MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS GOVERNMENT OF INDIA …wbgis.nic.in/GeoAsha/UserManual/GeoAsha.pdf · · 2016-02-05EACS Electronic Access Control System ETL Extraction, ... Project Initiator

MMP - Immigration, Visa and Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking (IVFRT)

Detailed Project Report – (For Restricted View and Access) Page 1

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

E-Governance Mission Mode Project (MMP) in Immigration, Visa and Foreigners

Registration and Tracking

DETAILED PROJECT REPORT

National Institute for Smart Government



Table of Contents

1. Project Background .................................................................................................11

2. Project Objectives and Targeted Outcomes .............................................................13

3. Stakeholders Needs and Expectations ....................................................................15

4. Envisaged Services in the MMP ..............................................................................18

5. Key Observations of the existing IVFRT practice .....................................................24

6. Current IVFRT Initiatives..........................................................................................29

6.1. Current Initiatives underway in Visa .........................................................................29

6.2. Current Initiatives underway in Immigration .............................................................30

6.3. Current Initiative underway in Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking (FRT) ............31

7. Global Benchmarks .................................................................................................32

7.1. Global benchmarks for Visa issuance ......................................................................32

7.1.1 Leading practices for the Security aspect of Visa issuance ..............................32

7.1.2 Leading practices for the Facilitation aspect of Visa issuance ..........................32

7.1.3 Leading practices for the Enablement aspect of Visa issuance ........................33

7.2. Global benchmarks for Immigration .........................................................................33

7.2.1 Leading practices for the Security aspect of Immigration .................................33

7.2.2 Leading practices for the Facilitation aspect of Immigration .............................34

7.2.3 Leading practices for the Enablement aspect of Immigration ...........................34

7.3. Global benchmarks for Foreigner Registration and Tracking ...................................34

7.3.1 Leading practices for the Security aspect of Foreigner Registration and Tracking

34

7.3.2 Leading practices for the Facilitation aspect of Foreigner Registration and

Tracking ........................................................................................................................35

7.3.3 Leading practices for the Enablement aspect of Foreigner Registration and

Tracking ........................................................................................................................35



8. Improvement Areas, Challenges and Root causes ..................................................36

8.1. Improvement areas / challenges of current Visa Issuance .......................................36

8.2. Improvement areas / challenges of current Immigration practice .............................40

8.3. Improvement areas / challenges of current FRT practice .........................................43

9. Solution prioritization ...............................................................................................48

9.1. Visa prioritizations....................................................................................................48

9.2. Potential solution options for Visa ............................................................................49

9.3. Immigration prioritizations ........................................................................................50

9.4. Potential solution options for Immigration ................................................................51

9.5. Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking (FRT) prioritizations .....................................52

9.6. Potential solution options for Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking ........................53

10. Proposed Solution Design .......................................................................................54

10.1. Existing Contextual Architecture ..............................................................................54

10.2. Solution Design Principle and Standards .................................................................54

10.3. Proposed Conceptual services at missions: .............................................................57

10.4. Proposed Logical Services at Missions ....................................................................57

10.5. Proposed Logical Application View for Missions ......................................................58

10.6. Proposed Conceptual Services at Immigration ........................................................59

10.7. Proposed Logical Services at Immigration ...............................................................60

10.8. Proposed Logical Application View for Immigration..................................................61

10.9. Proposed Conceptual Services for Foreigner Registration and Tracking .................61

10.10. Proposed Logical Services for FRT ......................................................................62

10.11. Proposed Logical Application view for FRT ..........................................................63

10.12. Key Solution Components of the proposed IVFRT solution ..................................64

10.13. Proposed IVFRT Solution ....................................................................................67

10.14. Proposed Information Exchange in the IVFRT system .........................................70



10.15. The Ideal IVFRT Solution .....................................................................................74

11. Implementation requirements ..................................................................................76

12. Implementation Strategy and Program Plan.............................................................84

12.1. Implementation Strategy ..........................................................................................84

12.2. Implementation Plan ................................................................................................87

12.3. Complete roll out of solution ....................................................................................90

12.4. Project Governance .................................................................................................92

13. Change Management Strategy ................................................................................94

14. Costing Assumptions ............................................................................................. 109

15. Project Costing ...................................................................................................... 115

15.1. Estimated Total project cost ................................................................................... 115

15.2. Estimated Total Manpower cost ............................................................................. 115

15.3. Estimated Total software costs .............................................................................. 116

15.4. Estimated Total hardware costs ............................................................................. 116

15.5. Estimated Total Biometrics costs ........................................................................... 117

15.6. Estimated Total Operational Expenses .................................................................. 117



List of Tables

Table 1: Security related challenges and their root causes in current visa practice .............38

Table 2: Facilitation related challenges and their root causes in current visa practice .........39

Table 3: Enablement related challenges and their root causes in current visa practice .......39

Table 4: Security related challenges and their root causes in current Immigration practice .42

Table 5: Facilitation related challenges and their root causes in current Immigration practice

............................................................................................................................................43

Table 6: Enablement related challenges and their root causes in current Immigration

practice ...............................................................................................................................43

Table 7: Security related challenges and their root causes in current FRT practice .............46

Table 8: Facilitation related challenges and their root causes in current FRT practice .........46

Table 9: Enablement related challenges and their root causes in current FRT practice .......47

Table 10: Visa Prioritization .................................................................................................49

Table 11: Immigration Prioritization .....................................................................................50

Table 12: Foreigner Registration and Tracking Prioritization ...............................................53

Table 13: Architecture Principles used to design the IVFRT Solution ..................................55

Table 14: Proposed Standards for the IVFRT Solution ........................................................57

Table 15: Proposed Logical Services at Missions ................................................................58

Table 16: Proposed Logical Services at Immigration ...........................................................61

Table 17: Proposed Logical Services at FRT ......................................................................63

Table 18: Proposed Standards and Security Requirements ................................................67

Table 19: Estimated System requirements for MEA and MHA centralised capabilities ........77

Table 20: Estimated EMS requirement for MEA and MHA centralised capabilities ..............78

Table 21: Estimated space projections for APIS, Data Centre and Help Desk provided by

NIC ......................................................................................................................................80

Table 22: Estimated IT requirements at Missions, ICPs, FRROs and FROs ........................81

Table 23: Estimated Networking Requirements for the proposed IVFRT Solution ...............82



Table 24: Total Manpower requirements .............................................................................83

Table 25: Recommended visa process at Missions .............................................................97

Table 26: Proposed People Role and Skill Map at Missions ................................................98

Table 27: Recommended immigration process .................................................................. 101

Table 28: Proposed People Role and Skill Map at Immigration ......................................... 102

Table 29: Recommended FRT Process ............................................................................. 105

Table 30: Proposed People Role and Skill Map at Immigration ......................................... 106

Table 31: Proposed Communication Strategy ................................................................... 107

Table 32: Estimated Total Project cost .............................................................................. 115

Table 33: Estimated Total Manpower cost ......................................................................... 115

Table 34: Estimated Total Software costs ......................................................................... 116

Table 35: Estimated Total Hardware costs ........................................................................ 116

Table 36: Estimated Total Biometrics costs ....................................................................... 117

Table 37: Estimated Total Operational Expenses .............................................................. 117



List of Figures

Figure 1: India positioned Vis-à-vis Global Visa Benchmarks ..............................................37

Figure 2: India Positioned Vis-à-vis Global Immigration Benchmarks ..................................41

Figure 3: India Positioned Vis-à-vis Global FRT Benchmarks ..............................................45

Figure 4: Contextual Architecture of existing IVFRT ecosystem ..........................................54

Figure 5: Proposed conceptual services at Missions ...........................................................57

Figure 6: Proposed Logical Application view for Missions ...................................................59

Figure 7: Proposed Conceptual Services at Immigration .....................................................60

Figure 8: Proposed Logical Application view for Immigration ...............................................61

Figure 9: Proposed Conceptual Services at FRT .................................................................62

Figure 10: Proposed Logical Application view for FRT ........................................................64

Figure 11: Proposed IVFRT Solution deployment view ........................................................68

Figure 12: Proposed information exchange in the IVFRT Solution.......................................70

Figure 13: Proposed Ideal IVFRT Solution ..........................................................................75

Figure 14: Indian Visa function post IVFRT solution implementation ...................................85

Figure 15: Indian Immigration function post IVFRT solution implementation ........................86

Figure 16: Indian FRT function post IVFRT solution implementation ...................................87

Figure 17: Overall MMP Implementation Timelines .............................................................88

Figure 18: Phase 1 services release ...................................................................................90

Figure 19: Phase 2 services release ...................................................................................91

Figure 20: Project Governance Structure ............................................................................92



List of Acronyms

ACL Access Control List ACO Assistant Consular Officer APIS Advanced Passenger Information System APP Advanced Passenger Profiling BL / LOC Black List / Look out circular BMS Biometric Matching System BoI Bureau Of Immigration BPM Business Process Management CDC Continuous Discharge Certificate CFB Central Foreigner Bureau CIS Consular Information System CPV Consular, Passport and Visa DE Cards Disembarkation Embarkation Cards DPR Detailed Project Report EACS Electronic Access Control System ETL Extraction, Transformation and Loading FPR Full Page Passport Reader FRT Foreigner Registration and Tracking FRO Foreigner Registration Officer FRRO Foreigner Regional Registration Officer FSC Foreigner Services Cell GD General Declaration GOI Government of India HCI High Commission of India IAF Integrated Architecture Framework ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization ICP Immigration Check Post ICT Information Communication and Technology IGI Indira Gandhi International IR Infrared ISO International Organization for Standards IT Information Technology IVAC Indian Visa Application Centre

IVFRT Immigration Visa Foreigner Registration and Tracking

LAN Local Area Network LOP Loss of Passport LOP Loss of Passport MEA Ministry of External Affairs MHA Ministry of Home Affairs MMP Mission Mode Project MOIA Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs MPLS Multi Protocol Label Switching NAC Network Admission Control NCRB National Crime Records Bureau



NEGP National eGovernance Plan NIC National Informatics Centre NOC Network Operations Centre OCI Overseas Citizen of India PAX Passenger PIO Person of Indian Origin PISON Passport Information System on Net PNR Person Name Record PRC Prior Reference Country PRM Passport Reading Machine QDX Questionable Document Examiner RP Resident Permit SAN Storage Area Network SLA Service Legal Agreement SLTD Stolen, Lost Travel Documents SNA Social Network Analysis SOA Service-Oriented Architecture SS Second Secretary SSL Secured Socket Layer TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol UCF Unique Case File USB Universal Serial Bus UV Scanner Ultra Violet Scanner VA Visa Attaché VPN Virtual Private Network WAN Wide Area Network



Project Overview

Title of the Project E-Governance Mission Mode Project in Immigration, V isa and Foreigner Registration and Tracking

Mission Mode Project YES

Project Stage Design Phase

Project Initiator Details

Department Foreigner's Division, Ministry of Home Affairs

Key Contact Mr. Ashim Khurana, Joint Secretary (Foreigners)

Address Foreigner's Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Jaisalmer House, New Delhi

Phone +91 11 2338 3075

Primary Contracting Agency Details

Name National Institute for Smart Government

Key Contact Ajay Sharma, Vice President

Address 1st Floor, Astra Towers, Opp. CII (Green Business Centre), HITEC City, Kondapur, Hyderabad

Phone +91 40 3028 5696

Fax +91 40 3028 5696

Sub-contracting Agency Details

Name Capgemini India Private Ltd

Key Contact Kishor Chitale, Vice President

Address Mumbai 1 Office, SEP 2/B 3, Godrej Industries Complex, Eastern Express Highway, Vikhroli East, Mumbai

Phone +91 22 6755 7000

Fax +91 22 6755 7100



1. Project Background

1.1. The National E-Governance Plan (NeGP) approved by the Government of India in

2006 comprises of 27 Mission Mode Project’s (MMP) that encompass 9 Central, 11

State and 7 Integrated MMPs spanning multiple Ministries / Departments. “Mission

Mode” implies that the objectives and the scope of the projects are clearly defined;

there are measurable outcomes (service levels) and well-defined milestones and

timelines for implementation.

1.2. One of the Central MMPs in the NeGP has been conceptualized with an aim to

enhance the experience of in-bound and out-bound travellers from and to India, by

looking into the aspects of Passport, Visa, Immigration, Foreigner’s Registration and

Tracking.

1.3. The e-Governance MMP formulated by NeGP and spearheaded by the Ministry of

Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs comprises of 2 modules, one looking into

aspects of Immigration and Visa, and the other looking into Passport related issues.

The Passport MMP driven by the MEA is currently under implementation, and deals

with speedy resolution of issues related to issuance and renewal of passports

including the robustness of the verification processes for the same.

1.4. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) along with the

National Informatics Centre (NIC) have been making efforts on several fronts in

modernizing and improving the systems related to Immigration and Foreigner’s

Registration over the last several years. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has

also embarked upon modernization initiatives in the Passport and Visa domains. The

e-Governance MMP in Passport, initiated by MEA is currently under implementation.

There is however a need that the initiatives from across the four entities of Passport,

Visa, Immigration, Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking, be undertaken in a closely

coordinated manner, to achieve substantial transformation in providing services to

Indian citizens and foreigners.

1.5. Balancing the need for customer facilitation in the wake of increased globalization,

today’s Immigration and Border Control agencies face the immense challenge of

safeguarding national security concerns with the increased threat of international crime

and global terrorism. The constant need for high performance and total

responsiveness requires agencies to have access to accurate and timely intelligence,



and risk assessment information in order to facilitate legitimate travellers, without

compromising national security, individual rights, and privacy concerns.

1.6. Against the above background, the MHA has undertaken the MMP involving

Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) based around the

core values of security, facilitation, and enablement. The MMP aims to develop a

comprehensive approach to address the challenges related to Immigration, Visa and

Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking, so as to streamline and simplify procedures in

line with the philosophy of the NeGP.

1.7. As per the original NeGP formulation, the MMP module related to Immigration and

Visa has been conceptualized to reduce immigration clearance time and ensure better

security checks. This includes modernization programme for immigration check posts

and advance passenger information system.

1.8. However, as Immigration, Visa, and Foreigners Registration and Tracking are inter-

related functions involving both the MHA and MEA; it was decided to conceptualize a

comprehensive project by taking a holistic view of the initiatives across the three

functions and provide an integrated ICT-based platform for service delivery.

1.9. The project is thus referred to as - MMP in Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration

and Tracking (IVFRT), and is driven by the MHA. The NeGP provides the enabling

platform to upscale the current modernization programme, integrate initiatives across

the functions, and to aid the large-scale rollout of the MMP.



2. Project Objectives and Targeted Outcomes

2.1. The primary goal of the IVFRT MMP is to develop a secure and integrated service

delivery framework that facilitates legitimate travellers while strengthening security.

Towards this primary goal the MMP aims to achieve the following objectives and the

targeted outcomes based around the core values of security, facilitation and

enablement:

2.2. Objective # 1: Improving efficiency and effectiveness:

2.2.1 Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the system across the functions of

Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration, and Tracking, is a key objective of

the MMP towards facilitation of legitimate travellers and prevention of illegal

immigration.

2.2.2 Measures proposed as targeted outcomes to achieve the objective:

a. Online services for application submission, payment, and appointment, to

facilitate travellers

b. System to track the arrival and departure information of every traveller.

c. System for identification of travellers who have overstayed or violated the

terms of their visa.

d. An effective profiling system for system-assisted targeted interventions.

e. Electronic Access Control System (EACS) to facilitate trusted travellers.

2.3. Objective # 2: Developing an integrated ICT system:

2.3.1 As part of a broader emphasis on immigration control, a key objective of the

MMP is to implement an integrated ICT-based system across the functions of

Immigration, Visa and Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking.


a. Streamlined processes across the IVFRT system

b. Integrated database of unique case files/ dossiers for uniquely identifying

every traveller across the IVFRT system.



c. Integration with the modernization and e-Governance initiatives of Passport

(MEA), e-Migrate (MOIA), Foreigners Division (MHA) and Crime and Criminal

Tracking Network and Systems (Police).

2.4. Objective # 3: Secure and integrated information collection and dissemination:

2.4.1 Implementation of a secure and integrated information collection and

dissemination mechanism for intelligence-led decision making is a key objective

of the MMP


a. System to authenticate identity of travellers through use of biographic and

biometric information.

b. An intelligent alert generation system for identifying legitimate travellers from

risky travellers

c. Centralized management of multiple watch-lists

d. Joint task force for collaborative governance to successfully achieve the

objectives of the MMP.

2.5. Objective # 4: Data confidentiality and integrity:

2.5.1 Providing data confidentiality and integrity to ensure privacy and security across

the IVFRT system is a key objective of the MMP.


a. System for data sharing and coordination within the IVFRT system while

ensuring data security and privacy.



3. Stakeholders Needs and Expectations

3.1. The impact of the subjects of Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and

Tracking being quite wide-ranging and sensitive, a consultative approach is adopted in

designing the MMP impacting the various stakeholders.

