E-Government: Opportunities and Challenges in India

Presentation Structure
E-Government: different perceptions and delivery models Cases resulting in multiple benefits: improved service delivery; reduced corruption; increased transparency; increased revenue; cost reduction; and empowerment. What are the critical success factors in implementing e-government? How to move forward?

E-Government: Scope and Definition

E-governance is the application of information & communication technologies to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational & transactional exchanges with in government, between govt. & govt. agencies of National, State, Municipal & Local levels, citizen & businesses, and to empower citizens through access & use of information.

Evolution of e-governance History and Present The concept of e-governance has its origins in India during the seventies with a focus on development of in- house government applications in the areas of defense, economic monitoring, planning and the deployment of IT to manage data intensive functions related to elections, census, tax administration etc Global shifts towards increased deployment of IT by governments emerged in the nineties, with the advent of the World Wide Web.

Different Delivery Models

Departments going on-line
Greater departmental ownership: significant re-engineering possible Citizen visit many departments, each one may be more efficient Could be a first step in the absence of high band width network

Conveniently located Service Centers

Counters manned by public/private agencies Multiple services at each location: payment, licenses, certificates Can quickly move traffic from departments to service centers Requires significant coordination Back end computerization and Integration needed for data sharing High internet penetration; willingness and ability of citizen to use Security and mutual trust (builds with successful outcome) Usage builds up gradually. Adoption rate has to be driven. Requires strong centralized leadership for extensive co-ordination

Self Service through a Portal one stop shop

E-governance projects in India

Some E-governance Initiatives State/Union Territory Initiatives covering departmental automation, user charge collection, delivery of policy/programme information and delivery of entitlements e-Seva, CARD, VOICE, MPHS, FAST, e-Cops, AP onlineOne-stop-shop on the Internet, Saukaryam, Online Transaction processing Sales Tax Administration Management Information Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Treasury office, e-linking project Society,

Andhra Pradesh

Bihar Chattisgarh Delhi

Automatic Vehicle Tracking System, Computerisation of website of RCS office, Electronic Clearance System, Management Information System for Education etc Dharani Project Mahiti Shakti, request for Government documents online, Form book online, G R book online, census online, tender notice.

Goa Gujarat

E-governance projects in India

Haryana Himachal Pradesh Karnataka Kerala Nai Disha Lok Mitra Bhoomi, Khajane, Kaveri e-Srinkhala, RDNet, Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for the Disbursement of Services (FRIENDS) Gyandoot, Gram Sampark, Smart Card in Transport Department, Computerization MP State Agricultural Marketing Board (Mandi Board) etc SETU, Online Complaint Management System Mumbai, WARANA Jan Mitra, RajSWIFT, Lokmitra, RajNIDHI Rasi MaiyamsKanchipuram; Application forms related to public utility, tender notices and display Noida CityEgovernance Residents will be able to pay electricity and phone bills, file I-T returns, register marriages and deaths, among other things at information kiosks located in the city. Once the project becomes fully operational citizens can pay utilities, get grievance redressal and a variety of other essential jobs Through these info kiosks

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra Rajasthan Tamil Nadu

UttarPradesh

E-governance projects in India

North-Eastern States Arunachal Pradesh, Community Information Center. Forms available on

Manipur, Meghalaya,

the Meghalaya website under schemes related to

Mizoram & Nagaland

social welfare, food civil supplies and consumer affairs, housing transport etc.

