Tamil Nadu is a state in southern India with more than 80 million residents, about the same population as Germany. When the coronavirus pandemic struck earlier this year, the state faced enormous challenges, ranging from answering citizens’ questions about COVID-19 to identifying people who needed urgent care. As rules around the nationwide lockdown were gradually relaxed, Tamil Nadu also needed to ensure that information was communicated to those who needed it.
Santosh Misra, CEO of the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA), was tasked with developing and driving technology-related initiatives to tackle these problems and more for Tamil Nadu. In this interview, he speaks with Wharton marketing professor Raghuram Iyengar, faculty director of Wharton Customer Analytics, about the role that TNeGA played in e-governance for the state and the initiatives the agency deployed to contain the crisis.
Raghuram Iyengar: Thank you for taking the time during the crisis for this interview. Can you give our readers a brief description of your background?
Santosh Misra: I would describe myself as a public policy specialist working in emerging technologies for improved governance and service delivery to citizens. I have a strong technology background with more than 20 years of experience in information technology and public policy. I have a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
After working for a few years at Bell Labs, I decided to apply for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), India’s premier civil service. It was a highly unusual career shift from the cutting edge of technological environs of Bell Labs to the deep rural hinterlands of India. It was also not an easy decision to leave a well settled (financially as well as professionally) career. But I was convinced that I wanted to work at the grass roots level in my country and be connected directly to the people.
Iyengar: What is your current role in the Tamil Nadu state government?
Misra: I am the CEO of the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA). We run the e-Sevai (sevai means “service” in the Tamil language) technology platform to offer some 150 government services (e.g., social security application, land records) to citizens. We manage a network of approximately 12,000 e-Sevai centers spread all over the state, which process more than 10 million individual service requests each year.
.Iyengar: Can you describe the mandate of the e-governance agency and give some examples of what projects the agency has been involved with in the past?
Misra: I lead programs that require a strategic change within the Tamil Nadu government using technology. Some policies that I take pride in having a major role in conceptualizing for the state government are in the areas of artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital identity, and vocational education. Specifically, the Tamil Nadu e-governance Agency has been involved in:
- State-wide blockchain backbone: This would be the largest government-led deployment of blockchain anywhere in the world, with almost the entire population of the state connected through it. The goal is to have the blockchain serve as a privacy protecting, secure and trusted platform for the government to exchange information with citizens.
- Predictive analytics for public services: This project aims to revolutionize the way government services are delivered to citizens. This initiative coupled with a blockchain enabled digital wallet for every citizen will be a game changer for public service delivery.
- AI for good: We have initiated several projects in the areas of education, health care, and agriculture. These involve artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). A few of them are:
- Facial recognition systems in schools for monitoring attendance.
- AI-based pest and disease identification in crops.
- IoT-based monitoring of drinking water supply in rural areas.
Iyengar: Given the current crisis surrounding the coronavirus, how is the e-governance agency involved in dealing with its different aspects?
Misra: The coronavirus crisis came as a big shock especially in terms of its scale and impact. A country of almost 1.3 billion people went under a lockdown. The whole economy came to a grinding halt. The state of Tamil Nadu suffered the same fate. To understand the scale, the state has 80 million people and is home to more than 300,000 small, medium-sized and large enterprises. In addition, the population of migrant workers (from other parts of the country) is about 2 million or so.
When the wheels of the economy stop churning and state borders start getting sealed, it is an enormous challenge to coordinate the unrestricted movement of emergency personnel and essential goods (e.g., pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural products). There is a need for real time information from the field, hospitals, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) helplines and testing labs for policy makers and the public health managers. Live status updates of containment zones, infection trends, heat maps and infection spread are needed as well. Finally, the government also requires a clear line of communication with its citizens.
