E-Governance Applications

Unit V Applications in administration and planning.

DEFINITION:

E-governance, expands to electronic governance, is the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all the processes, with the aim of enhancing government ability to address the needs of the general public. The basic purpose of e-governance is to simplify processes for all, i.e. government, citizens, businesses, etc. at National, State and local levels.

In short, it is the use of electronic means, to promote good governance. It connotes the implementation of information technology in the government processes and functions so as to cause simple, moral, accountable and transparent governance. It entails the access and delivery of government services, dissemination of information, communication in a quick and efficient manner.

Characteristics of E-Governance

Easy access to single point delivery of public service to citizens.

Higher penetration due to automation.

Increased efficiency due to connectivity.

Increased accountability.

Reduction in cost of delivery services.

Increased transparency.

Higher availability of public domain information.

Reduced corruption.

Benefits of E-governance

Reduced corruption

High transparency

Increased convenience

Growth in GDP

Direct participation of constituents

Reduction in overall cost.

Expanded reach of government

Through e-governance, the government plans to raise the coverage and quality of information and services provided to the general public, by the use of ICT in an easy, economical and effective manner. The process is extremely complicated which requires, the proper arrangement of hardware, software, networking and indeed re-engineering of all the processes to facilitate better delivery of services.

E-Governance Maturity Model

The design of the maturity model takes into account the assumption that the Government Ministry/Department, that has made the service available to its beneficiaries, knows the exact true state of its service and the beneficiary, that avails this services, can provide the true state of service that it has experienced while availing the service.

The model proposes to conduct two kinds of assessments by requiring the Government Ministry/Department and beneficiary to fill two different questionnaires for each of the service offered by the Government Ministry/Department.

Top-down Assessment : This assessment is required to arrive at the digital maturity of services being offered a Government Ministry/Department. The questionnaire for the top-down assessment can be filled by the Government official responsible for delivering the services or any of the authorized representative of the Government Ministry / Department such as agency that has consulted the Government Ministry / Department and / or implemented the service, etc.

Bottom-up Assessment: This assessment is required to arrive at the level of comfort that the beneficiary experiences while availing the service. The questionnaire for the bottom-up assessment is required to be mandatorily filled-in by the beneficiary.

The model provides the outside-in perspective of the government services (delivery view) and not necessarily the inside-out view (e.g. governance or developer view). The model requires services to be categorized into Informational and Transactional types to give weight ages for the purpose of aggregation at Ministry / Department level and identify their maturity level for all the e-Governance services offered by it. The framework considers the maturity based on the availability of services, and not by their uptake.

Digital Maturity Pillars

The model is based on the three pillars of cashless, paperless and faceless which are the key tenets for improving service delivery to citizens. The three pillars of the model are depicted in the following diagram.

Cashless:

Any service rendered to a beneficiary through any service delivery channel enabled with option of electronic/digital payment modes.

Paperless:

Any service that is entirely dematerialized and requires no physical paper at any level for rendering of that service to the beneficiary.

Faceless:

Any service in which a beneficiary is not required to come in contact with government personnel, unless it’s a legal requirement and that requires no human interface for delivery of that service to the beneficiary.

The E-Governance proceeded through four stages

Presence: This stage is classified by a simple information-providing Web site of a passive nature, sometimes described as “brochure ware,” indicating the same level of functions as a paper brochure.

Interaction: The interaction stage offers simple interactions between government and citizen (G2C), government to business (G2B), or government agency to government agency (G2G). Interaction stage Web sites provide e-mail contact and interactive forms that generate informational responses.

Transaction: The transaction stage enables transactions such as paying for license renewals online, paying taxes or fees, or submitting bids for procurement contracts.

Transformation: The highest stage, most closely aligned with the concept of governance, involves a reinvention of how government functions are conceived and organized.

Types of Interactions in E-Governance :

G2G (Government to Government): When the exchange of information and services is within the periphery of the government, is termed as G2G interaction. This can be both horizontal, i.e. among various government entities and vertical, i.e. between national, state and local government entities and within different levels of the entity.

G2C (Government to Citizen): The interaction amidst the government and general public is G2C interaction. Here an interface is set up between government and citizens, which enables citizens to get access to wide variety of public services. The citizens have the freedom to share their views and grievances on government policies anytime, anywhere.

G2B (Government to Business): In this case, the e-governance helps the business class to interact with the government seamlessly. It aims at eliminating red-tapism, saving time, cost and establish transparency in the business environment, while interacting with government.

G2E (Government to Employees): The government of any country is the biggest employer and so it also deals with employees on a regular basis, as other employers do. ICT helps in making the interaction between government and employees fast and efficient, along with raising their level of satisfaction by providing perquisites and add-on benefits. E-governance can only be possible if the government is ready for it. It is not a one day task, and so the government has to make plans and implement them before switching to it. Some of the measures include Investment in telecommunication infrastructure, budget resources, ensure security, monitor assessment, internet connectivity speed, promote awareness among public regarding the importance, support from all government departments and so forth

E-governance has    a great role to play, that improves and supports all tasks performed by the government department and agencies, because it simplifies the task on the one hand and increases the quality of work on the other.