Some Successful E-Government Applications from Developing Countries

CARD, FAST,eSeva, BHOOMI in India Citizen Service Center (mobile), Bahia, Brazil E-procurement:Mexico,Philippines,Bulgaria,Chile, Korea New Business Registration: Jordan,Jamaica, China Tax collection State Border Check Posts, Gujarat Income Tax on-line in Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Jordan Customs on-line: India, Philippines, Jamaica OPEN- Seoul Municipality, VOICE in Vijayvada Gyandoot, n-Logue, drishtee in Rural India Teachers Transfer in Karnataka and SmartGov in AP, Khajane in Karnataka

Overall Assessment
Assessment is difficult in the absence of evaluations. Overall impact is marginal. Limited number of applications. Service delivery has become efficient but impact on transparency/ corruption is marginal Largest number of applications for service delivery to urban citizens in revenue earning departments. Few applications in health/education Largely bottom-up, driven by reformist civil servants. Only 1-2 states have political support and central coordination. Technical sophistication in design varies a great deal. Data sharing, scalability, security have not been adequately addressed. Moving from manual to on-line for some steps. Produces large benefits. Integrating across departments is complex, more so with legacy systems. Large number of web sites are not used. Citizens unwilling to engage. Intermediaries are needed.

Report Card on Bhoomi is GOOD

Survey: 180 users from 12 kiosks and 60 non users 4 taluks Ease of Use: 78% of users who had used both systems found
Bhoomi simpler; 66% used Bhoomi without help vs. 28% in manual Complexity of Procedures: 80% did not have to meet any one other than at kiosk: In manual 19% met one officer and 61% met 2-4 officials Errors in documents: Bhoomi 8% vs manual 64%

Rectification of errors: sought correction 93 % vs 49%, timely

response 50% vs 4% Cost of service: 84% one visit to Bhoomi center at Taluk HQ

Corruption: 66% paid bribes very often vs 3% in Bhoomi Staff behavior: Bhoomi Good (84%) vs manual Average (63%)

Report Card on Gyandoot

Offers 22 services at fees of Rs 10-15 : Mandi prices (30%), grievance (13%), certificates promised in 8 days (25%) Kiosks offer training, copying, word processing services for bulk of revenue Evaluation thru a survey indicates dwindling attendance at Kiosks. 5602 (85% males) over 2 years logged in 18 kiosks. Attendance averages to one a day per kiosk Handle very small proportion of any type of transactions Doubtful Viability: Investment in network of Rs 2.5 million; Rs 150K worth of equipment and expenses of Rs 1200 pm with average revenue from user fee of Rs 150 pm/ kiosk

Challenges
Lack of IT Literacy and awareness regarding benefits of egovernance Underutilization of existing ICT infrastructure Attitude of Government Departments Lack of coordination between Govt. Department and Solution developers Resistance to re-engineering of departmental processes Lack of Infrastructure for sustaining e-governance projects on national level

Critical Success Factors

Strong Political and Administrative Leadership , detailed Project Management Clearly identified goals and benefits Significant Process Reengineering Required Start Small, scale up through stages, manage expectations Adopt established standards and protocols minimize customization In-source Analysis ; Outsource design, software development, data preparation, training, etc. Training Expenses should not be minimized

Enablers of e-Government
20 % Technology

Technology

35 % Business Process Reengineering 40 % Change Management 5% Luck !

People

Process

Organization for Implementing E-government

A champion at the political level Ministerial level co-ordination committees A central support group Departmental Champions and co-ordination committee Institution for Training Private sector partners

Issues that Need Resolution

No country is completely ready? Balance between strategizing, coordination and action Approach: centrally driven versus departmental initiative? Role, mandate, size of a central support agency. Where should it be created? Creating departmental ownership: Budget allocations, training, demand, performance push Who can help?(partnership with private sector: multi national/local/one or many partners, partnering arrangement) How can progress be measured?

Role of the Central Support Group

Assessing and enhancing preparedness Developing a strategy and implementation plan Resources for re-engineering, application development and change management Guidelines, standards and best practices Developing public private partnership Identifying departmental champions Monitoring progress and impact Overseeing a few key projects Building/managing shared infrastructure

Training and Awareness Building Have a Key Role

Training programs for Project leaders who can define project deliverables, deal (negotiate) with consultants and vendors and manage an outsourced development process Andhra Pradesh CIO Program conducted by IIMA Training of clerical staff on specific applications (developers) Awareness in citizens of on-line services and how to transact on Portals Training of supervisors and managers on using information Awareness in senior civil servants and political executiveshighlighting benefits of Egovernment and effort required

