'E-governance and e-government are widely misunderstood'

On the definition of e-governance and its end goal

There is a widespread misunderstanding of the words 'e-government' and
'e-governance.' E-government relates to providing efficient, convenient and
transparent services by the government departments and agencies to the citizens
and businesses. The citizens are recipients in the e-government scenario.
e-governance, on the other hand, is a totally different realm, which seeks to
involve the citizens in the systems of governance and, especially, the
decision-making processes. The citizens are partners in e-governance.

My response is in the light of this understanding of the words-e-governance
and e-government. The goal of e-government should be to transform the way it
provides its services to the constituents, by adopting citizen-centric processes
and delivery mechanisms. The goal of e-governance should be to broaden the ways
of consultation in the decision-making process, in relation to all major public
issues, through the use of efficient and ubiquitous systems supported by ICT.
While we have made a beginning and showed some progress in the area of
e-government in India, we have achieved practically very little in the area of
e-governance.

On whether India is over emphasizing on 'e' rather than 'good
governance' in a society that is only partially IT-enabled

The practice of over-emphasizing on 'e' rather than 'good governance'
is not something inherently fatal. It is a stage in the process of evolution-otherwise,
called computerization. The difference between computerization and e-government
is getting widely recognized in India now!  

On whether India has adequate laws for e-governance or does it need a
separate Act on the lines of e-governance Act 2002 of the US

The IT ACT, 2000 is adequate to meet all the current requirements for the
growth of e-government in India. The enactment of an e-governance Act, for
fixing responsibilities on the government departments and for enforcing
standards, is quite desirable.

On the status of backbone infrastructure

The core infrastructure of NEGP consists of, basically, three major
components-State Wide Area Networks or SWAN, State Data Centers (SDC) and
Common Service Centers. The Government of India has already issued detailed
guidelines in respect of the first two components.

On the e-governance initiatives to reach out to the marginalized and
vulnerable groups of society

It may be too early to address these issues substantially at this stage,
when we are trying to make a reasonable impact even on those sections of the
society that do not suffer from any such disadvantages, by providing
e-government services. However, it is most desirable to create welfare portals
that address these issues specifically.

On whether citizens should pay for e-governance services

Both the options can be used, depending on the facts and circumstances of
each project.

On Government Process Re-engineering (GPR)

Each Mission Mode Project is required to place a special and specific focus
on the GPR during the project development phase. This has already happened in
projects like MCA21 and eBiz.

Shubhendu Parth
CyberMedia News