From the above analysis,

y , the gground ppicture

about the need for E-readiness assessment and
the various options available to the developing
countries becomes clear.
 The e-government efforts in any country involve
a large amount of resources and since the
economic and social conditions of developing
countries do not allow them to take undue risks
with new projects, it is imperative that the
policy makers and planners in these countries
have a fair idea about their ‘preparedness’ or e-
readyness, before they allocate funds for the
same or begin the development and
implementation
 Since the various assessment tools follow
different parameters and the countries may
adopt any one of them as per their
d
demographic,
hi political
li i l andd socio-economic
i i
conditions. Countries may also consider
customization/adaptation of any of the
above models as per their circumstances.
 Though a country may take any of the
approaches, we however suggest that the E-
readiness Assessment Framework should
essentially cover the following aspects:
 Commitment of the top leadership
 ICT Policy
 Communication Policy/ISP
y Policy/Broadband
y
Policy
 E-Gov Policy/Action Plan
 IT Act
 Legal recognition of Digital Signatures
 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection
 Security Standards
 Privacy Policy
 Hardware
 Availability of High End Computing
Infrastructure
 National and State Level Data Centres
 Community Information/Internet Access Centres
 Networking
 Fibre Optic/Satellite/Wireless/Wired Networks
 National/State level Network Backbones
 Network Operation Centres
 Internet Gateway
 Security Infrastructure
 Service Gateways/Payment
y y Gateways
y etc
 Last Mile/Rural Area Connectivity
 Websites/Portals
 Back-end Automation
 Application
pp Software
 Electronic Delivery of Services
 Localization of Standard Commercial
 Technology Standards
 Data/Metadata Standards
 Interoperability Framework
 ICT Skilled Manpower in Government/Industry
 ICT Literacy in Government
 E-Literate Citizens
 ICT Training Facilities (Basic & Professional)
 ICT Education in Schools and Colleges
g
 FinancialInstitutions
 Financial Resources
g y Allocation
- Budgetary
- Through Partnerships
 Foreign
g Investment
 ICT Usage by Citizens
 ICT Application in Government
 ICT Application
pp in Business
 PC Penetration
 Internet Reach
 Once the ‘e-readiness’
e readiness assessment has
been conducted and the ground realities
about the state of preparedness of a
country are known,
k a realistic
li i andd
achievable strategy has to be crafted which
will not only help in an effective
implementation of e-government but
prepares the nation to adapt it optimally
 E-readiness assessment shall highlight the strengths &
weaknesses of the country on different aspects of e-
governance be it infrastructure, human capacity,
Internet penetration or state of basic automation.
 It shall help government identify as which sectors are
more prepared to embrace e-governance, which
community (Business, Citizen, Government) is more
prepared d to
t bbe benefitted
b fitt d b
by e-governmentt
initiatives.
 This shall also help them in identifying the priority
areas off e-governance and d the
th critical
iti l areas off
investment (be it last mile connectivity, skilled
manpower, computer and communication
infrastructure software development,
infrastructure, development backend
automation) for better impact of e-governance.