Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a mobile application named UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance). It is prepared basically to enable the citizens to access a range of government services via their mobile phones. It is developed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD).
With this app, users can locate the CBSE exam centers, view school results, calculate crop insurance premiums, access soil health cards, book OPD appointments at government hospitals, view lab reports, register and apply for the PMKY program, raise EPFO claims and so much more.
This offers 162 services from 33 state and central govt departments and 4 states. These 162 services include important ones like income tax, EPFO, PAN card, Kisan Suvidha, Bharat Bill Pay, National Pension Portal, AICTE, Crop insurance, Passport Seva, Aadhaar, DigiLocker, Rapid Assessment System, Bharat Bill Payment System, Pradhan Matri Awaas Yojna and Saral. It can be used to pay utility bills like Bharat Gas, electricity bills and more.
The app can be installed on both iPhones and Android smartphones. The features phone users can use the app without internet through USSD as well.
All the users need to do is complete the KYC digitally and link their Aadhaar while signing up for the application. Then they will be able to complete transactions like filing income tax returns, applying for PAN card and other such tasks.
The users do not require sharing their Aadhaar number or any other details while just looking for information about various government departments using the application. These details are only required while making a transaction.
The UMANG app has the ‘search’ option that allows the user to look for an exact service or departments. The search will also display the ‘trending searches’.
Apart from English, the app is currently available in 12 Indian languages – Hindi, Assamese, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu.
The Live chat feature on the application lets the user inquire about anything. Other than these there is also a phone support option. This option allows users to call in case they have any query or they need any sort of clarification regarding the app.
The manufacturers have assured that the app will save the user details in an encrypted format and there is no reason to be concerned about the security. The application let the users manage their security settings as well.
