UNIT 4 CHALLENGES OF DIGITAL

GOVERNANCE*

Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Meaning of Digital Governance
4.3 Features of Digital Governance
4.4 Government Initiatives towards Digital Governance
4.5 Challenges and Problems of Digital Governance
4.6 Future Governmental Strategies in Digital Governance
4.7 Conclusion
4.8 Glossary
4.9 References
4.10 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

4.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you should be able to:
●● Explain the meaning and importance of digital governance;
●● Discuss the objectives of digital governance; and
●● Examine the challenges of digital governance.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The Information Communication Technology or ICT enabled governance
models and methods of monitoring, interaction and collaboration in
policy making and implementation are slowly emerging as mechanisms of
governance to facilitate citizen-centric administration. Like the developed
countries (US, UK, France, Russia, etc.), India (a developing country)
is actively engaged in a series of citizen-centric measures like paperless
filling of forms (New income tax e-filing portal), portability of licences,
certificates, bank accounts and permits regardless of the address, besides
offering a broadband connectivity to every household, much like electricity
and water connection.
Under these fast-changing circumstances, government needs to be well-
prepared to anticipate the current and future impact of enduring trends
and steer their machinery accordingly at the right speed. It is imperative to
remember that digital is not just about technology; instead, it is a roadmap
across people, processes, behaviour and technology that will enable the
government to successfully navigate this transformation to governance. In
this Unit, we shall discuss the salient features of the digital transformation

*Contributed by Dr. R.K Sapru, Professor of Public Administration (Retired), Panjab Uni-
versity, Chandigarh.
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Governance Issues from the governmental perspective. We will examine its vital role in delivery
of citizen-centric e-governance, and the challenges and changes that are
required for the governance.
4.2 MEANING OF DIGITAL GOVERNANCE
Digital governance is “a framework for establishing accountability, roles
and decision-making authority for an organisation’s digital presence – which
means its websites, mobile sites, social channels, and any other internet and
web-enabled products and services”. Digital governance “is a discipline
that focuses on establishing clear accountability for digital strategy, policy
and standards”. Digital governance is the use of a “range of modern
information and communication technologies such as Internet, Local
Area Networks, mobiles etc., by the government to improve effectiveness,
efficiency, service delivery and promote democracy”. According to Kettl
(2002): “Governance is a way of describing the links between government
and its broader environment – political, social, and administrative”.
Digital Technologies
The ways we use digital technologies in our personal lives, work and society
have changed the face of both society and government and will continue to
do so. This has always been so, but the pace at which it is happening is
accelerating and is faster than the pace of transformation in organisations.
Technology allows government to easily engage with the community
through a variety of digital channels. This ensures that the views of people
who use government services more effectively be understood and addressed
in developing a new policy.
Traditionally, by digital we mean the use of numbers and this term comes
from ‘digit’, or ‘finger’. Today, digital is synonymous with computers. Let
us be very clear about certain terms related to digital technology, which are
distinct and should not be used interchangeably:
Digitising is the conversion of analog information into digital form (i.e.,
numeric, binary format). It is technically explained as the representation of
signals, images, sounds and objects by generating a series of numbers, and
it expresses as a discrete value.
Unlike Digitisation, digitalisation is the actual “process of the technology-
induced change within the above industries”. This process has enabled
much of the phenomena today known as the Internet of Things, Industrial
Internet Data, Cryptocurrencies, etc.
Finally, digital transformation is described as “the total and overall societal
effect of digitalisation.” Digitalisation has enabled the process of digitisation,
which resulted in stronger opportunities to transform and change existing
business models, socio-economic structures, legal and policy measures,
organisational patterns, cultural barriers, etc. Digitisation (the conversion),
digitalization (the process) and the digital transformation, therefore,
accelerates and illuminates the already existing and ongoing horizontal and
global processes of change in society (Khan, 2016, Collin et al. 2015).