3.2. Key stakeholders and their core concerns:

3.2.1 The key stakeholders of the MMP include:

a. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),

b. Bureau of Immigration (BOI),

c. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA),

d. Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRRO),

e. Foreigners Registration Offices (FRO),

f. Department of Information Technology, Govt. of India (DIT),

g. National Informatics Centre (NIC), and

h. Travellers

3.2.2 Based on interactions with the key stakeholders above, the key drivers for the

project identified for the MMP are:

a. Need for enhanced security

b. Need for enhanced customer facilitation

c. Need for connectivity across the various agencies involved in the IVFRT

functions

d. Need for speed and efficiency in information sharing across agencies

e. Need for multi-agency coordination

f. Need for ensuring data integrity and data privacy

3.3. The stakeholders’ desired outcomes are aligned with the primary project objective to

have a secure, integrated service delivery framework that facilitates travellers. The

core concerns highlighted by key stakeholders include:



3.3.1 Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA):

a. Need for improved security and customer facilitation for introduction of visa-

on-arrival regime in future.

b. Need for a secure and integrated information sharing mechanism for

intelligence-led decision making.

c. Need for a credible and viable solution for IVFRT in the Indian context.

3.3.2 Bureau of Immigration (BOI):

a. Safeguarding against unlawful immigration through immigration and border

control.

b. Improved networking and connectivity between Missions, ICPs, and FRROs

and FROs (District SPs).

c. Improvement and uniformity in the registration function.

d. Effective tracking of foreigners during their stay in India.

3.3.3 Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

a. Improved accuracy, availability and timeliness of information, e.g. real-time

blacklists, and alerts.

b. Enhanced security through introduction of biometric enabled visas.

3.3.4 National Informatics Centre (NIC)

a. Need for a strategic and phased implementation approach to leverage

existing initiatives and investments across IVFRT.

3.4. Other stakeholders and concerns highlighted by them:

3.4.1 The other stakeholders of the MMP include:

a. Ministry of Tourism (MOT),

b. Department of Excise and Customs,

c. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA),



d. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA),

e. Carriers (Air, Land, Sea),

f. State Police Organizations, and

g. Other Security Agencies

3.5. The primary concerns highlighted by the stakeholders include:

3.5.1 Ministry of Tourism (MOT):

i. Need for specially trained professional cadre of immigration personnel at all

airports.

ii. Facilitation for swift passage of frequent legitimate travellers.

iii. Need for introduction of visa-on-arrival for travellers from low security risk

countries.

3.5.2 Department of Excise and Customs:

i. Need for real-time information sharing between immigration and customs

authorities for any intervention required in interception of travellers.

ii. Need for common data standards for effective information collection and

dissemination across multiple agencies.

3.5.3 Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA):

a. Need for enhanced coordination between immigration and emigration

functions.

b. Need interfaces with the IVFRT system to check for genuineness of visa, and

clearance required for emigration.

3.5.4 Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA):

a. Need for greater automation and improvement in immigration clearance.

b. The rapid expansion of airport infrastructure across the country imposes the

need to effectively plan for growth in numbers of immigration, customs, and

security clearance counters along with the required personnel.



4. Envisaged Services in the MMP

4.1. The NeGP aims to transform and radically improve the way the Government provides

services to its customers. The objective thus is to move from a Government-centric to

a Customer-centric paradigm in service provision.

4.2. In line with this philosophy of the NeGP, the IVFRT MMP also contemplates provision

of services across the functions of Immigration, Visa, and Foreigners Registration and

Tracking. The services have been designed keeping in mind the objectives and the

targeted outcomes of the project, and the needs of the respective stakeholders and

travellers.

4.3. The following services along with the indicative service levels are proposed to be

offered as part of the MMP:

4.3.1 Facilitation services to the traveller by providing multi-channel access to

relevant information and submission of forms

a. Service Description:

i. The service proposes to provide accurate and relevant information regarding

visa, immigration, and registration procedures through a comprehensive

website

ii. Visa and registration forms will be available for filling online. The portal would

also provide for online feedback collection and grievance redressal. The

same would also be integrated with phone support.

iii. Submission of forms can be done online or through post, courier, in-person,

or through service providers. Supporting documents can be sent by courier or

in person. Passport collection can be through courier or in person. However,

the applicant’s presence is mandatory for collection of biometrics.

b. Service Levels (indicative):

i. Service levels for information access through multiple channels:

1. Online – 24x7 availability (with permissible downtime)

2. Phone Support including grievance redressal – Office Hours



3. Email Support including grievance redressal – Response within one day

4. Outsourced Partner – Office Hours/ Extended Working Hours (EWH)

ii. Service levels for submission of forms through multiple channels:

1. Online – 24x7 availability (with permissible downtime)

2. Outsourced Partner – Office Hours/ Extended Office Hours

3. Courier/ Post

4.3.2 Online appointments, application status tracking, feedback and grievance

redressal


1. The service enables users to seek visa and registration related appointments,

registration status and requirement mandate information, check status of the

application, provide feedback and seek redressal of grievances online.

2. Information about appointment and application status, registration

requirement and status can also be sought through other electronic medium

like e-mail or SMS.


i. Service levels for online appointments:

1. Online - 24x7 availability (with permissible downtime)

2. Online appointments – up to 3 Months in advance

ii. Service levels for application status tracking, feedback and grievance

redressal:

1. Online tracking of status, feedback and or grievance (24x7)

2. Notification of change in status of application, feedback and or grievance by

e-mail or SMS



4.3.3 Visa Issuance

a. Service Description

1. This service outlines the time taken by consular officials to issue visa

b. Service levels

1. Time taken for visa issuance for non PRC countries is proposed to be not

more than 3 working days.

2. Time taken for visa issuance for PRC countries will vary with the type of the

security check required by concerned agencies, however, it is proposed that

time limit be confined to 4 weeks (20 working days) from the receipt of

application.

4.3.4 Integrated database of ‘unique case files’ for travellers for effective collection

and dissemination of traveller information


i. The service proposes using database technologies such as data

warehousing and data mining for establishing an integrated database with

‘unique traveller case files’ and interface with internal and external databases

such as, watch lists, LOC, passports, LOP, Interpol’s SLTD, CCTNS, etc.

ii. The unique case file for every traveller will also be linked with relevant

biographic and biometric information as well as the scanned copies of the

documents submitted by the traveller including updates from authorized

IVFRT system users and other internal as well as external data interfaces.

iii. The case file database will be used for dissemination and reporting of

traveller information to all the relevant agencies across the IVFRT system.


i. Consistent capture of travellers’ information in the integrated case folder

federated across the authorities in the IVFRT system.



ii. On demand search capability to query traveller related information from the

unique case file database.

4.3.5 Enhance security by providing document verification and authentication

services to the Mission, Immigration and FRRO


i. The authorized officials at Missions, ICPs, FRROs, and FROs can verify the

legitimacy of travellers / applicants by accessing the integrated and centrally

managed unique case file for every traveller.

ii. The service also provides system-assisted document authentication of travel

documents


i. Real time availability of all relevant documents at Missions, ICPs, FRROs,

FROs, and MHA-Foreigner Division, from integrated case files database for

every traveller, based on relevant authorization and access control

mechanisms.

ii. Real-time authentication check of traveller biographic and biometric

information, matching against information from the unique case file database.

4.3.6 Effective facilitation of travellers at immigration


i. Swift and hassle free immigration clearance for legitimate passengers.

ii. A system of advance passenger information to capture traveller details prior

to arrival and departure for risk assessment purposes in order to segregate

risky traveller from non risky ones to expedite immigration clearance.

iii. Electronic Access Control System (EACS) that uses biometrics, watch-lists

and unique case files to provide automated immigration clearance. This will

entail a trusted traveller program by pre-enrolling trusted travellers like

diplomats, business leaders, and frequent travellers.




i. ICAO recommends that departure procedures should establish a total time

period of 60 minutes in aggregate for the completion of required departure

formalities for all passengers requiring not more than normal processing,

calculated from the time of the passenger’s presenting himself at the first

processing point at the airport (i.e. airline check-in, security control point or

other required control point depending on arrangements at the individual

airport). It is therefore recommended that average time taken by immigration

officials for clearing a passenger aircraft should be 30 minutes including a

maximum of 2 minutes per passenger at the immigration counter.

ii. ICAO recommends that arrival procedures should establish clearance within

45 minutes of disembarkation from the aircraft of all passengers requiring not

more than the normal inspection, regardless of aircraft size and scheduled

arrival time. It is recommended that average time taken by immigration

officials for clearing a passenger aircraft should be 30 minutes including a

maximum of 1 minute per passenger at the immigration counter

iii. Centralized capture of API and PNR data from airlines as per UN/EDIFACT

specifications for risk assessment purposes and timely availability of the

outcome at the ICP for effective decision making.

iv. Grant of privileged traveller status through pre-enrolment in the trusted

traveller program.

4.3.7 Effective targeted intervention through an integrated approach to profiling, risk

assessment and watch-listing


i. The service proposes to establish a system for enabling targeted

interventions by creating profiling capabilities through data mining and

managing watch lists through integrating various databases and information

from multiple external and internal agencies.




i. Details of profiled high risk travellers and recommended targeted intervention

to be made available 100% of the time to Immigration/ Visa officers for

intelligence-led decision making.

4.3.8 Inter-agency information and alert sharing services


i. The service proposes to establish a system for information collection and

dissemination across the IVFRT system and other agencies like State Police,

Customs and Tourism.

4.3.9 Service Levels (indicative):

a. Service levels for information exchange:

i. Instant and real time exchange of information among relevant authorities for

appropriate action.

ii. Instant access of information on specific cases from integrated DB/case files

based on access control mechanism.

b. Service levels for alert generation and dissemination:

i. Instantaneous system based alert generation and dissemination of the

following cases to all relevant authorities for further action.

1. Overstay

2. Non – Registered

3. Violated terms of Visa

4. Wanted by law and security agencies

ii. System generated reminders to travellers regarding Visa and Registration

expiry sent 2 weeks in advance.



5. Key Observations of the existing IVFRT practice

5.1. The key observations of the current IVFRT practice are outlined in this section.

5.2. An assessment study of current processes and systems involved in Immigration, Visa,

and Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking was undertaken as part of the DPR project

development phase. The following study locations were chosen that are a

representative sample of various Indian Missions, Immigration Check Posts, FRROs,

and FROs:

5.2.1 Visa – The choice of locations for study of Visa functions were based on factors

which include: volume of visas issued, outsourcing of visa operations, and

security considerations:

a. Indian High Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh

b. Indian High Commission, London, UK

c. Embassy of India, Cairo, Egypt

5.2.2 Immigration – The locations for study of Immigration functions are

representative of ICPs across airports, land, and sea borders, ICPs with high

volume of traffic, ICPs manned by BOI, ICPs manned by States and ICPs

transitioned from State to BOI:

a. Airport Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) at Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad

and Lucknow International Airports

b. Land Immigration Check Posts (LCP) at Haridaspur, West Bengal

c. Seaport at Mumbai

5.2.3 Foreigners Registration and Tracking – The locations for study of FRT functions

is representative of FRROs with maximum registration volumes, and FROs

under the control of State Governments.

a. Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at Mumbai, New Delhi and

Kolkata

b. Foreigner’s Registration Office (FRO) at Hyderabad and Lucknow



5.3. Key Observations of the Visa Issuance Practice:

5.3.1 Indian Missions have a dedicated Consular Section that deals with Visa

application and Issuance, so as to facilitate the maximum number of travellers.

Further, missions also maintain their respective websites to facilitate

information dissemination to travellers.

5.3.2 Currently, Missions strive to accept the maximum number of visa applications

possible, within business hours. Missions receiving large volume of applications

have outsourced non-core functions like application collection, document

collection, fee collection, data entry and passport delivery e.g., HCI Dhaka, has

outsourced to State Bank of India; HCI, London uses the services of Visa

Facilitation Services (VFS). Missions with lower application volume (Embassy of

India, Cairo), process the complete function in-house.

5.3.3 Upon receipt of the visa application, concerned personnel at the Consular

section ensure the completeness of visa application, verify the details

mentioned in supporting documents, perform checks against local and MHA

originated BL, before granting and printing the relevant visa type, subsequently

followed by the delivery of the passport to the outsourced vendor / applicant.

Additionally supporting document requirements are not standardized across

various and visa categories.

5.3.4 For PRC, Missions’ ability to verify application details like address proof in India

etc is highly limited due to lower prioritization of this function by state

governments.

5.3.5 Missions, usually take 1-3 days to process visa application depending upon the

category of visa applied and PRC status of the applicant. For e.g. processing a

tourist visa application takes lesser time as compared to processing an

employment or student visa, which requires approvals from various agencies

before application processing. Similarly, for PRC the time taken for processing

visa application, ranges between 3 days to a month as mandatory clearance

from MHA is sought for every PRC application. In this context, it important to

note that in case of non receipt of reply on various clearances sought from



concerned agencies by missions, with in 72 hours, missions have been vested

with powers to issue visa to applicant.

5.3.6 Missions use various IT systems for processing visa applications. These

systems differ across Missions and primarily include NIC-built Consular

Information System (CIS) and MEA built in-house software as well as other

custom developed IT applications. These systems are used for entering

applicant’s data, matching it against MHA BL database for authenticating

applicant’s identity where possible and printing of visa stickers. It is important to

note that although system capability of centrally updating BL in the 29 large

missions exists it is not updated frequently due to delay in circulating BL by

MHA.

5.3.7 Further, few missions have connectivity with PISON databases as well, wherein

they upload visa data on PISON (HCI, London and Dhaka). Other missions

send this data manually to MEA and CFB office (Indian Embassy, Cairo). Also

in the absence of a clearly defined policy on visa data upload frequency, current

visa data is not available in PISON.

5.3.8 A centralized service should be considered for updating / checking BL so that

only checks can be performed rather than having access to BL data.

5.4. Key Observation on Immigration Practices

5.4.1 Immigration officials primarily aim to establish the legitimacy of the traveller and

ascertain the genuineness of the travel documents produced

5.4.2 Every incoming and outgoing traveller’s personal details are matched against

the MHA originated and BoI enhanced BL / LOC database, available at the ICP

counter through the Immigration Control System (ICS). Immigration official

either swipes travellers’ passport in Passport Reading Machine (PRM) or

directly enters travellers’ personal details into ICS to obtain results.

5.4.3 In case of Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) compliant airports,

Immigration officials receive APIS data that is matched against the BL / LOC

database to support targeted interventions. Currently only 6 Indian airports



have APIS capabilities which are currently being stabilized and a centralized

APIS format is being considered.

5.4.4 It is important to note that only results of the match against BL / LOC database

is available at the counter as against access to the detailed database; although,

data into the ICP network is physically transferred to ensure data security.

5.4.5 Immigration official primarily rely on their experience to profile as well as verify

travel documents like passport, RP etc. Additionally, they also use tools for

document examination like UV scanner and QDX machines.

5.4.6 Immigration officials collect Disembarkation / Embarkation card from the

traveller and digitize the same for updating the CFB database. This process has

a time gestation of around 4 months before the data is digitized due to

manpower and other constraints such as hours of operation, etc.

5.5. Key Observation on FRT Practices

5.5.1 Foreigner’s Registration process is highly manual, and largely depends on the

good will of the foreigner to register.

5.5.2 The process mandates in-person presence at FRRO / FRO for submitting the

application form and the required documents, which upon receipt, is verified by

registration officials, before granting a Residential Permit (RP). Additionally, due

to the limitations in leveraging IT systems for facilitation e.g. online application

filling and appointments; it is difficult to manage the fluctuations between daily

average and peak application loads. Thus the registration experience can

become a deterrent than an enabling experience for the foreigner.

5.5.3 Document verification process at the FRRO / FRO is limited to ensuring the

completeness of application and availability of the prescribed supporting

document set. Registration officials conduct a brief personal interview of the

applicant to ascertain the authentication of the submitted documents, before

granting RP.



5.5.4 The physical verification mechanism for verifying applicant details like address

details, university certificate etc, though complied with, has a large time lag and

negates the essence of Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking.

5.5.5 While few FRROs use customized registration software for registration

purposes, FROs follow a highly manual process. The software at FRROs

primarily lacks standardization across locations, thus impeding integration with

other databases.

5.5.6 Tracking system at FRRO / FRO, though important, is limited due to process

and manpower concerns at state levels.

5.5.7 Physical storage of ‘C’ forms at respective FRROs limits inter-agency

information exchange of foreign national’s whereabouts thus hampering

foreigners tracking efforts.



