SPECIAL SECTION: Mirage, or Reality?

Circa 2004: All states wired and governance goes online, with

grievances being heard by decision-makers. The country in question is India, and

no, we are not dreaming–it’s possible, and the process is well under way

Electronic governance or egovernance as it is popularly called has been the

buzzword in ministerial circles for quite some time now and the traditionally

lackadaisical inhabitants have proven wrong the belief that things entrusted

with the government never take off. In simple terms electronic governance can be

defined as giving citizens the choice of when and where they access government

information and services. E-governance is not just about government web site and

e-mail. It is not just about service delivery over the Internet. It is not just

about digital access to government information or electronic payments. It will

change how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes how citizens

relate to each other. It will bring-forth new concepts of citizenship, both in

terms of needs and responsibilities. E-governance will allow citizens to

communicate with government, participate in the governments’ policy-making and

citizens to communicate each other. The e-governance will truly allow citizens

to participate in the government decision-making process, reflect their true

needs and welfare by utilizing e-government as a tool.

A

‘joined up’ government-community-citizen infrastructure has its own

significance. A strong and effective information chain, comprising a choice of

practical, accessible and manageable channels of communication has a dual

benefit. Citizens enjoy a fast and convenient ‘service’, whilst government

not only becomes more integrated into the community itself, but can focus its

resources where they are needed most. Moreover, a culture of self-service

enables citizens to ‘help themselves’ wherever possible, saving time and

money for all concerned. Putting the citizen at the centre of the government

also means getting a delivery channel view. Government has to take this fact

into account and create SMART governance (simple, moral, accountable, responsive

and transparent government).

India has been one of the few countries that have been able to use

Information technology to bring good governance to its citizens. Many state

governments and ministries of the government of India have realized the

potential of egovernance and are now very actively trying to implement

egovernance solutions. During the last few years there has been major

initiatives among different governments towards ushering in information

technology and its tools in the functioning of government.

The emphasis has been on providing better services to citizens and in

improving the internal productivity. It has been widely accepted that IT

implementation in government is the most difficult process and hence requires

careful planning and formulation of strategies for effective implementation.

Citizens themselves are becoming increasingly demanding. They expect high

standards of service, instant access to information, efficient transactions, and

support, whenever and wherever they need it. Why should they be transferred from

department to department for the answer to a simple telephone query? Why should

they be forced to queue at public offices to make a straightforward transaction?

And why are opening hours for many facilities still 9 to 5 rather than around

the clock, 7 days a week? The power makers must be a vibrant, visionary and

dynamic source of advice, information and support, rather than simply a provider

of welfare to the vulnerable and needy.

While egovernance could have very laudable objectives and ambitious work

plans, these have to be weighed in terms of available resources. Ongoing

projects can be made more cost and value effective with the use of IT in a

modulated fashion without any critical incremental costs.

The government and the private sector have to work in harmony to utilize the

resources in an optimum manner and provide value-added services to the citizens.

The various delivery channels by themselves can bring in little in terms of

better delivery of services, unless the same are made economically viable to the

citizens. The electronic governance wave has started worldwide. Change in the

mindset of the people particularly at the top levels in the bureaucracy and

policy making is important because it is they who provide the leadership. Once

this is done, there should be a corresponding trickle down effect right through

the spectrum of government.

The future is e-homes with e-services at the doorsteps. Some of the

initiatives that saw the light of day:

Urban Development Analytical Network



(Implementing Agency: MBT)



As a step towards entering the next century, the department of urban
development, Government of Maharashtra, required a total solution for

computerization of its processes thus providing quick service to the public in

general & particularly to other connected departments and bodies for showing

greater transparency in its working.

Computerization of the Environment Department



The Department of Environment, Government of Maharashtra (GoM) governs the

pollution control activities and biological resource protection within the state

of Maharashtra. The main job of the environment department is to ensure

environment protection, which is achieved in conjunction with the Maharashtra

Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

Responsive Administration Information Network



(Implementing Agency: MBT)



The Pune Collectorate is responsible for public administration of Pune

district in Maharashtra State. The customer requirement was to provide a turnkey

solution for the development of a new, fully integrated, computerized system

covering administrative function of the Collectorate.

