E Governance

INTRODUCTION

E-Governance

E-Governance is one of the most important topics which discusses government functionality and its important machinery. This topic comes under the subject of Indian Polity and governance in General Studies paper 2 in UPSC Syllabus.

Definition of E-Governance

E-Governance or Electronic Governance implies government functioning with the application of ICT (Information and Communications Technology). E-Governance is an implementation of delivering government services, exchanging information, communicating transactions, integrating various stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G), Government-to-employees (G2E) as well as back-office processes and interconnection within the entire government framework. Government services are made available to citizens through e-governance in a convenient, efficient, and transparent manner. The three main target groups that can be differentiated in governance concepts are government, citizens, and businesses interest groups. Therefore, e-Governance is progress towards smart governance inferring simple, moral, accountable, responsive, and transparent governance. Now let us understand what smart governance is.

•   Simple — It implies simplification of rules and regulations of the government and avoiding complex processes with the application of ICTs. Therefore, it provides a user-friendly government
•   Moral — It means the emergence of a new system in the administrative and political machinery with technology interventions to improve the efficiency of various government agencies
•   Accountable — It develops effective information management systems and other performance measurement mechanisms to ensure the accountability of public service functionaries
•   Responsive — It speeds up the processes by streamlining them, hence making the system more responsive
•   Transparent — Belief in providing information to the public domain like websites or various portals, therefore, making functions and processes of the government transparent

Kinds of interactions in e-governance

The 4 kinds of interactions in E-governance are:

G2C (Government to Citizens) — It is the interaction between the government and the citizens.

• G2C entitles citizens to benefit from the systemic delivery of a large range of public services.
• Expands the accessibility and availability of government services and improves the quality of services
• The primary aim of G2C is to build a citizen-friendly government.
  
  G2B (Government to Business):
  • The primary objective of G2B is to cut strict regulations which will save time and reduce operational costs creating a more transparent business environment when dealing with the government.
  • It helps in services such as licensing, procurement, permits, and revenue collection
    
    G2G (Government to Government)
    • G2G allows seamless interaction between various government institutions.
    • Government to Government interaction can be between various departments and agencies within government or between two governmental organisations like the union and state governments or between state governments.
    • The primary aim of G2G is to increase efficiency, performance, and output.
      
      G2E (Government to Employees)
      • Government to Employees interaction is between the government and its employees.
      • ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools help in making these interactions fast and efficient and thus increasing the satisfaction levels of employees.

Advantages of e-Governance

•   It improves the delivery and efficiency of government services
•   It improves government interactions with business and industry
•   Citizen empowerment through access to information
•   More efficient government management
•   Less corruption in the administration
•   Increased transparency in administration
•   Greater convenience to citizens and businesses
•   Cost reductions and revenue growth
•   Increased legitimacy of government
•   Flattens less hierarchical organisational structure
•   Reduces paperwork and strict regulations in the administrative process which results in better planning and coordination between different levels of government
•   It improves the relation between the public authorities and civil society
•   Restructuring of administrative processes

E-Governance Initiatives

E-governance initiatives taken in India are as follows:

• The National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development was established in 1998
• The Ministry of Information Technology was created at the centre in 1999
• The 12-point agenda has been listed for e-Governance for the execution in all the central ministries and departments
• The Information Technology Act (2000) was enacted. This Act was amended in 2008
• The very first National Conference of States IT Ministers was organised in the year 2000, for implementing the Common Actions Plan to promote Information Technology in India
• The government set up NISG (National Institute for Smart Government)
• The state governments launched e-Governance projects like e-Seva, Bhoomi, and so on
• The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was launched. It consists of 8 support components and 31 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs)
• The National Policy on Information Technology (NPIT) was acquired in 2012

National E-Governance Scheme

• The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) provides a comprehensive view of e-Governance initiatives across the country.
• Due to the E-Governance scheme, there is a digitization of internet connectivity across all India including urban cities as well as remote villages.
• The Government has proposed to implement “e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) 2.0” under the Digital India program.

About E-Kranti

The vision of e-Kranti also called ‘Delivery of Services’ is modifying e-Governance for transforming Governance and its mission is “To ensure a government-wide transformation by delivering Government services electronically to the citizens through unified and compatible systems via multiple modes while making sure of efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such services at cheaper costs. 

Objectives of e-Kranti

The main objectives of e-Kranti are to:

• Reexamine NeGP with a life-changing and enthusiastic e-Governance enterprise
• Enhance the portfolio of citizen-centric services
• Certify optimum usage of core Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
• Encourage fast duplication and incorporation of e-Governance implementations
• Leverage emerging technologies
• Make use of more agile implementation models

Six sub-themes of the 23rd National Conference on e-Governance:

• Digital Platforms and Digital Economy
• Improving Service Delivery
• Building Digital Trust- Transparency, Security and Privacy
• Digital Payments and Fintech
• National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) and Digital Service Standards (DSS)
• Skilling and Capacity Building

Conclusion

e-Governance is getting a lot of encouragement in India, yet public promotion and the access number are important issues to be addressed.The success of e-Governance measures largely depends on the accessibility of high-speed internet, and the nationwide turnout of 5G technology soon will strengthen our resolution.