A delegation comprising members of Republic of Philippines and World Bank is on a two days visit to Haryana to explore the possibilities of designing social welfare programs.
The delegation has appreciated Haryana for the effective implementation of Aadhaar related services, de-duplication and savings to exchequer apart from benefits to citizens.
While the Philippines team is led by Dakila Carlo Cua, District Representative, Quirino lone District, the World Bank team is led by Pablo Acosta, Senior Economist. They hoped that their experience would go a long way in trying to replicate similar initiatives in the Philippines based on a unique id.
Cua said that the Government of Philippines is in the process of defining design principles for their social welfare ID. He said that the delegation visited Haryana for the learning experience as the State is doing well in the implementation of Aadhaar – the Unique ID Program and other Aadhaar related projects.
Haryana ranks first in the country in Child Aadhaar coverage and AEBAS implementation, said Principal Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology (IT) Department, Devender Singh.
He also gave a presentation briefing the delegation on the guiding principles, compliance with security compliances, Direct Benefit Transfer and coverage of Aadhaar in the state. He informed the delegation about how the ID program has further improved accountability, transparency and efficiency in e-Governance service delivery.
Devender Singh also emphasized the importance of ID platform i.e. error-free and ensures direct delivery of services and benefits to the intended recipients. He said that the State Government has also been engaged in implementing mechanisms for monitoring and promotion of Digital Payments to achieve the goal of cashless or less cash economy.
The State Government has won many prestigious awards for initiatives such as - integration of Pension with Aadhaar enabled Jeevan Pramaan Patra, Aadhaar enrolment of newly born child at the time of Birth registration, Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System and Haryana’s overall e-Governance initiatives Award, he added.
The delegation along with officials of the State Government also visited fair price shop at Panchkula in order to understand the processes involved in the distribution of food commodities using the unique ID. The team also visited other public dealing centers including the Tehsil Office and Civil Hospital at Panchkula to study the mechanisms for Aadhaar enrollment, linking of unique id, birth registration and other related services.
later, the delegation also held meetings with key stakeholders of the State Government including Chief Secretary DS Dhesi and other senior officers.