Public Grievance Redress Monitoring System



Implementing Agency: NIC



The system developed by NIC uses the latest state-of-the-art technology that

facilitates any citizen of India with INTERNET access to file his grievance to

the Directorate of Public Grievances.



Status: Completed

Rural Soft–Department of Rural Development



(Implementing Agency: NIC)



This system enables monitoring of various aspects of development schemes
implemented upto the district level.



Status: Completed.

Land Records information System for Sikkim Government



(Implementing Agency: NIC)



A package has been developed for the Sikkim Government for implementing online
mutation of Land Records.



Status: Completed

Touch-screen Kiosks and Smartcards Department



(Implementing Agency: Shonkh, Bangalore)



Smartcards and Touch-screen Kiosks act as major inputs for various applications
for e-governance and other commercial aspects.



Status: The Gujarat Government has agreed to use the SMART CARD for RC book and
Driving License

Integrated Commodity Procurement Management System



(Implementing Agency: TCIL)



The software developed by TCIL connects the five main centers of HAF to

monitor procurement, storage, processing and marketing of agriculture produce in

the state.



Status: Completed.

Automatic Integrated Mail Processing Centers



(Implementing Agency: TCIL)



Description: Automatic integrated mail processing centers for Department of Post
ensures that processes of mail sorting, facing, canceling, and bundling is made

faster in the circles of Calcutta, Delhi and Bangalore.



Status: Completed

Gujarat State Wide Area Network



(Implementing Agency: TCIL)



GSWAN is a State Wide Area Network, selection of suitable hardware and
customized software applications supporting Voice Video & Data for

information dissemination from various ministries, government departments and

offices.



Status: Under implementation.

Computerization of Treasuries in West Bengal



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



CMC’s scope of work encompasses the entire functionality of treasury operation
including payment order generation and cheque printing.



Status: CMC’s software development job, a critical part of the project, was
completed in 1999.

Software for hotel reservation and bookings for hotels in UP



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



Description: This is a turnkey solution for hotel reservation and operation,
package tour management, tourism information, finance and personnel.



Status: Prototype is under implementation

Letters and Files Tracking System, Maharashtra



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



Description: File tracking system for the various departments of the government
is being envisaged in this project to smoothen the flow of information flow

within the various government departments.



Status: Prototype is under implementation

Software for Excise Collection and Monitoring of Liquor Production



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



Description: The project aims to make the process of decision-making easier by
proper collection and analysis of data from the various rungs of administration

to the head office level.



Status: Under implementation

Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Information System



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



Description: This hybrid network of radio based and dial-up communication
integrated with statewide fibre optic network aims to provide the irrigation

related information to the farmers.



Status: In conceptual stage

Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



Description: This project enabled the various units within the secretariat to be
connected through a network so that smooth transactions take place for the intra

as well as inter department level work.



Status: Completed in November, ’98

Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Campus Network



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



Description: This project enabled the various units within the secretariat to be
connected through a network so that smooth transactions take place for the intra

as well as inter department level work.



Status: Job Completed in six months, by July 1998

Tourism Site, Ministry of Tourism



(Implementing Agency: TCS)



Most of the websites related to Tourism dispense information to the Tourist of
any particular location without taking into account, the needs and desires of

the tourist. This is an attempt on part of TCS to address this particular issue.



Status: This has been developed for the Maharashtra State Govt

Andhra

Pradesh Wide Area Network Consultancy



(Implementing Agency: CMC)



This project would enable the state secretariat to be linked up with every
department in Andhra Pradesh and also to the 23 district headquarters through

facilities of data, video & voice communications.



