru resides in a very remote corner of a hill district. To apply for a job he required a tribal certificate. The deadline for application was near and the prospect of traveling through the hills and valleys to the district headquarters to apply and receive the certificate turned his hope quite grey. But with the help of an internet modem, he got access to the E-file system and dropped an application for the certificate. Immediately he received an online acknowledgment and a tracking number. Before long the head of the office took notice of the application. It quickly came down along the hierarchy of the office with a ‘Very Urgent’ tag. Mr. Mong Sao Pru checked his application status on the web time and again with the help of the tracking number. An e-file was put up on the application in due time. It went up along the hierarchy of the office for the approval of the head of the office. Though at that time he was out of station for official duty, email notification on his smartphone prompted him to give approval using a mobile phone-based e-File App. Soon the office emailed the certificate to the applicant. Mr. Mong Sao Pru did not require to pay any physical visit, stay a few days in the headquarter for the certificate. Moreover, with the timely receipt of the certificate, he could now apply for the job.

The advent of globalization and its associated developments have literally transformed the way governments are running in the increasingly complex and competitive global environment. The major two objectives, greater efficiency and better service delivery, are at the core of the government's pursuit to cope with this changing environment. In Bangladesh, service delivery in the public sector has not been satisfactory. The experience of "speed money" and corruption has become one of the major issues in administration. Studies reveal that successful implementation of governance innovation is related to reducing the cost of doing business due to process simplification, and improving efficiency and transparency in the delivery of public services.

Cry for innovation

Keeping these factors in mind, the Aspire to Innovate (Past- the Access to Information Programme) of the Government of Bangladesh has implemented an e-Filing Solution for ensuring faster movement of files through the different layers in government offices increased transparency throughout the organization and increased accountability in governance. It’s driven by an overarching philosophy to put citizens first by means of cutting red tape, improving service delivery, engaging public sector employees, and getting faster results for citizens

None of these efforts is possible without an innovative and dynamic governance mechanism capable of implementing the essential reforms. The new solution called “D-Nothi” could play a critical role in quick and efficient decision-making to meet citizens’ expectations and bring in breakthroughs in public service delivery/management. The system mainly aims at initiating a transparent, accountable and hassle-less office system. However, this e-file (D-Nothi) system will ensure a paperless office management system by using relevant ICT facilities. The URL of the system is www.nothi.gov.bd.

Improved Efficiency and Transparency

In a traditional filing system, decision- making process used to take 5-7 days to take a decision on a file and or deliver the service but with the new e-Filing system “D-Nothi” this duration has come down to only 1-2 days depending on the nature of the case.

An office or its relevant section could process only 5-10 files a day in a traditional filing system but now with “D-Nothi”, this number moved up to 750+. So far 2566+ offices are working live with “D-Nothi” and they are disposing of 100 files every day and this number is increasing day by day. The primary beneficiaries of “D-Nothi” are the citizens of the nations. Keeping in mind their demands and expectations, the new generation e-Filing system is completely redesigned so that it can facilitate almost all the government offices to work on this platform and handle huge work volume. Tech-savvy people or even a villager can send in an application to any government office from his/her own computer or from the nearest Upazilla Digital Center (UDC). It saves time, cost and visits of the citizen.

More space for better service delivery

“D-Nothi” saves a huge amount of money and time required previously to obtain a service from government offices. But after the inception of this new generation e-Filing systems, citizens have become empowered and got the privilege of electronic/virtual communication with the government offices sitting at home. It allows them to lodge their demand/requirement and track them real-time online which was literally impossible in a traditional Filing system. Citizens can now utilize their valuable time/money elsewhere to make their lives more fulfilling.

34,600+ registered users on “nothi” could save their valuable work hours. In other words, they can now deliver triple the services that they couldn’t deliver in traditional filing previously. The capacity of 7,046+ offices is developed and 4 million citizens have been happily served.

100,000+ registered users on “D-Nothi” could save their valuable work hours. In other words, they can now deliver triple the services that they couldn’t deliver in traditional filing previously. The capacity of 11,300+ offices is developed and 4 million citizens have been happily served.