Barcode to prevent e-despatch forgery
To prevent forgery of Government letters issued on the internet, the Information Technology (IT) Department of Odisha Government has mooted barcoding of the official despatches.
Each letter issued through e-despatch system of the State Government will bear a unique barcode stamp to verify its authenticity as per the proposal submitted before the General Administration Department.
The move for barcoding has come after the Government stumbled upon instances of forged letters of the Government leading to confusion and embarrassment. “It will be a security feature for the letters issued to public on e-despatch since barcodes and the numbers generated thereof cannot be faked. Every letter issued through e-despatch will have automatically generated barcode stamp,” Commissioner-cum-Secretary, IT Department, Madhu Sudan Padhi said. The barcoded number will ensure authenticity of the letter and facilities to get them verified over the internet and SMSes, he added.
Though all Government letters bear a unique number, the same cannot be verified as all letters are not issued through the e-despatch on Government’s official website. Taking advantage of this, mischievous elements have forged certain letters. Padhi said the proposal will need clearance from the GA Department following which the barcode system can be integrated to the e-despatch system and communicated to all administrative departments.
The State Government, which has adopted e-governance in a wide spectrum of its activities, issues hundreds of letters, notices and tenders through the internet.