Technology that makes rural access inexpensive and robust

Applications that draw a large cliental that pays for the service, ensuring economic viability of the kiosk

Bridging the Digital Divide

NGOs and grass root organizations that catalyze and mange the community building process

Content that empowers rural citizens and enables formation of communities

Problems in Service Delivery

Inadequate reach: balancing quality and access High cost particularly to the rural poor Mismatch in demand and supplyhealth and education Low productivity and wasted resources Consequences of administrative corruption
Service is denied/delayed unless bribe is paid Collusion --Loss of revenue to government Disincentive to SMEs, FDI, employees and citizens. Increases tolerance for corruption in society. Creates corruption in appointments and transfers.

Corruption in Service Delivery: Generic Problems

Complex rules-need for intermediaries Discretion to delay or deny without assigning reasons Decisions and actions are not traceable. Citizens have poor access to information Lack of supervision in remote areas-problems of decentralization Large power distance between civil servants and citizensafraid to assert and complain Poor mechanisms of complaint handling. Documentation is weak for any investigation

Impact of E-Government
Faster processing, shorter wait, shorter queues Less number of trips to government offices: saves transport cost and avoids wage loss More accurate and legible documents, easy recovery from errors, better reception areas Lesser corruption more transparency Improved access to offices (nearer home, 24X7) and functionaries (no intermediaries) User fee may be levied- issue of acceptance Improved complaint handling

Egovernment-How does it help

Introduces transparency in data, decisions/actions, rules, procedures and performance of Govt. agencies Automates processes to take away discretion Entry point for simplification of rules and reengineering processes Makes decisions traceable- tracks actions Builds accountability- greater access to information through web publishing-role of civil society Provides documentation to citizens for follow up

Egovernment-How does it help

Modularizes Tasks Making Outsourcing Possible Introduces competition amongst delivery channels and departments Standardized documentation of comments/ objections leads to effective supervision- through comparative indicators Centralizes data for better audit and analysis Integration of data across applications-provides improved intelligence Enables unbiased sampling for audit purposes

Egovernment-How does it help

Modularizes Tasks Making Outsourcing Possible Introduces competition amongst delivery channels and departments Standardized documentation of comments/ objections leads to effective supervision- through comparative indicators Centralizes data for better audit and analysis Integration of data across applications-provides improved intelligence Enables unbiased sampling for audit purposes

Type of Information being made transparent

Resulting benefits

Rules and procedure governing services; public officials responsible for different tasks; citizens charter; Enhancing citizens exposure

Standardizes procedures for delivery of service. Reduces arbitrariness, e.g. demand for additional documents

Information about decisions and actions of government functionaries: outcome and process e.g. award of contracts and license, allocation of resources.

Exposure of corruption and improved accountability

Data about individual entities in Government records such as land records, comments on application for license, bill of entry for goods, status of tax payments.

Exposure of manipulation for exchange of bribe and corruption

Information on performance of economy: Statistical employment, income, trade etc. Performance indicator for Government departments

Civic engagement in governance Greater accountability

Names of citizens with large outstanding loans, taxes; civil servants under investigation or convicted, index of corruption, performance of investigating agencies.

A kind of punishment for the corrupt through public exposure

Disclosure of assets, income, profile of election candidates, elected representatives, ministers and civil servants

Creates disincentive for corruption by creating fear of exposure

Summary: egovernment is not irreversible magic

E-Government can advance the agenda on Governance reform, transparency, anti- corruption, empowerment. It is NOT a panacea Potential is recognized but Implementation is difficult. Gains are real but risks need to be understood. Challenge is to promote wide spread use in areas where benefits outweigh risks. Situate in a broader framework of anticorruption. Identify all pressure points and reengineer to remove discretion, simplify procedures and put out as much information in public domain. Incentive structure and institutional capacity Create competition in delivery channels Strengthen physical supervision and actionable MIS Build other forms of benefits for those who loose power and income Co-opt civil society to build accountability