Tag Archives: bangalore

DigiLocker as the Govt’s “Khata” app: Bangalore’s land records pilot project is path-breaking!

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India’s technology ecosystem has been rife with excitement about “Khata” apps. We have a bevy of new age, funded tech startups building “khata” applications – these are simple accounting, book-keeping or transaction recording systems for India’s 65 million SMEs, kirana shops etc to replace the paper chits/slips (or “khatas”) that shopkeepers tuck under their counter seats to record customer ledgers.

In the government ecosystem, the term “khata” (while having similar connotations) takes on a different but far more important use case – land records. It has been a practice to issue “paper khata certificates” as proof of land ownership in diff parts of the country by the respective state/municipal govts (since land is a state subject). As one might imagine, this is at the root of much of the forgery, corruption, trickery, malpractices (remember Khosla ka Ghosla??) that happens with land and real estate in the country. While baseline digitization of land/property records has been undertaken at many places (see this example from the Jharkhand state govt), the “paper khata” is clearly one of the weakest links in the chain.

In a path-breaking digitization project, the Bangalore Municipal Corporation (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike BBMP) is scrapping the paper khata issuing system and instead issuing its digital versions into DigiLocker! The erstwhile paper khatas have been declared null & void, and its digitally signed electronic equivalents containing “46 kinds of information, including photo of the property, photo of the owner, property identity number (PID), apart from registration information” will be made available in the citizens’ DigiLocker accounts. The project is currently being piloted in 3 wards of Bangalore, but will be extended to all 100 wards eventually in a phased manner. Details of the project (christened e-Aasthi) are available in these newspaper reports.
khata bangalore land records
From a DigiLocker standpoint as well, this is a break-through development. Here’s why – DigiLocker has enabled digitization and citizen access of over 4 billion records spanning tax (PAN), transport (DL/RC), identity (eAadhaar), education (school/college/univ certificates & degrees) et al, but land/property records have largely been a non-mover. Some states have previously issued property related leave & license agreements, sale deeds etc. but that’s few and far between. In general, enabling property/land records digitization and subsequent citizen access has been a REALLY tough nut to crack. If this Bangalore project succeeds and citizens get ready, on-demand mobile access to their (digitally signed from source!) authentic property ownership records, that’s a giant leap forward! Undoubtedly other states will follow soon and these “paper khata certificates” can be a thing of the past.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed to see how this unfolds!

Proto’s next edition is around the corner… and this time it’s in Bangalore

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Proto’s fifth edition is happening in Bangalore on the 23-23th of January. The venue is the Nimhans Convention Center and the two days event is packed with action all around – besides the startup showcase that is slated for the second day, the first day is likely to feature a medley of startup/entrepreneurship focused activities … the final agenda is expected shortly, but this is a quick preview of what to expect.

Shotgun Startups – Teams compete with each other to build a product in 24 hours, and get them voted by the audience at Proto.in, with one emerging as the winner.

Pitchcamp – A workshop for startups to help them sculpt their pitch that will sell every time.

Innovation Jam – A chance for the entire audience to participate in chipping with their own ideas.

Proto.in Conversations – Listen from fellow entrepreneurs about their experiences… everything from funding to hiring.

Startup Job board – Hiring 2.0… grafiti style… If you are a startup and looking for people, put up a post. If you are a professional and looking for a job in an exciting startup, take a card and give them a call.

This sounds like fun… lots of activities to get involved in. Whether you are one of the few chosen startups that will be presenting on stage, or just an average avid tech enthusiast, there’s something for everyone.

Something to note: This is the first time the event is happening in Bangalore, undoubtedly India’s biggest IT/Technology hub. That factor should make it bigger and grander than previous editions. When an event of this nature happens in a city, it gives a push to local companies, who stand to benefit most from the enhanced exposure.

Of the four previous editions, I have attended three (having missed the Jan 08 event in Chennai). I will be at Bangalore for sure- its too good an opportunity to miss. See you there.