Useful government apps that you must know about

In a bid to give push to Digital India initiative, the BJP-led government at the Centre has come up with several apps that would make access to government services easier. These apps not only help people stay connected to the government and get the latest information, they also let them take part in its initiatives.

Here are some the government apps about which you must know:

From helping budding entrepreneurs to locating police stations

Indian Police At Your Call App

The Indian Police at Your Call App is a GIS Map based interface for the citizens to locate police stations near to their current location so that they can easily "reach" the police station in case of emergency. The App displays the current location of the citizen on the Map along with details such as name of places, roads and major landmarks. The App dynamically fetches details of all the police stations near the location of the citizen and can be refreshed at regular intervals.

E-pathshala app

The digital India campaign has promoted extensive use of ICTs in the teaching learning process. The ePathshala, a joint initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been developed for showcasing and disseminating all educational e-resources including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals, and a variety of other digital resources. The ePathshala Mobile app is designed to achieve the SDG Goal no. 4 as well i.e. equitable, quality, inclusive education and lifelong learning for all and bridging the digital divide.

m-parivahan app

Provides Transport Service access to citizens through a mobile based application. This app empowers citizen with instant access to various information, services and utilities related to the Transport Sector. Aimed to bring convenience to citizen and transparency in the system.

Startup India app

Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and Startups in the country that will drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities. The Government throughthis initiative aims to empower Startups to grow through innovation and design.

A major push for Digital India

Digisevak app

DigiSevak is an online volunteering platform for interested citizens who want to contribute to the cause of India. Various government departments and institutions can create tasks and volunteers can show interest for the tasks based on their skills and interest . The platform provides means for end-to-end execution of a volunteering task- right from the registration of volunteers, to the creation and evaluation of tasks submitted by volunteers.

DigiSevak has an inbuilt reward and recognition system to acknowledge the work of volunteers who are regular and committed to the cause of volunteering or 'seva'.

Umang app:

UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is envisaged to make e-governance 'mobile first'. It is developed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and National e-Governance Division (NeGD).

It is an evolving platform designed for citizens of India to offer them access to the pan-India e-Gov services from the Central, State, Local Bodies, and Agencies of government on app, web, SMS, and IVR channels. It brings together all government departments and their services on a single platform to provide better and easier services to citizens.

Incredible India app

Incredible India App is a innovative project of Ministry of Tourism to assist the international and domestic tourist to access information about Ministry of Tourism recognized tourism service providers namely approved Inbound Tour Operator, Travel Agents, Domestic Tour Operator, Adventure Tour Operator, Tourist Tour Operator, classified hotels and approved Regional Level Tourist Guides available in respective cities / Tourist centers. Details of the same will be shared via this application to the tourists on their mobile phones based on their current location. Tourist can also query similar details for any other city he plans to travel to in future. In addition to this the application will provide places of interest .This will help the tourist in seeking services from Government of India recognized service providers and receive quality & reliable services from them.

GST Rate finder app

A simple app to search through the various goods and services and their respective GST Rates and details. Search the entire list or respective categories of taxes for Goods and Services.

Information about government services just a touch away

mPassport

Passport Seva Project, being executed by Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, aims at providing all the Passport-related services to the Indian Citizens in a speedy, convenient and transparent manner. This is one of the largest projects of the Government of India under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) being executed in public-private-partnership mode with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the private partner. The project is already operational and servicing citizens through 77 Passport Seva Kendras across India.

MEA with a view to provide mobile enablement of public services, has launched a Mobile Application ‘mPassport Seva' to offer a wide variety of services to smartphone users such as Passport application status tracking, locating the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and general information on various steps involved in obtaining a Passport.

mAadhaar

mAadhaar is official mobile application developed by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to provide an interface to Aadhaar Number Holders to carry their demographic information viz. Name, Date of Birth, Gender & Address along with photograph as linked with their Aadhaar Number in smart phones. Registered Mobile Number is essential to use mAadhaar app. In case your mobile number is not registered with Aadhaar visit the nearest Enrolment Centre/Mobile Update End Point.