My agency was responsible for providing most of the technology and the support around data analytics to the government. Our support includes — but is not limited to — a variety of initiatives. We oversee contact tracing and the quarantine management system, hospital infrastructure management, TN ePASS system for movement of people and movement of industrial workers, GIS support for managing containment zones and hot spots, Arogya Setu (a Government of India mobile app for contact tracing) IVRS automated voice calls, and data analytics and data visualization for policy making. I will highlight two of these initiatives to provide some understanding of the impact of our offerings.
Arogya Setu IVRS system:
The Government of India introduced the Arogya Setu (loosely translated as “bridge to health”) app, which is a great tool for answering common queries about the coronavirus. The app allows users to do a self-assessment and determine if she or he needs to be tested for COVID-19. Keeping the diversity of languages in India into account, the app is multilingual. However, its reach is limited to smartphone users. While India has about 1.3 billion mobile phones, only about 30% of these are smart phones. Thus, if we wish to be inclusive, it is critical for us to devise strategies that can accommodate the remaining 70% of non-smart phone users.
Our agency took up the challenge of enhancing the applicability of Arogya Setu. We created an IVRS version of the app. Our project is TNeGA’s first large-scale technology deployment in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu health department, IIT Chennai, Department of Telecom, Government of India and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, the state-owned telecom company. We were involved at every stage of the implementation. We designed the questions and wrote an algorithm to analyze the health condition of an individual based on their response on the IVRS system. Importantly, the system does not require an internet connection and is available in Tamil.
Here is how it works: Anyone can give a missed call to 94999 12345 (i.e., call the number and cancel so there is no charge for the user). Figure 1 shows more information about what the system does.
Figure 1: IVRS Helpline for COVID-19
Figure 2 below demonstrates the system’s call flow. The system calls the people back and asks them to respond to a set of simple questions about their age, health, and travel history. Their responses are analyzed and an infection risk categorization of the caller is done (red, yellow, or green). They are advised to follow standard protocols for isolation if needed and, in cases where there is a high risk of infection (the red category), the local district administration is notified.
We initiated the Arogya Setu IVRS on April 9. So far, we have received more than 150,000 calls. Of these calls, about 600 required immediate attention. The system has been enormously helpful in allocating medical resources to the right set of people.
Figure 2: The call flow for IVRS Arogya Setu
TN ePASS system
The Government of Tamil Nadu, like other state governments in India, declared a state-wide lockdown and prohibited the non-essential movement of people. However, the movement of people providing essential services (e.g., health care, medicines, food etc.) had to keep running and people with personal emergencies also needed to move. To allow for regulated movement of people a system was needed, which would make the process easy and accessible to every citizen.
Our agency developed a unified movement portal called TN ePASS (https://tnepass.tnega.org ) to meet these needs. The Government of Tamil Nadu (following the guidelines of Government of India), partially relaxed the lockdown on May 3 and allowed certain industries to function at limited capacity. The portal was launched on May 2 to start providing passes for movement. People could use any smartphone, tablet, iPad, or laptop to apply for the passes. Those who found it difficult to access the Internet could use an e-Sevai center, which was designated as an ePASS help center.
These centers have been authorized to apply on behalf of people and provide their services free of charge. The ePASS application system is a set of two simple screens and it works with mobile number as login id (OTP-based access). Figure 3 below shows how the ePASS application is submitted.
Figure 3: ePass application process
Here is how it works: The applicants get an SMS-based acknowledgement the moment they apply. Using their mobile number to log in (with a one-time password) on the TN ePASS website, they can see the status of their application. Once the pass is approved, another SMS is sent, and the applicant gets a short URL link to download the pass. The pass can also be downloaded on a laptop or any other internet-connected device, and it can also be obtained from e-Sevai centers. The TN ePass is a QR code enabled, color-coded pass which can be easily verified in the field by the police or other authorized officials for authenticity by using any commonly available QR code scanner apps for smartphones.
We have so far received more than 3.5 million applications for the ePass and successfully processed 3.45 million or so. The feedback for the system has been quite positive as it has helped in relatively seamless flow of emergency personnel.
