In accordance with the Government of India’s policy to introduce online Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) for Group ‘A’ services, Smt. Rita Teotia,Commerce Secretary launched the SPARROW-ITS (Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window) today, to enable the Indian Trade Service (ITS) officers to fill their APAR online for the year 2016-17 onwards.  The event was attended by Sh. Ajay Bhalla, DGFT and othet senior officers of DGFT.

The APARs would be generated and transmitted online to the concerned officers for filling up of the self appraisal.  The officer can then submit the self appraisal online through Digitally Signed Signature (DSC) or through E-sign.  The subsequent processes of reporting and reviewing would also be done online by the Reporting and Reviewing Officer by using DSC or E-sign.  The timelines have been drawn up for each stage of the process.  The entire process of filling up of APAR would have to be completed by 31st December and no remarks can be added after that date.

The very idea of switch over from manual to online system is to ensure ready access of APAR dossier by the authorized users, preventing loss of APARs in transition, address the issues of ante-dating, remarks recorded by the Reporting Authorities without dates, etc.  Above all, it brings in transparency into the APAR management system.  This would, in turn, ensure that the APAR dossiers arereadily available for promotions at various levels which used to get delayed for want of updated APARs. This is another step towards Digital India in the government, where various administrative processes are being moved to IT platform leading to transparency and ease of administration. The 150 officers of ITSwould, thus, get benefited by timely promotions and all other benefits dependent upon the evaluation of their APARs.

Annual Performance Appraisal Report moved online, requiring digital authentication and fixed timelines to improve transparency and record access. An online system requires Indian Trade Service officers to submit and authenticate their Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) via Digital Signature or E-sign, with reporting and reviewing also conducted online. Timelines are prescribed for each stage and all entries must be completed by the year-end cutoff, after which no further remarks are permitted. The platform centralises appraisal records to prevent loss or ante-dating, improve transparency, and ensure accessible dossiers for personnel actions dependent on APAR evaluations.