6. Current IVFRT Initiatives

6.1. Current Initiatives underway in Visa

6.1.1 In order to provide superior services to applicants while enhancing national

security, MEA from time to time, undertakes various initiatives aimed at

improving existing systems and practices at Missions and consulates.

a. Currently Consular Issuance System (CIS) software is used by 29 large

missions (that account for nearly 90% of the passenger volume).

b. Around 50 missions use MEA’s in house developed software and the

remaining 90 missions use a mix of different software applications that they

may have acquired to suite their requirements. The work of upgrading these

systems is currently ongoing through National Informatics Centre (NIC).

c. Pilots to test the feasibility of including photo on the Indian Visa are being

considered.

d. Development of new system as part of the Passport Seva MMP is underway

to make suitable and consistent provision for providing passport related

information to various stakeholders.

i. The Passport Seva Project is expected to deploy an IBM DB2 database for

storing passport data, and the existing passport data from PISON (Oracle-

based) system will need to be migrated.

ii. The new system is expected to be centralized in Delhi with connectivity

across Missions and a disaster recovery back up in Chennai. With the new

system, the 29 largest missions would be networked through a MPLS-based

network.

e. The networking and connectivity approach for the other 140 missions has not

been finalized as yet; however, broadband connectivity options are being

explored currently.



6.2. Current Initiatives underway in Immigration

6.2.1 To facilitate legitimate traveller through improved immigration services while

stringently adhering to security requirements posed by changing global

environment, MHA and BOI in association with the NIC have undertaken

several initiatives in the last 3 years. Prominent ones are listed below:

a. Up gradation of computer systems completed at 33 ICPs.

b. The Immigration Control System (ICS) software developed by NIC has also

been installed at 33 ICPs.

c. Passport Reading Machines (PRMs) installed at 29 ICPs.

d. 53 Questionable Document Examiner (QDX) Machines have been installed at

28 ICPs.

e. Up gradation of Central Foreigners Bureau (CFB) and networking with 33

ICPs, 5 FRROs, and Foreigners Division, MHA, has been completed.

f. Software for pulling D/E cards and PAX data from 16 ICPs to CFB data

centre has been installed and is operational

g. Provision for web based access to ICS system for 43 ICPs with less than 100

passengers’ traffic per day has been planned via a dedicated MPLS network.

h. The new LOC module of ICS application software that has provision for

opening LOC both globally and locally has been installed at SI Cell, CFB for

testing.

i. Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) has been introduced at 6

airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Cochin

and is currently under stabilization phase. Currently all 76 airlines at these

airports are APIS compliant and 60% data accuracy has been achieved.

j. Networking for centralized APIS is being considered.

k. A High Availability (HA) and NOC (Network Operations Centre) setup is

currently being proposed at IGI airport, Delhi and CSIA airport, Mumbai.

l. Software for converting old PAX and D/E cards into new ICS format has been

installed at 6 ICP sites and data conversion has been completed



m. Software for storing scanned D/E cards at CFB on SAN Storage has been

developed.

n. Installation of digital cameras at some ICPs is under progress.

o. Full page Passport Readers (FPRs) have been installed at few ICPs.

6.3. Current Initiative underway in Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking (FRT)

6.3.1 Currently, limited application software for registration purposes and automation

/ modernization initiatives has been undertaken at FRROs and FROs lag

behind significantly in the use of Information Technology.

a. Mumbai FRRO offers online data entry facility to applicants and initiatives are

underway to extend their IT services to offering registration services online.

b. Kolkata FRRO maintains online C form database of approximately 2000

hotels and efforts are underway to increase their numbers.

c. Hyderabad FRO office has implemented an online registration facility for

foreigners.

d. Use of smart cards for registration is currently being conceptualised by BOI.

e. Standard registration process and application and office automation is also

being considered BOI.

f. C-form automation through mechanism of re-design for making it scan worthy

and also facility for online submission are also being considered.



7. Global Benchmarks

The following are the leading global IVFRT practices:

7.1. Global benchmarks for Visa issuance

7.1.1 Leading practices for the Security aspect of Visa issuance

a. Document authentication tools like passport readers (with features such as

Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Machine Readable Zone (MRZ),

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chip readers), Ultra Violet (UV) lights,

intelligent document scanners and ID card readers are used to detect

counterfeit/tampered travel / submitted documents/applications

b. The consular officers verify and profile the applicants by running queries on

centralised watch lists and consular databases, which are updated on a

regular basis. This facilitates identification of fraudulent and suspicious

applicants

c. Biometric data (mostly digital fingerprints of all the fingers) of applicants is

captured and checks are conducted by querying on a centralised database,

which has biographic and biometric data of criminals, suspicious individuals,

illegal migrants and fraudulent travellers

d. Visa stickers with digital photographs and holograms as well as letter scan

images are used to create tamper proof Visa stickers and thus prevent entry

of illegal / fraudulent passengers in to the Country

7.1.2 Leading practices for the Facilitation aspect of Visa issuance

a. Web portals with facilities to make online applications and secure payment

gateways are being used to facilitate applicants. The applicants can fill

application forms online, submit applications and select dates for interviews

through the portal

b. Websites with comprehensive and complete information regarding the

policies, requirements for applications, conditions for eligibility, supporting

documentation requirement and procedures are maintained to provide

information to the applicants. This assists in effective management of



applications and reducing erroneous applications and incorrect categorisation

of visas

c. Documents and passports can be sent to the consulates through registered

courier or delivered in person, thus reducing/negating the travel of applicants

to the consulates other than collection of biometrics or in-person interviews.

7.1.3 Leading practices for the Enablement aspect of Visa issuance

a. Biographic and biometric information of applicants is stored in centralised

databases accessible to consular officers. This information is used to identify

applicants, who are illegal/fraudulent/suspicious and/or who may have been

rejected previously

b. The missions are linked to an updated watch list and a centralised consular

database to assist consular officers in making informed and timely decisions

c. Management of all the administrative and non-judgmental tasks, like

application collection, form completeness, allotting interview dates, passport

collection and at times even biometrics capture related to the lifecycle of a

visa application process and which do not have a bearing on final decision of

visa status (issuance / denial) have been successfully outsourced to third

party providers. This practice enables missions to focus entirely on the key

tasks of assessment, interviews and decision making.

7.2. Global benchmarks for Immigration

7.2.1 Leading practices for the Security aspect of Immigration

a. Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) data is used for risk

assessment of passengers by running watch list, profiling and social network

analysis checks and responding through automatic alerts to immigration

officers before the arrival of the passengers. This information is used to make

informed decisions on suspicious travellers and separate them from

legitimate travellers for intervention at the border.

b. Biographic and biometric data (finger print, facial and Iris scans) of

passengers, usually collected during visa process is made available to the



immigration officers and is used to authenticate passengers on their arrival at

the port of entry.

c. Intelligent document scanners and passport readers enabled with features to

read and recognize text / other identification criteria (OCR, MRZ) as well as

e-passports, are used to verify passports, visas and other travel related

documents by matching their images with know images of travel / supporting

documents.

7.2.2 Leading practices for the Facilitation aspect of Immigration

a. Frequent travellers/diplomats are facilitated through the use of frequent

traveller programs using biometric information as an authentication tool.

Enrolled passengers are fast tracked into a separate immigration line, where

customized kiosks accept their travel documents or biometric enabled smart

cards scan the passengers IRIS and conduct a 1 to 1 match to authenticate

genuine travellers. On successful authentication the traveller is granted quick

and hassle free access through automated gates

7.2.3 Leading practices for the Enablement aspect of Immigration

a. The immigration officials have access to biographic and biometric information

about the passenger from a centralised / integrated database.

b. The databases are accessible to various agencies like passport offices, visas,

customs, police and other border and law enforcement agencies.

c. Timely alerts are generated through a centralised system thus assisting

immigration officers in the interception of illegal/fraudulent passengers

7.3. Global benchmarks for Foreigner Registration and Tracking

7.3.1 Leading practices for the Security aspect of Foreigner Registration and

Tracking

a. Stringent laws for registration of foreigners along with issuance of identity

cards (biometric/biographic information) are used to authenticate and track

foreigners



b. Notifications are sent to the local police through a centralized system, which

is used to enforce registration and enable tracking

7.3.2 Leading practices for the Facilitation aspect of Foreigner Registration and

Tracking

a. There is an active involvement of local police/municipality in registration and

updating of foreigner information

b. Facilities for online registration is made an option to facilitate foreigners to

register and update information through secure portals

7.3.3 Leading practices for the Enablement aspect of Foreigner Registration and

Tracking

a. Electronic case files with biographic (and provision for biometric) information

of registered foreigners is maintained in a centralised database which is

accessible to all the registration offices across the country. The information is

shared with the key stakeholders (visa authority, police and immigration) to

enable effective tracking and to initiate appropriate action against defaulters

b. Student registration and tracking is done through a centralised system

(Student and Exchange Visitor Information System - SEVIS) in the USA.

Authorised Universities manage and control the registration of students

throughout course durations. Any changes in the status of the students are

updated within 20 days of occurrence of change on the central database by

the University. The same changes are accessed and monitored by border

control authorities. This system ensures effective and efficient tracking of

students across the United States of America



8. Improvement Areas, Challenges and Root causes

8.1. Improvement areas / challenges of current Visa Issuance

8.1.1 Indian Missions have the following challenges / improvement areas that are

largely common across missions:

a. Missions’ ability to verify documents from Indian and local agencies is limited

b. Ability to establish applicant’s identity is limited to checks against the BL

database

c. Visa personalization ability is not standardized due to varying application

usage across missions and can be improved

d. Weak information dissemination on visa related information to the applicants

e. Application Submission process differs across missions

f. Missions primarily work on standalone IT systems that have limited

integration capabilities with other Missions, Consulates, ICPs, FRROs, and

FROs. Also IT applications across missions differ greatly.

g. Missions lack intelligent search functions due to varying capability of

applications used

h. Quality of service provided by outsourced service provider needs to be

managed more effectively

8.1.2 India positioned vis-à-vis Visa benchmarks

a. Visa related challenges, when mapped to global benchmarks comprising

parameters of security, facilitation and enablement, clearly outline

improvements areas / gaps therein.



Mixer board analysis

Outsourcing

No outsourcing

Outsourcing in many

countries

Outsourcing in few countries

Integration

Mission not linked and no connect with

other agencies

Mission interlinked and connected to Immigration, passport etc

Missions interlinked but not connected

to other agencies

Databases

Missions not linked to

databases

Missions linked to central

databases

Mission have local

databases

Delivery

More than 10 days

Less than 3 days

Minimum five days

Payment

In cash at consulate

Secure online payment gateway

Authorised banks / partners

Application submission

In person only

Use of online portal and

post/courier

Post/courier and in person

Information dissemination

No website and hotline for

query handling

Comprehensive website and

hotline for query handling

Limited information on website and

hotline for query handling

Visa sticker

No photograph

on visa sticker

Use of biometrics in visa sticker

Use of digital photograph,

hologram and machine readable

Person authentication

Use of watch list only

Use of biometrics, watchlists, profiles & interview

Use of watch list and profiles,

interview on case basis

Document verification

Documents verified on

human judgement

only

Use of tools for all

document/passports

Use of tools only in few cases only

Security Facilitation EnablementLeading practice Country - US

India As-Is

Figure 1: India positioned Vis-à-vis Global Visa Be nchmarks

8.1.3 Root Causes - Visa

The following are the root causes behind current challenges / improvement areas in the

existing visa practices:

a. Security

Improvement Areas Root Causes

Applicability (Missions)

Dhaka Cairo London

Missions have weak

document verification

process

At times documents are submitted in the local language √√√√

All consular officers are not trained in the local language √√√√

Missions strive to issue maximum number of visa in minimum time √√√√ √√√√

Document verification, sought from relevant agencies in India for

PRC categories, takes large processing time √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Large application volume restricts the ability to verify all submitted

documents of all applicants √√√√ √√√√





Dhaka Cairo London

Lack of an intelligent IT system that can aid document verification

like online check on previous records etc √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Mission’s ability to

authenticate applicant’s

identity is weak

MHAs BL, primarily used to authenticate applicant‘s identity, is

usually outdated and incomplete √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Large application volume and under staffed visa section, limits the

ability to conduct personal interviews of applicants, to a selected

few than all

√√√√

Physical storage of large number of unique case files (for e.g.

approx 350, 000 per year for HCI, Dhaka) , hampers the ability to

retrieve timely intelligence required to authenticate applicant‘s

identity

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Lack of an intelligent IT system that can aid authenticating

applicant's identity like biometrics etc √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Current visa stickers have

limited security features

Visa stickers do not contain photographs or any other person

authentication related security features used in personalization

such as letter scan images, etc.

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 1: Security related challenges and their root causes in current visa practice

b. Facilitation



Dhaka Cairo London

Information Dissemination

to travellers is limited

Websites do not carry all details about visa requirements or

documents to be submitted √√√√

Application Submission

process differs across

missions

Applicants take a large time to submit visa application due to the

manual process of having to manage large number of applicants √√√√

Visa section tries to accept as many applications as possible √√√√

Payment modes differ Most Missions tend to accept only cash and do not offer multiple Cash Cash Cash,





Dhaka Cairo London

across missions modes and channels of payment DD,

Online

Table 2: Facilitation related challenges and their root causes in current visa practice

c. Enablement



Dhaka Cairo London

IT systems at missions lacks

intelligent search functions

Systems at missions primarily serve the requirement of data

entry, BL match and report generation and have not been

built for retrieving previous case files of applicants across

missions, immigration and FRRO / FRO

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√

IT systems at missions have

limited integration with other

missions, consulates, ICPs,

FRRO, FRO

Missions work on standalone IT systems √√√√

Missions use IT systems which are not integrated with

those used by other agencies and PISON data where

available is not leveraged effectively by other agencies

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Quality of service provided by

outsourced service provider

needs to be managed more

effectively

Weak service level agreement between missions and

outsourced service provider √√√√ √√√√

Service provider does not adhere to the signed SLA,

resulting in work duplication for visa processing team √√√√ √√√√

Table 3: Enablement related challenges and their ro ot causes in current visa practice



8.2. Improvement areas / challenges of current Immigration practice

8.2.1 All ICPs follow immigration practices that are similar across BoI and State

Police manned ICPs; however, there exists substantial difference between

service capabilities of the two.

a. BoI manned ICPs are characterized by trained, vigilant, competent and

efficient immigration staff supported by IT systems, while State police

manned immigration counters are equipped with inadequate IT systems and

are manned by untrained officials due to lesser prioritization of immigration

function

b. Absence of centralised, comprehensive inter agency, inter location Alerts /

Watch lists at ICPs

c. Access to Visa issuance data is limited and information of incoming

passenger is limited to Advance Passenger Information System at 6 airports

only.

d. Travel document verification process at all ICPs has limitations and can be

improved

e. Information in DE cards is not verified, not updated in to the system at regular

time intervals and is not shared effectively

f. Passenger profiling at all ICPs is experience-driven rather than a system-

aided process.

g. All ICPs work on standalone Immigration Control Systems (ICS) which are

not integrated with any other ICPs, Missions, FRROs, or FROs.

8.2.2 India positioned vis-à-vis Immigration benchmarks

a. Immigration related challenges, when mapped to global benchmarks

comprising parameters of security, facilitation and enablement, clearly outline

improvements areas / gaps therein.