Iyengar: What are some lessons from the initiatives during this crisis that can help us better prepare when the next crisis comes around?
Misra: For any strategic change to be implemented, it is important to keep the so-called C4s — Communication, Clarity (shared vision) and Champions of Change –- into account. Let me offer the examples of the two initiatives, ePass and Arogya Setu IVRS, to emphasize this point.
Both the ePass and Arogya Setu IVRS required large-scale collaboration across organizations in the private sector, public sector, academia, citizens and the government. Within the government as well, we needed support from different stakeholders – the police department, industries department, public department, and district collectors. For example, the TN ePASS system relied on the police for enforcement; on the industries department to plan phased unlocking of industries; the private sector for developing the highly dynamic platform; district collectors as the approving authority; and, above all, the citizens as users.
In any such complex multi-stakeholder technology initiative, the biggest challenge is that of effective and clear communication. The organizations need to have a shared vision (clarity) and be able to respond to unforeseen situations. The TN ePASS operates in a highly dynamic and constantly changing environment. Every week, a new regulation is introduced, or a new relaxation is announced. Apart from the solution delivery challenge, a significant challenge is being able to effectively communicate any change with all the key stakeholders.
Finally, we encouraged a change champion within each administrative and collaborative unit and provided active support to them to overcome any challenges. We created a WhatsApp group of key officials of each department who needed to respond in case any problems arose and who also gave us feedback from the field. This group helped develop a community of champions of change. That was critical in helping us with all aspects of implementation.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are Santosh Misra’s personal views and they do not represent the views of the Government of Tamil Nadu.)
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3 Comments So Far
Sridhar Samu
I have used the TN ePASS system about 4 times during the lock down and it works extremely well. Very easy to use and it has very fast response times. Well done!
Anumakonda Jagadeesh
In India among all the States it is Kerala which contained COVID – 19 effectively.
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala (which was also the first in all of India) was confirmed in Thrissur on 30 January 2020. The number of active cases initially peaked at 266 on 6 April before declining. For the first time in over 45 days, there were no new cases on 1 May. However, following the return of Keralites from other countries and states, more cases were reported in mid-May, with the biggest single-day spike (195 cases) on 27 June. As of 30 June, there have been 4442 confirmed cases with 2304 (51.87%) recoveries and 24 deaths in the state. Kerala has one of the lowest mortality rate of 0.54% among all states in India. Kerala’s success in containing COVID-19 has been widely praised both nationally and internationally.
Timeline of events
Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in India
Major events in COVID19 pandemic in Kerala
30 January First confirmed case
20 February All positive individuals recovered.
9 March Reported second wave of cases
10 March Shut down all Colleges and Schools
22 March Janta Curfew – Nation wide one day voluntary curfew
23 March Announced statewide lockdown till March 31
24 March 100 confirmed cases
25 March Nationwide lockdown imposed
28 March First death reported
10 April 100 reported recoveries
13 April Reported recoveries surpassed active cases
5 May 500 confirmed cases
20 May 500 Reported recoveries
27 May 1000 confirmed cases
13 June 1000 Reported recoveries
January[
The first positive cases of coronavirus in India were reported from three students of Kerala origin, travelling from the Wuhan province of China, which was the point of origin of the disease. They belonged to Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kasargod districts of Kerala and two of them were medical students at a university in Wuhan. Following the detection of positive cases, the government of Kerala declared a ‘state calamity warning’. Over 3000 contacts of the affected individuals were placed under quarantine, out of which 45 were placed in hospital quarantine.
February
The three positive individuals later recovered from the infection following hospital care. The ‘state calamity’ warning was withdrawn after 4 days, when no further cases were reported. As China was a popular country for students from Kerala to pursue medicine, several medical students got stranded in China when the lock-down due to coronavirus was put into effect. Some of them, who were stranded in airports in China were evacuated and flown into Cochin International Airport and quarantined at isolation wards in Kochi Medical College. However, none of them were later tested positive for the disease.
