E-GOVERNANCE Electronic Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information and communication technology (ICT) for delivering government services, exchange of information communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems and services between government-to-customer government-to-customer (!C), government-to-business government-to-business (!"), government-to-gover government-to-government nment (!) as well as bac# o$ce processes and interactions within the entire government framewor#% Through e-governance, government services will be made available to citi&ens in a convenient, e$cient and transparent manner% manner% The three main target groups that can be distinguished in governance concepts are government, citi&ens and businesses'interest businesses'interest groups% In e-governance, there are no distinct boundaries% E-govemance and e-government are often used interchangeably so distinguishing between them at this stage is imperative% ccording ccording to Thomas "% iley government government and governance are are both about getting the consent and cooperation of the governed% "ut whereas government government is the formal apparatus for this ob*ective, governance is the outcome as experienced experienced by those on the receiving end+% E-government can be more productive version version of government in general, if it is well implemented and managed% E-governance can evolve into participatory governance, if it is well supported with appropriate principles, ob*ectives, programmes and architectures% E-government is, thus, the modernisation of processes and functions of government government using tools of ICT as to transform the way it serves its constituents% s per the orld orld "an#, e-government e-government refers to the use by government government agencies of information technologies (such as wide area networ#s, internet and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with citi&ens, businesses and other arms of government% It is the use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to benet citi&ens, business partners and employees% E-governance, on the other hand, goes beyond the service delivery aspects and is seen as a decisional process% It is about the *se of ICTs ICTs in the system of governance, that is, using ICT to involve multi-sta#eholders multi-sta#eholders in decision ma#ing and in ma#ing governments open and accountable% lthough the term .e-overnance/ .e- overnance/ has gained currency in recent years, there is no standard denition of this term% 0i1erent governments governments and organi&ations dene this term to suit their own aims and ob*ectives%
2ometimes, the term .e-government/ is also used instead of .e-overnance/% 2ome widely used denitions are listed below3
I. ccording to The World Bank 4E-overnment refers to the use by government agencies of information technologies (such as ide rea 5etwor#s, the Internet, and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with citi&ens, businesses, and other arms of government% These technologies can serve a variety of di1erent ends3 better delivery of government services to citi&ens, improved interactions with business and industry, citi&en empowerment through access to information, or more e$cient government management% The resulting benets can be less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and'or cost reductions%6 Thus, the stress here is on use of information technologies in improving citi&en-government interactions, cost-cutting and generation of revenue and transparency%
II. UNESCO denes e-overnance as3 4overnance refers to the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country/s a1airs, including citi&ens/ articulation of their interests and exercise of their legal rights and obligations% E-overnance may be understood as the performance of this governance via the electronic medium in order to facilitate an e$cient, speedy and transparent process of disseminating information to the public, and other agencies, and for performing government administration activities%6 This denition visuali&es the use of the electronic medium in the exercise of authority in the management of a country/s a1airs along with articulation of citi&ens/ interests leading to greater transparency and e$ciency%
III. The Council of Europe has ta#en e-overnance to mean3 4the use of electronic technologies in three areas of public action3 7 relations between the public authorities and civil society 7 functioning of the public authorities at all stages of the democratic process (electronic democracy) 7 the provision of public services (electronic public services)6
In this case, the focus is on ma#ing use of electronic technologies with a view to encourage better interaction between government and citi&ens, promote democracy and provide public services%
IV. The US E-Government Act of 22 denes 4electronic overnment6 to mean (2ection 89:;)3 4the use by the overnment of web-based Internet applications and other information technologies, combined with processes that implement these technologies, to() enhance the access to and delivery of overnment information and services to the public, other agencies, and other overnment entities< or (") bring about improvements in overnment operations that may include e1ectiveness, e$ciency, service =uality, or transformation6% This denition re>ects the strategy of the ?2 overnment regarding the use of ICT in improving overnment operations on the one hand and enhancing the access and delivery of information and services to citi&ens and government entities on the other% "asically, e-overnance is generally understood as the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at all levels of the overnment in order to provide services to the citi&ens, interaction with business enterprises and communication and exchange of information between di1erent agencies of the overnment in a speedy, convenient e$cient and transparent manner% 0r% @A bdul Balam, former @resident of India, has visuali&ed e-overnance in the Indian context to mean3 “A transparent smart e-Governance with seamless access, secure and authentic fow o inormation crossing the interdepartmental barrier and providing a air and unbiased service to the citizen.”