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 Challenges of Digital
4.3 FEATURES OF DIGITAL GOVERNANCE Governance
Digital transformation to governance procedures typically affects operations
in various ways such as government – citizen relations and the success
depends on the ability to meet all the expectations and requirements of the
citizens by way of enhanced functionality, improved offerings and greater
ease-of-use. The seven key components are:
i) Digital Governance Framework;
ii) Digital Strategies;
iii) Digital Policies;
iv) Digital Standards;
v) Digital Guidelines;
vi) Digital Processes; and
vii) Digital Term Structures.
Objectives of Digital Governance
The main objectives of digital governance are to:
• Reduce corruption in the government;
●● Provide transparent, timely and citizen-centric delivery of services;
and
●● Protect free speech and privacy.
●● In India, where universalisation and transparent delivery of public
services is closely linked to cost of living and well-being, reduce
transaction costs, speed up service delivery and ensure entitlement in
a transparent manner.
Reforming through technology
Digital governance is not just about technology. Digital governance starts
with the goals, challenges, customers and context of the organisation.
There are plenty of pressures built in the delivery system to begin digital
transformation. The digital governance has many dimensions and require
a focused overview of things from past, present and future. Transforming
operational processes from manual to digital is the key area. This needs
transformation of business models. Adapting to new technology quickly
is the vital parameter. The digital capabilities of the government agencies
need a complete revamping by way of processing re-engineering to suit the
need of the day, adding fresh and new skills, adding extra infrastructure and
capacity building.
Citizen-centric services under the Digital India Programme
Digital India Programme is a flagship programme initiated by the government
in 2014 to transform India into digitally empowered society and knowledge
economy. The vision of Digital India aims to transform the country into a
digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Government Process
Re-engineering using Information Technology has helped to simplify the
government processes and make them more efficient and successful for
delivery of services to the common people. There are three key elements
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Governance Issues of the Digital India Programme and Vision namely: i) digital infrastructure
as a utility to every citizen, ii) governance and services on demand, and iii)
digital empowerment of citizens.
Various measures taken by government towards this like simplification
of collection of information by adopting simple and user friendly forms,
switching over to complete online automated application, use of online
repositories e.g., for certificates, educational degrees, identity documents,
etc., integration of services and platforms e.g., Aadhaar platform of Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Payment Gateways, Mobile
Seva Platform, sharing of data through open Application Programme
Interfaces (API) and middleware such as National and State Service Delivery
Gateways (NSGD/SSDG) have facilitated integrated and interoperable
service delivery to citizens and businesses. Continuous efforts are being
made to establish databases and information in electronic form. IT tools are
being used to automate, respond and analyse data to identify and resolve
persistent problem for process improvements, for example programmes like
such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Jeevan Pramaan etc.
Important Digital India Initiatives
e-sign: A facility that enables citizens to digitally sign documents and open
bank account remotely.
Digi Locker: It is a Digital Locker facility which helps citizens to digitally
store their important documents like passport, mark sheets, and degree
certificates etc. Digi Locker provides secure access to government issued
documents. It uses authenticity services provided by Aadhar. It is aimed at
eliminating the use of physical documents and enable sharing of verified
electronic documents across government agencies.
MyGov.in: MyGov.in is a platform to share inputs and ideas on matters
of policy and governance. It is a platform for citizens’ engagement in
governance through a “Discuss”, “Do” and “Disseminate” approach.
Swachh Bharat Mobile (SBM Mobile) Application: Swachh Bharat
Mission (Clean India) Mobile App is being used by people and government
organisations for achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.
e-sign Framework: e-sign Framework allows citizens to digitally sign a
document online using Aadhaar authentication though Online Registration
System (ORS).
e-hospital Application : The e-hospital Application provides important
services such as online registration, payment of fees and appointment,
online diagnostic reports, inquiring about availability of blood tests online
etc.
National Scholarship Portal: National Scholarship Portal is a one stop
solution for end-to-end scholarship process right from submission of
application, verification, sanction and disbursal to end beneficiary for all
the scholarships provided by the Government of India.
Jan Dhan Yojana: Jan Dhan Yojana is a massive programme on financial
inclusion. It targets having at least one bank account in each household.
Further, each household should have insurance policy.
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Jeevan Pramaan: This Programme facilitates pensioners from government Challenges of Digital
to furnish life certificates every year electronically. More than 1.5 million Governance
registered pensioners in the country are availing this digital facility to
continue to claim their pension regularly. The Aadhaar based biometric
authentication system for pensioners (Jeevan Pramaan /Life Certificate) is
being used effectively. Pensioners can submit their Digital Life Certificate
(DLC) from their home by using PC/mobile with biometric devices.
Initiatives Taken for e-Governance in India (2020)
i) Bhoomi Project (Karnataka): Online delivery of Land Records;
ii) KHAJANE (Karnataka): End-to-end automation of Government
Treasury System;
iii) e-seva (Andhra Pradesh);
iv) e-courts;
v) e-district; and
vi) MCA21.
Digital India Initiative aims to provide the much needed thrust to the nine
pillars of growth areas, namely: i) Broadband Highways, ii) Universal
Access to Mobile Connectivity, iii) Public Internet Access Programme, iv)
e-governance: Reforming Government through Technology, v) Electronic
Delivery of Services, vi) Information to all, vii) Electronics Manufacturing,
viii) IT for Jobs; and ix) Early Harvest Programmes.
Check Your Progress 1
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Discuss the meaning and importance of digital governance.
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2. What are the different components of digital governance?
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4.4 GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES TOWARDS