Information Access

Alerts/watch list

Document verification

Person authentication

Quick passage

Non compliance with APIS

API data mandatory

API data for few routes

only

Non availability of timely alerts

Alerts available from

centralised database

Alerts managed by standalone

systems

No tools used for verification

Biometrics and other

tools used for verification

Tools used for document verification

Experience based

authentication

Use of biometrics &

digital photograph

Use of biometrics in pilot phase

only

No facility for quick passage

Use of biometrics/EA

C for quick passage

Facility for quick passage available but

not automated

Databases

No central database

Centralised database

Data maintained in standalone

systems

Integration

No integration with other agencies

(Visa, passport etc)

Integration with other agencies

(Visa, passport etc)

No integration but sharing on

case basis

Profiling

Passengers profiled on personal

judgement

Passengers profiled prior

to arrival

System assisted

profiling at the counter

Security Facilitation EnablementLeading practice Country - US

India As-Is

Figure 2: India Positioned Vis-à-vis Global Immigra tion Benchmarks

8.2.3 Root Causes - Immigration

The following are the root causes behind the highlighted challenges / improvement areas in

the existing Immigration practices:

a. Security

Challenge Root Cause

Applicability

MUM DEL

HRD

PR

LKO HYD

Sea

port

Access to

information of

incoming passenger

is limited

Concerned authorities do not have prior and

complete access to visa issuance data and thus

are unable to profile the applicant before

travelling

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Prior travel information is limited to air travel only

and available at 6 Airports (APIS) √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Absence of

centralised,

comprehensive inter

Alerts / watch listing services are manual and

localized causing time delays in updates and

availability of uniform data across ICPs

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√




Applicability

MUM DEL

HRD

PR

LKO HYD

Sea

port

agency, inter

location Alerts /

Watch lists

Travel document

verification process

is weak and has

limitations

Document verification process is highly

dependent on experience of the official manning

the immigration counter

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Officials use of tools is limited to instruments like

UV scanner and QDX √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Only few ICPs have access to additional

database like PISON √√√√ √√√√

ICPs do not have access to information on visa

issued by missions, documents submitted by

applicants etc to enable them to cross verify

travel documents presented at the counter

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Lack of regular training to immigration officials on

security features of travel documents etc √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

High pressure on immigration officials to clear

passengers within specific time limit √√√√ √√√√

Officials of limited proficiency man immigration

counters √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Information in DE

cards is not verified

and shared

effectively

Details in the DE Cards are not always verified

with the documents presented by the applicant at

the counter due to passenger volumes

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Delay in updating DE cards into the system used

by CFB √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 4: Security related challenges and their root causes in current Immigration practice

b. Facilitation




Applicability

MUM DEL

HRD

PR

LKO HYD

Sea

port

Time spent for

immigration check is

more in case of

state police manned

ICPs as compared

to BoI manned ICPs

Lesser number of counters are operated even at

peak traffic √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

ICPs are understaffed √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 5: Facilitation related challenges and their root causes in current Immigration practice

c. Enablement


Applicability

MUM DEL

HRD

PR

LKO HYD

Sea

port

Passengers profiling

is an experience

driven exercise than

a system aided one

Profiling is highly dependent on experience of

the official manning the counter √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

MHAs BL/LOC, primarily used to authenticate

applicant identity, is outdated, incomplete and

differs with ICPs

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Limited ability for targeted interventions as

advance passenger profiling is not available √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Officials of limited proficiency man immigration

counters √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

IT systems at ICPs

are not integrated

with other ICPs,

missions, FRRO,

FRO

ICPs are standalone networks limiting ability to

react in real time √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

IT systems, used by ICPs, are not integrated with

those used by missions, FRRO, FRO √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 6: Enablement related challenges and their ro ot causes in current Immigration practice

8.3. Improvement areas / challenges of current FRT practice



8.3.1 Existing FRT practices has following challenges:

a. Currently, FRT processes are limited primarily to Foreigner’s Registration

only, as tracking capabilities of both FRRO and FRO are limited.

b. Document Verification ability at both FRRO and FRO is weak and largely

limited to scrutinising documents for completeness and accuracy.

c. FRROs, though use customised IT system for managing registration, the

same is highly localised with negligible integration with other agencies.

Registration process is highly manual at FROs.

d. FROs lack adequate supporting infrastructure like working computers,

document examining machines, databases, connectivity with various

agencies like universities, ICPs etc

e. The current legislation only requires visitors with a stay stipulation of over 180

days to get themselves registered with the concerned Foreigners Regional

Registration Officer (FRRO)/ Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) having

jurisdiction over the place where the foreigner intends to stay, within 14 days

of his/her arrival (Pakistan and Afghan nationals are mandated to register

themselves with in 24 hrs and 7 days of arrival respectively). This brings only

a small number of visitors in the registration net and alternatives including

legislation change should be considered to improve the same.

8.3.2 India positioned vis-à-vis FRT benchmarks

a. These challenges, when mapped to global benchmarks on FRT practices

comprising various parameters on security, facilitation and enablement,

clearly outline improvements areas / gaps therein:




Case files

Paper based case files

Electronic case files on centralised database

Electronic case files on standalone

systems

Portals

No facility for registration

through portal

Registration and updating through portal

In person registration

but updating through portal

Location

No designated

location

Involvement of local

police/municipality

Limited locations for registration

Notification / Alerts

No alerts generated

Automated alerts

generated

Alerts generated

through manual process

Registration card / ID

Paper booklet

Biometric cards

Magnetic strip/ other ID

cards

Integration

No data sharing

Integration with other agencies

Data sharing on case to case basis

Databases

No databases

Central database

Local databases

Type of Document

Passports & visa only

Passport, visa and documents

certified by authorities in the Country of origin

Passport, visa and other

documents

Security Facilitation Enablement

Registration mandate

No mandate for registration

Registration for all

foreigners

Registration only for

certain visa categories &

countries only

Leading practice Country - Germany

India As-Is

Figure 3: India Positioned Vis-à-vis Global FRT Ben chmarks

8.3.3 Root Causes - FRT

The following are the root causes behind the highlighted challenges / improvement areas in

the existing FRT practices:

a. Security


Applicability

MUM DEL KOL LKO HYD

Document Verification

ability is weak and limited

Document verification, sought from relevant

agencies, takes large time √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Lack of connectivity between FRROs, FROs,

missions and ICPs limits the ability to cross

verify the submitted documents

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

FRROs and FROs lack document examiner

infrastructure like QDX and UV scanner √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Lack of regular training to registration officials

on security features of travel documents etc √√√√ √√√√




Applicability

MUM DEL KOL LKO HYD

Lack of enforcement of data sharing policy

guidelines related with foreigner's registration

between concerned agencies like universities

etc and FRRO / FRO

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Physical storage of large number of unique

case files , hampers the ability to retrieve

timely intelligence required to authenticate

documents

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Absence of centralised,

comprehensive inter

agency, inter location

Alerts / Watch list

Alerts / watch list services are manual and

localized to the particular city police and FRRO

/ FRO only

√√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 7: Security related challenges and their root causes in current FRT practice

b. Facilitation


Applicability

MUM DEL KOL LKO HYD

Registration Process

takes large time

Manual Application submission process, that results

in large time spent on data entry by officials √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Understaffed registration function increases the time

spent for completing registration process √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 8: Facilitation related challenges and their root causes in current FRT practice

c. Enablement


Applicability

MUM DEL KOL LKO HYD

IT systems at FRROs

are standalone

FROs do not have access to IT systems for

registration √√√√ √√√√




Applicability

MUM DEL KOL LKO HYD

IT systems at FRROs are standalone √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

IT systems used at FRROs, are not integrated with

those used by missions and ICPs and other FRROs √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√ √√√√

Table 9: Enablement related challenges and their ro ot causes in current FRT practice



9. Solution prioritization

9.1. Visa prioritizations

As an outcome of the validation workshop held with key stakeholders from MHA, MEA, BoI,

FRRO, DIT and NIC the following are the visa prioritisations:

S. No. Challenges and Root Causes Priority

1 Alternative methods such as biometrics need to be adopted to ensure more

accurate applicant identification High

2

All Missions and Consulates must have uniform applications that can be

integrated to allied platforms that improve effectiveness (PISON and other

external databases)

High

3 Methodologies used to alert applications by ‘Black List’ individuals must be

improved High

4 Time taken for document verification sought from relevant agencies in India

must be improved High

5 Maximum number of visas must be issued within stipulated periods / hours

of business High

6 CIS systems must be upgraded beyond current levels of functionality that

include basic data entry and report generation High

7 Record retrieval processes (following the grant of visas) require quicker

turnaround time Medium

8 Application payment options must be increased to improve service

orientation Medium

9

Uniform inter-departmental information sharing platforms must be identified

to work beyond current ‘need to know’ methods of data sharing that

increases lead times

Medium

10 Local language sensitization / adaptation at the point of visa application Low

11 The process of selection of applicants that require personal interview

procedures must be streamlined Low

12 The quality of information available to visa applicants must be made more

comprehensive and more easily available Low



S. No. Challenges and Root Causes Priority

13 Authorized service provider networks certified of speedy and accurate

document management can reduce processing times Low

14 Improved service levels must emerge between service providers and

missions to reduce processing times and work duplication Low

Table 10: Visa Prioritization

9.2. Potential solution options for Visa

9.2.1 Adoption of photo on visa and or biometrics as well as other visa

personalization mechanisms for improving person identification.

9.2.2 Explore usage of a unique traveller case file / dossier to improve effectiveness

and analysis of data gathered at different stages of the traveller journey.

9.2.3 A centralized service should be considered for updating / checking BL so that


9.2.4 Explore solutions for reducing the time taken for document verification sought

from relevant agencies in India.

9.2.5 IT and / or outsourcing should be used to aid / enable the issue of maximum

number of visas within stipulated periods / hours of business; while in specific

cases like Dhaka all necessary measures should be provided to ensure

effective functioning.

9.2.6 Current profiling capabilities should be improved through data mining to aid

targeted interventions for identifying applicants that require personal interviews.

9.2.7 Information dissemination to visa applicants must be made more

comprehensive and more easily available through websites; online applications

submission and appointments should be considered.



9.3. Immigration prioritizations


FRRO, DIT and NIC the following are the Immigration prioritisations:

S. No Challenges and Root Causes Priority

1 Information disseminated prior to travel is currently limited to APIS and must be

extended High

2 All ICPs must have standardized access to databases like PISON etc that enable

improved security levels High

3 Methodologies used to alert applications by ‘Black List’ individuals must be improved

with standardized processes across ICPs High

4 Alerts and watch-listing processes must be automated and capable of implementation

across uniform data that must be captured and maintained at ICPs High

5 Officials’ use of tools is limited to instruments like UV scanner and QDX. Options of tools

must be expanded and modernized High

6 Load balancing of ICP staff needs to be optimized based on passenger traffic more

effectively High

7 Training requirements and protocols must be instituted to improve, update and educate

immigration officials on developing document security features Medium

8 IT systems, used by ICPs, are not integrated with those used by missions, FRRO, FRO.

Role based access processes can be instituted to improve role effectiveness Medium

9 Disembarkation card cross verification and data entry procedures need to be

strengthened/improved Medium

10 Profiling of incoming passengers at immigration is an extremely manually dependent

procedure. Options of partial automation must be explored Medium

11 Clear data sharing policies that are now, primarily limited to ‘Need to Know’ sharing

methods, must be adopted to ensure seamless data integration Low

12 Interdepartmental agencies of MHA must work on streamlined SLA’s and move away

from the current ‘Need to know’ methodologies of information sharing Low

13 Immigration authorities must have role based access to visa issuance related data and

documentation to enhance profiling of suspect identities Low

14

Immigration officials are often under pressure to clear passengers at immigration

counters within stipulated time levels – thus compromising quality. SLA’s that do not

compromise security must be adopted

Low

Table 11: Immigration Prioritization



9.4. Potential solution options for Immigration

9.4.1 APIS capabilities should be stabilized to a centralized format and then extended

for Advance Passenger Profiling capabilities, which can be further extended in

the future for issuing Right to Board.

9.4.2 A centralized service should be considered for updating / checking BL / LOC so

that only checks can be performed rather than having access to BL data.

9.4.3 Automated updation of alerts and watch-listing services based on data captured

at ICPs.

9.4.4 Use of tools at ICPs like PRM, UV scanner and QDX should be reviewed and

recommended for better document verification and person authentication.

9.4.5 Load balancing of ICP staff needs to be optimized based on passenger traffic

more effectively.

9.4.6 Integrated approach to update unique case files based on specific ICP data that

can be accessible by Missions and FRROs / FROs.

9.4.7 Clear data sharing policies should be formulated to ensure seamless data

integration.



9.5. Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking (FRT) prioritizations


FRRO, DIT and NIC the following are the FRT prioritisations:

S.no Challenges and Root Causes Priority

1 Connectivity between FRROs, FROs, missions and ICPs must be improved to

cross verify the submitted documents when required High

2

Time taken for document verification sought from relevant agencies in India

and outside of India must be reduced in the interest of security, traceability

and effectiveness

High

3

Physical storage of large number of unique case files hampers the ability to

retrieve timely intelligence required to authenticate documents. Relevant levels

of digitization could be explored.

High

4 Manual registration submission process, that results in large time spent on data

entry by officials. Modernization of the process can be explored High

5

FROs do not have access to IT systems for registration and IT systems at

FRROs are standalone. Automation, networking and integration must be

explored to ensure seamless enablement of responsible staff.

High

6

Understaffed registration function increases the time spent for completing

registration process. Capacity building to address this issue must be explored

along with augmentation

Medium

7

FROs lack basic document examiner infrastructure like QDX and UV scanner

and these facilities must be upgraded / introduced to increase the effectiveness

of procedures and processes

Medium

8

Enforcement of data sharing policy guidelines related to foreigner's registration

between concerned agencies like universities etc and FRRO / FRO must be

incorporated.

Medium

9 Alerts / watch list services are manual and localized to the particular city police

and FROs only. The degree of automation must be upgraded. Medium

10 Clear data sharing policies that are now, primarily limited to ‘Need to Know’

sharing methods, must be adopted to ensure seamless data integration Low



11

IT systems used at FRROs, are not integrated with those used by missions and

ICPs and other FRROs. Unclear data sharing policies, primarily limited to

‘Need to Know’ request based information, hampers seamless integration. Role

based access could be explored in the near to mid term.

Low

Table 12: Foreigner Registration and Tracking Prior itization

9.6. Potential solution options for Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking

9.6.1 Connectivity and exchange of scanned documents and forms submitted by

travellers, between FRROs, FROs, Missions and ICPs must be improved to

cross verify the submitted documents when required.

9.6.2 Explore digitization options as physical storage of large number of case files

hampers the ability to retrieve timely intelligence required to authenticate

documents.

9.6.3 Extend online or computer assisted application submission process to reduce

large time spent on data entry by officials.

9.6.4 FROs do not have access to IT systems for registration, and IT systems at

FRROs are standalone. Automation, networking and integration must be

explored to ensure proper enablement of the service.

9.6.5 Mandatory data sharing policy guidelines related to foreigner's registration by

organizations like universities etc should be incorporated.

9.6.6 Extend online application submission process of C-Forms by hoteliers.

9.6.7 Role based secure access and availability of scanned documents and

electronic records in unique case files will enhance the retrieval processes and

provide access to registration related information to all relevant agencies.



10. Proposed Solution Design

10.1. Existing Contextual Architecture

10.1.1 Existing IVFRT system is a set of federated disparate system that spans

across agencies, which provide various visas, immigration and FRT related

services to applicant / passenger. Below mentioned figure explains the

contextual architecture of the existing system.

Figure 4: Contextual Architecture of existing IVFRT ecosystem

10.1.2 The federated design and limitations of existing information exchange

mechanism between various stakeholders manifest themselves as challenges

(as identified in current state assessment report) that hamper smooth

functioning of their respective functions and thus necessitating the need for

either creation of new services and improvement in existing services.

10.2. Solution Design Principle and Standards

10.2.1 The following principles and standards have been used to design a

comprehensive IVFRT system that aims to address prioritised challenges /

needs of all stakeholders and ensure that the solution design accounts for

global best practices while maintaining the distinct characteristics and need of

every stakeholder. The principles were also validated with key stakeholders.



10.2.2 Principles used for designing the IVFRT solution:

No. Architecture Principles

1 Use existing systems and planned initiatives.

2 Allow near real-time information sharing across IVFRT.

3 Apply new technology and new biometric based control technology.

4 Provide the ability to retain data control while making it available for consultation and sharing.

5 Systems should be able to adapt to regulatory changes and policies.

6 Systems should adapt to changing geopolitical circumstances affecting passenger flows.

7 Gather and process pre-travel information of the passenger.

8 Promote intelligence led control through appropriate gathering of data.

9 Expedited clearance where possible facilitating bonafide passengers.

10 Use risk assessment methodology and tools for analyzing information.

11 Provide means to store and retrieve data efficiently and accurately.

12 Ensure that data is treated confidentially with appropriate level of security.

13 Keeping the systems and processes simple from an MMP service perspective.

14

Systems must be implemented in compliance with government and statutory security and

confidentiality laws and privacy policies.

15 Provide Security as an independent service

16 Provision for Policy Based Security

17

Access Control must be applied to all users consistently and authorization decisions must be

audited.

18 Separation of domains, environments, networks and data where possible.

Table 13: Architecture Principles used to design th e IVFRT Solution

10.2.3 Proposed standards for the IVFRT solution:



No. Component Description Standard

1 Hyper Text

Transfer Protocol

Upgrade mechanism in HTTP/1.1 to

initiate Transport Layer Security

(TLS) over an existing TCP

connection

RFC 2616

2 Directory General purpose directory for user

access LDAP V3

3 File Transfer

Protocols Used for File Transfer

RFC 959 (with restart and

recovery) and HTTP

(RFC 2616) for file transfer

4 IP-sec

Internet Protocol Security

communications to authenticate and

encrypt each IP Packet of a data

stream.

RFC 2402 and RFC 2404

5 Transport

Security

Provides the encryption of data

channel between the network

endpoints.

SSL V3/TLS (RFC 2246)

6 Encryption

Algorithms Encryption of data 3DES, AES, Blowfish

7 Digital Signatures Provide mechanism for ensuring non-

repudiation and message security. RSA, DSA, DSS

8

Graphical/still

image information

exchange

specification

Store and retrieve graphical images

in a lossless manner (without loosing

the image quality)

For images that will not

tolerate information loss use

Tag Image Format(.tif)

When highly compressed

imaging is required use

Enhanced Compressed

Wavelet (.ecw)

9

Biometric data

interchange

Formats(finger

image data,

Finger pattern,

Standardize biometric data

interchange formats for the

interoperability of biometric

components.