Postinfo app

Postinfo, the citizen centric android Mobile application of Department of Posts developed by Centre for Excellence in Postal Technology .

The app provides the following facilities:

• Tracking
• Post office search
• Postage Calculator
• Insurance premium calculator
• Interest calculator

MyGov app

MyGov is Government of India's innovative citizen engagement platform for direct citizen participation in governance by providing an avenue for channelizing their ideas, comments and creative suggestions to Central Ministries and associated organizations. Citizens can participate in policy formulation and program implementation to usher in an era of direct participatory democracy.

From protecting your phone to making online payment, these apps can come in real handy

Myspeed app

This application allows you to measure your data speed experience and sends the results to TRAI. The application captures and sends coverage, data speed and other network information along with device and location of the tests. The app does not send any personal user information. All results are reported anonymously. While this application gives TRAI details of your data experience, sending a report to TRAI does not constitute a complaint. In case of poor experience, users are requested to register a complaint with their network service providers.

M-Kavach app

Available only for Android devices, the aim of the app is to address threats related to mobile phones. For instnace, one can block spam SMS or unsolicited incoming calls. Through the app one can also address malware threats that try to steal personal data and credentials.

M-Kavach is a comprehensive mobile device security solution for Android devices addressing various threats related to mobile phones. It addresses threats related to misuse of resources such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Camera and Mobile Data
by preventing unauthorized access to these resources and protects against JavaScript Malware. Users can restrict the access to critical applications like mobile wallets, social media apps etc and also block unwanted Calls and SMS. It also helps the users in tracking SIM changes on the device in case of device loss/theft and provides an option to remotely wipe Contacts/Call-Logs and Factory Reset the device. This app uses the Device Administrator permission for performing factory reset operation in case of device loss/theft.

Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan app

Swachh Bharat Mission is a mass movement for cleanliness launched on 2nd October 2014 by the Prime Minister of India. The Swachhta Abhiyan has turned into a National Movement with citizens now becoming active participants in cleanliness activities across the nation. The dream of a ‘Clean India' once seen by Mahatma Gandhi is being realized with millions of people across the country joining the cleanliness initiatives of the government departments, NGOs and local community centres to make India clean as a part of this ‘Jan Andolan'.

BHIM app

Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is an initiative to enable fast, secure, reliable cashless payments through your mobile phone. BHIM is interoperable with other Unified Payment Interface (UPI) applications, & bank accounts for quick money transfers online. BHIM is developed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) as a part of the Digital India initiative. BHIM is made in India and dedicated to the service of the nation.

Booking train ticket becomes easy

IRCTC Rail Connect app

One of the most popular app by the government, IRCTC enables online booking of rail tickets. It comes integrated with an IRCTC e-wallet for faster and easier transactions. Now users can view, cancel or file TDR of e-tickets booked through official website (www.irctc.co.in) and vice-versa. Users can view the status of e-tickets booked through our authorized Online Travel Agents (OTA). Users can view and cancel old mobile app tickets also.

Aaykar Setu

An app that's linked to various services of the Income Tax department. Some of the useful features of the app include paying taxes online, applying for PAN online and a tax calculator. There's also a chatbot which answers to queries which taxpayers might have. It also has a game that will help the users to learn about Income Tax by just playing a game. It's a Multiple Choice Question based game to provide knowledge to the users. The game is divided into 4 levels Beginner, Normal, Hard, and Difficult.

Kisan Suvidha App

Kisan Suvidha is an omnibus mobile app developed to help farmers by providing relevant information to them quickly. With click of a button, they can get the information on weather of current day and next 5 days, dealers, market prices, agro advisories, plant protection, IPM Practices etc. Unique features like extreme weather alerts and market prices of commodity in nearest area and the maximum price in state as well as India have been added to empower farmers in the best possible manner.