DIGITAL GOVERNANCE
Managing information and data is crucial and it has to be fully supported
by insights, intelligence and actions, as these also play an equal role to get
the expected fruitful outcomes. Digital transformation is considered as a
high priority agenda in India by taking Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) to the common public. Advancements in digital
transformation will harness the power of ICT to make the governance
process quicker, efficient, inexpensive, accountable and transparent.

57
Governance Issues Five key factors that influence digital transformation in public service
organisations are; Strategy, Leadership, Workforce Skills, User Focus
and Digital Culture. The top five barriers to digital transformation of
organisations are – lack of strategy, lack of differential mindset, lack of
entrepreneurial spirit or unwillingness to take risks, too many competing
priorities and lack of organisational agility. Lack of overall strategy is the
leading barrier limiting early-stage organisations from taking full advantage
of digital trends. On maturing, lack of strategy falls away and barriers
become too many. These could be competing priorities, insufficient funding
and mishandling of cyber security. Objectives of strategy should thus
include increasing efficiency, improving citizens’ experience, promoting
engagement and transparency, creating valuable information or insights
for innovation, bettering decision making and transforming organisational
processes.
Digital governance initiatives in India took a broader dimension in the
mid-1990s for wider sectored applications with emphasis on citizen-centric
services. The major ICT initiatives for the Government included, some major
projects such as railway computerization, land record computerization, etc.,
which focused mainly on the development of information system. Later on,
many states started ambitious individual e-governance projects aimed at
providing electronic services to citizens. Some developments in the field of
Digital Governance are:
Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000
One of the most important initiatives undertaken by the central government
is the Information Technology Act, 2000, which is to regulate cyberspace and
define offences and penalties related to IT such as tampering with computer
source documents, breach of confidentiality and privacy, publication of
false digital signatures and so on.
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), 2006
NeGP was launched in 2006 with a vision to make all government services
accessible to the common people in their locality, through common service
delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency and reliability of such
services at affordable costs to realize their basic needs.
31 Mission Mode Projects covering a wide range of domains, viz. agriculture,
land records, health, education, passports, police, courts, municipalities,
commercial taxes, treasuries, etc., were initiated. Most of these projects
have been made operational and have started providing services. However,
despite the successful implementation of many e-governance projects across
the country, e-governance as a whole has not been able to make the desired
impact and fulfill all its objectives, especially in ensuring anytime anywhere
availability of services and their seamless integration. Even though India is
known worldwide as a power house of software, the availability of electronic
government services to citizens is still comparatively low.
National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP), 2013
In light of the growth of Information Technology or IT sector in the country,
ambitious plans for rapid social transformation and inclusive growth have
taken place. India’s prominent role in the IT global market, providing the
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right kind of focus for securing computing environment and adequate trust Challenges of Digital
and confidence in electronic transactions becomes one of the compelling Governance
priorities for the country. NCSP enables the creation of suitable cyber security
ecosystem in the country, in tune with globally networked environment and
at the same time assures its citizens as well as the global community about
the seriousness of its intentions.
Ministry/Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY/DeitY)
MeitY/DeitY play a crucial role in facilitating e-governance by reinforcing
knowledge-based enterprises, encouraging coordination among users,
adopting procedures based on international standards, promoting the
internet and introducing IT education.
National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT)
NIELIT is an autonomous society under MeitY. It has identified more than
5000 facilitation centres across the country for training courses, which will
equip a person to undertake e-governance transactions through computer
and other basic activities like e-mail, browsing the Internet, etc. NIELIT has
also signed MoUs with industry partner towards jointly conducting courses
and online examinations on digital literacy.
Digital India
Digital India is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a
vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge
economy. The focus is on making technology central to enabling change.
The strategic objective of Digital India Programme (DIP) is to ensure that
government services are made available to the citizens through the use of
ICT.
The Digital India Programme is centred on three key vision areas:
1. Digital infrastructure as a utility of every citizen.
2. Governance and services on demand.
3. Digital empowerment of citizens.
Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple Government
Ministries and departments. It weaves together a large number of ideas
and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them
can be implemented as a part of a larger goal. Each individual elements
stands on its own, but is also part of a larger picture. Digital India is to
be implemented by the entire Government with overall coordination
being done by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(DeitY). Digital India aims to provide the much-needed thrust to the nine
pillars of growth areas namely Broadband Highways, Universal Access to
Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, e-Governance:
Reforming Government through Technology, Electronic Delivery of
Services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and
Early Harvest Programmes. Each of these is a complex programme in itself
and cuts across multiple Ministries and Departments.
All the initiatives, including establishing and expanding core ICT
infrastructure, delivery of services etc., under the Digital India programme
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Governance Issues have definitive time completion targets. Majority of the initiatives are
slated to be realised within the next three years. The initiatives planned for
early completion (“Early Harvest Programme”) and citizen communication
initiatives (“Information for All”) have already started going live and are
being completed.
The Digital India programme aims at pulling together many existing
schemes. These schemes will be restructured, revamped and re-focused and
will be implemented in a synchronized manner. Today, many government
initiatives like Passport Seva, Digi Locker, online public distribution
system, unified payment interface and, more recently, Aarogya Setu have
earned universal accolades.
Most ministries in the Union government are now paperless and decision-
making is much faster and more transparent. India has embraced digital
payments in an unprecedented manner and, as per reports by the Reserve
Bank of India, Indians now make more than 10 crore odd digital transactions
every day – a five-fold jump from the 2016 level. But we cannot become
complacent; rather now is the time to replicate the success of these
benchmark initiatives in every field of governance.

