By EB Bureau
Tuesday, November 19, 2013: Despite the government’s efforts to fast-track large projects, the number of such projects that are facing delays has gone up, according to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. Getting clearance on projects submitted to the government is a major concern for companies in different industries, including electronics. A delay in the clearing of these core projects often poses threats to not only the company, but also to the country’s economy.
A cell has been set up by the cabinet committee on investment (CCI) in the Cabinet Secretariat with a view to speed up the process of clearing such projects. An institutional mechanism has also been set up to track the stalled projects, both in the public and private sectors, to remove the implementation bottlenecks in these projects and monitor them.
An online project management system portal—e-CCI (http://cabsec.nic.in/cci_projects_login.php)—has been developed to track projects worth Rs 10 billion or more. It automates the entire tracking of stalled investment projects. This includes: submission of a new project, editing and updating the projects, reviewing the projects, the submission of details relating to bottlenecks, updates on sub-group meetings, and the decisions taken to remove the implementation bottlenecks in the stalled projects.
Aiming for effective tracking
The prime objective of setting up this system is to redefine the processes for effective tracking and to resolve issues using a central interface. This will facilitate discussions on issues and allow for brainstorming. The website will also provide integrated services in a transparent manner, and will eliminate duplicate and inconsistent record keeping. Apart from this, it will provide fast and accurate information to the government for strategic decisions. Now, one will not have to search through piles of papers as the portal’s tools enable one to search for specific information. It will also generate various MIS reports including financial and summary reports.
User-friendly features
The website has several user-friendly features, which will be beneficial both for investors as well as the government. It allows all submissions related to projects through a single-window interface. Consistency checks are enforced to ensure data integrity and accuracy. It also retains the existing information flow to minimise the learning time for the user. All required reports are generated on-the-fly, with automatic mailer notification to take instant action.
How e-CCI works
A private entrepreneur can register to get the login credentials. Thereafter, project details can be submitted along with the bottlenecks/issues to the ‘sponsoring’ ministry or department.
The sponsoring ministry can review the project details submitted by a private entrepreneur and later on recommend the project to the CCI cell at the Cabinet Secretariat. Any rejected project will automatically come to the CCI cell for the final decision.
Once the sponsoring ministries recommend the projects, the bottlenecks along with the project details will automatically go to the recipient ministry or department for action. Once a project is accepted by the CCI cell, a unique project ID will be generated for further reference. Separate tripartite sub-groups have been constituted to consider these bottlenecks periodically with a view to resolving them. Decisions on these will be displayed on the e-CCI portal. An automatic mailer notification will also be triggered for every transaction that takes place on the e-CCI portal.