ISO/IEC 19794-1, 19794-2,

19794-3, 19794-4, 19794-5,

19794-6, 19794-7



No. Component Description Standard

Face Image data,

Iris Image data)

10

Biometric

application and

programming

interface

Define set of interface that allows a

software application to communicate

with one or more biometric

technologies.

ISO/IEC DIS 19784-1.2

WSQ (Wavelet Scalar

Quantisation) (Grey-scale

fingerprint compression)

JPEG2000

11

Information

Security

Management

Code of practice for information

security management

BS7799 ISO/IEC 27002

12 APIS Electronic Data Interchange UN/EDIFACT

13 Application

Integration

Standard mechanism based on web

service, interoperability (WSI) for

integration with external application

WS-I

Table 14: Proposed Standards for the IVFRT Solution

Based on the existing contextual architecture of IVFRT system, recommended principles

and standards, the following conceptual services are proposed to be rendered through the

proposed IVFRT system.

10.3. Proposed Conceptual services at missions:

Figure 5: Proposed conceptual services at Missions

10.4. Proposed Logical Services at Missions



In order to secure the conceptual services for missions the following logical information

services are proposed:

Conceptual Business Service Logical Information Service

Facilitation


Application Tracking, Customer feedback and Grievance redressal

Visa Fee Calculation, Payment and Acknowledgement

Appointment Scheduling

Visa / OCI / PIO Application

Visa Application Acceptance

Visa Category Check

Visa Application Completeness Check

Regulatory Check


Document Requirement Check

Document Authentication Service

Document Archiving and Retrieval

Person Authentication

PRC Reference Check

Student Reference Check

Visa Applicant Profiling

Indian Passport Verification

Visa History Reference Check

Verify Travel History

Unique Person Identification Service

Watch list Check

Visa Issuance

Visa Sticker Allotment

Visa Personalization

Visa Sticker Printing

Monitoring and Reporting

Outsourced Service Provider SLA Monitoring

Inter Department SLA Monitoring

Financial Data Reporting

Visa Sticker Accountability Reporting

Alerting Service

Maintain Black List

Visa Information Upload

Table 15: Proposed Logical Services at Missions

10.5. Proposed Logical Application View for Missions



Figure 6: Proposed Logical Application view for Mis sions

10.6. Proposed Conceptual Services at Immigration

Existing Service

Proposed or Improved Service

Existing Database

Proposed or Improved Database

Existing Service


Existing Database




Figure 7: Proposed Conceptual Services at Immigrati on

10.7. Proposed Logical Services at Immigration

10.7.1 In order to secure the conceptual services for immigration the following

logical information services are proposed:


Advance Passenger Information Processing


Document Archiving and Retrieval Service

Document Verification Service

Advance Passenger Watch listing

Boarding clearance issuance

APIS data service

APIS data and unique person identification matching service

Passenger profiling

Person Authentication Unique Person Identification Service

Watch listing Check

Travel Document Verification


Document Authentication Service

Document Archiving and Retrieval Service

DE Card Collection and Processing DE Card digitization

Flight / Vessel Clearance issue flight/vessel clearance

Monitoring and reporting

Profiling Services

Watch listing services

Alerting service

Reporting and Data services



Alerting / Notification Service

SLA Monitoring

Table 16: Proposed Logical Services at Immigration

10.8. Proposed Logical Application View for Immigration

Figure 8: Proposed Logical Application view for Imm igration

10.9. Proposed Conceptual Services for Foreigner Registration and Tracking

Existing Service


Existing Database


Existing Service


Existing Database




Figure 9: Proposed Conceptual Services at FRT

10.10. Proposed Logical Services for FRT

10.10.1 In order to secure the conceptual services for Foreigner Registration and

Tracking (FRT) the following logical information services are proposed:


Facilitation


Application Tracking, Customer feedback and Grievance redressal

Registration Fee Calculation, Payment and Acknowledgement

Appointment Scheduling

Registration / Visa Extension and Conversion/ Exit Permit

Application

Application Acceptance

Visa Category Check

Application Completeness Check

Regulatory Check



Document Authentication

Document Archiving and Retrieval

MHA Reference Check (applicable visa extension)

Person Authentication

MHA Reference Check (applicable visa extension)

Student Reference Check

Applicant Profiling

Passport Verification (for PIO applicant)

Registration History Reference Check

Verify Travel History





Watch list Check

Resident Permit / Visa / Exit Permit Issuance

Visa Sticker Allotment

Visa Personalization

Visa Sticker Printing

Monitoring and Reporting

Financial Data Reporting

Visa Sticker Accountability Reporting

Alerting Service

Table 17: Proposed Logical Services at FRT

10.11. Proposed Logical Application view for FRT



Figure 10: Proposed Logical Application view for FR T

10.12. Key Solution Components of the proposed IVFRT solution

Existing Service


Existing Database


Existing Service


Existing Database




10.12.1 Unique case file - In order to enable security and effectively facilitate

legitimate passengers, each traveller will be uniquely identified. Every journey

that the traveller undertakes along with information captured at various stages

of the journey will be organized and stored in unique case files. A distributed

database of unique case files / dossiers pertaining to a traveller are proposed

and will be used by applications across Missions, Immigration and FRRO /

FROs. This case file on the database will hold all information pertaining to every

travel / visit by a traveller including information supplied during visa application,

PAX data, DE Card data, C Form data and registration data where relevant as

well as any adverse observations. Though the effective use of metadata it will

be possible to provide relevant views of the traveller across IVFRT to different

stakeholders with varying levels of access.

10.12.2 Biometric identification of traveller across IVFRT - To ensure that passengers

are uniquely identified at various touch points, biometrics applications and

engines will be installed at various touch points across IVFRT. One-to-one as

well as one-to-many biometrics matches will be designed in either real time or

batch processes based on requirement and network availability. As part of

personalisation of Visa stickers, it is proposed that feasibility of chip based visa

sticker or a 2 D barcode containing two fingerprints may be explored as part of

Phase 1 of implementation.

10.12.3 Risk assessment – To improve risk assessment an experience enabled and

system aided solution is proposed to determine the level of interest in a traveller

/ applicant and identify high risk individuals / travellers. To achieve the same

Risk Assessment is proposed as a combination of watch listing, profiling and

social network analysis. This will leverage interface with a number of internal

and external data sources such as the black list, LOC, LOP, Interpol’s SLTD,

CCTNS records, etc. This will address persons of interest as described below:

a. Known to be of interest and contained in a database or ‘Watch list’

b. Previously unknown to the Government but match the characteristics of a

predetermined

c. Profile of a person or other entity that is likely to be of interest to concerned

agencies.



d. Identified by analysis and data mining through trends or other patterns in data

sets.

10.12.4 EACS - A trusted traveller programme that facilitates trusted passengers

through speedier immigration clearance at ICP. To achieve this, a trusted

traveller program enabled is Electronic Access Control System is proposed

(EACS). The proposed EACS system will require pre-enrolment as well as will

rely on biometrics, watch lists and Unique Case Files to provide automated

immigration clearance.

10.12.5 APIS – As part of the IVFRT solution it is proposed that APIS capabilities

should be centralized that has adequate capabilities to interface with multiple

carriers for collection of API as well as PNR data. This will aid in advanced

passenger profiling for both international and domestic travel; thereby enabling

effective passenger profiling and tracking. Additionally, it is proposed that the

APIS system will have the ability to issue authority to carry intimations as a

response back to carriers. APIS capability to interface with data feed received

from carriers is proposed to be compliant with UN/EDIFACT standards. It is

also proposed that individual carriers be pre-certified for APIS compliance and

specific interfaces should be built for interfacing with airlines. This will ensure

that the data exchange through the interface is secure and automated as well

as extract, transform and load operations can be carried out to ensure data

conversion to type required by ICS.

10.12.6 For successful design and implementation of these key components the

following standards and security requirements are proposed:

Standards Components

UCF Risk

assessment and Profiling

Biometric System

EACS APIS



Hyper Text Transfer Protocol � � � � �

Directory � � � � �

File Transfer Protocols � � � � �

IP-sec � � � � �

Transport Security � � � � �

Encryption Algorithms � � � � �

Digital Signatures � � � � �

Graphical/still image information exchange specification

� � �

Biometric data interchange Formats(finger image data, Finger

pattern, Face Image data, Iris Image data)

� � �

Biometric application and programming interface

� � �

Information Security Management � � � � �

Security Requirement UCF Risk

assessment and Profiling

Biometric System

EACS APIS

User Enrolment and management � � � � �

Authentication � � � � �

Authorization � � � � �

N2K Authorization � � � � �

Date Labelling � � � �

Content Scanning � � � � �

N2K Data Release � � � �

Data Encryption in transit � � � � �

Data Encryption in repository � � � � �

End device protection � � � � �

Security Accounting � � � � �

Security Audit � � � � �

Security Testing � � � � �

Table 18: Proposed Standards and Security Requireme nts

10.13. Proposed IVFRT Solution

The proposed IVFRT solution deployment view is as depicted below:



Figure 11: Proposed IVFRT Solution deployment view

10.13.1 Two data centres, one for MEA (Visa related functions) and one for MHA (for

Immigration and FRT functions) are proposed as central system. These data

centres would be suitably connected with each other to enable cross flow of

requisite data for Unique Case File (UCF) creation and updation. Additionally,

data centres are proposed to be connected with missions (MEA) through NIC

Network or Internet as may be applicable and ICPs, FRROs, FROs (MHA)

through NICNET.

10.13.2 These data centres would independently store their databases and any

information exchange between the two would be based on role based access

control. The MEA data centre would own and host visa information data and

share it with ICPs (under MHA) on a read only basis to enable viewing

traveller’s visa information at ICPs. Similarly, relevant information related to



passenger’s ICP, tracking and registration data, would be shared with consular

officials to enable them take informed decision. It is proposed that at no point of

time, any access would be provided to any function to overwrite / update

existing database of other function.

10.13.3 To provide high security to these data centres, a Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is

proposed between two firewalls inside the data centre. Digital certificate for site

authenticity and SSL for on-the-wire data security is also proposed to augment

this further.

10.13.4 Mission data centre is proposed to comprise of the following

a. Visa Self-Service (VSS) web application used by foreigners to apply for visa,

PIO or OCI and fix appointments with missions and track application status. It

also allows consular officers to check appointment schedule

b. Improved CIS application and CIS database linked with Biometrics and

document scanning features

c. MEA centric profiling databases

d. Process choreography server

e. Other administrative databases

10.13.5 The MHA data centre is proposed to comprise of the following

a. Centralised APIS database

b. MHA centric profiling database

c. Improved ICS linked with biometric features

d. Web application for Visa Extension and Registration (VER) to enable

i. Foreigners to online apply for registration and fix appointments with FRRO

ii. FRROs for collection of C form online etc

e. Other administrative databases

10.13.6 Additionally, each data centre is proposed to comprise a UCF (Main)

database that comprises UCF header information including a unique UCF ID



along with other basic information about an individual. It also has the metadata

that links it to other related data elements such as visa, travel, registration,

arrest etc. When the UCF is accessed this data is pulled up and presented to

the user. Biometrics and scanned documents are also accessible through UCF

but due to their respective sizes, their access would be on need to know basis.

10.14. Proposed Information Exchange in the IVFRT system

10.14.1 Implementation of proposed IVFRT system would enable following

information exchange mechanism across the related functions:

Figure 12: Proposed information exchange in the IVF RT Solution

10.14.2 Visa processing process for Foreigner’s

a. Applicant fills his / her visa application online using web based online

application submission system

b. Online system validates the entered details and accepts visa fees using the

defined online payment modes (except in those countries where online

payments are not allowed)

c. Applicant takes online appointment for meeting consular officials to submit

physical copy of the supporting document, provide biometrics and interview

for visa processing



d. Applicant arrives for interview on specified date. All the required documents

would be collected, verified, scanned, validated (in case of doubt) and stored

in to databases at missions.

e. Biometric (finger prints, iris etc) information is collected for each of the

applicant and stored locally in mission databases

f. At the end of the first day, a batch process is executed and the batch file is

transferred to centrally located MEA database.

g. At MEA Headquarter in Delhi, each of the applicants information is checked

against existing UCF (Unique Case File), if a match is found then this data is

appended to existing UCF, if not found then a new UCF is opened for the

applicant

h. At MEA each of the new applicants goes through a risk profiling which

includes 1: N biometric matching against black lists, rejected lists etc. Risk

profiling will be executed against both MEA and MHA databases.

i. The results of the profiling are stored in MEA database

j. Before the end of second day, a batch process is executed and the results of

profiling are sent to each of the Missions.

k. At the beginning of third day, Missions use the information received and

accepts or rejects the application. Missions might run risk profiling against a

local black lists also in case it is found to be necessary. Visa Stickers will be

personalised and printed, with the inclusion of personalisation features such

as letter scan image, biometric chip or 2 D barcode containing fingerprints.

Accepted and rejected visas are dispatched or personally handed over to the

applicants.

l. At the end of third day, a batch process is executed to create a batch file with

status of each of the visa applications and this is sent to MEA database

where it is stored for future usage.

10.14.3 Foreigner’s entry into India



a. Traveller buys a ticket providing the required information; Airlines (and other

modes of travel) creates PNR files using all the travellers’ information and

sends it to centralized APIS database located at CFB, using a batch process.

b. At CFB, risk profiling is carried out on all these passengers at stipulated time

and the results are stored in a central database.

c. A batch process checks the results and in case any security threat is sensed,

sends an alert to airlines (and other modes of travel) based on which airlines

will not issue the boarding pass and / or take necessary action

d. 15 minutes after flight departure from foreign airport, Airline sends Flight

Manifest Data, APIS, adhering to UN/EDIFACT standards, to central APIS

database located at CFB.

e. Based on received Flight Manifest Data, CFB transfers all required data

(Flight Manifest, Visa, Biometrics, etc) pertaining to each of the passengers to

ICPs where the vessel will enter.

f. Upon arrival of vessel and disembarkation, passengers fill DE cards and

submit at ICP counters.

g. Each passenger visa is scanned and each passengers biometric details are

validated (1:1 check) against those available in the system after which

passenger is allowed to pass through. Additionally, in case of registration

requirement at FRRO / FRO, an online alert is send to FRRO for the

impending registration.

h. Immigration official enters passenger status and updates UCF and a batch

file for all passengers alighting from the specific aircraft is transferred to

central server at CFB.

i. The DE cards for passengers are scanned and required information is loaded

locally at ICPs. Subsequently all this information is transferred to central MHA

using batch program.

10.14.4 Foreigner Registration and Tracking



a. Based on Immigration data received from ICPs, CFB sends passenger data

(Visa, Biometric, UCF, etc) to the relevant FRRO / FROs.

b. Applicant fills his / her registration application online using web based online

application submission system for registration

c. Online system validates the entered details and accepts registration fees

using the defined online payment modes.

d. Applicant takes online appointment for meeting registration officials to submit

physical copy of the supporting document, provide biometrics and interview

for registration.

e. Applicant arrives for interview on specified date. All the required documents

would be collected, verified, scanned, validated (in case of doubt) and stored

in to databases at FRROs / FROs.

f. Each visa is scanned and each passengers biometric details are validated

(1:1 check) against those available in the system after which the decision to

grant / refuse registration is taken and registration official updates travel

history of the applicant and a batch file for all registrations is transferred to

central server at CFB.

10.14.5 Foreigner’s exit from India

a. Foreigner buys the ticket providing the required information; Airlines (and

other modes of travel) creates PNR files using all the travellers’ information

and sends it to centralized APIS database located at CFB, using a batch

process.

b. At CFB, risk profiling is carried out on all these passengers at stipulated time

and the results are stored in a central database.

c. A batch process checks the results and based on the travel itinerary, CFB

would transfer foreigner’s UCF to the related ICP. In case any security threat

is sensed, sends an alert to airlines (and other modes of travel) based on

which airlines will not issue the boarding pass and / or take necessary action

d. Upon arrival at ICP, foreigner fills DE card and submits at ICP counters.



e. Each passenger visa is scanned and each passengers biometric details are

validated (1:1 check) against those available in the system after which

passenger is allowed to pass through.

f. Immigration official enters passenger status and updates UCF. The batch file

for all passengers embarking from the specific flight is transferred to central

server at CFB.

g. The DE cards for passengers are scanned and required information is loaded



10.14.6 First time Indian traveller going abroad and first time PIO, OCI traveller

coming into India

a. Upon arrival at ICP, Indian traveller fills DE card and submits at ICP counters.

b. Immigration official captures Biometric (finger prints, iris etc) and other travel

details of the traveller and batch transfers them to CFB for UCF creation in

addition to current process of immigration checks and takes decision to let /

refuse exit / entry.

c. At CFB risk profiling is carried out on all these passengers at stipulated time

and UCF is created and stored in a central database

d. The DE cards for passengers are scanned and required information is loaded



e. It is important to note that this process would be true only to first time Indian

traveller going abroad and first time PIO, OCI traveller coming into India. For

subsequent travels, his immigration clearance would be at par with that

followed for foreign nationals.

