TCS Wins ₹122.6-Crore Bid to Build AI-Enabled Governance Platform for Odisha

Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest IT services company, has secured a ₹122.6-crore contract to deliver the next phase of the Odisha State Workflow Automation System, known as OSWAS 3.0. The award extends TCS's engagement with the Government of Odisha by roughly six years. 

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The new platform will run on TCS DigiBOLT and bring together workflow automation, integration, analytics, security and AI-enabled functions on a single digital foundation. 

What OSWAS has done so far 

OSWAS has moved Odisha's administration from a largely paper-driven way of working to a more transparent and efficient digital process. File movement takes place electronically, sign-offs are carried out online, tracking progress is possible instantly, and files become easier to access. Introduced in 2009, this technology has enabled the process of paper-based record filing and manual tracking to be abandoned and currently operates in more than 4,600 state government offices that serve nearly 50,000 people. 

Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, E&IT Department of the state and Chairman of Odisha Computer Application Centre, has termed OSWAS as the backbone of digitization in the Government of Odisha which helps to create a process of seamless, transparent, and paperless governance in Odisha. OCAC is now developing the next version of OSWAS 3.0 along with TCS. In his assessment, the new platform will make administration simpler by removing friction from routine tasks and will support quicker, better-informed decisions from any location. 

Three phases over 17 years 

Odisha's shift to paperless administration started in 2009, when TCS rolled out OSWAS 1.0 to digitise file processing and official correspondence inside the Odisha Secretariat. In 2018, OSWAS 2.0 refreshed the underlying technology, strengthened the infrastructure and extended the platform to directorates, districts and corporations, taking it across the wider state administration. 

OSWAS 3.0 is the third stage. It will introduce a modern, secure and scalable platform built on a microservices architecture, with AI-enabled capabilities and a mobile-first design. Odia language support and integration with other government systems are intended to make it easier to access and use. 

Sushil Jain, Head of Public Services India at TCS, credits Odisha with being ahead of most states in using technology to make governance more efficient and transparent. OSWAS 3.0, in his view, builds on that base with a more secure, scalable and mobile-first platform that will allow officials to work with greater speed and visibility, reinforce accountability and produce a more connected and responsive administration across the state. =