March
The government of Kerala declared high alert from 4 to 8 February and starting 8 March 2020 due to corona virus cases being reported from the state. Isolation wards with 40 beds were set up in 21 major hospitals of the state and a helpline was activated in every district. As of 9 March, more than 4000 persons are under home or hospital quarantine in Kerala. As of 4 March, 215 health care workers were deployed across Kerala and 3,646 Telephone counseling services were conducted to provide psycho-social support to families of those suspected to be infected. Despite the threat of corona virus infection, the Kerala government decided to go ahead with Attukal pongala, a large, annual, all-women religious congregation in Thiruvananthapuram. The government also urged individuals to refrain themselves from the pongala, take precautions against disease transmission and, if possible, offer pongala at their own homes. The government of Kerala has started a YouTube channel for updating the public regarding the status of corona virus spread in Kerala and precautions to be taken. There are three corona virus testing centers in Kerala : National Institute of Virology Field Unit, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Calicut Medical College.
On 10 March, the Kerala government arranged special isolation wards in prisons across the state. On 10 March, the government of Kerala shut down all colleges and schools up to grade 7. The government also urged people to not undertake pilgrimages, attend large gatherings such as weddings and cinema shows.
Also, the government has launched a mobile application called “GoK Direct” for users to get information and updates regarding the COVID-19 (corona virus) disease. It is an initiative from the Kerala Startup Mission and the Information & Public Relations Department developed by startup Qkopy. The app can also send text message alerts to basic phones (without internet). The app will focus on general announcements, information and updated guidelines for travellers, details about the quarantine protocol and also health and safety tips for visitors to the state.
On 15 March, a new initiative ‘Break the Chain’ was introduced by Government of Kerala.The campaign aims to educate people about the importance of public and personal hygiene. Under this campaign, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government has installed water taps at public spots such as at the entry and exit gates of the railway stations with hand wash bottles.
On 19 March, Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced a stimulus package of Rs 20,000 crore (€2.5 billion; $2.6 billion) to help the state overcome both the COVID-19 epidemic and economic hardship caused by it. This includes Rs. 500 crore for healthcare, Rs 2,000 crore for loans and free rations, Rs 2,000 crore for creating jobs in rural areas, Rs 1,000 crore for families with financial difficulties, and Rs 1,320 crore for paying two months pensions in advance. The government has also ordered salons and workout centers to shut down. This is in order to prevent the virus from spreading via direct contact.
On 22 March, Health minister of Kerala, K. K. Shailaja strongly warned to people to follow the orders from Health department of Kerala. A citizen science initiative, Collective for Open Data Distribution – Keralam (CODD-K), by a group of technologists, academicians, and students advocating open data released first bilingual (Malayalam and English) online dashboard (March 22, 2020) for non-specialists to provide real-time analysis, and daily updates of COVID-19 cases in Kerala by leveraging publicly available data from the daily bulletins published by the department of health services (DHS), Government of Kerala, and various news outlets
On 23 March, Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced a statewide lock-down till 31 March to prevent further spread of Corona virus. This was before the central government declared a nationwide lock-down. Being strictly applied in Kasargod necessary shops like grocery stores were allowed to be opened from 11am till 5pm. And in other districts necessary shops were opened from 7 am till 5 pm with the exception of medical stores. Public transports were shut down. There was no restriction for private vehicles but district to district travels were only allowed with thorough checking.
Break the Chain
The Kerala government has introduced a mass hand washing campaign named break the chain on March 15 to educate people about the importance of public and personal hygiene due to the spread of the novel coronavirus across the state. Health Minister of Kerala, Smt. K. K. Shailaja inaugurated the mass campaign. The government has appealed the public to promote break the chain campaign as a safety measure. During this campaign, the government has installed water taps with hand wash bottles at public spots of the railway stations and other public places.