4.5 CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS OF DIGITAL

GOVERNANCE
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam the former President of India has expressed: “Delivery
of services to citizens is considered a primary function of the government. In
a democratic nation of over 1 billion people like India, e-governance should
enable seamless access to information and flow of information across the
state and Central Government in the federal set up. No other country has
so far implemented an e -governance system for 1 billion people. It is a big
challenge for us”.
The broad issues relating to India are poverty, technical illiteracy, funding,
management of change, authentication of transaction and processes,
impediments of process re-engineering, interoperability, use of local
languages and technology issues. The public sector must cope with the
additional management issue, including multiple agencies, a range of
organisational mandates and constituencies, longer appropriation timelines,
and the challenge of maintaining strategies as political administrations
change.
Therefore, it is important that private-sector companies supporting public
IT transformations understand that the public sector operates in a different
context. For example, it can be challenging to set a specific target, build
consensus, align on a leadership structure, secure funding and meet
implementation timelines in public sector organisation than private sector
organisations.
Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a little window of opportunity has
opened. Now almost every village and city is reasonably connected with
affordable private service providers and also through government initiatives
like BharatNet. With half of the population now owning smartphones,
access is no longer an issue. Government initiatives like Common Service
60
Centres now cover even the remotest of villages. During the pandemic, Challenges of Digital
private players, particularly start-ups, have shown enormous interest in co- Governance
developing public service delivery platforms, with shiny success stories like
the Aarogya Setu Application.
Government delivery systems often face challenges in providing
economical and efficient citizen-centric services and solutions at the ground
level to cater to various needs of the common persons vis-à-vis problems
and grievance redress mechanisms. The penetrations of technology on
one hand and presence of illiterate poor rural citizens on the other, often
throws special challenges in the delivery of e-governance. Governance
with Accountability, Transparency and Innovation through the digital
platform is the true requirement of meeting the expectations of the common
persons. Optimising business processes, harnessing business insight out of
the collected information, using the same for the betterment of citizens,
employees and partners; and managing the risk of growing volumes and
complexity of information are the key challenges.
One of the biggest hurdles to this transformation to governance, in fact, is
the workforce and the way in which they work. Insufficient human capacity
could become a hurdle in achieving the goals. Lack of widespread digital
literacy in hinterlands also poses a challenge. So, the solutions have to be
simple and wherever possible in local languages, so that even an Indian at
the last mile can use them with confidence.
There is a massive change being seen in the society in terms of life-style,
behaviour and requirements due to various factors such as open economy,
innovation in technology etc., Meeting the expectations of citizens in
delivering the services is a major challenge for the government. To meet
this challenge, all of us are to consider the way we work, the way we
communicate and the way we deliver the services to the citizens. Perhaps,
this is why digital transformation has risen to the top of strategic initiatives.
The intricate web of citizen touchpoints and the subsequent speed and
accuracy of our responses pose a real challenge to our traditional public
administration system.

