C-DAC: Press Kit - Archives(In the News)

Implementing eGovernance in the country may be a long way off, but some states are making efforts to move in that direction.

No Country can today afford to avoid keeping pace with the growth and spread of information technology, let alone ignore it. No wonder then that the Indian Government is trying to build its own computer networks, which will perhaps usher in the new millennium an administration that is organized and effective in providing the citizens services that are long overdue. Electronic governance appears to be the keyword today in most administrative departments. And now, with a Ministry for Information Technology formed in the Union Government, the concept of government departments becoming fully computerized might actually work. At a recent national conference on eGovernance (as it is called) in Bangalore, IT Secretaries from 32 States and Union Territories participated in discussions which led them to announce that they were committed to providing a one-stop, nonstop, efficient, effective, responsive, transparent citizen governance through the use of information technology."

Nevertheless, the outcome of the three-day conference was disappointing. Held against the backdrop of Bangalore, IT.com, a five-day international exhibition on computers, the conference was attended by the country’s who’s who in IT. That being the case, a more significant "declaration" was expected. However, the decisions were bereft of specificity, and the plans lacked time frames. Apart from networking government departments, eGovernance throws up several questions of transparency, accountability, technology and logistic feasibility, of whether these will benefit the common man. Frontline spoke to officials and experts on some of the issues that surround this concept.

ELECTRONIC governance is used as a synonym for an information technology-driven system of governance that works better, costs less and is capable of servicing people’s needs. It is also broadly defined as the use of information technology for efficient delivery of government services to the people and to business and to industry. A double-pronged term, eGovernance involves the computerization of government departments and the networking of all government departments, and linking them, as also district and taluka offices across a state, with the State headquarters.

According to Karnataka’s IT Secretary Sanjoy Das Gupta, the objective of electronic governance in India goes beyond mere computerization of government offices. It fundamentally means changing the way the government operates and implies a new set of responsibilities for civil servants, businesses and the public. According to him, plans such as online services will give the average citizen access to government services, with faster responses at more convenient hours. These services include providing information, collecting taxes, granting licenses, administering regulations, and paying grants and benefits.

It may seen almost impossible to revolutions India's bureaucracy which is notorious for its red tapism, but projects have already been successfully executed. Andhra Pradesh went high-tech to a considerable extent almost two years ago, and Kerala follows close behind. Karnataka has ambitious plans in this regard; Chief Minister S.M. Krishna has promised to put them into effect in two year’s time.

Announcing some of Karnataka’s plans, Krishna said at the inauguration of the conference that every Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police, and Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishads would be provided with video-conferencing facilities by December. The government plans to provide a computer laboratory and Internet connectivity to every high school; however, no time-frame has been specified. Five percent of the Plan budget for every department will be earmarked, for a period of five years, toward promoting IT development in its offices. The Chief Minister also said that a bottom-to-top approach should be taken. "The less fortunate and ordinary man needs to be helped immediately," he said.

Andhra Pradesh IT Secretary, R. Chandrashekhar asserted that the ideas would work; he said his State Government had proved that the plan could make a difference to the ordinary people. "It is not just for the literate and the well-to-do, but also for people who need information about, say, housing schemes or grants available," he said.

Andhra Pradesh has already implemented four programs. The Computer-Aided Administration of Registration Department (CARD) project was the first to be implemented. It ensures efficiency in the registration of documents, by providing help in ascertaining the market value of property and calculating stamp duty, transfer duty and registration fees. The project is likely to cover about 29,000 revenue villages in 23 districts. "Previously it used to take days, even weeks, to get information; now it takes between 10 and 30 minutes," Chandrashekhar said.