Quarantine
Kerala is the only state in India that mandates 28 days of home quarantine for those returning from countries affected by coronavirus or red/high risk zones, while the national guidelines for India is 14 days. People who are advised home quarantine are advised to stay at their homes during the 28-day period, and report to healthcare authorities if they show symptoms of coronavirus infection.
Spread of COVID-19 in Kerala as on 30.06.2020
District Contact Import Total cases
Thiruvananthapuram
29 185 214
Kollam
35 307 342
Pathanamthitta
8 281 289
Alappuzha
9 291 300
Kottayam
25 195 220
Idukki
22 87 109
Ernakulam
21 228 249
Thrissur
60 342 402
Palakkad
52 475 527
Malappuram
62 441 503
Kozhikode
18 243 261
Wayanad
22 73 95
Kannur
78 402 480
Kasaragod
83 368 451
Total (all 14 districts) 524 3,918 4,442
Wikipedia
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
Anumakonda Jagadeesh
COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu
If TNeGA played any significant role in e-governance for the state and the initiatives the agency deployed to contain the corona crisis, how is it the number of corona cases recorded were second highest in the country(Next to Maharashtra) ?
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was reported on 7 March 2020. Tamil Nadu has the second highest number of confirmed cases in India after Maharashtra. All 37 districts of the state are affected by the pandemic, with capital district Chennai being the worst affected. More than half of the confirmed cases are from Chennai, which is also the most populous district of the state. The case fatality rate in the state is among the lowest in the country.
As per the Health Department, 88% of the patients are asymptomatic while 84% of deaths were among those with co-morbidities. In June, the state saw a surge in deaths with 209 deaths (36% of the state’s recorded deaths) occurring between 11 and 16 June. The initial surge in cases in the state was due to a cluster linked to a Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation event that took place in Delhi, which caused a spike in early April. Another large local cluster in Koyambedu of Chennai was identified in May. In early June, forecasts based on mathematical models by epidemiologists of the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University projected that Chennai may witness 150,000 infections and up to 1,600 deaths by mid-July at the current rate of growth.
The state government has responded to the outbreak by following a contact-tracing, testing and surveillance model. The state has 85 laboratories approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), capable of conducting tests.The state has been under a lockdown since 25 March which was relaxed to an extent from 4 May onwards. The lockdown was further extended until 30 June with significant relaxations from 1 June. The state has enforced a stricter lockdown in four majorly-affected districts which includes Chennai and its three neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu,Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram from 19 to 30 June.
By district
COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu by district
District Diagnosed cases[a]
Deaths Recovered cases Active cases[b]
Population Cases per M
Tamil Nadu 94,049 1,264 52,926 39,856 75,695,000 1,242 1 July 2020
Ariyalur
463 0 425 38 752,481 615 1 July 2020
Chengalpattu
5,648 94 2,762 2,792 2,556,423 2,209 1 July 2020
Chennai