4.6 FUTURE GOVERNMENTAL STRATEGIES

IN DIGITAL GOVERNANCE
To build technical infrastructure across the country, India lacks in full-
fledged ITC Framework for implementation of governance strategies.
Complete implementation of digital governance in India will include
building technical hardware and software infrastructure. It will also include
better and faster connectivity including faster broadband connection and
faster wireless networks such as 4G and 5G.
The infrastructure may be built by government, private sector or individuals.
Infrastructure shall also include promotion of internet café, information
and interactive kiosks. Apart from building technical infrastructure, the
government needs to build its institutional capacity. This will include
training of government employees, appointment of experts etc. Government
has to create an expert database for better utilisation of intellectual
resources and to equip the department with Hi-Technology. To build legal
61
Governance Issues infrastructure for better implementation of e-governance, the government
will need to frame information technology and cyber security related laws
incorporating the established as well as emerging technology. Currently,
India has only the IT Act, 2000 and National Cyber Security Policy, 2013
and India e-commerce legislation. India has also modified many laws to
include electronic technology; however, they are not sufficient to cover e
-governance completely.
To make all the information available online, the government should make
use of all available means such as websites, blogs, etc. This can be facilitated
through centralised storage of information, localisation of content and its
management. The information of government is public information and
therefore the citizens should have absolute access to it.
Literacy rate and computer literacy rate in India is alarming. The whole
world is moving towards digital governance, but India still lacks in this
field due to e-illiteracy. The people not only need to be educated but also
be made e-literate for governance to bear results. The government needs
to campaign for increasing people’s awareness towards advantages of
digital transformation. Government should encourage all the procedures
to go online, which in turn will save time and effort of the public as well
as government authorities. Political leaders and representatives can also
motivate the people to use e-governance portals.
While digital transformation in the public sector is particularly challenging,
a number of successful government initiatives show that by translating
private sectors’ best practices into the public context, it is possible to
achieve broader and deeper public sector digitisation. That is not to say
that there are no challenges. India ranked 100th in the 2020 United Nations
e-Government Development Index and a lot more needs to be done on
parameters of process re-engineering, data privacy and making services
more citizen-friendly. There is a reluctance on part of officials in adopting
new platforms, as they lack familiarisation with digital files and platforms.
Sometimes officials fear losing stranglehold over the established system;
this also acts as a barrier.
Check Your Progress 2
Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the Unit.
1. Discuss the governmental initiatives towards digital governance.
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2. Explain the features of Digital India programme.
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 Challenges of Digital
4.7 CONCLUSION Governance
In India, the challenges and opportunities are to entrust existing processes
and structures to a demand driven system. The role of the government
is to improve accessibility of common citizens in rural areas to digital
government. However, there is not enough awareness about the availability
of online services, and in some areas and departments, there is not sufficient
connectivity causing inadequate speed, availability and quality of some
services, which ultimately determines the level of adoption of e-government.
Advancement in technology through cloud services, mobile and social media
for departments to reach out through Customer Services Centres to citizens
in order to understand their needs can be considered as opportunities.
Government should encourage departments to produce new services through
new funding models like Public Private Partnership and produce a great
leap in service delivery process through transformation and reengineering
through ICT, web and mobiles. Government department focusing on user
