Citizen Centric e-Governance in India

Strategies for Today, Vision for Future

The rise of e-government has been one of the most striking developments of the web. As the Internet supported digital communities evolve, and assuming that the do indeed grow to incorporate individuals around the countr !and globe" , the present the national governments with a number of challenges and opportunities. Governments in democratic states are primaril a representative mechanism whereb the selected few debate and enact the legislation for and on behalf of the nation state#s citizens. There are several aspects to this that might prove of importance in he conte$t of e-governance. %irstl , those elected representatives need access to information and communication resources. It is necessar for them to inform and listen to their constituents& it is necessar for them to communicate with one another& and at the most basis, it is necessar for them to discover and represent the wishes of those who have elected them as their representatives. 'hile we elect individuals , we appreciate and understand that the must then balance three sometimes opposing forces ( their own conscience& the philosoph of their part & and the interest of their constituenc itself. At the simplest level, the implementation of e-governance can then support this information and communication re)uirement. *-mail between politicians, and between politicians and departments can be easil established. +ince man state govts. Are providing ,ap tops to their -.s and -,A#s , the can publish their home pages on Internet, to act as constituenc interaction center. This then touches on the ne$t aspect, that of communicating with the constituents. In addition to the standard channels and mechanisms, the politicians can receive the email messages from those wishing to e$press their views. There are similarl endless wa s to utilize Information and communication technologies !onl limited b the imagination of the implementing agenc " to provide efficient and transparent solutions to citizens. Through this paper, I will attempt to provide an insight regarding ( A definition of e-Governance to build a business case for its adoption A brief discussion on evolution of e-governance technologies .resent +cenario of e-governance efforts in India +trategies/action plan for designing e-government pro0ects for addressing immediate ob0ectives with a vision for future in mind Definition of e-Governance E-governance is the application of information & communication technologies to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational & transactional exchanges with in government, between govt. & govt. agencies of National, State, Municipal & ocal levels, citi!en & businesses, and to empower citi!ens through access & use of information.

What e-government is NOT! : Terms such as 1data resale 2, 1digital democrac 2, 1e-politics2 etc. are also fre)uentl mentioned within the same breath as 1e-government. 3either of these terms, however, observes the principle of leveraging the Internet to simplif government. 4igital democrac is, in fact, 1e-politics 2rather than e-government& that is, leveraging the Internet to simplif the election process !rather than government". It is important that these terms not muddle the ob0ectives of e-government. e-governance evolution : History and Present Status Global shifts towards increased deplo ment of IT b governments emerged in the nineties, with the advent of the 'orld 'ide 'eb. The technolog as well as egovernance initiatives have come a long wa since then. 'ith the increase in Internet and mobile connections, the citizens are learning to e$ploit their new mode of access in wide ranging wa s. The have started e$pecting more and more information and services online from governments and corporate organizations to further their civic, professional and personal lives , thus creating abundant evidence that the new 1e-citizenship2 is taking hold. The concept of e-governance has its origins in India during the seventies with a focus on development of in- house government applications in the areas of defense, economic monitoring, planning and the deplo ment of IT to manage data intensive functions related to elections, census, ta$ administration etc. The efforts of the 3ational Informatics Center !3IC" to connect all the district head)uarters during the eighties was a ver significant development. %rom the earl nineties, IT technologies were supplemented b ICT technologies to e$tend its use for wider sectoral applications with polic emphasis on reaching out to rural areas and taking in greater inputs from 3G5s and private sector as well. There has been an increasing involvement of international donor agencies under the framework of e-governance for development to catal ze the development of egovernance laws and technologies in developing countries.. 'hile the emphasis has been primaril on automation and computerization, state governments have also endeavored to use ICT tools into connectivit , networking, setting up s stems for processing information and delivering services. At a micro level, this has ranged from IT automation in individual departments, electronic file handling and workflow s stems, access to entitlements, public grievance s stems, service deliver for high volume routine transactions such as pa ment of bills, ta$ dues to meeting povert alleviation goals through the promotion of entrepreneurial models and provision of market information. The thrust has varied across initiatives, with some focusing on enabling the citizen-state interface for various government services, and others focusing on bettering livelihoods. *ver state govt. has taken the initiative to form an IT task force to outline IT polic document for the state and the citizen charters have started appearing on govt. websites. %or governments, the more overt motivation to shift from manual processes to IT-enabled processes ma be increased efficienc in administration and service deliver , but this

shift can be conceived as a worthwhile investment with potential for returns. %ollowing are some of the recent e-governance pro0ects implemented b various state govts.

