Recommendations for meaningful and successful e-governance in India
Author: Parminder Jeet Singh
Publisher: IT for Change May 2008
This paper contributed by the author to the Second Administrative Reforms Commission on Citizen Centric Governance introduces e-governance in the Indian context and gives suggestions from strategic to implementation levels for using ICTs to improve governance and service.
The paper discusses the international scene of e-governance reforms and compares it with India’s institutional framework in this sector.
At present, digitisation in governments is seen mostly as a simple extension of digitisation/ automation of various organisational and social processes throughout the society.
Such autonomous digitisation without any strategic vision for government wide reforms may lead to some systemic changes with positive outcomes – improved information availability, better decision-support systems and quicker and more efficient working in the governments.
The paper argues that this will not achieve the required level of transformation that people aspires for. It is therefore required that a thorough political assessment of the context, opportunities and the challenges of e-governance in India is made.
A comprehensive governance reform policy framework needs to be developed taking account of the new digital possibilities, connecting them to India's context, while also examining and learning from the international experience in this area.
The author also stresses the fact that the nature of the institutional structure for leading and implementing e-governance will determine the overall outcomes of e-governance in India.
Governments need to formulate appropriate 'IT for people' policies that ensure widespread availability and uptake of IT among the people which should have components of connectivity, software, hardware, content and capacity building polices for an e-enabled citizenry and society.
The paper points out that it will be necessary to develop a comprehensive and detailed roadmap for e-governance in India which will undertake a detailed examination of all aspects of governmental activity in India, with the distinctly specific context and objectives of each activity, and placing it in the context of the new e-governance possibilities, along with a basic overall consideration of various technology requirements.
Source: IT for Change
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