Status: Consultancy completed in January 1999

Voucher Level Computerization System for Offices of the Accountant General



(Implementing Agency: TCS)



Voucher Level Computerization System for Offices of the Accountant General
(A&E)



Status: This has been developed for Andra Pradesh (Hyderabad), Gujarat (Rajkot,
Ahmedabad), Maharashtra (Mumbai, Nagpur), Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and UttarPradesh

(Allahabad, Lucknow) The VLCC comprises of 5 phases. The first three have been

implemented (awaiting acceptance) in the 5 states. The remaining two phases are

in process.

Integrated Information System for Sales Tax Department



(Implementing Agency: TCS)



Description: The system is designed to facilitate electronic business such as
web filing of returns and payment of taxes. Most application forms will be

available on the web, which can be downloaded and used



Status: This has been developed and deployed for the Sales Tax Department
in the Maharashtra State.

Saukaryam, Vizag



Saukaryam is a project to deliver host of civic services online by using
information and communications technology. ‘SAUKARYAM’ (meaning facility) is

about delivery of civic services online and is a vibrant example of how

community informatics can improve the lives of the citizens. This project is

first of its kind in this country built on a public-private partnership platform

and improves the delivery of municipal services through information technology.

Works Management in IT Application



(Implementing Agency: C-DAC, Pune)



This system helps in keeping track on the various stages and contract management
of all works undertaken by the PWD which is a difficult task for the executing

officials of the Department.



Status: This has been developed and deployed for the Public Works
Department in Maharashtra State.

From our Archives...

GYANDOOT



DHAR (Madhya Pradesh): Gyandoot is a unique form of Government to Citizen

e-commerce activity being performed in Central India, wherein the local elected

governing council (District Panchayat, Dhar) is enabling over half a million

rural tribal citizens affordable access to various government and market related

needs through economically viable state-of-the-art Information Technology.

Gyandoot is an intranet in the tribal district of Dhar in Central India. It

is a community-based, highly cost-effective and financially self-reliant

approach to bringing the benefits of Information Technology to the doorsteps of

tribal villagers.

Bhoomi



Karnataka’s e-governance initiative, through which it has started

computerizing the 17-million odd land records throughout the State. The project,

the first of its kind in the country, aims to empower the farmer. While this may

be a small step for the Government, for the farmer, it is nothing short of a

revolution. Instead of being at the mercy of village accountants, a farmer can

now walk into any of the Taluk offices and ask for a printout of his

computerized land record certificate for a mere Rs 15 from the land records

booth. One can also check the details of all land records on the touch-screen

kiosk by inserting a two-rupee coin. These kiosks, installed at the Taluk

office, will provide for a public interface at the land records centre.

Karnataka, with a sponsorship from the Central Government, aims to fight

corruption and boost transparency in land record administration through Bhoomi.

The computerization of the records, which began last year, is in full swing in

the State. It is nearly complete in about 70 of the 177 taluks and is expected

to be fully in place by September.

Panchmahals



Villagers of Panchmahals, Gujarat now travel only to their nearest STD/ISD

kiosk to obtain their ration cards or sanction for old age pension. Gujarat

Online Ltd (GOL) completed the networking of the entire state of Gujarat in

record time. They will operate and maintain it for the state and after eight

years will transfer the reigns to the state government for a token fee of Re 1

the portal, www.mahitishakti.net is

indented to provide a single window to all-relevant information and services on

almost all aspects of government and its future plans.

Ushering in the IT revolution to villages where more than 70 per cent of the

Indian population lives, is a dream that has come true at Warna in the Kolhapur

District of Maharashtra. The special IT Task force set up by the Prime Minister

recommended modernizing the cooperative movement through use of state-of-the-art

Information technology. This led to the "Wired Village" project

initiated by the Prime Minister’s Office. The key objective of the project is

to demonstrate the effective contribution of an IT infrastructure to the

socioeconomic development of a cluster of 70 contiguous villages around Warna

Nagar in the Kolhapur and Sangli Districts of Maharashtra.

FRIENDS



It is the acronym for Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient, Network for

Disbursement of Services. It is a unique IT project taken up by the Government

of Kerala, to take the benefits of Information Technology to the common man. It

is a "Single Window Scheme" in which the consumer is given the option

of paying for the common services rendered to him under a single roof. The major

aspect of this concept is to treat the citizen who is paying for the services

rendered to him as a valued customer who must be given all the respect that he

richly deserves.