needs and experience can provide services and improve interaction with
citizens.
The key trends, which are emerging and which will help the government to
evolve a demand-driven ecosystem that improves time-efficiency for both
government and citizens are:
●● Ensuring that the services are integrated as experienced by citizens;
●● Focusing on integrating services and not just providing end services
to citizens;
●● Using intelligence and big data so that government can better
understand and respond to patterns of services delivery and demand
by location, experiences, performance etc.; and
●● Applying design process for effective and efficient service delivery.
Digital transformation is a way to solve the social as well as economic
problems existing in the developing countries like India. According to
WEF Global Information Technology Report, India ranks 24th out of 134
countries with 5.38 score in accessing ICT and in overall priorities of
ICT. Therefore, there is a tremendous potential for digital transformation
to provide exponential benefits to their citizens and maximize return on
government investment, which represents the growth of e-governance in
India.

4.8 GLOSSARY
Cyber Security: It is the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive
information from digital attacks. Also known as Information Technology
(IT) security, cybersecurity measures are designed to combat threats
against networked systems and applications, whether those threats originate
from inside or outside of an organisation.
Digital Transformation: It is the use of digital technologies in such a way
so as to create or change the present business processes, business culture and
customer experiences to adapt to the changing business environment. So
digital transformation means reimagining business processes in the digital
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Governance Issues age. Smart applications and cloud technologies are being used to conduct
business. The transformation centres around empowering employees,
engaging customers and making optimal use of operations.
Early Harvest Programmes: These programmes basically consist of those
projects, which are to be implemented within short timeline. The projects
under the Early Harvest Programme could be ebooks, biometric attendance,
public wifi hotspots, Short Service Message based weather information etc.
Interoperability: According to Wikipedia, interoperability is a characteristic
of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term
was initially defined for Information Technology or systems engineering
services to allow for information exchange, a broader definition takes into
account social, political, and organisational factors that impact system-to-
system performance.
MCA21: The MCA21 application is designed to automate all processes
fully. These processes relate to proactive enforcement and compliance of
the legal requirements under the Companies Act, 1956, New Companies
Act, 2013, and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. This will help the
business community to meet their statutory obligations.
4.9 REFERENCES
Deloitte. (2015). E-governance and Digital India: Empowering Indian
citizens through Technology. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.
com/in/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/e-
governance-and-digital-india.html
Department of Electronics and Information Technology. (2015).
e-Governance Policy Initiative under Digital India. Retrieved from https://
www.meity.gov.in/DeitY_e-book/e-gov_policy/download/Policy%20
Document.pdf
Eggers, E.D. & Bellman, J. (2015). The Journey to Government digital
transformation. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/
topics/digital-transformation/digital-transformation-in-government.html
Kettl, D.F. (2002). The Transformation of Governance. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press.
Khan, S. (2016). Leadership is the Digital Age – a study on the effects of
digitalization on the top management leadership. Retrieved from http://www.
diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A971518&dswid=-8055
OECD. (2016). Digital Government Strategies for transforming public
services in the Welfare Areas. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/gov/
digital-government/Digital-Government-Strategies-Welfare-Service.pdf
Sapru, Y. (2020). Augmenting Public Services Delivery through online
Feedback System. Indian Journal of Public Administration. 66 (3), 297-
311.
Yadav, K. & Tiwari, S. (2014). E-Governance in India: Opportunities and
Challenges. Advance in Electronic and Electric Engineering. 4(6), 675-680.

