Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
1. Overview
Information on the E-District Sewa document database for the state of Punjab was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to IndiaFilings, a "cloud-based business service platform" that helps navigate legal, tax, and regulatory systems in India (IndiaFilings n.d.a), the Punjab EDistrict Sewa is an online portal developed and provided by the State Government of Punjab to assist citizens through e-district administration (IndiaFilings n.d.b). A 2012 article in the Government of India's publication Yojana written by the Joint Secretary for the Department of Electronics and Information Technology notes that under the National eGovernance Plan (NeGP), the E-District project was to be implemented by all states (India Sept. 2012, 52–53). IndiaFilings states that the features of the Punjab E-District Sewa database include the following:
- "faster processing of public cases/ appeals/ grievances"
- "online payment, service request, approval of services and service delivery"
- "facilitates various online service request[s] with multiple departments"
- "provides [the] latest and accurate information related to the functions and services provided by the Government of Punjab"
- enables "easy and convenient services to the citizens through remote access primarily through Common Service Centres/ Public Facilitation Centres" (IndiaFilings n.d.b).
The same source also notes that to register, individuals enter their "personal information, user id, password, and security questions" in the "user registration" part of the website and proceed to log in to apply for their required services, upload necessary documents and make the required payments (IndiaFilings n.d.b). IndiaFilings also notes that the website provides the ability to track the status of applications (IndiaFilings n.d.b).
The following chart from the E-District Sewa website lists the available services and their department:
| Sr. No. | Department | Service Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Personnel | Issuance of Residence Certificate |
| 2 | Department of Welfare of SCs and BCs/Department of Social welfare | Application for Caste Certificate SC/BC |
| 3 | Department of Social Security and Women and Child Development | Old Age Pension |
| 4 | Financial Assistance to Dependent Children under 21 years of age | |
| 5 | Financial Assistance to Disabled Persons | |
| 6 | Financial Assistance Scheme to Widow and Destitute Women below 58 years | |
| 7 | Senior Citizen Identity Card | |
| 8 | Department of Rural Development and Panchayats | Rural Area Certificate |
| 9 | Department of Revenue | Countersigning of Documents |
| 10 | Attestation of Documents | |
| 11 | Copying of Documents | |
| 12 | Revenue Court Case | |
| 13 | Government Dues & Recovery | |
| 14 | Department of Home Affairs and Justice | Issuance of Marriageability Certificate (Under The Special Marriage Act 1954) |
| 15 | Solemnization of Marriage (Under The Special Marriage Act 1954) | |
| 16 | Registration of Marriage Under The Punjab Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act 2012 | |
| 17 | Registration of Marriage under [S]pecial Marriage [A]ct | |
| 18 | Issuance of New Arms License | |
| 19 | Renewal of Arms License | |
| 20 | Issuance of Duplicate Arms License | |
| 21 | Cancellation of License | |
| 22 | Entry of Weapon | |
| 23 | Addition/Deletion of Retainer’s entry in Arm's license | |
| 24 | Application of Extension of Jurisdiction | |
| 25 | Addition/Deletion of weapon in Arm's license | |
| 26 | NOC [No Objection Certificate] for Sale of Weapon | |
| 27 | Permission for Deposit of weapon in death case | |
| 28 | Permission for Sale/Transfer of Weapon in Death Case | |
| 29 | Permission to Carry the Weapon | |
| 30 | Extension of Cartridges | |
| 31 | Cancellation of Arms License by [Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)] | |
| 32 | Change of address | |
| 33 | Change of Bore | |
| 34 | Department of Health and Family Welfare | Issuance of Birth/Death Certificate |
| 35 | Addition of Name of Child in Birth certificates | |
| 36 | Correction in Birth/Death Certificate | |
| 37 | Delayed registration of Birth/ Death certificates | |
| 38 | Department of Agriculture | Issuance and renewal of license for sale of seeds/fertilizers/insecticides |
| 39 | Addition of Godown in seeds/fertilizers licenses | |
| 40 | Issuance of Duplicate agricultural license of seeds/fertilizers/insecticides | |
| 41 | Addition/Deletion of item in license for Seeds/fertilizers/insecticides | |
| 42 | Department of Governance Reforms | Right to Information Act (RTI) |
| 43 | Department of Grievance and Welfare of Pensioners | Grievance Redressal system |
(Punjab n.d.)
2. Reliability of Information Provided, Period Covered, and Creation and Maintenance
Information on the reliability of the information provided by the E-District Sewa portal for the State of Punjab, the period covered, and how it is created and maintained could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
India. September 2012. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. "National e-Governance Plan: Vision, Challenges and the Way Forward." Yojana. By Rajendra Kumar. [Accessed 4 Jan. 2022]
IndiaFilings. N.d.a. "About IndiaFilings." [Accessed 20 Dec. 2021]
IndiaFilings. N.d.b. "Punjab e-District Sewa Portal." [Accessed 31 Dec. 2021]
Punjab. N.d. E-District Sewa. "List of Services." [Accessed 31 Dec. 2021]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: advocate of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana; Asian Legal Resource Centre; assistant professor at a law school in Punjab; associate professor of administrative law at a university in Punjab; Ensaaf; Lawyers Collective; Lawyers for Human Rights International; lawyer in Punjab who worked for the Government of Haryana; Punjab – Department of Governance Reforms, Punjab Police; Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association; Socio-Legal Information Centre – Human Rights Law Network; Voices for Freedom.
Internet sites, including: Australia – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Belgium – Commissariat général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides; ecoi.net; EU – European Asylum Support Office; Fédération internationale pour les droits humains; Freedom House; Germany – Federal Office for Migration and Refugees; Socio-Legal Information Centre – Human Rights Law Network; India – Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; International Center for Not-for-Profit Law; Legal Service India; Norway – Landinfo; Punjab & Haryana High Court Bar Association; Transparency International India; UK – Home Office; UN – Refworld, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; US – Department of State.