10.15. The Ideal IVFRT Solution

10.15.1 It is proposed that upon successful implementation of the proposed IVFRT

system, all efforts should be channelized to sustain the same and move it

towards building a more intelligent and effective system with one central system

and real time information exchange with the central system, as depicted under:



Figure 13: Proposed Ideal IVFRT Solution

10.15.2 This deployment ensures that optimum utilization of resources, improved

process effectiveness and better management over the proposed IVFRT

deployment and real time information sharing.

10.15.3 However, implementation of this ideal system would require substantial

change in the policy guidelines and a common operational governance

structure / creation of an umbrella organization across IVFRT functions. Thus, it

is proposed that a phase wise migration / implementation plan be reviewed, and

validated during phase 2 of the implementation and subsequently an adoption

strategy created, if agreed, over a period to time to realize this.



11. Implementation requirements

11.1. It is estimated that complete implementation of the proposed IVFRT solution would

require design, development, testing and installation of various software and

installation of hardware across Missions, ICPs and FRROs and FROs at state capitals.

Based on the proposed IVFRT solution it is proposed that MEA and MHA central

capabilities be build which will extend and improve existing IT software at Missions

(CIS), ICPs (ICS) and FRROs/ FRO.

11.2. Currently an estimate of these requirements have been classified into MEA and MHA

Central Capabilities Requirements (comprising System Requirements and Enterprise

Management Solution for enabling central capabilities like UCF, Profiling etc) and

Mission, ICP and FRRO, FRO Requirements.

11.3. These estimated requirements should be re-validated as part of detailing the physical

architecture during the design phase for both phase 1 and 2 of the implementation of

the IVFRT project.

11.4. Estimated MEA and MHA Central Capabilities Requirements:

11.4.1 Estimated System Requirements:

Estimated IT components Category

Quantity

Production Disaster Recovery

Security Gateway Security Gateway 2 1

SMTP Gateway 2 1

Portal Layers

Portal Server (internal users) 2 1

Portal Database 2 1

Enterprise Search 2 1

Crawling, Collection, parsing, Indexing 2 1

Instant Messaging 2 1

Discussion Forum 2 1

Mail Messaging and Calendaring Server 2 1

Web Content Management Authoring Server 2 1

Access and Identity Management

Access Management +Directory services 2 1

Identity Management - User Provisioning/De-provisioning 1 1

Access Management for Operating System 1 1

Process Choreography Layers

Process Server 2 1

Process Server Monitor 2 1

Process Server + Monitor Database 2 1

Application Server - Immigration - No process 2 1

Document Management Servers DMS Content Engine 2 1



Estimated IT components Category

Quantity

Production Disaster Recovery

DMS Application Engine 3 1

DMS Database 2 1

Entity Analytics, Master Data Management, Risk Management

ETL Server 2 1

Data Profiling 2 1

Name Analytics and Scoring 2 1

Master Data Management System 2 1

Master Data Management DB Server 2 1

Entity Analytics Application 2 1

Entity Analytics Database 2 1

Business Rule Engine 3 1

Operational Database 2 1

Business Integration – With Airlines/SITA, with GDS system,

etc Business Integration Server 2 1

BI, Warehousing and Reporting Tools

Business Intelligence Gateway 2 1

Business intelligence Server 2 1

Business Intelligence Database 2 1

FRRO/Police Reporting for Foreign Person Reporting

(Hotels/Hospitals/etc system for submission of Forms C1)

Web Server (external users) 2 1

Application Server (external users) 2 1

Directory services 2 1

Business Database 2 1

VISA/FRRO Website for Rules/Regulations, Payment

Details, Visa Application status etc.


Application Server (external users) 2 1

Directory Services 2 1

Application Database 2 1

Gateway for Visa/FRRO application


Directory Services 2 1

Enterprise Service Bus as Gateway 2 1

ESB Database 2 1

Table 19: Estimated System requirements for MEA and MHA centralised capabilities

11.4.2 Enterprise Management Solution Requirements:

IT component Category Quantity

Production

Enterprise Management System - Backup and Archival Backup and Archival Server 2

Enterprise Management System - System Automation

Monitoring Server - Enterprise Management and Portal 1

Monitoring Server - Data Warehouse 1

Monitoring Server – SLA 1



IT component Category Quantity

Production

Network Management System Event Integration bus 1

Network Management Server 1

Software Inventory and Patch Mgmt

Provisioning Manager - Software Server 1

Provisioning Manager - Database Server 1

Provisioning Manager – Hardware 1

EMS - Help Desk Service Help Desk - Application Service Request Manager 1

Service Help Desk - Database Service Request Manager 1

EMS-Security Infrastructure Monitoring

Security Monitoring - Central Management Server 1

Security Monitoring - Database and Reporting Server 1

Security Monitoring - Event Aggregation Modules 1

Compliance Manager - Application and Database Server 1

Compliance Manager – Actuator 1

Table 20: Estimated EMS requirement for MEA and MHA centralised capabilities

11.4.3 Estimated space projections for APIS, Data Centre and Help Desk as

provided by NIC

Category Estimated Manpower

Numbers Per Shift

Estimated Unit Area Required (Sq. Ft.)

Total Area in Sq. Ft.

APIS

UPS (16 X 22) 352

Project In charge 1 1 135 135

Domain Specialist 2 1 135 135

Project Co-ordinator 2 1 135 135

Training / Change Management Specialist 6 2 135 270

DBA 4 1 135 135

System Admin 6 1 135 135

Suitable Agency 15 5 64 320

Data Processing Officer 150 50 64 3200




Numbers Per Shift



Help Desk 6 2 64 128

Reception (15 X 20) 300

Total 5245

Data Centre

Server Area (30 X 50) 1500

UPS (16 X 22) 352

DBA 4 1 135 135

Network Admin 4 1 135 135

Security Admin 4 1 135 135

OS Admin 4 1 135 135

Assistant and Back Up 16 4 64 256

Storage Area (15 X 15) 225

Total 2873

Server Area (22 X 30) 660

UPS (16 X 22) 352

Project In charge 1 1 135 135

DBA 4 1 135 135

Network Admin 4 1 135 135

Security Admin 4 1 135 135

OS Admin 4 1 135 135

Assistant and Back Up 16 4 64 256

Network Operations 12 3 64 192

Reception (10 X 12) 120

Total 2255

Common Area etc @ 10% of Total Area 1037




Numbers Per Shift



Total Area Projection 11410

Table 21: Estimated space projections for APIS, Dat a Centre and Help Desk provided by NIC

11.5. Estimated Mission, ICP FRRO and FRO Requirements

11.5.1 As a part of implementing the proposed solution, various existing software

including CIS, ICS would be upgraded to build, include and support the

functioning of proposed IVFRT system. Additionally, various IT hardware like

servers, Biometrics peripheral etc, as detailed below, will have to be installed at

missions, ICPs and FRROs and FROs locations.

11.5.2 The following hardware and software is estimated as would be installed at

missions, ICPs, FRROs and FROs

Requirements Particulars Description Purpose Quantity

/ counter

Hardware

Slap Scanner 10 Print Fingerprint Capture Device For Capturing 4-4-2 fingerprint profile 1

Document Scanner

Intelligent Document scanning device Programme will use existing legacy devices 1

Face Camera Digital Camera ICAO complaint facial image capture device 1

Iris Camera Dual Iris Capture camera For capturing Images and templates from Users Iris 1

Software

Biometric Enablement

Addition of Multi-Modal Biometric and biographic capture application supporting Finger, Face and Iris to Existing Application

Front-end desktop application capable of performing Quality checking and local matching of all Biometrics

1

Enrolment Application

Multi-Modal Biometric and biographic capture application supporting Finger, Face and Iris

Entire Biometric, Biographic and Document capture application

1

Document Database

(Local)

Reader Independent Travel Document Repository

Programme will use existing legacy devices 1



Requirements Particulars Description Purpose Quantity

/ counter

Document Database

(Extended)

Reader Independent Travel Document Security Template Repository

Programme will use existing legacy devices 1

Iris SDK Iris Image Capture Software Image quality and template generation software 1

Table 22: Estimated IT requirements at Missions, IC Ps, FRROs and FROs

11.5.3 We assume that missions on average have 10 counters each for consular

services and thus there would be (10 counters * 169 mission) 1690 counters

globally that would require the implementation of the estimated IT requirements

listed above.

11.5.4 Based on data provided by BoI there are 380 arrivals and 387 departure

counters handling immigration services. We propose that 1 unit each of above

mentioned estimated IT requirements be installed at each counter.

11.5.5 Based on stakeholder recommendation of implementing the FRT module of

the proposed IVFRT solution at only state capitals, we envisage only 29

implementations. The CCTNS project is also under implementation and under

the Ministry of Home Affairs. Since District SPs office functions as FROs, the

progressive rollout of the IVFRT solution at the district level is proposed to be

integrated with the rollout of CCTNS.

11.5.6 Further, we assume that on average, each FRRO (5 in number) has 8

registrations counter as compared to FRO (24 in number) which will have 4

counters. Thus, there exist 136 registration counters across India, which would

require implementation of 1 unit each of above mentioned IT requirements.

11.6. Networking Requirements

11.6.1 The network required for effective functioning of all the proposed services in

the proposed IVFRT solution design is as follows, based on assumption of an

online operations window of 2 sessions of 2 hrs each between Missions and

MEA Central System. For all other interactions, batch transfer or real time data

transfer can be supported and a dedicated MPLS network connecting MHA



Central System located at CFB with main ICPs / hubs and FRROs / FROs is

proposed.

Nodes (Bi directional traffic) Required Bandwidth

Node 1 Node 2

Mission MEA Central System 2Mbps

MEA Central System MHA Central System at CFB 2Mbps

MHA Central System at CFB ICP / ICP hub 2Mbps

ICP Hub Remote ICP 1Mbps

MHA Central System at CFB FRRO 2Mbps

MHA Central System at CFB FRO 1Mbps

MEA and MHA Central System Disaster Recovery Site 2Mbps

Table 23: Estimated Networking Requirements for the proposed IVFRT Solution

11.6.2 Additionally, it is proposed that existing high availability infrastructure being

set up at ICP be suitably leveraged for the proposed IVFRT system.

11.6.3 In order to ensure that current modernization initiatives are fully leveraged,

the network being put in place for (i) ICPs by the ongoing modernization

initiative by NIC, (ii) Missions as part of the Passport Seva project and (iii)

FRRO/ FROs as part of the CCNTS project; will be utilized for the IVFRT

solution.

11.7. Manpower Requirement

11.7.1 Based on the NIC figures and recommendation, it is estimated that the

following manpower would be required to for designing, implementation and

sustenance of the proposed IVFRT system.



Manpower Costs NIC Provided

Rates

Phase I Phase II

*FTE: Full Time Employee 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

Particulars FTE

Reqd

Cost per

Month Total Cost per Annum

Total Cost per Annum




Senior Technical Director 2 150,000 3,600,000 3,600,000 3,600,000 3,600,000 1,800,000 Technical Director 9 120,000 12,960,000 12,960,000 12,960,000 12,960,000 6,480,000 PSA/SSA 52 65,000 40,560,000 40,560,000 40,560,000 40,560,000 20,280,000 Programmer 58 50,000 34,800,000 34,800,000 34,800,000 34,800,000 17,400,000 Assistant Programmer 167 35,000 70,140,000 70,140,000 70,140,000 70,140,000 35,070,000 Software development support 60

100,000 72,000,000 72,000,000 72,000,000 72,000,000 36,000,000

Documentation Assistants 4 10,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 480,000 240,000 Network cum field engineer 94 20,000 22,560,000 22,560,000 22,560,000 22,560,000 11,280,000 Help Desk Project. Inch 1 200,000 2,400,000 2,400,000 2,400,000 2,400,000 1,200,000 Help desk FMS 21 100,000 25,200,000 25,200,000 25,200,000 25,200,000 12,600,000

Sub total 468

284,700,000

284,700,000

284,700,000

284,700,000

142,350,000

20% of the above budgeted as wage inflation and another 20% budgeted to hire Consultants, PMO Experts etc

113,880,000

113,880,000

113,880,000

113,880,000

56,940,000

Travel related expenses budgeted at 15% of total manpower costs

59,787,000

59,787,000

59,787,000

59,787,000

29,893,500

Manpower Costs Total 458,367,000

458,367,000

458,367,000

458,367,000

229,183,500

Table 24: Total Manpower requirements

a. Phase 1 of implementation is estimated to be of 15 month duration, starting

April 2010 to June 2011, and thus total manpower cost for the year 2010 has

been considered.

b. Rows 1-5 from Senior Technical Director to Assistant Programmer outlines

NIC staff, Rows 6-10 from Software Development Support to Help Desk FMS

are Outsourced Staff.

c. Rows 1-6 from Senior Technical Director to Software Development Support

will be part of implementation team

d. Phase 2 of implementation is estimated to end by October 2014, thus

manpower cost for FY 2014-15 has been taken for 6 months only



12. Implementation Strategy and Program Plan

12.1. Implementation Strategy

12.1.1 The IVFRT solution is proposed to be implemented in two phases:

12.1.2 Phase 1

a. It is proposed that a 1st phase encompassing few selected services should be

undertaken to completely understand the baseline requirement for complete

implementation of such large solution. This would a small but comprehensive

coverage of the proposed solution spread across selected missions, ICPs

and FRROs

12.1.3 Phase 2

a. Upon successful completion of phase 1, It is envisaged that a stage wise

implementation strategy be adopted for complete roll out the proposed IVFRT

solution, where in all the proposed logical services be rightly prioritised and

ably grouped for its design, development and testing and implementation.

b. Further it is proposed that IVFRT solution be rolled out as indicated below:

i. A detailed due diligence exercise should be conducted as part of the detailed

design phase in Phase 2 to identify the locations that either have the required

IT infrastructure as outlined in the baseline requirement or have the potential

for speedy updation in IT infrastructure. These locations may then be chosen

on priority for implementation of solution design.

ii. The locations which currently do not have adequate IT infrastructure should

be suitably provided with the IT infrastructure to comply with baseline

requirement to ensure implementation of the IVFRT solution.

iii. It is proposed that the approaches to choosing the locations for

implementation be based either on geographic clustering, capability /

infrastructure availability and or locations that pose the largest challenges or

size. This should be re-validated during detailed design in the implementation

phase.



1. Missions – Missions that currently use NIC software and are connected to a

central system are also the largest 29 missions. They would be good

candidates with the necessary infrastructure in place to be considered for the

implementation early on. Subsequently the 50 odd missions with MEA home

grown software need to be considered for application and data

standardization. Finally the remaining missions with diverse applications need

to be considered. This approach will bring in large application volumes in the

net early on as well as align well with existing infrastructure capability and this

approach should be revalidated as part of design during the implementation

phase.

2. Indian Visa function post IVFRT solution implementation

Figure 14: Indian Visa function post IVFRT solution implementation

3. Immigration – Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) managed exclusively by BoI

as well as ICPs jointly managed by BoI and State Police with high availability

infrastructure is in place or is being deployed. Then subsequently consider

ICPs exclusively managed by State Police. This approach will bring in large

application volumes in the net early on as well as align well with existing



infrastructure capability and this approach should be revalidated as part of

design during the implementation phase.

4. Indian Immigration function post IVFRT solution implementation

Figure 15: Indian Immigration function post IVFRT s olution implementation

5. FRRO – It is proposed that the IVFRT solution should be rolled out to FRROs

first and then later explored on the best mechanisms to propagate further to

other FROs at state capitals. This approach will bring in large application

volumes in the net early on as well as align well with ease of implementation

given the boundary of influence and this approach should be revalidated as

part of design during the implementation phase. The CCTNS project is also

under implementation and under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Since District

SPs office functions as FROs, the progressive rollout of the IVFRT solution at

the district level is proposed to be integrated with the rollout of CCTNS.



6. Indian FRT function post IVFRT solution implementation

Figure 16: Indian FRT function post IVFRT solution implementation

12.2. Implementation Plan

12.2.1 Overall MMP Implementation Timelines



Figure 17: Overall MMP Implementation Timelines

12.2.2 The overall programme implementation is expected to be completed in

approximately 4.5 years from March 2010 till September 2014. It is proposed

that prior to complete roll out, phase 1 is conducted from March 2010 till June

2011 to de-risk the implementation.

12.2.3 Post phase 1; the programme will be rolled-out in 3 stages with clear

milestones, covering all the Indian Missions, Immigration Check Posts (ICPs),

FRROs and FROs at state capitals. During the 3 stages, interfaces will be

developed with other relevant e-Governance programmes such as passport

seva, CCTNS as well as external agencies such as Airlines, Interpol’s SLTD,

Universities, Hotels, Hospitals, Dharam Shalas, etc.

a. The proposed integrated IVFRT solution implementation is expected to be

completed by September 2014.