To put it simply, FRIENDS is a multiple agency bill collection system. As per

the prevailing system, the customers/ consumers/clients are issued a Bill/Demand

Notice by the concerned agency providing services, based on which the various

regional/sectional offices of the agency collect the payment. The FRIENDS

project envisages facilitating the collection of various payments pertaining to

payees within specified area limits like corporation municipality etc at a

single centre.

Computerization of land records



It has been concluded in Madhya Pradesh with the completion of data entry,

of land records in almost all the villages of the State. Land records have been

computerized in the State following which farmers are now being provided the

computerized copies of the Government documents like kharsa. The computerization

of land records has been completed after nine years of hard work. Of the 55,897

villages in the State, the data entry work of land records has already been

completed in 55,677 villages. Along with computers, all the necessary equipment

has been installed in all tehesils of the State. The pilot project for

computerization of land maps has already been completed. The tables of

agriculture computing, weather and crop reports, information of rainfall, cattle

census, minor irrigation projects, statements of land settlement, tables of land

inspection works of patwaris for scientific scrutiny etc have also been

computerized.

Transport dept becomes Smart



In a bid to remove doubts on the Smart Card Scheme, introduced by the

Transport department in Madhya Pradesh, officials of the department looked at

grievance redressal of participants of the 45 districts, who were present at the

district Setcom center. There is great curiosity among people towards the

recently launched Smart Card scheme of the State Government and they are eager

to know the various implications of the scheme. Representatives of the district

administration transport department and public representatives also participated

in the discussions. The programme was expected to remove the confusion among the

people about the Smart Card. The Smart Card Scheme of the department has been

implemented in Bhopal, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore, Ujjain, and Dewas districts.

E-agriculture



The next in line, the Agriculture Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mahendra Singh

has announced the ‘e agriculture marketing’ scheme for effective marketing

of agriculture produce in the State. As per the scheme, all mandis and

interstate check post would be connected to seven regional offices and

mandiboard headquarters through computers and the BOT (build, operate and

transfer) formula would be adopted for this purpose. Singh said that the scheme

would benefit both farmers and traders. Besides, the trader would get all

documents from one place. Singh said that the Agriculture department has signed

a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Madhya Pradesh Agency for Promotion of

Information Technology. He added that initially some mandis would be selected as

model for the project and they would be linked through computers.

Ration

becomes smart…



In January, Kerala achieved a unique feat by launching the first smart

ration card. For the citizens, a smart ration card may not be of much help but

it certainly helps the administration prevent hoarding, black marketing and

pilferage of PDS goods into the open market. The larger objective is to set up a

citizen database using the information on ration cards.

Buses adopting IT



Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), is now implementing an
ASP-based business transaction model, Venus, whereby 83 depots and five service

depots of KSRTC are linked through a web server. Programmed on visual basic

riding on SQL servers, Venus integrates collection, inventory, fuel, payroll,

accident, and accounting details on a daily basis and will be available for

analysis/batch processing at the head office. Many schedules are cancelled for

want of tyre cards. As many as 500 tyres get punctured every day but the

repaired tyres cannot be used unless its tyre card which is with the respective

bus depot is send on time. At present, it may take a week to get the tyre card.

Now the tyre cards can be generated electronically from any depot by feeding the

required information on website. Keltron was assisting KSRTC with inventory

control and MIS. Later, KSRTC decided to do it in-house. In 1988, KSRTC took up

centralized vehicle management and in 1995 one of the depots was made online for

waybill, ticket collection and accounting.

Of glorified typewriters…



Keltron is involved with most of the e-governance projects in the state. The

most ambitious project is the‘ e-shringala‘, the community information

kiosks being set up in all the panchayats in Kerala. The kiosks are designed to

provide information of various schemes, downloading of applications, farmer

counseling, online SSI unit registration etc. This is launched with the

involvement of panchayats and local bodies.

TEAM DQ