To ensure efficacious functioning and seamless coordination, especially during trying circumstances amid COVID-19, Punjab Mandi Board on Thursday launched an in-house video conferencing mobile app ‘QVIC’ — an acronym for ‘Quick Video Calling App’ where an audio or video call can be made with a mere click.

Launching this unique mobile app at Punjab Mandi Board complex in Mohali, its chairman Punjab Mandi Board Laal Singh pointed out that Punjab is the first state in the country to develop such state-of-the-art app so far at government level.

The novel initiative would ensure greater security in its communication, transparency, and speedy disposal of the official work, he said.

Taking into account the COVID inflicted challenges faced by Punjab Mandi Board during wheat procurement-2020 and the experience gained having used private videoconferencing tools, which were available free of cost at that time, Lal Singh lauded the personal initiative of Mandi Board secretary Ravi Bhagat who got developed a secure ‘local product’, make available for Mandi Board on similar lines of the commercial tools with an ease to use technologically and a secure face-to-face connections.

Highlighting the salient features of the newly launched app, Secretary Mandi Board said through this exclusive Government to Government (G to G) Video Conferencing communication, working of the Board can be reviewed without any hassles as the app contains ‘Group Calling’ and ‘Meeting Summoning’.

Bhagat stated that the meeting can also be transferred to computer or laptop also adding that the app has noteworthy features such as record the call for up to 30 days, share presentations, participants, no time limit, unlimited one-on-one meetings and group meetings, can record meetings and save securely on government servers, noise cancellation feature, screen share, text chats can include photos and audio files, uses end-to-end encryption.

Notably, the service is available across all major platforms, Windows, macOS, Android and iOS, offers high quality HD video and audio. “Punjab Mandi Board has developed an in-house tool which is at par with available foreign apps with the highest standards of data security and privacy built in,” he said.