Details of the Programme/Project/Initiative Brief description of the

programme/project/initiative Please enter the project description

The Project Mobile Governance “Em-power Kerala” was initiated by Kerala State Government
inorder to utilise the strenghts of high levels of Mobile penetration in the State and to provide the
citizens with a “always-on” connection for the delivery of citizen services offered by government
departments through mobile phones accessible to the citizens in the field, in the street, at home or
other convenient locations on a 24 X 7 basis, rather than the users having to visit government
offices or log on to the internet portals to access services.

The project envisaged setting up a common mobile governance service delivery platform which
can be leveraged by the participating departments for deploying their departmental mobile
governance services seamlessly and presented to the citizens in a common consistent format. the
Common Mobile Service Delivery Platform that can leveraged by departments for m-powering their
services which include setting up of services for SMS, MMS, USSD, Voice and IVR platform ( a
stack of hardware and software).

A comprehensive Service Delivery Platform (SDP) has been deployed for the Kerala M-
Governance. The SDP has been designed to handle the scale-up of M-Governance smoothly.

Hardware :: Over 16 servers including SMS, MMS, Voice, USSD, DataBase etc are deployed in the
State Data Center (SDC) as well as Operator Data Centers.

Software :: The Project is entirely based on Open Source elements and uses Open Standards.
And Open Access – unlike provisioning the services which will be owned by one of the mobile
operators ( a walled garden) a paradigm similar to that of net neutrality has been established,
wherein the shortccode has been opened across all the operators in Kerala and the content is
owned and managed by Government of Kerala. This ensures equitable access, m-services being
accessible to all the subscribers of all the Mobile networks in Kerala

Platform:: The mGovernance Service Delivery Platform (SDP includes an uniquely branded, easy
to remember ShortCode 537252 (KERALA) the citizen has to remember the spelling of Kerala and
type it in non-qwerty mobile keypad, which is the single touch point for availing many m-services
of 90 State Government Departments. The Platform acts like a Middleware, which connects the
Citizens with various Government Departments, and departmental services, the identification of the
departments and services requested being recognized intelligently by analyzing the keywords in
the input string. Its modular architecture offers high scalability and redundancy as well. M-services
being provisioned over Short code allow the user to pay for the services, rather than the
Government paying for pushing the information, and also the Government has inked MOU’s with
the operators whereby the Operator shares 10-15% of the revenue generated over the short code.
This ensures a robust business model and financial sustainability of the project.

Why was the project started Please enter why was the project started

The project was started to leverage the strengths of mobile penetration in the State of Kerala using
the concept of “always-on” connection for the delivery of citizen services involving the major
stakeholders – government on one side and citizens and business on the on the other and based
on self sustainable model. The objective of the project is to make e-Governance services of
Government of Kerala accessible to the masses, through mobile phones.

The prime objective of this project was to bridge the digital divide in the state. Only the privileged
citizens were able to avail the e-Services from the Government. To bridge this gap & reach to the
common man, M-Governance was chosen by Government of Kerala as the key driver & has
achieved mammoth success.

Objective Please enter the objective

The aim of project m-Governance is to create a Mobile Service Delivery Platform which would form
the basis of running services for Government of Kerala. The use of mobile technology is envisioned
to increase information quality, improve overall efficiency and effectiveness in the Government
processes with convenience in operations.
Broad objectives of the project include:

Provide services on a “Any Time Any Where” basis

· Streamline the processes to automate the information access by citizens.
· Assess and develop a framework for legal, Regulatory & Security issues related to providing
services on mobile platform.
· Develop a self sustainable model for rollout of other services.

Target group Please enter the target group

a)Citizens with mobile phones

b)Government employees
c)Law enforcement agencies
d)Tourists

Geographical reach Please enter the geographical reach

The mGovernance Services are available across the state of Kerala and across all telecom-
operators.

Date from which the project became operational

th
9 November 2009

Is the project still operational Please enter is project still operational

Yes

10 points that make the programme/project innovative? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The Utilisation of mobile technologies for enhancing the Governance of a State. The project M-
Governance in Kerala is perhaps the first comprehensive project of its kind undertaken by any
state in the country. The objective of the project is to make e-Governance services of Government
of Kerala accessible to the masses, through mobile phones.

An encapsulated and comprehensive integrated Service Delivery Platform is being created and
integrated with the e-Governance infrastructure, for enabling m-Services of various Departments in
a “Plug and Play” fashion.
The three channels of mobile communication (Voice, Signalling and Data) and a wide range of
technologies (Voice Applications, Applications using signalling channel and data service based
Applications) are being used for this purpose.. The focus is to build a centralized platform into
which the services/solutions for each and every Department can be integrated. The approach
adopted is to identify services and design solutions, wherein the primary focus has been to
leverage the existing networks and available wireless technologies

As many as 90 Departments are using the m-SDP to provide their services and the portfolio of
services is expanding.

