The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (C&AG) Audit Report No. CA 23 of 2009-10 – Information Technology Applications in Public Sector Undertakings (Compliance Audit) was tabled in the Parliament today i.e., 9th July, 2009.
Report No. CA 23 of 2009-10 contains results of Information Technology Audit of different IT applications used in various areas of activity in nine Public Sector undertakings (PSUs) under five Ministries.
Some common deficiencies noted in audit were incorrect mapping of business rules, the business continuity plans, disaster recovery plans and IT security policy were either not in place and where formulated were deficient, weaknesses in input controls and validation checks did not ensure completeness, reliability and integrity of data.
The Information Technology Audit of various software programmes revealed the following weaknesses/deficiencies:
The Frequent Flyer Programme of National Aviation Company of India Limited is a customer loyalty reward programme. The IT audit revealed deficient input controls resulting in issuance of award tickets even when adequate mileage points were not available at credit of members. The system had deficient information security controls due to which confidentiality, integrity and availability of information could be compromised.
Coal India Limited (CIL) decided to implement computer network project ‘CoalNet’ for data sharing between the Ministry of Coal, CIL and its subsidiaries. The CoalNet project was not implemented completely in any of the subsidiary companies even after seven years due to non standardisation of the business process. Absence of standard back up procedure made the data unsafe against disasters. Lack of adequate training on CoalNet and non-availability of user manuals also indicated the absence of business continuity plan. The implementation of CoalNet remained unsatisfactory despite an investment of Rs.39.58 crore.
Bharat Electronics Limited introduced SAP in October 2006 in Bangalore Complex and subsequently in other units. Acquisition and implementation of SAP, utilisation of Production Planning and Material Management modules of SAP at Bangalore Complex were reviewed. The savings projected by implementation of SAP towards inventory carrying cost, cost of goods sold and reduction in sundry debtors by the Company did not materialise. Failure to design the required controls in the system, inappropriate customisation etc., during data migration resulted in non-utilisation of the SAP system to its full potential and as a result the integrity and accuracy of the data could not be ensured. Consequently the Company still depended on the legacy system and resorted to manual interventions.
Biecco Lawrie Limited undertook computerisation without formulating an IT policy and developed several modules. The deficiencies in system design like non-integration of different modules with finance modules and non-enforcement of data integrity resulted in manual intervention at each stage which rendered the system vulnerable to the risk of incorrect generation of data. In view of such deficiencies, the Company could not achieve the complete benefits of computerisation.
A review of RAMCO e-Application system in Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited revealed control weaknesses such as users IDs were not linked with employee ID and employee wise entry details (IN entries) did not match with exit details (OUT entries) which defeated the primary objective of access control. Non-integration of the RAMCO e Applications system among various units resulted in manual intervention and led to risk of data entry errors. Non-provision of maintaining history of changes in the system resulted in lack of audit trails.
GAIL (India) Ltd. switched over to SAP ERP system in August 2005. Review of the Financial Accounting module and e-Security issues for the period August 2005 to September 2008 revealed lacking input controls, validation checks and supervisory controls leading to unreliable database. Inadequate customisation of system led to incomplete or incorrect data. Non-rationalised user roles and authorisations to critical combinations and sensitive transactions posed the risk of misuse and manipulation.
Audit reviewed the implementation and customisation of Material Management module of Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The review revealed deficiencies in the input controls and validation checks which ran the risk of unreliable data entering into the system. Some features of the system were not adequately customised.
Human Resource module of the SAP system of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited was not customised for manpower planning activities, determination of staffing needs, selection of personnel for various postings based on pre-defined criteria. Lack of input controls in the system also resulted in feeding of erroneous and incomplete data affecting integrity of data maintained.
Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) of Steel Authority of India Limited computerised the Invoicing System which comprised of a ‘File Server System’ using Oracle9i developed in house. It was seen that there were multiple data entries of the same source data which delayed the preparation of invoices. There were inadequate physical access controls, as well as environment controls which rendered the System and data unsafe against un-authorised access, as well as fire hazards.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Representation of women members on Selection Committees/Boards Mandatory
Government has initiated steps to ensure better representation of women members on various Committees/ Boards concerned with the selection to posts in Central Government and also to monitor the trend in recruitment of women. Accordingly, DoPT has written to the secretaries of all Ministries/Departments of GoI, UPSC and SSC to instruct all appointing authorities to scrupulously observe the following guidelines:-
(i) The composition of selection Committees should be representative. It should be mandatory to have one woman member in the Selection Boards/ Committees for making recruitment to• ten (10) or more vacancies and lady candidates are expected to be available for the service / Post.