Some E-governance Initiatives State/Union Initiatives covering departmental automation, Territory user charge collection, delivery of policy/programme information and delivery of entitlements Andhra e-Seva, CARD, VOICE, MPHS, FAST, e-Cops, AP Pradesh onlineOne-stop-shop on the Internet, Sau ar!a", Online Transa#tion pro#essin$ Bihar Sales Ta% A&"inistration Mana$e"ent In'or"ation hattisgarh Chhattis$arh In'ote#h Pro"otion So#iet!, Treasur! o''i#e, e-lin in$ pro(e#t !elhi Auto"ati# Vehi#le Tra# in$ S!ste", Co"puterisation o' )e*site o' RCS o''i#e, Ele#troni# Clearan#e S!ste", Mana$e"ent In'or"ation S!ste" 'or E&u#ation et# "oa Dharani Pro(e#t "u#arat Mahiti Sha ti, re+uest 'or ,overn"ent &o#u"ents online, For" *oo online, , R *oo online, #ensus online, ten&er noti#e$aryana .ai Disha $imachal /o Mitra Pradesh %arnata&a 0hoo"i, 1ha(ane, 1averi %erala e-Srin hala, RD.et, Fast, Relia*le, Instant, E''i#ient .et)or 'or the Dis*urse"ent o' Servi#es 2FRIE.DS3 'adhya ,!an&oot, ,ra" Sa"par , S"art Car& in Transport Pradesh Depart"ent, Co"puteri4ation MP State A$ri#ultural Mar etin$ 0oar& 2Man&i 0oar&3 et# 'aharashtra SET5, Online Co"plaint Mana$e"ent S!ste" Mu"*ai (a#asthan 6an Mitra, Ra(S7IFT, /o "itra, Ra(.IDHI Tamil )adu Rasi Mai!a"s81an#hipura"9 Appli#ation 'or"s relate& to pu*li# utilit!, ten&er noti#es an& &ispla! )orth-Eastern States Arunachal Co""unit! In'or"ation Center- For"s availa*le on Pradesh,

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e-governance evolution in ndia ! "hallenges #efore Sta$eholders +ince 7889, I was fortunate enough to work closel with a variet of govt. and commercial concerns , investigating the continuing trends in the field of e-governance area . I can sa , from m e$perience that although lots of efforts have been made in the creation of infrastructure and internal information handling b govt. bodies as well as public services, the diffusion of technologies in moving towards e-governance have been rather slow. This ma primaril be attributed to the following reasons( Lack of IT Literacy and awareness regarding benefits of e-governance

There is general lack of awareness regarding benefits of e-governance as well as the process involved in implementing successful G-C, G-G and G-: pro0ects. The administrative structure is not geared for maintaining, storing and retrieving the governance information electronicall . The general tendenc is to obtain the data from the files !print" as and when re)uired rather than using 4ocument -anagement and workflow technologies. ,atel the use of 4-+ and workflow technologies has been able to find its use onl in those departments where there is perceptible lightening of workload of the subordinate staff. Underutilization of existing ICT infrastructure

To a larger e$tent, the computers in the department are used for the purpose of word processing onl , resulting in the underutilization of the computers in terms of their use in data mining for supporting management decisions. The time gap between the procurement of the hardware and development of the custom applications is so large that b the time application is ;ead for use, the hardware becomes obsolete. %ttitude of Government De&artments

The ps cholog of government servants is )uite different from that of private sectors. Traditionall the government servants have derived their sustenance from the fact that the are important repositories of govt. data. Thus an effort to implement 4-+ and workflow technologies or bringing out the change in the s stem is met with resistance from the govt. servants. 'ac$ of coordination #et(een Govt) De&artment and Solution develo&ers 4esigning of an application re)uires a ver close interaction between the govt. department and the agenc developing the solutions. At present the users in govt.

departments do not contribute enough to design the solution architecture. Conse)uentl the solution developed and implemented does not address the re)uirements of an egovernance pro0ect and hence does not get implemented . *esistance to re-engineering of de&artmental &rocesses

+uccessful implementation of e-governance pro0ects re)uires lots of restructuring in administrative processes, redefining of administrative procedures and formats which finds the resistance in almost all the departments at all the levels. Additionall there is lack of e$pertise of departmental -I+ e$ecutives in e$ploiting data mining techni)ues, updation and collection of real time content onto website etc. Therefore the content as is collected or maintained b various e-governance portals is unreliable or full of gaps. In such a scenario, its difficult for an e-governance solution to achieve its intended results. 'ac$ of nfrastructure for sustaining e-governance &ro+ects on national level