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 Challenges of Digital
4.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Governance
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress 1
1. Your answer should include the following points:
●● Digital governance is a framework for establishing
accountability, roles and decision-making authority for an
organisation’s digital presence.
●● Digital governance “is a discipline that focuses on establishing
clear accountability for digital strategy, policy and standards”.
●● Digital governance is the use of a “range of modern information
and communication technologies such as Internet, Local
Area Networks, mobiles etc., by Government to improve
the effectiveness, efficiency, service delivery and promote
democracy”.
●● The ways we use digital technologies in our personal lives,
work and society have changed the face of both society and
government and will continue to do so.
●● Traditionally, by digital we mean the use of numbers and the
term comes from digit, or finger. Today, digital is synonymous
with computers.
●● Digitizing is the conversion of analog information into digital
form.
●● Unlike digitisation, digitalisation is the actual “process of the
technology-induced change within the above industries”.
●● Digital transformation is described as “the total and overall
societal effect of digitalization.” Digitalization has enabled the
process of Digitisation.
2. Your answer should include the following points:
The seven key components are:
i) Digital Governance Frameworks;
ii) Digital Strategies;
iii) Digital Policies;
iv) Digital Standards;
v) Digital Guidelines;
vi) Digital Processes; and
vii) Digital Term Structures.
Check Your Progress 2
●● Your answer should include the following points:
●● The Information Technology Act, 2000.
●● The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) 2006.
●● 31 Mission Mode Projects covering a wide range of domains, viz.
65
Governance Issues agriculture, land records, health, education, passports, police, courts,
municipalities, commercial taxes, treasuries, etc., have been initiated.
●● National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP), 2013.
●● MeitY/DeitY.
●● National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology
(NIELIT).
2. Your answer should include the following points:
●● Digital India is a flagship programme of the Government of
India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered
society and knowledge economy. The focus is on making
technology central to enabling change.
●● The Digital India programme is centred on three key vision
areas:
– Digital infrastructure as a utility of every citizen.
– Governance and services on demand.
– Digital empowerment of citizens.
●● Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple
government ministries and departments.
●● It weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into
a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them can be
implemented as a part of a larger goal.
●● Each individual element stands on its own, but is also a part of
a larger picture.
●● Digital India is to be implemented by the entire Government
with overall coordination being done by the Department of
Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).
●● Digital India aims to provide the much-needed thrust to the nine
pillars of growth areas namely Broadband Highways, Universal
Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access
Programme, e-Governance: Reforming Government through
Technology, Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for
All, Electronics Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest
Programmes.
●● The Digital India programme aims at pulling together many
existing schemes. These schemes will be restructured, revamped
and re-focused and will be implemented in a synchronized
manner.
●● Today, many government initiatives like Passport Seva, Digi
Locker, online public distribution system, unified payment
interface and, more recently, Aarogya Setu have earned
universal accolades.

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