12.2.4 The programme plan proposes establishing a Programme Governance

Structure, and a Programme Monitoring Unit (PMU) along the

recommendations and guidelines provided by the NeGP.

12.2.5 The plan also proposes activities related to training, capacity building, change

management, communication, and awareness that need to be carried out to

support and ensure programme implementation success of the MMP.

12.2.6 Implementation of Phase 1

a. The programme envisages commissioning and execution of phase 1 from

March 2010 to June 2011 (15 months).

b. Stakeholders have designated NIC as the nodal implementation agency for

phase 1

c. The following outcomes are envisaged during the execution of phase 1 and a

list of services to be released as part of phase 1 are listed in the figure below:

i. Online visa application, appointment scheduling and fee payment facilities

(where applicable) at the selected missions.

ii. Enhanced capability to verify authenticity of submitted documents at

Missions, ICPs and FRRO/ FROs by using intelligent document scanners.

iii. Integrating existing Consular Issuance System (CIS) and Immigration Control

System (ICS) to make relevant information available at selected phase 1

locations and at the Central Foreigners Bureau (CFB) primarily for decision

making regarding visa issuance and security screening at ICPs.

iv. Implementing the core services such as biometrics and risk profiling at the

selected locations.

v. MIS reports, alerts and reminder generation facilities in near real time to

ensure on demand availability of the relevant information.

vi. Capacity building at the selected locations including necessary training and

effective communication.



Figure 18: Phase 1 services release

12.2.7 Phase 1 is proposed to be conducted at the following locations:

i. Missions: London and Dhaka

ii. ICPs: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Haridaspur

iii. FRROs: Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata

12.3. Complete roll out of solution

12.3.1 Post completion of phase 1 by June 2011, it is expected that the detailed

implementation plan covering systems (hardware, software, and infrastructure

components) requirements, manpower requirements, costing, and

implementation model for a complete roll-out will be available. This will be used

for initiation of contracting for the implementation phase. The contracting for the

implementation phase is proposed from July 2011 till October 2011 and

involves preparation of detailed implementation plans, bid documents, bid

processes, etc.

12.3.2 The complete MMP implementation is proposed from July 2011 until

September 2014 in three stages. The implementation would require design,

development and testing of various services proposed in the solution design

and thus it’s recommended that these services be logically clubbed into three

stages as below and designed in parallel to ensure their timely development

and implementation.



Figure 19: Phase 2 services release

12.3.3 Each of the 3 stages will involve design, development, testing, and

implementation of the identified system capabilities, management of

programme risks, as well as change management and capacity building to

implement the IVFRT solution across all Missions, ICPs, and FRROs.

12.3.4 Integration with other e-Governance Programmes

a. The IVFRT system proposes to achieve integration with a number of other e-

Governance programmes like Passport Seva (MEA), e-Migrate (MOIA and

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (Police).

b. The IVFRT solution also proposes to enable data exchange with universities,

hotels, carriers, etc., for various types of information related to travellers.

12.3.5 Data Migration

a. Data migration is a key element for the adaptation of new IVFRT system.

Data migration for the new IVFRT system is proposed as below:



b. Existing legacy data and formats are proposed to be studied to identify their

compatibility with designed and implemented data formats and models during

Phase 2 of implementation. Based on the match, a details data cleansing and

migration strategy should be defined and completed during Phase 2 of the

implementation.

12.4. Project Governance

12.4.1 Governance Structure

a. The project governance structure will be constituted by August 2009 as

detailed below to ensure effective project governance:

Entity Composition

Empowered Committee

(EC)

Chair - Home Secretary

Provide overall guidance on policy level matters and act as the final body for

approving deliverables relating to the Programme

Programme Steering

Committee (PSC)

Chair - Additional Secretary (Border Management)

Provide steer to the PeMT

Project e- Mission Team

(PeMT)

Chair - Joint Secretary (Foreigners)

Accountable for the successful delivery of the IVFRT Project

PeMT Support Structure

Project

Management Group

Technical Team

(NIC – Nodal Agency)

Process Advisory Committee

Project Management Technical Solution and

Implementation

Process Re-engineering

Project Teams

Oversee Design, Development, Testing, Implementation and Roll Out across

Missions/ ICPs/ FRROs & FROs, suitably aided by PeMT support structure

• Missions Project Team: Chair - JS (CPV)

• ICPs Project Team: Chair - JD (BoI)

• FRROs/ FROs Project Team: Chair - JD (BoI)

Figure 20: Project Governance Structure



b. The governance team will be headed by Empowered committee, under the

chair of Home Secretary, followed by Programme Steering Committee, under

the chair of Additional Secretary, Border Management.

c. It is proposed that a project e-mission team (PeMT) be constituted under the

chair of Joint Secretary (Foreigners) and would be accountable foe ensuring

successful implementation of the proposed IVFRT solution

d. Further, set up of department specific project team, from mission, Immigration

and FRRO/FRO is proposed, who would be responsible for implementing the

solution in their respective service domains.

e. Further it is proposed that an independent quality evaluation system, based

on CAF (Conformity Assessment Framework) be instituted for conducting the

conformance audits during the course of implementation. This would include

a detailed plan for system audit during phase 1 and 2 of implementation and

its reporting to NeGP, as per the Conformity Assessment Framework (CAF).



13. Change Management Strategy The following changes are proposed as a part of proposed IVFRT solution design:

13.1. Change Spectrum - Missions

13.1.1 Technology

a. Current application submission system at missions will be rationalised

through introducing an online visa application submission system, with

following features, to ease workload of consular officers through migrating

time consuming responsibility of data entry by consular officers to application

data scrutiny and document verification. This system also has large potential

to improve customer facilitation as this system shall:

i. Provide complete and accurate information on Indian visa rules, types of visa

offered, document requirement, applicable visa fee, etc to the traveller.

ii. Allows applicants to fill the visa application forms online and track its status

(including courier tracking)

iii. Accepts multiple payment modes for accepting visa fee.

iv. Allows applicant to select interview schedule (date and time of interview),

wherever applicable

b. Scientific document examining instruments like QDX, UV and IR scanner

Passport Reading Machine will be installed at missions / consulates and used

by consular officers to verify travel documents like passports submitted by the

applicants.

c. An online document management system will be designed and implemented

at missions which will enable storing electronic copies of all visa applications

submitted at the missions and allow the concerned personnel to retrieve them

electronically to verify applicant’s past details.

d. Missions/ consulates shall be provided access to PISON, OCI and PIO

database to further improve the document verification system

e. For cases involving reference checks from various authorities in India (like for

PRC, student visa etc), an integrated workflow system across all concerned



institutions ( Missions, Education institutions MHA, MEA, BoI etc) would to be

designed and implemented to seek / improve timely response from all

concerned stakeholders on queries.

f. Missions would use biometric applications (fingerprints) to distinctly verify a

visa applicant’s identity

g. Risk assessment capabilities, that includes Profiling, watch listing and social

network analysis at missions would be enhanced through instituting an

integrated and centralised system for checking applicant’s identity against the

multiple intelligence database (including but not limited to BL /LOC) to take

decision on visa issuance / refusal. Thus, a team of skilled analytics should

be instituted at headquarter of CPV division of MEA to conduct risk

assessment exercise on all collected visa data as elaborated in solution

design

h. Large missions, that have outsourced their visa application submission

process, would build suitable mechanism to regularly track and monitor their

Service Level Agreements with outsourced service providers and take

necessary actions in consultation with concerned stakeholders to infuse more

accountability in the SLA driven system and improve their customer

facilitation and reduce work load of consular officers.

i. Advanced security features like letter image, 2D encrypted biometric

application, on Indian Visa stickers would be included to further enhance its

security features

j. Existing IT systems and application at missions would be suitably integrated

with systems at other Missions / consulates, ICPs, FRROs and should be

upgraded to build and perform intelligence functions like profiling, generate

customised alerts, etc

k. An elaborate and customised capability building plan that identifies new skills

requirement of consular officers and ensures applicable training delivery at

respective countries of operation would be designed and implemented to

improve their skills on local document verification, person authentication,

usage of new technology etc.



13.1.2 Process

Consular officials shall process visa application as under:

Process

Steps Description

Application

Submission

Process

Visa application submission is driven by an online application submission

system that enables applicant to fill and submit visa application, schedule

interviews (where applicable), make payments and track their application

status online. However, applicant shall have to visit missions / outsourced

service provider to submit a filled copy of the application form and

supporting documents and give finger impressions

In cases where Missions have outsourced this process, the outsourced

service provider shall collect the visa application form and supporting

document from the applicant and submit the same to the consular officer for

further processing

Document

Verification

Consular Officers shall verify submitted documents through:

Scrutinizing the completeness and accuracy of the submitted application,

the supporting documents and scanning the same into the system

Retrieving earlier application records, in case of re-application, and

verifying its details with the submitted document set

Using scientific document examiners like UV/IR scanners, QDX machine,

Full Page Readers for verifying travellers travel documents

Person

Authentication

Consular officers shall authenticate applicant's identity through:

Taking applicant's fingerprints at the time of document submission and

storing in the system to create a unique case file ( In case of mission who

have outsourced their application submission process, the process can be

handled by Indian officials posted at the respective centres of outsourced

service provider)



Process

Steps Description

Matching passport details against the available BL/LOC database at the

counter and on need basis, they may also refer PISON, PIO, OCI

databases

Conducting a brief interview of the applicant, wherever applicable, to

ascertain applicant's authenticity and travel purpose

For PRC, an online workflow system as proposed, shall be used to seek

references from the concerned stakeholders

Visa Printing Based on successful document verification and person authentication, the

system shall personalize the visa stickers and print them online

Passport

Delivery

Front office / Outsourced service provider shall arrange to deliver passport

to the applicant

Table 25: Recommended visa process at Missions

13.1.3 People

The following role wise skills are proposed to be build / enhanced to successfully execute

the visa related services envisaged under the proposed IVFRT Solution

Skill Set Description

Skill Requirement for Visa Issuance Process

Front office team

Visa Processin

g Team

Asst Consular Officer

/ Visa Attaché

Second Secretar

y

Risk Assessme

nt and Reporting

Functional Skills

Working knowledge of Information systems

Consular Information System

Basic Advanced Expert Advance

d Expert

PISON, OCI,PIO etc

Basic Advanced Expert Advance

d Expert

Biometric application

Advanced Advanced Expert

Advanced Expert

Document Management System

Advanced

Advanced Expert Advance

d Expert

Unique Case Files

Basic Advanced Expert Advanced

Expert

Updating local BL

Basic Basic Expert Advance

d Expert




Skill Requirement for Visa Issuance Process

Front office team

Visa Processin

g Team

Asst Consular Officer

/ Visa Attaché

Second Secretar

y

Risk Assessme

nt and Reporting

into the system Online Application Submission System

Advanced

Advanced Expert Advanced

Expert

Risk Assessment Services

Basic Basic Expert Advanced

Expert

Reference Checks through workflow systems

Basic Basic Advance

d Expert Expert

Soft Skills

Data Analytical abilities Good Excellent Good Good Excellent

Oral Communication Excellent Good Good Good Good

Customer Service skills Excellent Good Good Good Good Problem Solving and knowledge sharing attitude

Good Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent

People Management skills Good Good Excellent Excellent Good

Learning capability Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Stress Management Capabilities

Good Good Excellent Excellent Good

Team motivating skills Good Good Excellent Excellent Good

Table 26: Proposed People Role and Skill Map at Mis sions

a. Further, it is proposed that these functional skills set be classified as:

i. Basic skills – Skills required using basic features of the application. For e.g. –

Front office team at missions should be able to fill data in the CIS

ii. Advanced Skills – Skills required using advanced features of the application.

For e.g. Visa processing team should be able to run intelligent data search on

CIS.

iii. Expert Skills – Skills required performing advanced analysis and generating

adhoc reports on the systems. For E.g. – Visa Attaché should be able to



generate various reports using multiple databases and information points into

the system.

13.2. Change Spectrum - Immigration

13.2.1 Technology

a. APIS capabilities would be stabilized to a centralized format and then

extended for Advance Passenger Profiling capabilities, which can be further

extended in the future for issuing Right to Board.

b. A centralized service would be considered for updating / checking BL so that


c. Automated updation of alerts and watch-listing services based on data

captured at ICPs

d. Existing risk assessment capabilities at ICPs would be improved through

instituting an integrated and centralised risk assessment system, (comprising

profiling, watch listing and social network analysis) to ascertain applicant’s

identity against the multiple intelligence database (including but not limited to

BL/LOC) for facilitating improved targeted interventions. Thus, a highly skilled

team of analytics would be instituted centrally, preferably at CFB, to conduct

these exercises, as shown in solution design, generate alerts / notifications

and disseminates them to all concerned accordingly.

e. ICPs would have customised and privileged access to unique case files /

dossiers of passenger created at Missions / Consulates and would have

selective access to update the same based on specific ICP data received.

f. ICPs should have access to PISON, PIO and OCI databases to ensure

distinct authentication of passenger’s identity.

g. An elaborate and customised capability building plan that identifies new /

improved skills requirement of Immigration officials would be designed and

implemented to improve their skills on identifying security features of travel

documents, verifying documents, authenticating passenger’s identity, usage

of new technology etc.



h. Flight clearance process would be migrated to IT driven process through

installing compatible software that is able to receive flight manifest online and

matches its details against the PAX data received through PRM.

i. Existing IT systems at ICPs would be suitably integrated with systems at

other Missions / consulates, ICPs, FRROs and should be upgraded to build

and perform intelligence abilities like count in count out, profiling, generate

customised alerts, etc

13.2.2 Process

Immigration officials at ICP shall conduct immigration clearance of passengers as under:

Process

Steps Description

Pre Travel

Information

Processing

APIS data shall be centrally matched against various intelligence databases

to distinctly authenticate incoming passengers. The results of the same

shall be communicated to the respective ICPs in near real time

Person

Authentication

Immigration officer at the counter shall authenticate travellers identity and

travel purpose through:

Taking travellers fingerprints at the counter and matching its details against

the stored Unique Case File of the traveller


counter

Conducting a brief interview of the traveller at the counter

Document

Verification

Immigration officer at counter can verify passenger's travel document

through:

Retrieving online unique case file of the passenger generated at missions

and matching its detail with the document submitted by passenger at the

counter


Full Page Readers for verifying passenger's travel documents



Process

Steps Description

DE Card

Collection and

processing

The collected DE cards shall be collected and digitised into the system

Flight

Clearance

For outbound flights, flight clearance shall be based on the online match

between carrier specific passenger data from immigration control system

and flight manifest from airlines

For inbound flights, flight clearance shall be based on the online match

between carrier specific passenger data from immigration control system

and APIS data from airlines

Table 27: Recommended immigration process

13.2.3 People

People The following role wise skills are proposed to be build / enhanced to successfully

execute the Immigration related services envisaged under the proposed IVFRT Solution


Skill Requirement for Immigration Clearance Process

Immigration Counter

ICP back office

Duty Officer FRRO

Risk Assessment

and Reporting

Functional Skills

Working knowledge of Information Systems

APIS Basic Expert Advanced Advanced Expert PISON, OCI,PIO etc Basic Expert Advanced Advanced Expert

Biometric application

Basic Expert Advanced Advanced Expert



Unique Case Files Basic Advanced Advanced Advanced Expert

Updating local BL into the system


Passenger Database Basic Expert Advanced Advanced Expert


Basic Advanced Expert Expert Expert

Soft Skills

Data Analytical abilities Good Excellent Excellent Good Excellent

Oral Communication Excellent Good Good Good Good

Customer Service skills Excellent Good Good Good Good




Skill Requirement for Immigration Clearance Process

Immigration Counter

ICP back office

Duty Officer FRRO

Risk Assessment

and Reporting

Problem Solving and knowledge sharing attitude Good Good Excellent Excellent Excellent


Learning capability Good Good Excellent Excellent Excellent

Stress Management Capabilities Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Good


Table 28: Proposed People Role and Skill Map at Imm igration



Front office team at ICP should be able to accurately check BL status, Visa

detail in the system etc


For e.g. Back office team at ICP should be able to perform data search on

various applications


adhoc reports from the systems. For E.g. – Duty officer should be able to

generate various reports using multiple databases and information points

from the system

13.3. Change Spectrum - Foreigner’s Registration and Tracking (FRT)

13.3.1 Technology

a. Scientific document examining instruments like QDX, UV and IR scanner

Passport Reading Machine would be installed at FRRO/FRO to assist the

officials in distinctly verify travel documents.

b. Instituting an integrated, centralised and online document archival, storage

and retrieval system of registration application and supporting submitted

documents to provide / improve connectivity and exchange of scanned

documents between various stakeholders and enabling cross verification of

the submitted documents.



c. Applicant’s case files stored at FRROs, FROs, would be digitised and suitably

integrated across FRROs, FROs, ICPs and Missions. All stakeholders would

have secure role based access and availability of documents and electronic

records for necessary usage purposes.

d. FRROs, FROs would be provided access to PISON, OCI and PIO database

to further improve the document verification system

e. Rationalise current application submission system through instituting an

online Registration application submission system, with following features, to

ease workload of registration officers through migrating time consuming

responsibility of data entry by registration officers to application data scrutiny

and document verification. These systems shall:

i. Provide complete and accurate information on registration rules and process,

document requirements, applicable fee etc.

ii. Allows applicants to fill registration application forms online

iii. Accepts multiple payment modes for accepting registration fee.

iv. Allows applicant to select interview schedule (date and time of interview)

f. Registration official’s would use biometric applications (fingerprints) based

unique case files / dossiers created and updated at missions / consulates /

ICPs for authenticating applicant’s identity

g. Existing IT systems and application at FRROs would be suitably integrated

with IT systems at other FRROs / FROs, Missions / consulates, ICPs and

should be upgraded to build and perform intelligence functions like overstay,

profiling, generate customised alerts, etc

i. Computerize FROs on priority basis to improve FRT process

h. For cases requiring inputs from MHA, educational institutes, hotels, arrest

records etc, an integrated workflow system across all concerned institutions

(Missions, Education institutions MHA, MEA, BoI etc) would be designed and

implemented to seek / improve timely response from all concerned

stakeholders on queries.



i. Mandatory data sharing policy guidelines related to foreigner's registration by

organizations like universities etc should be incorporated and strictly enforced

i. An elaborate and customised capability building plan that identifies new skills

requirement of registration officers and ensures applicable training delivery

should be designed and implemented to improve their skills on document

verification, person authentication, usage of new technology etc.