On November 1, 19999, the State's Formation Day, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the video-conferencing facility in the State capital, Hyderabad. Known as the Andhra Pradesh State-wide Area Network (APSWAN) and the Andhra Pradesh State Secretariat Campus Network (APSCAN), the projects had been in the pipeline for quite sometime. APSWAN is envisioned as the backbone network for voice, data and video communications throughout the State. In the first place, Hyderabad was linked to Vijayawada and Tirupati besides 23 district headquarters using 2 Mbps fiber optic links provided by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). APSWAN will eventually be extended to all villages in the State, Chandrashekhar said. The Local Area Networks(LANs) that are in operation in various government offices will be linked to APSWAN while all offices in the State Secretariat have been connected to various district headquarters through APSCAN. Eventually, all government offices in the State capital, the District Collectorates and the various offices at the district level will become part of the network. Approximately Rs. 100 crores will be spent over a period of five years for the project.

The TWINS or Twin Cities Network Services Project will operate a chain of integrated Citizen Service Centres. Chandrashekhar said that the aim was to integrate all the administrative services and make it a single office ultimately. Whether one wants to get a driver's license or to make a payment, it can be done at a single window at these centres. Currently at the pilot stage, the project will start with 20 services from six departments. The State government hopes that these service centres will eventually grow in numbers, like public telephone booths. This will generate more employment opportunities and put at rest any notions that technology will cause retrenchment, he explained. Chandrashekhar said that Andhra Pradesh was able to establish a high level of connectivity across the State with the assistance of the Department of Electronics(DoE). Therefore, it will not take long for all the districts to be connected. He expects that the project will be implemented in about six months' time.

The declaration
The following is the declaration made at the conclusion of the national conference on eGovernance:

The focus of governance has to shift from being "government centric" to "citizen centric".

Information technology(IT) provides an opportunity for large-scale delivery of quality services.

The use of IT must facilitate efficient delivery of government services to citizens and business. The goal is to provide services to anyone, anytime, anywhere through a variety of channels at a reasonable cost.

There is a need to re-engineer the process of government in order to achieve synergy with IT.

Human resource development of the existing workforce in order to inculcate appropriate skills and attitudes is a critical factor.

Government, industry and community must join hands in eDelivery of services, especially in social sectors.

A sound communication infrastructure is essential for ubiquitous access.

A conscious effort should be made to harmonize IT with regional requirements.

IT should be innovatively used to ensure that no section of society is deprived of the benefits accruing therefrom.

The Central Government should provide support for capacity building in IT in the States

KERALA launched a Rs. 43 crores Information Kerala Project last year. This will computerize and network relevant applications for 1,214 local bodies, Kerala's IT Secretary Aruna Sundarrajan said. Starting at the local level, they had developed software for the payment of welfare pensions, she said. A citizens' database has also been created by local bodies and elected panchayat members. Easy access is a key factor, however. The database can be used to procure information on building licenses, license fees and taxes. People living in rural areas can find out what quotas they are entitled to, what schemes are applicable to the, or, in the case of land records, where they are located and whom to contact. "eGovernance is going to benefit the common man only when he walks into a government office and finds that he does not have to wait in a line for license renewal forms or tat payment does not mean running from pillar to post," she said.

Aruna Sundarrajan said that in Kerala, the IT work completed so far included the linking of 152 development blocks to a networked computer project. The network provides electronic mail identities for each block and helps monitor projects at the block level. All treasuries/sub-treasuries in the State will be connected by next month. Three treasuries, five sub-treasuries and extension counters in Thiruvananthapuram district are already online. In addition, work on the Secretariat Wide Area Network (SWAN), linking the offices of Ministers, secretaries and State departments, is under way, according to her. Professor Roddam Narasimha, Director, National Institute for Advanced Studies, told Frontline that "to be completely effective, eGovernance needs to have a strong infrastructure." Presenting a paper on "eGovernance - A Blueprint," he said network and connectivity in the country were relatively poor, but as India had the technical skill and know-how in the field there was no excuse for not achieving goals. Moreover, he said, DoT had good fiber optic cables that would be used for electronic transmission. "Begin with them and continue finding solutions," he said.