IT Dashboard on Government spending !

"Is there a dashboard where I can see the overall performance ", is the most often asked question by the senior management of organizations.
Dashboards play a critical role in summarizing and giving a birds eye info on key parameters of any project.
One of the dashboards which impressed me was the IT Dashboard by the US Government on spending.

As the website says ,''The IT Dashboard provides the public with an online window into the details of Federal information technology investments and provides users with the ability to track the progress of investments over time.The Dashboard contains a subset of data from agency Exhibits 53 and 300, and agencies will update cost, schedule, and performance figures, agency CIO ratings, and other collected investment information on a monthly basis". It looks to be a bold initiative aimed at bringing transparency on government spendings.Will other countries follow suit ? Reference :http://it.usaspending.gov/

Resonance Newsletter : Issue 06

Click to see Resonance Newsletter Edition 6

TRP : Employment,Revenue and Convenience !

It's time to be a dutiful citizen! Yes,'Cometh July,Cometh the Income Tax returns';
For the working class in India , paying Income tax is a significant act to claim that they are responsible and honest citizens.
In this regard, the Tax Return Preparers Scheme (TRP) launched last year by Indian Government is a laudable effort.
About TRPs
The Government of India Tax Return Preparers Scheme to train unemployed and partially employed persons to assist small and medium taxpayers in preparing their returns of income has now entered its Second Phase. During its launch year, on a pilot basis, close to 5,000 TRPs at 100 centers in around 80 cities across the country were trained. 3737 TRPs were certified by the Income Tax Department to act as Tax Return Preparers, who assisted various people in filing their IT Returns. The Government has now decided to increase their area of operations by including training on TDS returns and Service Tax returns to these TRPs.
Its an initiative supported by NIIT .
For me this scheme benefits many : employment to youth,revenue to government and convenience to tax payers .It's another great example of simplifying processes through involvement of people and aid of technology.
For more detail visit :http://www.trpscheme.com
By the way ,have you file your tax returns ? :-)