13.3.2 Process

Registration officials at ICPs shall function as under:

Process

Steps Description

Application

Submission

Process

Registration application submission is driven by an online application

submission system that enables applicant to fill and submit registration

application online, schedule interviews and make payments. However, an

applicant would have to visit the FRRO to submit a copy of the filled

application form and supporting documents.

Document

Verification

Registration Officers shall verify submitted documents through:

Scrutinizing the completeness and accuracy of the submitted application,

the supporting documents and scanning the same into the system

Retrieving earlier application records, in case of re-application, and verifying

its details with the submitted document set


Full Page Readers for verifying travellers travel documents

Person

Authentication

Registration officers shall authenticate applicant's identity through:

Taking applicant's fingerprints at the counter and matching its details

against the stored Unique Case File of the traveller


counter and on need basis, they may also refer PISON, PIO, OCI

databases



Process

Steps Description

Conducting a brief interview of the applicant, wherever applicable, to

ascertain applicant's authenticity and stay purpose

For cases involving requisite clearances from MHA, an online workflow

system as proposed, shall be used

RP Issuance Based on successful document verification and person authentication, the

system shall print the Resident Permit

Table 29: Recommended FRT Process

13.3.3 People

The following role wise skills are proposed to be build / enhanced to successfully execute

the foreigner’s registration related services envisaged under the proposed IVFRT Solution


Skill Requirement for Foreigner's Registration Proc ess

Front office team

Application Processing

Team

Registration Team Lead FRRO

Risk Assessment

and Reporting

Functional Skills

Working knowledge of databases

Foreigner's Registration System

Basic Advanced Expert Basic Expert

PISON, OCI,PIO etc Basic Advanced Expert Basic Expert

Biometric application Basic Expert Advanced Basic Expert


Basic Expert Advanced Basic Expert

Unique Case Files Basic Advanced Expert Advanced Expert

Updating local BL into the system

Basic Advanced Expert Advanced Expert

Online Application Submission System

Advanced Expert Expert Basic Expert


Basic Basic Expert Advanced Expert

Reference Checks through workflow

Basic Basic Advanced Expert Expert




Skill Requirement for Foreigner's Registration Proc ess

Front office team

Application Processing

Team

Registration Team Lead FRRO

Risk Assessment

and Reporting

systems

Soft Skills

Data Analytical abilities Basic Advanced Expert Expert Excellent

Oral Communication Excellent Excellent Excellent Good Good

Customer Service skills Excellent Excellent Excellent Good Good

Problem Solving and knowledge sharing attitude Good Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent


Learning capability Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent

Stress Management Capabilities Good Good Excellent Excellent Good


Table 30: Proposed People Role and Skill Map at Imm igration



Registration team should be should be able to fill data into the registration

system etc


For e.g. Registration team at FRRO should be able to perform data search on

various applications


adhoc reports from the systems. For E.g. – Team lead in the registration

team should be able to generate various reports using multiple databases

and information points from the system

13.4. Proposed Change Management Strategy

13.4.1 The following communication strategy is proposed:

Implementation Phase Communication Strategy

What to Communicate Who to communicate

Commencement of the project

Reasons behind the change initiative, details of roles likely to be impacted and benefit

accruals

All staff members in the respective department



Implementation Phase Communication Strategy

What to Communicate Who to communicate

Roles and responsibility of change task force All staff members in the respective

department

Mechanism for issue / concern redressal of staff members


Overview of capability building plan with timelines for locations selected for solution

implementation


Project Run Phase

Hold regular one to one meeting with the staff members and address their issues / concerns

appropriately

Concerned staff members individually

Highlight quick wins as and when realized and recognize individual contributions to the

project


Provide status updates to all staff members on solution implementation and highlight staff members achievement (success stories) at

defined frequency

All staff members in the respective department and the apex

committee members

Assess communication need (functional and soft skills), communicate training plan, arrange to impart training to staff members and send

communications accordingly


Share training feedback received from the trained staff members

All staff members related with IVFRT processes

Deliverable submission stage

Highlight the success of the initiative and benefits accrued to all departments / members


committee members

Recognize staff members contribution in implementation before apex committee

members


committee members

Table 31: Proposed Communication Strategy

13.4.2 Capability Building Strategy

a. Training need Assessment

i. It is proposed that change task force at the respective missions / ICP / FRRO

qualitatively assess the training need of their staff members, who will be

entrusted with responsibility of rendering various services as proposed under

IVFRT solution design:



1. Functional Training Need Assessment is proposed to be conducted through

having detailed one to one meeting with the staff members and

understanding the match between the current skill possessed by the staff

member with the skill role map as proposed above, to identify the training

requirements in the respective areas

2. Change team is proposed to assess the soft skill training requirements of

staff members at missions / ICPs / FRROs through conducting a qualitative

skill mapping exercise, wherein the mission representatives qualitatively

assess the demonstrated capabilities of the staff members and match them

against the skill role map as proposed, to identify the training requirements in

the respective areas.

b. Training plan

1. Based on the identified training requirement, change task force is proposed to

make a training plan that highlights training type, name, staff member

concerned and date of training. Additionally, change team is also proposed to

arrange to provide training to all concerned, as deemed appropriate, and

track their effectiveness.

2. It is proposed that the relevant functional training be imparted preferably, by

the member of the IT implementation team of the project, where as training

on soft skills may be provided by either an in house expert or a specialist in

the concerned area may be hired.

3. Additionally, it is proposed that change task force should regularly monitor the

schedule and effectiveness of these training to ensure solution design

implementation timelines.



14. Costing Assumptions

14.1. Budget estimations of such large and complex Programme Plans as proposed in this

IVFRT solution merit a lot of collaborative design with key stakeholders; which has

been attempted through a steering committee meeting and detailed discussion with

key stakeholders.

14.2. Assumptions used for system sizing to develop the budget estimation are listed in the

subsequent section and should be validated with key stakeholders. Changes

recommended in the assumptions may impact the budgets estimated.

14.3. Given the sensitive nature of sovereign functions involved in this MMP; the project

teams understanding of current mechanisms and IT capability is highly dependent on

published information, sanctions provided and information made available by

stakeholders through discussions and workshops.

14.4. A detailed inventory of hardware and software was not possible to be made available

to the project team and thus the programme budget estimation accounts mostly for

building up the central / core capabilities required for the IVFRT solution, biometrics

capabilities across IVFRT and a small portion of the budgets for missions, ICPs and

FRROs.

14.5. It is anticipated that this programme will leverage the existing IT capabilities at

missions, ICPs and FRROs and costs for a technology re-fresh of existing capabilities,

which may be required in the course of the programme, has not been budgeted for.

14.6. There is also very large variance in networking capability by location across IVFRT

and this programme budget estimation doesn’t attempt to address costs related to

networking rather leverages current initiatives for networking that have been

sanctioned and are in various stages of roll out for missions as part of the passport

seva project, ICPs as part of the modernization programme as well as FRROs and

FROs as part of CCTNS.

14.7. Physical infrastructure provisioning for site preparation of ICPs at remote locations

including furniture, electric fittings, telephone, cabins etc and is estimated at INR 35

lakhs per ICP and has been provisioned for a total of 43 ICPs. This is estimated at

around INR 15 crores.

14.8. A contingency budget of around 5% of the overall programme budget has been

accounted for to address any unforeseen expenses.



14.9. Given the complexity of this programme and relevant experience being a key

ingredient to success; it may be important to consult international experts. This needs

to be agreed with key stakeholders and relevant costs have not been budged for in the

estimation presented here.

14.10. Assumptions used for system sizing and deriving programme costs

14.10.1 Biometrics

a. In 2007 approximately 5,000,000 foreigners visited India resulting in

19,700,000 ICP crossings. Approximately 300,000 foreigners registered at

FRROs / FROs. Around 10,000,000 Indians crossed ICPs.

b. The following assumptions are used for forecasting growth and deriving

programme costs related to biometrics.

i. Visa and registrations as well as travel by Indian passport holders is

estimated to grow at a growth rate of 15% annually.

ii. 5 years is estimated as the average validity period for storing data related to

visas and registrations.

iii. It is estimated that rejection rate for visa applications is1%. And 10 years is

the estimated retention time for rejection cases for reference by the IVFRT

system.

iv. Average visa validity is estimated for 1 year.

v. An average peak day load factor of 2 is estimated for sizing the system.

vi. Four average numbers of visits per year per active visa has been estimated.

vii. The blacklist is estimated to have 30,000 records with an annual growth rate

of 10%.

viii. The national criminal database size for 1:N matches is estimated at 1000000

records and growing at 10% per annum.



ix. The Programme budgets estimates a 19% technology deflation per year in

the cost of matching algorithm and is accounted for 2-4 years only as beyond

4 years an explicit strategy to extract continuing technology deflation

discounts from biometrics algorithm suppliers is required.

x. The key components of the proposed biometric solution budgeted as part of

the Programme budget includes Core Biometric Engine incorporating

management and biometric 1:1 verification along with relevant hardware and

software infrastructure, Biometric Client Infrastructure including document

databases, Client Hardware including IRIS and document scanners for

missions and FRRO’s and matching algorithm costs for 1:N fingerprint

matching requirements.

xi. Proposed Biometric Processing at missions and FRRO’s include 1:N checks

against previously rejected visas, 1:N checks against existing visas and 1:N

checks against watch list and other criminal databases.

xii. Proposed Biometric Processing at ICPs include 1:1 match as well as 1:N

checks against watch lists, 1:N checks against databases for arrests and

deportees, algorithm for Secondary Immigration Checks (1% cases) for 1:N

checks against databases for arrests and deportees, 1:1 match as well as

1:N checks against the watch list and 1:N checks against previously rejected

visas.

xiii. The budget estimates account for 15 seconds to perform 1:1 local biometric

collection and match. 1% allowable false rejection rate for 1:1 biometric

matches and 10 seconds for 1:N checks for Travellers against watch list. The

budget estimations have been designed with a peak load factor of 5 and 70%

effective utilization of point of entry biometric enabled ICPs.

xiv. It is estimated that 1640 stations across 164 missions will need to be enabled

for biometrics. Each station will contain a 10 fingerprint capture device,

intelligent document scanner, ICAO compliant face camera and IRIS camera

as biometric peripherals along with an enrolment application which is

fingerprint, IRIS and image compliant along with sample travel document

database as biometric client software.



xv. It is estimated that 1500 stations across 78 ICPs and FRRO’s will need to be

enabled for biometrics. Each station will contain a 10 fingerprint capture

device, intelligent document scanner, ICAO compliant face camera and IRIS

camera as biometric peripherals along with an enrolment application which is

fingerprint, IRIS and image compliant and will leverage the sample travel

document database available with ICPs.

14.10.2 Portal Stack

a. Total registered VISA application users as 3000 of which 2000 concurrent

users

b. Total registered Immigration users as 1500 of which 1000 concurrent users

c. Total registered FRRO FRO users as 1500 of which 200 concurrent users

d. 5% of total 3200 concurrent users performing enterprise search at any given

point of time.

e. Approx 20 users performing content authoring on various sites for missions

and FRROs.

14.10.3 Access and Identity Management

a. It is estimated that the IVFRT application will have a total of 6000 registered

users whose access and identity will be managed, of which 3200 users are

estimated to be online at given point of time.

14.10.4 Process Choreography layer

a. Visa processing: peak load per day = 160000 with average processing time

of 1-3 days and average of 10 steps including 3-4 human tasks. It includes

automated 1:N identification match and subsequent web-service calls.

b. FRRO Processing: peak average processing load per day of 500 applicants

with a processing time of half day includes capturing scanned documents and

workflow integration with MHA system for approvals if required.

c. Immigration processing: peak of 1000 concurrent users invoking enterprise

services (UCF, 1:N biometric check, document retrieval) via the process

layer.



14.10.5 Overall System Parameters

a. Average CPU utilization of 70%, throughput of 45 transactions / sec.

b. Background CPU Utilization of 10% with medium business complexity.

14.10.6 Document Management

a. Average of 6 scanned documents per application with average document size

of 145KB each.

b. Average of 1000000 documents created by missions and FRRO’s per day

with average retrieval of 700000 documents for verification at various ICP

and missions.

14.10.7 ETL (Extract Transform Load) operations

a. Average data translation of 50 visa applications at missions and FRRO/FRO

per sec, 950 records related to APIS per ICP with average PAX record of size

.5KB.

14.10.8 Master Data Management

a. Average of 1000 master data transaction (Create, Read and Update) per sec

with peak of 360,000 transactions per hour and batch processing with 450

transactions per sec.

b. Real time data Immigration processing with peak average of 550 PAX data

transactions per sec.

c. Data store requirements of 10TB with average of 50KB per record

14.10.9 Entity Analytics and Scoring

a. 500000 identity and relationship resolution per day for Unique Case File

creation and relationship analysis.

b. Average size of Data Score Record of .5KB. with total of 200 million identities

maintained in the system.

c. Data storage requirement of 2 TB.



14.10.10 Rules Engine

a. Average of 100 Business Rules for 50 visa form processing per sec.

b. Average of 200 Business Rules for processing 400 APIS records per sec.

c. Average of 50 Business Rules for processing 400 Immigration records per

sec.

d. Average of 25 Business Rules for processing 150 Domestic passengers

records per sec.

14.10.11 Business Intelligence and Reporting

a. Average of 410 users with 10% concurrent users.

b. 100 standard reports with ability for Ad-Hoc reporting

14.10.12 Business Integration and Enterprise Service Bus

a. Average of 72,000 messages (Visa application forms, FRRO/FRO

registration, APIS, Immigration PAX data) per hour with average message

size of 11-15KB.

14.10.13 Application Servers

a. Average of 100,000 registered users or Visa Form submission with 2000

concurrent users.

b. Average form filling of 20-30 fields including invocation of business processes

and rules engine.

14.10.14 Network

14.10.15 In order to ensure that current modernization initiatives are fully

leveraged, the network being put in place for (i) ICPs by the ongoing

modernization initiative by NIC, (ii) Missions as part of the Passport Seva

project and (iii) FRRO/ FROs as part of the CCTNS project; will be utilized for

the IVFRT solution. Additionally, point to point network bandwidth requirements

has been defined in networking requirements section for successful functioning

of the proposed IVFRT solution.



15. Project Costing

15.1. Estimated Total project cost

15.1.1 Complete implementation of proposed IVFRT system is estimated to cost INR

1011 crores for both phase 1 and phase 2 of implementation.

Table 32: Estimated Total Project cost

15.2. Estimated Total Manpower cost

Table 33: Estimated Total Manpower cost

15.2.1 Further, it is proposed that additional budgets, to the tune of 40% for

manpower costs be accounted for in the overall manpower estimates, as

follows:



a. 20% on account of any increase in number of personnel required, wage hike

etc.

b. 20% on account of costs related with deploying external consultants, domain

experts, etc.

15.2.2 Travel expenses have been budget at 15% of the overall manpower costs.

15.3. Estimated Total software costs

Table 34: Estimated Total Software costs

15.4. Estimated Total hardware costs

Table 35: Estimated Total Hardware costs



15.5. Estimated Total Biometrics costs

Table 36: Estimated Total Biometrics costs

15.6. Estimated Total Operational Expenses

Table 37: Estimated Total Operational Expenses

