The Relevance of Implementing Government Kiosks in an Indian Perspective

Government kiosks are nothing but self-service kiosk machines that offer automated services to the public. Government kiosks propel the e-governance initiative of the government. They are deployed by government agencies and departments to make government services more accessible to the citizens.

Both the Central and State governments can leverage the social and economic benefits associated with the deployment of government kiosks. This article elucidates the benefits of deploying self-service kiosks in the government sector, its social implications, pertaining to the Indian scenario.

Now, let us dive in.

Women-friendly self-government kiosks

There is an alarming rise in the number of crimes conducted against women in India. The year 2021 witnessed a 30% increase in the complaints compared to the previous year. And this alarming trend has to be checked by any means.

Visiting a police station to lodge a complaint may not be an ordinary “DIY” task for many women in India. The social stigma and societal pressure may limit women from visiting the nearest police station. A crime which has been reported late is not at all a good sign for any victim.

How about a women-friendly kiosk that would attend those complaints and forward them to the nearest police station?

Just imagine a scenario in which the self-service kiosk carried a “Help” or “Assist” button which could be easily accessed by a woman or child or any individual at the time of emergency. Yes, it is perfectly doable. This action could alert the authorities in a fast and secure manner protecting the identity of the user.

If needed, the police authorities could rush to the location of the user and provide assistance.

The government may install women-friendly kiosk machines at airports, malls, and in busy streets to meet the purpose.

Bill payment kiosk

Self-service kiosk for migrant workers

Migrant workers work and live in almost all Indian states. It’s a known fact that they face diverse issues while they live in other States. Language barrier clubbed with lack of education creates a divide. To add on, lack of communication, dearth of acceptance from the local community, health-related concerns etc make matters worse. Due to this divide, migrant workers are not always well-informed about government services or schemes.

Migrant workers do the work entrusted on them to their fullest potential and earn the respect and appreciation of the employer. They save a good amount of money and send part of their earnings to their families back at home State. And of course, they deserve much reverence.

The feeling of insecurity in the minds of the migrant workers has to be eliminated at any cost. The governments, NGOs, the local community — all have their own roles.

Deploying self-service government kiosks, exclusively for migrant workers, is a feasible option to bridge this divide to some extent. The major benefits are mentioned below.

· Migrant workers can make use of the self-service kiosk machine to access various government services, issue Health cards, Employment card etc.

· Self-service government kiosks serve as an effective platform for the improved inclusion of migrant workers.

· Self-service kiosks break the language barrier as they can be accessed with the mother-tongue language of the user.

· Give important directions related to migrant worker’s rights.

· Create an organized database of migrant workers in every state.

· Introduce Government’s directives, schemes and plans to the workers and their families.

Self-service government kiosk for citizens

Most of us are used to the “custom” of standing in those long lines in a government department.

We pay utility bills like electricity bill, water bill etc at government-managed collection centers. We are so accustomed to this practice that we seldom think about the time and energy wasted standing in queues.

Why not install self-service government kiosks to accept these payments?

Why not incorporate services like “New connection”, “Register Complaint/ Service” on to a full-fledged self-service kiosk?

Yes, governments can integrate all these services via a single kiosk and cut down the expenses involved in the process.

Government kiosk

RTO services via self-government kiosk

Selling a vehicle to another person involves certain formalities. And an ordinary person might feel reluctant to do these formalities via an RTO. In order to pursue the task, the person may have to spend his whole day in the department, or at least, half a day.

It is also possible that the person might have to revisit the department for the same purpose.

If the documents are valid, there is no reason the individual should spend hours to get the job done. Therefore, in most cases, the individual contacts an agent to perform the task.

And of course, the agent does the job with a fee. And within a couple of weeks or in a month, the transfer of ownership takes place.

Therefore, in addition to the government fee involved in the transaction, the individual has to meet the agent-fee too. Evidently, this is a burden on the users. To the best of my knowledge, this is the actual scenario that takes place in most of the occasions. As an Indian citizen, I have experienced the same too!

The benefits of deploying a government kiosk at an RTO are listed below:

· The self-government kiosk lets an individual perform RTO-related transactions like transfer of ownership, driving license issuance, vehicle permit issuance in minimum time.

· The kiosk eliminates 3rd party interventions in the form of agents and therefore regulates the costs involved in pursuing the transactions.

· The kiosk is equipped with an intuitive and interactive interface that allows people of all ages access the services with ease and confidence.

· Brings down the overall time involved in the process.

