The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Govt call centre to give out information

THE State Government is in the process of setting up a call centre to provide the public with general information on the State Government and its various departments, rules, procedures and so on. The call centre, to be located in Thiruvananthapuram, will be operated by the Kerala State Information Technology Mission.

The idea is to develop the call centre into a single source of information "on the Government and how to access Government," Ms Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Information Technology, told Business Line.

However, the call centre will not function as a mechanism to redress public grievances, she emphasised.

This facility will provide the public with detailed information on the functions of various Government departments, details of various procedures to be followed while interacting with the Government and so on.

"For example, if someone wants to know how to get a licence, the call centre will give him that information," she added.

The centre, which is expected to be operational by the middle of June, will respond to queries in both Malayalam and English, said Ms Sundararajan.

During the initial phase of the project, the call centre will work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and can be accessed from anywhere in Kerala at the cost of a local call, she added.

Staff for the call centre will be drawn from different Government departments and will work in two shifts. The call centre's staff will be put through a special training programme that is scheduled to begin next week, said Ms Sundararajan.

While developing the database to be used by the call centre, the IT Mission has taken special care to include only those subjects that are likely to interest the public, she said.

In fact, the IT Mission had recently invited suggestions from the public on the areas the call centre should cover. Around 600 responses were received from members of the public, and many of these suggestions have been used while designing the database, she added.