The services being provided currently can be broadly classified into:

1)Information Services: Services such as Doctor-Search, Price Alerts, Results on Mobile etc

2)Interactive Services: such as mobile- polls, surveys etc

Benefits of the project include :

· Dissemination of information to a larger number of people (mobile access) in a short time.

· Reduction of average service processing time and cost for services.
· Reduction in number of public complaints.
· Increased transparency in the delivery system.
· Releasing for bandwidth for public servants to focus on processing the information.
Increased Value Added Services and Information Services

List the 5 achievements of the programme/project? 1 2 3 4 5

Could Bridge the Digital Divide in Kerala

One of the comprehensive mobile governance projects in India

Adopted by Many states and admired by World Bank

Based on the sucess of Kerala M-gov MSDG has found a place in the NeGP

Could prove that ICT projects can bring in economic returns even to the Government and
can generate surplus by way of revenue sharing agreement with the mobile operators..

M-Governance involves the utilization of all kinds of wireless and mobile technology
services, applications and devices for improving benefits for citizens, businesses and all
Government departments.
 In order to take the full advantage of the mobile and wireless ICT technology as well as
dealing with the fluidity of the interaction with the mobile society and a booming mobile
usage rates, the Kerala State Government had initiated action to set up m-Government
Services. These services are delivered through mobile phones accessible to the citizens on
the field, in the street, at home or other convenient locations on a 24 x 7 basis, rather than
the users having to visit Government offices or log on to the Internet portals to access
services ensuring a low cost and efficient round the clock government systems.

20 pilot services for Citizens has been implemented which are detailed below:

1.Kerala Women’s Commission (KWC)  – Complaint Registration System

SMS   based   complaint   registration   system   for   Kerala   Women’s   Commission   for   preventing  
harassment against women, has been developed in association with NIC and KWC.

2.Kerala Engg/Medical Entrance Exam Results 2010 / 2011
Results were made live in the shortcode 537252. SMS Format for querying the results:
KEAM<space>registration number

3.SSLC (10th Standard) Results 2010/2011 on Mobile

SMS Format: SSLC<space>Registration Number

4. Green Kerala Express – SMS voting
The Ministry of Local Self Government, GoK and Suchitwa Mission initiated the Social Reality  
Show­ ‘Green Kerala Express’ where the Panchayth representatives present their work carried out  
during the last one year and the CITIZENS sending the marks based on the presentation in addition  
to the marks awarded by jury members, to find the best Panchayat in Kerala.

The SMS voting format for the show was:
 GKE<space> Panchayat code<space>Mark

5.Kerala State Film Development Corporation – Mobile Ticket­Reservation

A  Mobile Ticket Reservation Platform was set­up  for KSFDC using SMS services. The service is  
configured and running live at for Kairali/ Sree / Kalabhavan through Shortcode 537252.

The format of sending the SMS is as below.
MBOOK <space> [Location] <space> [Theater] <space> [Showtime] <space> [No. of tickets]  
<space> [Date]
The service is presently live at Kairali/Sree Theatres in Thiruvananthapuram.

6.Kerala Pareeksha Bhavan – File Tracking System
SMS Based file tracking system has been introduced in Kerala Pareeksha Bhavan by KSITM using  
the M­Governance infrastructure. 

The applicant can query the status of the file by messaging to “537252” in the format:
 KPB<space>FS<space>File Number.

7.  Motor Vehicles Department – Information Services

SMS based Information System has been set up for Kerala Motor Vehicles Department. Citizens can 
query information by sending SMS in the prescribed format to shortcode 537252.

Kerala Forest Department – Timber Alerts

SMS based Timber Auction Alerts has been introduced for Kerala Forest Department. 

Citizens who wish to register for timber alerts can subscribe by sending a SMS to 537252 in the  
below format:

TIMBER <space> register <space> district code

8.Kerala Police – Sabarimala Information Alerts/Helpline

An SMS based Helpline and Information System was introduced for the pilgrims to Sabarimala  
during 2010. Sabarimala is a pilgrim center atop nilgiri mountains situated deep in the forest in  
Kerala,   where   there   is   a   heavy   inflow   of   pilgrims   during   November   to   January   .   The   various  
information services provided for the devotees are information on pilgrim queue status, parking  
availability and weather status.