Concept Of E-Governance E-governance is the application of ICT to the processes of government functioning for good governance% In other words, e-governance is the public sector/s use of ICTs with the aim to improve information and service delivery, encourage citi&en participation in decision-ma#ing and ma#e government more accountable, transparent and e$cient,
The inistry of Information and Technology states that e-governance goes far beyond mere computerisation of stand alone bac# o$ce operations% It implies fundamental changes in government operations< and new set of responsibilities for the legislature, executive, *udiciary and citi&ens% ccording to the Comptroller and uditor eneral, ?B, e-governance means providing public access to information via the internet by government departments and their agencies% 2o in essence, e-governance is the application of ICT in government functioning to bring in 2T governance implying3 simple% moral, accountable, responsive and transparent governance%
S 7 meaning simplication of rules, regulations and processes of government through the use of ;CTs and thereby providing for a user-friendly government Moral7 connoting emergence of an entirely new system of ethical values in the political and administrative machinery% Technology interventions improve the e$ciency of anticorruption agencies, police, *udiciary, etc% Accountable-facilitating design development and implementation of e1ective anagement Information 2ystem and performance measurement mechanisms and thereby ensuring accountability of public service functionaries% Responsive7 streamlining the processes to speed up service delivery and ma#e system more responsive% Transparent7 bunging information hitherto confuted in the government documents to the public domain and ma#ing processes and functions transparent% which in turn would bring e=uity and rule of law in responses of the administrative agencies% 2T governance, thus, helps in3 improving the internal organisational processes of governments< increasing government transparency in order to reduce corruption< reinforcing political credibility and accountability< and promoting democratic practices through public participation and consultation%
Signicance Of E-Governance
ICT applications impact upon the structures of public administration systems% Technological advancements facilitate the administrative systems by enabling3 dministrative 0evelopment< and E1ective 2ervice 0elivery e will now discuss them individually%
Admini!trative "evelopment dministrative reforms, often, have focused on procedural details and restructuring of systems and processes of government organisations% The basic ob*ective of these reforms is to enhance capacities of the systems% ICTs can be used and are being used now to give further impetus to the process% They help in the following manners3
!a" Auto#ation of A$#inistrative %rocesses& truly e-governed system would re=uire minimal human intervention and would% rather be system driven% hile initially the solutions that were o1ered were =uite primitive with poor information layout, inade=uate navigation provisions, occasional disruption in services, periodic outdated content and little or no .bac# o$ce/ support% Dowever, technological advancements and increased pressure from citi&enry have prompted improvements in these areas% 5ow administrative departments are computerised and connected through networ#% 2oftware has been built and designed around government departments ensuring e$ciency in operations% The departments have launched individual websites carrying information of their respective departments% This has enabled online carrying of operations and le movements% "udgeting, accounting, data >ow, etc% has become easy% This has increased the e$ciency of o$ce operations and processes and has reduced unnecessary delays% !b" %aper 'or( Re$uction& n immediate impact of automation would be on the paperwor#% @aperwor# is reduced to a greater extent with communication being enabled via electronic route and storage and retrieval of information in the electronic form% ll this has led to emergence of less paper o$ce/% This concept is dened as an o$ce situation where all the information (le and mail) amongst various functionaries is distributed online% In the words of 0ubey, less paper o$ce is the implementation of e1ective electronic communication
processes that enable elimination of reproductive wor#s and unnecessary papers% The concept is where les and mails (information) are transmitted over wires to small computers at each employee/s des#% $ce wor#, such as, le movements, notings, etc% is computerised and documentation, repor preparation, databases are now maintained in computers% 0ue to interconnectivity through F5, transfer of information and les ta#e place online, thus reducing the physical movements and consumption and storage of huge piles of paper% !c" )ualit* of Services& ICT helps governments to deliver services to the citi&ens with greater accountability responsiveness and sensitivity% Guality of services improves, as now the people are able tc, get services e$ciently and instantaneously% s volumes of transactions and information can be electronically handled and delivered over a wider area through the net and web, =ualitative services become possible in least time, in least cost, in least di$culty and in greater convenience% "y ensuring online redressal of grievances the accountability of o$cials is ensured% They have become sensitive to the issues a1ecting people% onitoring by way of video teleconferencing has further facilitated central monitoring, reporting and face to face communication that has assured e1ective service deliver, by the o$cials% !$" Eli#ination of +ierarc,*& ICT has reduced procedural delays caused by hierarchical processes in the organisation% Through Intranet and F5, it has become possible to send information and data across various levels in the organisation at the same time% Computerisation and communication patterns facilitated by ICT have increased e$ciency and have led to the involvement of all levels in decisionma#ing% !e" C,ange in A$#inistrative Culture& "ureaucratic structures have been plagued by characteristics aptly described by Hictor Thompson as .bureau-pathology/% rom the day s of 5ew @ublic dministration, e1orts have been made to nd ways to deal with the pathological or dysfunctional aspects of )rt% bureaucratic behaviour and to ma#e delivery of public services e1ective and e$cient% ith egovernance, public actions coming under public glare would certainly induce norms and values of accountability, openness, integrity, fairness, e=uity, responsibility and *ustice in the administrative culture% ather, administration would become e$cient and responsive%
E#ective Service "eliver$
ICTs play an important role in e1ectively delivering services to the people% ICTs ensure3
!a" Transparenc* b* $isse#ination an$ publication of infor#ation on t,e eb& This provides easy access to information and subse=uently ma#es the system publicly accountable% lso as web enables free >ow of information, it can be easily accessed by all without any discrimination% !b" Econo#ic evelop#ent& The deployment of ICTs reduces the transaction costs, which ma#es services cheaper% or example, rural areas su1er on account of lac# of information regarding mar#ets, products, agriculture, health, education, weather, etc% and if all this could be accessed online would lead to better and more opportunities and thereby prosperity in these areas% !c" Social evelop#ent& The access to information empowers the citi&ens% Informed citi&enry can participate and voice their concerns, which can be accommodated in the programme' pro*ect formulation, implementation, monitoring and service delivery% eb enabled participation will counter the discriminatory factors a1ecting our societal behaviour% !$"Strategic Infor#ation S*ste#& Changing organisational environment and increasing competitiveness have put pressures on the performance of the functionaries% Information regarding all aspects need to be made available to the management at every point to ma#e routine as well as strategic decisions%