Tourism kiosks for international tourists

India is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia, thanks to its rich and diverse culture. “Adhithi devo bhava” is the tourism empowerment motto of India. It’s the traditional notion of equating your guests to God and shows deep respect for the guest.

But in the present scenario, are we doing real justice to this highly acclaimed guest-host relationship? It’s debatable.

Let’s consider a very practical scenario in which a tourist visits a remote location and the person has the least idea of the place. Even if it’s a tourist destination, reaching the destination late at night can be troublesome for tourists.

Language barrier can become a serious concern and questions like “whom to ask”, “where to go” can be tricky, unless there are functional “Help desk mechanisms” or Information counters on the streets.

Even if there are Information counters, communication might become a matter of concern. Lack of clarity or faulty communication is a big NO and must be prevented by any means.

Here comes the relevance of a full-fledged Tourism Kiosk solution.

· A Tourism kiosk can manage all the responsibilities pertaining to assisting tourists. These kiosk machines serve as digital maps and can be used to gather real-time data.

· A Tourism Kiosk can serve as a virtual Tourist guide that explains the relevance of the particular tourist spot, like what to visit, the historical importance and so on.

· Ideal for national parks, monuments, places of archeological importance, museums, pilgrimage centers etc.

· In connection with government-operated tours, a full-fledged self-service kiosk can serve as a tour-booking platform. The tour booking kiosk accepts booking without the assistance of a booking agent.

· A tourism kiosk can effectively prevent the involvement of fraudsters who appear as cab drivers. The tourists may contact government-authorized, approved tour agencies that offer pick-up and drop services via the kiosk.

· And of course, tourists get the dedicated assistance 24/7.

Wayfinding solution for both outbound, inbound and local visitors

Wayfinding can be a daunting task, especially, if you are new to a city. Language barrier and communication gap may become huge hindrances here, unless the individual has already performed a detailed homework.

Deploying a wayfinding kiosk solution at important junctions, tourist attractions, shopping destinations can help tourists and new visitors to reach their favorites destinations with ease.

It saves a lot of time and energy.

· The visitor gets an idea regarding the location of the place, direction, how far it is from his current location with a touch on the screen.

· The kiosk, if equipped, can provide both auditory and visual assistance in the form of speech, digital route maps, video clips, images etc.

· The 24/7 accessibility and all-weather use capability of wayfinding kiosk is a boon for the visitors.

Government payments via kiosks

Self-government kiosk serves as an impeccable platform to perform diverse government-related payments. The kiosk accepts both card and cardless transactions. Hence the payment process becomes highly convenient from the user perspective.

The user may perform vital tax-related payments like building-tax and land-tax payments via self-service kiosks. Enter the user details on the kiosk interface. Read through the data and proceed to pay. It is as simple as that.

Citizens can also make use of self-service kiosk to pay fine amounts related to traffic violations, and many other acts of violations that come under law.

Certificate issuance and other services

Users can access self-government kiosk for the issuance of certificates like birth certificate, death certificate, certificates related to public health, education and court.

Check crimes like bribery and other unethical practices

Kiosk transactions are secured digital transactions and are fully transparent. Kiosks eliminate person-to-person transactions. Hence, corruption in the government sector can be checked to a good extent.

Any individual can even file a private compliant via the kiosk machine, if the person’s request is not accepted without specific reasons or sufficient explanations.

Take e-governance to the next level

Kiosk machines serve as a catalyst in the e-governance drive of the government.

Remote geographical locations and villages may not have adequate technology infrastructure for ordinary people to access government website via computers or laptops.

Inadequate IT literacy can also prevent people from using government websites at their homes.

With adequate training assistance, self-learning and local community support, even the ordinary folks can avail the services offered by self-service kiosks.

self-service government kiosk

The most evident benefits are listed below.

· Kiosk machines eliminate language barriers. Users may access the machine in their preferred language.

· Brings transparency and prevents fraudulent transactions.

· Improved e-governance awareness to the people as the kiosk machines are installed at public places.

· Service integration with multiple departments.

· Lack of Internet service at private homes will not hinder e-governance as citizens can access self-service kiosks.

· The public can make use of the kiosk services anytime, anywhere and free of cost. Even the economically backward people can access and perform transactions via automated self-service kiosks.

The public deserves fast, efficient and transparent services from the part of the government agencies and departments. It’s the ultimate right of every law-abiding, tax-paying citizen. Let’s work together to bring about the most vital CHANGE through automation and technological advancements. As a technology solutions provider Panashi FZCO is immensely excited to be part of this change.