Queue Status
SMS Format: SBML<space>Q

Parking Availability
SMS Format: SBML<space>P

Weather Alerts
SMS Format: SBML<space>W

Sabarimala Helpline Services

•SBML<space>HELP<space> Message 
The   messages   being   sent   under   keyword   HELP   are   automatically   forwarded   to   Kerala   Police 
Control Room for further action.

The information is being provided by the Kerala police from the imputs recived by them from the  
field through CCTV cameras. 
 
 9. Department of Lotteries
537252 CRM has been successfully integrated with the Database Management system of Lotteries  
Department. Lottery results are made available in the shortcode 537252.
SMS Format:   Lottery <space>Draw code<space> Series<space> 6 digit number

10.Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
KSRTC bus timings are also integrated in the M­Governance Service Delivery Platform. Citizen  
who wishes to find the bus timings can pass a message to 537252 in the prescribed format for  
getting the information.
SMS Format : KSRTC<space>Starting Code<space>destination code<space>Time

11.Kerala Water Authority
M­Governance SDP has been successfully integrated with the Billing Platform –ABACUS of Kerala  
Water   Authority.   Details   regarding   water   bill   is   available   in   the   shortcode   537252.Bulk   SMS  
platform is also integrated to provide monthly bill alerts to customers.

Agricultural University
An   Agricultural   Information   Service   is   being   initiated   for   the   farmers   of   Kerala   by   Kerala  
Agricultural University. 
Farmers are asked to register for the service by messaging to 537252 in the format KAU<space>  
Name & Address. Nearly thousands of farmers have registered for the service through this channel.
Regular Agri­related updates on Weather/Pest/Seed/Price is being provided to registered farmers 
through M­Governance Platform.

12.Kerala Shops & Commercial Establishment Workers  Welfare Fund Board
KSITM  has also associated with KS&CEWWFB for  M­Governance Project for delivering major  
information services to Board Members through M­Governance Platform.
•Bulk SMS Platform is integrated to generate the following services:

•Birthday Greetings to Board Members­ Birthday wishes to employees on their birth day.
•Acknowledgement Alerts­ Acknowledgement of receipt of your application.
•Registration Status (Establishment) ­ Registration particulars of establishment.
•Registration Status(Employees)­ Registration particulars of employees
•Subscription Intimation­ Intimation of acceptance of subscription.
•Arrear Status­ Intimation of subscription arrear status to employers.
•Application status­ Intimation to employees regarding the present stage of application.
•Updation Status­ Updated status of employees as per Form No.5 or otherwise.

These are a few services  and how you can avail that – Currently over 30 services are being offred 
to Citizens

15) Audio­Guide for Kerala Tourism
Audio   Guide   Service   is   designed   to   be   a   recorded,   spoken­   commentary   for   the   major   tourist  
locations of Kerala based on IVR,  to help the tourists in having a self­guided tour in the State. 

The service can be tested by calling into the  telephone­number 9048755555
16) MMS Platform for District Administration and Citizens (Citzen Journalism)
Details of MMS Platform

An   MMS   platform  for  District Administration has  been created  as  part  of M­Governance.   The  

District Collector of Trivandrum is provided with an MMS enabled camera mobile phone with white 
listed mobile number. This will enable the citizens to upload photos of wrong parking, midoing etc  
and can be viewed by the officials and action may be taken against the guity and corrupt

List the 5 key challenges faced while implementing the programme/project/initiative

and how they were overcome? 1 2 3 4 5

The initial challenge faced was skepticism on the success of such a novel initiative & its
acceptance by the mass. Besides, this project launched in the state by Kerala State IT Mission
has been a pioneering project & has been the first-of-its-kind project in the country. No other
State Governments have explored this road like Kerala. Being a pioneering model, there was a
great amount of learning acquired by doing. Several options were worked out in order to arrive
at most effective and efficient model.
In implementing the m-governance project, one of the most important challenges that was
faced was lack of a computerized database in various Government Departments. Database, if
available was not fully / partially updated. This required manual data entry for which plenty of
time was expended. Coupled with this was the mindset change that was required for
successfully implementing the project. To achieve this, several sensitization and confidence
building sessions were conducted.

Another challenge was in institutionalising the new reforms susggested as part of

operationalising the m-gov project. A detailed workflow diagram was designed and the nodel
officers were selected and traning was imparted on how to ensure the data provided through
the M-gov SDP are current and accurate.