(ii) Where the number of vacancies against which selection is to be made is less than 10, no efforts should be spared in finding a lady officer for inclusion in such Committees / Boards.
(iii) In the event of such an officer not being available in the Ministry / Department itself, there is no objection to nominating lady officer from any other office at the same station.
(iv) Wide Publicity should be given to all appointments in Government, Advertisements should be issued in the language (s) spoken by large number of people of the State/UTs, apart from English and Hindi.
Earlier, the Govt had issued such guidelines for various Committees/Boards concerned with selection to Group C&D posts only.
Further, for Group'C' level Posts, having only basic qualifying requirements, information about vacancies for recruitment should also be disseminated through schools and colleges in that area, in addition to normal channels.
With a view to monitoring the trend in recruitment of women, all Ministries/ Departments are requested to submit a consolidated report including attached/ subordinate offices on the total number of posts and employees group- wise and gender wise as on 31.03.2009 latest by 31.08.2009. The consolidated annual position as on 31st March of every year may also be furnished thereafter by 30th May of that year.
(i) The composition of selection Committees should be representative. It should be mandatory to have one woman member in the Selection Boards/ Committees for making recruitment to• ten (10) or more vacancies and lady candidates are expected to be available for the service / Post.
(ii) Where the number of vacancies against which selection is to be made is less than 10, no efforts should be spared in finding a lady officer for inclusion in such Committees / Boards.
(iii) In the event of such an officer not being available in the Ministry / Department itself, there is no objection to nominating lady officer from any other office at the same station.
(iv) Wide Publicity should be given to all appointments in Government, Advertisements should be issued in the language (s) spoken by large number of people of the State/UTs, apart from English and Hindi.
Earlier, the Govt had issued such guidelines for various Committees/Boards concerned with selection to Group C&D posts only.
Further, for Group'C' level Posts, having only basic qualifying requirements, information about vacancies for recruitment should also be disseminated through schools and colleges in that area, in addition to normal channels.
With a view to monitoring the trend in recruitment of women, all Ministries/ Departments are requested to submit a consolidated report including attached/ subordinate offices on the total number of posts and employees group- wise and gender wise as on 31.03.2009 latest by 31.08.2009. The consolidated annual position as on 31st March of every year may also be furnished thereafter by 30th May of that year.
All Central Ministries/Departments asked to redress public grievances within two months
The total number of cases of public grievance received in the Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat and Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances is 109620, 101995, 124052 and 52933 during the years 2006,2007, 2008 and 2009 (upto 30.6.2009) respectively.
Out of the above figures 28489, 29591, 37879 and 18267 were respectively forwarded during these years to various Ministries and Departments for appropriate action. Directions have already been issued to all Ministries/Departments to redress grievances of the citizens within a period of two months. Redress of grievance is primarily the responsibility of the concerned Ministries/Departments/organizations. However, overall status is reviewed periodically. With the introduction of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), citizen can view the status of his complaint on the web.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Out of the above figures 28489, 29591, 37879 and 18267 were respectively forwarded during these years to various Ministries and Departments for appropriate action. Directions have already been issued to all Ministries/Departments to redress grievances of the citizens within a period of two months. Redress of grievance is primarily the responsibility of the concerned Ministries/Departments/organizations. However, overall status is reviewed periodically. With the introduction of a Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), citizen can view the status of his complaint on the web.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Central government's steps to eradicate corruption
The Government is fully committed to implement its policy of "Zero Tolerance against Corruption¨ and is moving progressively to eradicate corruption from all spheres of life by improving transparency & accountability. Several steps have been taken to combat corruption and to improve the functioning of Government. These includes:
„ Issue of Whistle Blowers Resolution, 2004;
„ Enactment of Right to Information Act, 2005;
„ The pro-active involvement of Ministry/Department through Annual Action Plan on Vigilance as a preventive measures;
„ Issues of comprehensive instructions on transparency in tendering & contracting process by the CVC;
„ Instructions issued by the CVC advising the organizations to adopt integrity pact in major Government procurement activities;
„ India is amongst the countries who have signed the United National convention against Corruption;
„ Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedures and systems; and
„ Issue of Citizen Charters.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
„ Issue of Whistle Blowers Resolution, 2004;
„ Enactment of Right to Information Act, 2005;
„ The pro-active involvement of Ministry/Department through Annual Action Plan on Vigilance as a preventive measures;
„ Issues of comprehensive instructions on transparency in tendering & contracting process by the CVC;
„ Instructions issued by the CVC advising the organizations to adopt integrity pact in major Government procurement activities;
„ India is amongst the countries who have signed the United National convention against Corruption;
„ Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedures and systems; and
„ Issue of Citizen Charters.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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