Civil

Indian Ports Association Launches ‘PCS1x’ As An Initiative Of Ease Of Doing Business

11.12.2018

Indian Ports Association (IPA), under the aegis of the Ministry of Shipping, government of India launched the Port Community System ‘PCS1x’. ‘PCS 1x’ is a cloud-based new generation technology, with a user-friendly interface. The url www.indianpcs.gov.in was launched by the Chairman, IPA in the presence of various stakeholders from Mumbai. It was attended by all Major Port Chairman through video conference. It is to be noted that, the said project has been completed in record time of six months and has applauded by the chairman for this feat.

‘PCS 1x’ is a cloud based new generation technology, with user-friendly interface and it seamlessly integrates 8 new stakeholders besides the 19 existing stakeholders from the maritime trade on a single platform. One of the distinct feature of this system is that it can latch on to third party software which provides services to the maritime industry and thus enables the stakeholders to access wide network of services. The system allows single sign on facility to provide one stop interface to all the functionalities across all stakeholders. The ‘PCS 1x’’s another feather in its cap is the deployment of a world class state of the art payment aggregator solution which removes dependency on bank specific payment eco system.

The ‘PCS 1x’ offers value added services such as notification engine, workflow, mobile application, track and trace, better user interface, better security features, improved inclusion by offering dashboard for those with no IT capability. Once operational, this system will enable trade to have an improved communication with the customs as they have also embarked on an Application Programming Interface (API) based architecture and thus enabling real time interaction.

The newly developed System offers a database that acts as a single data point to all transactions and captures and stores data on its first occurrence thereby reducing manual intervention, the need to enter transaction data at various points and in a way reducing errors in the process. It is estimated that this feature alone will reduce 11/2 to 2 days in a life of transaction. The application will have a cascading effect in reducing dwell time and overall cost of transaction. The platform has the potential to revolutionize maritime trade in the country and bring it at par with global best practices and pave the way to improve the Ease of Doing Business world ranking and Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranks. This system is also an initiative that supports green initiatives by reducing dependency on paper. The web-based platform has been developed indigenously and is a part of the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiative of the Hon’ble Prime Minister. With these initiatives, and further more in coming, it is hopeful that ease of doing business in India will actually be a reality with minimum red tape interference.

Tags : PCS 1X Technology Launch

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