60,533 929 36,826 22,778 7,088,000 8,540 1 July 2020
Coimbatore
561 1 222 338 3,172,578 177 1 July 2020
Cuddalore
1,081 5 726 350 2,600,880 416 1 July 2020
Dharmapuri
86 0 29 57 1,502,900 57 1 July 2020
Dindigul
507 6 286 215 2,161,367 235 1 July 2020
Erode
176 4 80 92 2,259,608 78 1 July 2020
Kallakurichi
878 2 379 497 548,950 1,599 1 July 2020
Kancheepuram
2,067 23 844 1,200 1,863,174 1,109 1 July 2020
Kanyakumari
401 1 158 242 1,441,829 278 1 July 2020
Karur
145 2 113 30 1,076,588 135 1 July 2020
Krishnagiri
146 2 43 101 1,883,731 78 1 July 2020
Madurai
2,858 39 878 1,941 2,441,038 1,171 1 July 2020
Nagapattinam
263 0 97 166 1,614,069 163 1 July 2020
Namakkal
99 1 87 11 1,721,179 58 30 June 2020
Nilgiris
107 0 33 74 735,071 146 1 July 2020
Perambalur
158 0 152 6 564,511 280 29 June 2020
Pudukkottai
204 4 68 132 1,618,725 126 1 July 2020
Ramanathapuram
952 12 243 697 1,337,560 712 1 July 2020
Ranipet
762 3 462 297 1,210,277 630 1 July 2020
Salem
946 3 288 655 3,480,008 272 1 July 2020
Sivagangai
268 2 86 180 1,341,250 200 1 July 2020
Tenkasi
368 0 182 186 1,407,627 261 1 July 2020
Thanjavur
455 1 227 562 2,302,781 198 1 July 2020
Theni
736 3 171 562 1,143,684 644 1 July 2020
Tirunelveli
830 7 580 243 1,738,376 477 1 July 2020
Tirupattur
186 0 53 133 2,713,858 69 1 July 2020
Tiruppur
188 0 117 71 1,670,608 113 1 July 2020
Tiruvallur
3,978 74 2,504 1,400 1,111,812 3,578 1 July 2020
Tiruvannamalai
1,859 11 875 973 2,471,222 752 1 July 2020
Tiruvarur
468 0 188 280 3,725,697 126 1 July 2020
Tiruchirappalli
701 4 369 328 2,464,875 284 1 July 2020
Thoothukudi
958 4 699 255 1,268,094 755 1 July 2020
Vellore
1,384 4 345 1,035 1,614,242 857 1 July 2020
Villuppuram
944 15 576 353 295,687 3,193 1 July 2020
Virudhunagar
538 7 231 300 1,943,309 277 1 July 2020
As of 1 July 2020
Notes
1. ^ Airport, seaport and railway station quarantine cases not included
2. ^ 2 deaths cross notified to other states. 1 patient died after turning negative for infection.
3. ^ Including Mayiladuthurai district
Tamil Nadu has the 2nd highest No. of cases next only to Maharashtra.
COVID-19 pandemic in India by state and union territory
State/Union Territory Cases[a]
Deaths Recoveries Active
35 / 36 604,641 17,834 359,860 226,947
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
100 0 50 50
Andhra Pradesh
15,252 193 6,988 8,071
Arunachal Pradesh
195 1 66 128
Assam
8,582[b]
12 5,851 2,719
Bihar
10,249 70 7,946 2,233
Chandigarh
446 6 367 73
Chhattisgarh
2,940 14 2,303 623
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
215 0 86 129
Delhi
89,802 2,803 59,992 27,007
Goa
1,387 4 670 713
Gujarat
33,232 1,867 24,030 7,335
Haryana
14,941 240 10,499 4,202
Himachal Pradesh
979 10 614 355
Jammu and Kashmir
7,695 105 4,856 2,734
Jharkhand
2,521 15 1,931 575
Karnataka
16,514 253 8,063 8,198
Kerala
4,593 24[c]
2,439 2,130
Ladakh
990 1 694 295
Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0
Madhya Pradesh
13,861 581 10,655 2,625
Maharashtra
180,298 8,053 93,154 79,091
Manipur
1,260 0 579 681
Meghalaya
52 1 42 9
Mizoram
160 0 123 37
Nagaland
459 0 168 291
Odisha
7,316 25 5,353 1,938
Puducherry
714 12 272 430
Punjab
5,668 149 3,867 1,652
Rajasthan
18,312 421 14,574 3,317
Sikkim
101 0 53 48
Tamil Nadu
94,049 1,264 52,926 39,859
Telangana
17,357 267 8,082 9,008
Tripura
1,396 1 1,093 302
Uttarakhand
2,947 41 2,317 589
Uttar Pradesh
24,056 718 16,629 6,709
West Bengal
19,170 683 12,528 5,959
As of 2 July 2020[36]
Wikipedia
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India