Another challenge that was faced is in popularising the services and the SMS formats, this was
done by way of cross marketing and printing flyers and brochures

List the 5 points how can the programme serve as a model that can be replicated or adapted by
others? 1 2 3 4 5

The Mobile Service Delivery Platform helps the departments who have already established
backend computerisation and are e-ready to deliver services online to citizens to provide the
same services in the wireless world viz., mobiles as well, with minimal effort.

Since the entire stack is on a Open source stack the TCO is very less and it makes it attractive
and adoptable by other States and even developing countries.
 To bridge the digital divide, there are a number of ways in which mobile phones can be
used to offer Government services. M-Governance or Mobile-Governance involves the
utilization of all kinds of wireless and mobile technology services, applications and devices
for Governance.

The success story of M-Governance at Kerala is a classic example for the concept of digital
reach as it has innovatively leveraged on the high tele-density and notably high mobile
penetration including rural areas. The project has focused on all sectors & classes of
people trying to offer the valuable services via a reachable medium that is much cheaper &
easier to access than the internet. The initiatives are highly useful to both public & also the
Government in terms of reaching to them by disseminating information through the M-way
offering true digital access.

Kerala pioneering M-Governance & having paved the pathway for other states to follow suit,
has ambitious goals to achieve in this stream after & having seen instant success, the
Government is keen to extensively use M-Governance for the benefit of the public. Going
forward, the M-Governance at Kerala being a trend-setter, has defined high standards that
the M-Governance arena in rest of the states shall benchmark against Kerala’s
achievements in their pursuit of successful governance.

List 5 points to elaborate on the scalabilty of the programme/project/initiative 1 2 3 4

5

The design of the MSDP is based on Open API’s and the same offered to public c can
generate large number of applications in the public domain and are highly scalable. Another
salient feature of this architecture is that Governments do not want to set-up its own
communication Datacenters and networks, it piggy bag on the robust infrastructure that has
been put in place and maintained by the Mobile Service Providers. The Services are also
Open access and is not tied up with a single operator, Government owns the contents
moderates the content and its accessible from all the Networks in Kerala, thus ensuring open
access.

This project has been deemed as a prestigious flagship accomplishment of the state in the e-
Governance front & is a comprehensive Mobile Governance project aimed at m-enabling 90
Government departments and “m-powering” the people.

e-Governance was looked at as a boon for fast, convenient & reliable channel for delivery of
Government services due to the warm welcome the spread of internet across the nation
received. It promised assured benefits that Government of India invested about 9-10 billion in
the National e-Governance plan (NeGP). However the trend gradually saw a transition as the
 acceptance levels & reach of mobile services went through a whooping growth.

The layman / under-privileged citizen can easily afford a mobile handset, while the “Chota-
recharge” concept sold hotter than hot cake. Affordability & simple to use were the key drivers
for the success of mobile services among the citizens of India, especially rural. Our citizens
went to even invent conventions of communication via mobile such as “Missed calls” where 1
such call would mean “Reached safe”, 2 would mean “Call me” & three would mean
“Acknowledged” etc. Such is the proliferating growth rate that mobile services in India saw in
the past decade.

The density of Internet penetration in our country is just around 5% clearly indicating that rural
reach shall be a far-off dream. Contrastingly, yet surprisingly, the mobile users merely in rural
India attribute to over a 100 million & this figure is fast skyrocketing!

Cost-wise too, mobile services beat the e-services hands down. It is several times costly in
setting up, running, maintaining & troubleshooting of Internet connections, devices and
accessories, than its rival’s armory. To offer a service via internet a dedicated internet
connection, a compatible computer, modem & electricity are required. However for offering a
service through mobile, all that is required is a mobile phone & a subscription, which is higly
affordable to the rural part of the nation too. 

1 a) Keywords with hit­count in 6 and 7 digits

1b) Keywords with hit count in 4 and 5 digits
1c) Keywords with hit­count in 3 digits

1d) Keywords with hit­count in 2 digits
 1) The usage­statistics of Mobile­Terminated (MT) SMS services from Jan 2010 to April 2011, 
organized on the basis of Departments that pushed the SMSs.   (Department name on X­axis 
and SMS count on Y­axis) 

2 a)
2 b)

2c) 

2d)
 The exam-results were made available through the short-code 537252. Candidates could
send SMS their registration-number to 537252 and get the result as response to their mobile-
phone. In the graph below, the time in hours on the result-day has been captured in the X-
axis and the number of SMS-hits have been captured in the Y-axis.

Graph 9: SMS requests for HSE results 2011

It is observed from the graph that the number of hits increased drastically around the 14th hour,
when the number 527252 was being scrolled in Television channels. The number of hits increased
from close to 10,000 in an hour to 1,00,000 in just 2 hours.