people politics policy performance

Text and Context

R Swaminathan

-Governance is no longer a buzzword confined to hoary circles of policy making and academia. In the last decade or so it has not only entered the Indian public consciousness as a concrete lexicon, but has shown its potential through real initiatives at the ground level like the land record digitisation projects in several states and the efficient passport seva kendras (PSK). Today, the socio-economic potential of digital governance in transforming India and provisioning better and targeted services for the disempowered sections cannot be disputed. Yet for all its proliferation in various avatars, there is still no professional course or curriculum for people to get trained in e-governance in a formal manner. Jaijit Bhattarcharyas book, e-Gov 2.0: Policies, Processes and Technologies, is probably the first effort in India at congregating all the strands that constitute e-governance, and putting them together in one place. It is to Bhattacharyas credit that the book does not for once feel like a mash-up of various ideas, technologies, processes and case studies. The book is thematically organised and progresses in a linear and methodical manner, not only displaying Bhattacharyas command over the broad subject and diverse themes but also his conscious attempt to simplify complex issues to the average reader. Practitioners and long-time advocates of e-governance and those who are already (IEEE), International Standards Organisation (ISO), Internationin the deep end of the digital technology pool, however, may al Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Joint Technical Committee find the workbook approach of Bhattacharya a tad tiresome. (JTC) and Advanced Television Systems (Committee), and the But those who are looking to understand and imbibe the phicritical role played by each one of them. He also goes into what losophy, logic and practice of e-governance in a formal manner might be considered peripheral areas by strict practitioners of will find Bhattacharyas approach readily agreeable. The book digital governance, like digital television formats, to explain the thoughtfully provides a summary, key terms, case studies and increasing interconnectedness of technologies and the manner concept review questions at the end of each chapter. in which they are converging into what a lot of futurists call Unlike a standard textbook, however, Bhattacharya does not singularity. shy away from complicated and controversial issues of e-govDespite the nice, nutritious and healthy mix, I would have ernance. His chapters dealing with public-private partnership preferred if Bhattacharya had spiced up the concoction more by (PPP) for e-Governance, policies and approaches for the adopadding his definitive positions on the issues. Bhattacharya has tion of appropriate information communication technologies been working in the field of digital technology for over 15 years (ICT) and the presence of multiples standards in ICT are as lucid and as an expert his positions would have added more value as they are accurate in highlighting the various dimensions of and weight to the book. the debate bedevilling the digital governance policy circles. He Bhattacharyas focus on change management is a breath of has used several case studies and examples, like the Phillips patfresh air. Positioning change management, ahead of software, ent case, the tussles between Cisco and Huawei Corporation and hardware and departmental implementation challenges, is his the implication of Microsofts dominance of the Indian wordway of saying that technology can only help processing software market of how the issue those who want to help themselves. In my of Open Standards is not just, pun unintended, experience of understanding and documentan open and shut case. He also brings into the ing the impact of technology on daily life, the mix a nuanced description of the experience biggest challenge, especially at the level of of e-governance in countries like China, Japan, providing service-oriented governance, comes Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia as well as the from bureaucrats and officials who are relucEuropean Union. tant to use technology due to reasons ranging The book also goes into the hot and dusty from fear of losing their turf to a fear of the engine room of digital governance, which is technology itself. rare for a book of this nature. More often than e-Gov 2.0: Policies, Processes Bhattacharya focuses on concrete models not, books dealing with technology, especially to overcome these challenges. By establishtechnology for society, do not delve into the or- and Technologies Tata McGraw Hill, 604 pages, price ing change management as the indispensable ganisations and bodies dealing with standards not mentioned bedrock of e-governance, Bhattacharyas suband policies. But Bhattacharya gives a wellsequent and detailed exposition of a concrete articulated insight into organisations like the e-governance framework through a Secured Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

The future of governance is electronic

Book Review Jaijit Bhattacharyas book e-Gov 2.0 breaks new ground in bringing together different pieces of digital governance charting out the possible course of a future India

70 GovernanceNow | April 16-30, 2013

Bhattacharya has expounded the need for formalisation and institutionalisation of e-governance in India. In his own subtle way, he has brought out the need for a dedicated and formally trained cadre of people who understand the nuances of digital governance.

Briefly noted
Here is an attempt to establish that Gandhian Economics is not neoclassical in essence and that it goes beyond the defined domain of economics in analysing BN Ghosh social, political and ethical Sage Publications, implications of econompp 224, ` 650 ics actions or policies. What goes by the name of Gandhian Economics are some of Gandhis personal views on different topical questions related to a broader spectrum of issues encompassing moral philosophy, politics and society. The book aims to fill the knowledge gap existing in the ontology of Gandhian Economics. It goes beyond the narrow precinct of this field and proclaims that many useful issues that Gandhi dealt with do not belong to the domain of pure economics. The book also provides a trajectory towards a more sensible but hitherto unexplored area of Gandhian political economy. Ghosh, visiting professor at Leeds College of Management and Technology, UK, has also worked in the same capacity at Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus, University of Science, Penang (Malaysia), and Zhejiang Gongshang University, China. n

Beyond Gandhian Economic: Towards a Creative Deconstruction

Government Information System Architecture, telecentres and open source software, and solutions like Secure Transactions Infrastructure, Integrated Government Financial System (IGFS), Urban Development Management System and e-Agriculture acquire a rare credibility. While the scope and scale of the potential of e-governance is clearly established in the book, its pressing need for a country like India, where social and economic inequalities not only accentuate existing social divisions but also create new ones, leading to asymmetries of power, could have been articulated better. Personally, I would have preferred one more chapter, preferably the last one, detailing the transformative and empowering potential of e-governance, and how the India of the future could become a role model for sustainable and equitable growth on the backbone of a digital governance framework. But thats just a minor quibble. Bhattacharya has broken new ground by expounding the need for a formalisation and institutionalisation of e-governance in India. In his own subtle way, he has brought out the need for a dedicated and formally trained cadre of people who understand the nuances of digital governance. In that foresight itself, Bhattacharya has painted a future of India that will be increasingly digital and hopefully equitable. This book is a must read. n
Swaminathan is a National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) Fellow. He is also a Senior Fellow in Observer Research Foundation (ORF). A dyed-in-wool digital native, he is one of the few surviving members of the original tribe of Internet crazies who used floppy diskettes, DOS prompts and WordStar

This work posits a world order Toward a Geopolitics marked less by univocal gloof Hope balisation than by a grating By William H. geopolitics of rival capitalisms. Now that China, Russia, Thornton and Songok and much of the undemoHan Thornton cratic developing world have Sage Publications, embraced capitalism, this new pp 262, ` 750 Second World can no longer be regarded as a fleeting phenomenon. Globalisation turns out to be anything but the steadfast ally of democratization it purports to be. Indeed, the western democratic experiment of the last two centuries is starting to look very tentative and parochial. For this the west has nothing to blame but itself. In many respects the new Second World was spawned by First World neoliberal engagement. The Washington Consensus has not only brought the world to the brink of an intractable economic depression, but has also played midwife to a chronic geopolitical crisis. This book, however, is anything but defeatist in the face of this globalist impasse. It draws upon a host of non-western reformisms with special attention to those of India, Burma, and the Arab Spring to forge a Global Third Way. Likewise its moral realism bridges the classic imperatives of Third World social justice and First World security. Its paramount goal is not just a new soft power politics, but a post-globalist geopolitics of hope. n
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