IIT Kanpur alumnus wins Digital India Award for helping two million stranded migrants from Bihar

A friend in need is a friend indeed. The old dictum turned all the more relevant when Covid-19 emerged as a massive challenge to India in March 2020. As the crisis was unfolding, being India’s most densely populated state—and also the country’s second most populated state—Bihar has always suffered the repercussions.

Bihar Cadre IAS, Chanchal Kumar, who is an IIT Kanpur alumnus has won the Digital India Award for helping two million stranded migrants.

 

Worse still, the COVID-induced lockdown also left more than two million Bihar migrants stranded in various states. As all industries suspended operations, these people - a majority of them from Bihar-- were struggling for subsistence. Clearly, Bihar was left with both medical and a humanitarian crisis to grapple with.

A ray of hope to Bihar in corona era
An IIT Kanpur alumnus turned Bihar Cadre IAS officer Chanchal Kumar, who holds a Master degree in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur and another Masters degree in International Development Policy and applied Economics from Duke University, has emerged as a ray of hope as he effectively implemented ideas and mitigate the impact of this deadly virus on people.

IAS officer Chanchal Kumar on Saturday received the award of Excellence under Digital India Initiative at Elets India Transformation Summit or providing timely help to people through the Bihar Pravasi Sahayata Yojna.

IAS officer Chanchal Kumar's work
Chanchal Kumar has been picked for the award for his seminal role in delivering Bihar government’s interim relief to the bank accounts of more than 21 Lakh migrants even before they reached their home state.

As Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Chanchal played a key role in the creation of a simple application form, which was made available through a Bihar government app.

The stranded migrants only needed to fill it up with their identity details and the relief money was credited through Direct Bank Transfer.

A computer expert, Chanchal ensured that the app should electronically verify the location mentioned in the application form.

It was a brilliant initiative, which worked with both speed and accuracy to ensure timely relief to residents of Bihar stranded in other states.

Once the special train services were launched from May 1, Chanchal also ensured smooth coordination between state and railway authorities to facilitate the return of over 2.5 million migrants to Bihar.

Chanchal Kumar is also known for implementing Poverty alleviation programs, Development of excluded communities & empowerment of the marginalised section.

He is credited with building implementation strategies to introduce transparency in governance.