Infrastructure to support e-governance initiatives does not e$ist within government departments. The agon is that the government departments are not e)uipped to be in a position to pro0ect the clear re)uirements nor are there an guidelines for involving private sector. 'hatever efforts have been made b various govt. organizations ma be defined as islands of computerization. The infrastructure creation is not guided b a uniform national polic , but is dependent on the needs of individual officers championing a few pro0ects. Therefore , the re)uired networking and communication e)uipment is either non e$istent in govt. departments, or if it e$ists at all , it does not serve an tangible purpose as far as the re)uirement of e-governance pro0ect is concerned. The use of connectivit options provided b govt. agencies like 3IC3*T etc. are used in a ver limited manner for data transmission purpose between various locations viz. 4istt., +tate , Center etc. and is mainl utilized for e-mail and Internet purpose onl . -ost state govts. have formed the IT task force and have their IT policies in place. Although policies ma have loft goals, much seems to have happened onl in automation and computerization The drawback is that these IT polic documents are not made based upon the re)uirements and inherent capabilities of the state but are based on the surve s and strategies used b other nations or other states. Though its ver wise to take e$amples from the successful e-governance strategies of other states and countries, its e)uall essential that we customize our state policies after a careful stud of the parameters applicable to the particular state in )uestion. A tentative action plan is presented to help implement the e-governance initiatives as below( e-Gov %ction Plan ! Strategies for today, -ision for .uture Govt. leaders in India are starting to realize that e-governance is the ke to drive toda #s econom with an increased participation from citizens. .roviding services online is no longer going to remain optional for local and central government as demand for providing services < internet speed has been coming from the citizens.

In this era of accountabilit and performance measurement, govts. will face increasing pressure to make the services more accessible to their citizens. The pressure comes directl from the new legislatures and govt. policies to implement high-end technologies in governing the nations& but also indirectl and perhaps more intensel from citizens. The citizens now a da s are not using govt. services in isolation, but are simultaneousl making transactions and interacting with the corporate world. In addition to this direct or indirect pressure, governments must themselves stud = realize the cost saving benefits e-Governance techni)ues produce 'ith this rise in demand for e-services, it is a mandator re)uirement for government budget writers that the efficienc enhancement and cost saving potential of providing online services and information be mastered. *-governance is about more than streamlining processes and improving services. It#s about transforming Governments and renovating the wa citizens participate in democrac . +o how does a government agenc cuts through the clutter and builds a strateg to facilitate the transition to successful online or 1e2 service deliver . If the govt. 'aits , its perceived as being out of touch with the citizen needs and loses an opportunit to realize the tremendous benefits of online service deliver and larger citizen participation in overall service deliver . >et if the e-governance started and implemented in haste, the are doomed to fail. According to one of the surve s conducted b a reputed agenc , ?@A of e-governance ma fail because of poor planning The real challenges is how to develop and sustain successful e-governance pro0ects and deliver state of the art e-services to citizens. Bnfortunatel its not as eas as adding 1e2 in front of our service deliver mechanism. +uccessful e-governance initiatives can never be taken in haste. .articularl for the democratic nation of the billion people like India, e-Governance should enable seamless access to information and seamless flow of information across the state and central government in the federal setup. 3o countr has so far implemented an e-governance s stem for one billion people. +ome of the re)uirements for implementing successful e-governance across the nation are ( e-Governance framework across the nation with enough bandwidth to service a population of one billion. Connectivit framework for making the services reach rural areas of the countr or development of alternative means of services such as e-governance kiosks in regional languages. 3ational Citizen database which is the primar unit of data for all governance vertical and horizontal applications across the state and central governments. *-governance and interoperabilit standards for the e$change of secure information with non-repudiation, across the state and central government departments seamlessl . A secure deliver framework b means of virtual private network connecting across the state and central government departments.

4atacenters in centre and states workflow automation, collaboration, information with authentication.

