News

Kiosks in India bring citizens closer to government

July 17, 2003

CHENNAI, India -- Touchscreen computer kiosks are being used in villages in Tamil Nadu to let the public interface with government.

Recording land revenue to help settle land disputes is the first goal of the project. Eventually, birth and death certificates and other vital statistics will be available from the kiosks. The public will insert coins into the kiosk and be able to see their "patta," or record of rights. They can also print documents, according to a news report on CIOL, an Indian news portal.

Revenue land records in all the 206 taluks of Tamil Nadu will go online by the end of this fiscal year, The government of India is funding the computerization of land records, the article said.

NIC has developed the land records application software. The kiosks also contain Star Office software.