to handle the departmental interaction, e$change of

%or success of an e-governance pro0ect and superior service deliver , it is imperative that the government agenc focuses on whole citizen e$perience. %ocusing on the citizen is essential for long term success. The govt. agenc needs to integrate information from all points of citizen interaction. The overall architecture for e-Governance needs to ensure that the architecture components are e$tensible and scalable to adapt to the changing environments. The e-Governance applications that are emerging as islands of successes have to be interoperable. %ollowing are some of the suggestions for the successful transformation from 1 A2 to 1e2 a/ "reate 'iteracy and commitment to e-governance at high level The most important re)uirement is a training program for polic makers in *Governance !+enior .ublic +ervants", politicians and IT task force members. The training program needs to be focused according to the re)uirements of the polic makers at the top. +uch programs can be need based and outsourced when re)uired. In addition it should be made mandator for all the stake holders in implementation and maintenance of e-governance services to have the general IT skills. There ma be specific re)uirements for training in certain specific pro0ects. +uch programs can be need based and outsourced when re)uired. A few suggestive programs include e-governance training, :uilding web interfaces for citizen interaction, 4ocument management and workflow applications, securit and .CI solutions, 5ffice Automation, networking etc. #/ "onduct 0sa#ility Surveys for assessment of e1isting e-governance &ro+ects There is a var ing degree of development of e-governance among the different states. A few +tates have leapfrogged into a digital era whereas a few are et to start with an initiative. There is a tremendous divergence in the e$tent of implementation of the concept of e-Governance. It is, therefore, not possible to come up with a framework for implementation of e-Governance which is straightawa applicable to all states and the Central Government. Therefore an e-readiness e$ercise should be carried out in all states, government departments to understand their level of acceptabilit of the egovernance. c/ Starting (ith im&lementation of &ilot &ro+ects and re&licating the successful ones The pilot pro0ects taken in various states should be accessed for their achievement levels. The should be classified as success or failure according to the desired output written down before implementation of the pro0ects. The stud should be carried out b an independent agenc for the implementation agenc The stud should be carried out at each stage of implementation. :ottlenecks and causes of dela s should be documented, even though the are removed later. The successful pro0ects should be replicated over the

nation with members drawn from the implementing team. The pro0ects, which could not achieve the desired outcome, should be documented for possible causes of failure. Darious bottlenecks and causes of dela should be identified. d/ .ollo( the 2est Practices in e-governance The stud of :est .ractices will bring forward the best practices being followed nationall and internationall . The national and international :est .ractices stud will give a great momentum to the process of *-Governance. The +tate Governments will not have to re-invent wheel ever time and the can learn from the developments alread made. e/ 2uild National resource Data#ase of e-governance &ro+ects This would allow an organization planning an IT pro0ect to instantl ascertain whether an such pro0ect has alread been implemented an where in the countr . Intending implementers would know who the ke people in similar pro0ects are and how to reach them. It is well known that it is much easier to replicate a solution than to evolve it the first time around. +o the lead-time to implement pro0ects can be reduced substantiall . If a pro0ect is alread in operation in a similar environment somewhere in the countr , acceptance b all concerned is much faster and smoother elsewhere. +o change management becomes much easier and the time and effort involved in such implementations. 4ue recognition would accrue to the pioneers who created the successes. It would enable others to learn from them if the wish. %or implementing agencies, be the Government owned organizations like 3IC, C4AC and +tate .+Bs or private IT companies, it offers a uni)ue opportunit to derive the full return and reward, both domesticall and internationall , from their successes and the I.;s/ products that the have created. It would help create an archive of e-governance applications in the countr . f/ Have clearly defined ntero&era#ility &olicy The eEgovernance architecture needs to ensure that the components are scalable and adaptable to the future re)uirements. It has also to ensure that the ,ocal architecture fits into the +tate level and the same into 3ational and Global architecture. Interoperabilit is a ma0or criterion while defining the architecture. g/ 3anage and 0&date content on govt) (e#sites efficiently and regularly Content is the FheartF of an IT pro0ect. The govt. agenc has to keep in mind some of the important technical guidelines, while developing the software and computerization, to facilitate the future integration. The department also needs to address the securit of transactions and messages. The process of content development encompasses a whole range of activities starting with a comprehensive stud of the s stem and identification of

the ob0ectives. It ends up with deliver of the intended benefits to the citizens or other users of the IT + stem. The govt. agencies must ensure that the data on the sites is alwa s updated and relevant. "onclusion It is evident from above discussion that ob0ectives of achieving e-governance and transforming India goes far be ond mere computerization of stand alone back office operations. It means , to fundamentall change as to how the government operates, and this implies a new set of responsibilities for the e$ecutive and politicians. It will re)uire basic change in work culture and goal orientation, and simultaneous change in the e$isting processes. %oremost of them is to create a culture of maintaining, processing and retrieving the information through an electronic s stem and use that information for decision making. It will re)uire skilled navigation to ensure a smooth transition from old processes and manual operations to new automated services without hampering the e$isting services. This can be achieved b initiall moving ahead in smaller informed initiatives in a time bound manner and avoiding large and e$pensive steps without understanding the full social implications. *ver small step thus taken should be used to learn about hurdles and improve upon the ne$t steps, both in terms of direction and magnitude. The proposed changes are likel to be met with a lot of inertia which can not be overcome b lower and middle level officials with half hearted attempts to diffuse the technolog . The change in the mindset to develop and accept the distributed and flat structured e-governance s stem is re)uired at the top level s stem to beat the inertia. . About the Author ( -i$as 4anungo !vikaskanungo<rediffmail.com" , .hone ( 8G7HI9H97? !e-"overnance #onsultant" Chairman - SP5G 6 +ociet for .romotion of e-governance" C-4 E Internet Consortium India .rivate ,imited