Time to go the "I" Way

It is now getting increasingly clear that the pace of reforms in

this country, especially governance reforms, would depend on the speed at which

governments decide to take up the reforms of their information systems.

Information is the most valuable resource that organizations have, be it public

or private, and it is essential that governments realize this and seize the

initiative.

Myriads of e-governance initiatives spawning all over are

exemplars in this regard. Although considerable progress is palpable, the issues

of concern are the regional and sectoral imbalances and gaps that exist in the

e-Gov scenario in the country.

Too Many Gaps



While the country is talking of a nine percent growth rate, the governance
reforms would have to play a major role in sustaining the momentum associated

with this growth. The efforts in this regard are sporadic and incomplete.

Outdated Websites belonging to thousands of government and semi government

departments, meaningless computerization with absolutely no business process

reengineering, lack of real commitment on part of the apparatus to part with

information, despite a legislation making it a right, are some of the telling

signs of things not doing too well if one talks of governance reforms in our

country.

The government departments have two sides to their existence-external

and internal. The external one borders around its interface with its clients,

the citizens as we call them. Internally the organizations are in disarray due

to lack of proper and smooth systems, while externally the citizens are left

disillusioned.

A thorough system analysis would, however, confirm that nine out

of ten times, both the prevention and cure of this disease are possible if we

allow technology to take precedence over the norm. Internally,

technology-oriented solutions would ensure that the non-performers are left with

no cover and the decision support systems are on a stronger wicket with a

properly processed informational base. Externally, technology would ensure that

the discretionary advantages and favors possible in the tech-less system are

eliminated, allowing a level playing field to everybody, which in essence, is

the purpose of governments.

This however does not mean that technology by itself can make

governments transparent, smart and responsive, as there are a host of other

factors, which influence it.

To any casual observer, a government office is a place where

papers get stalled, where information is caught in the quagmire of bureaucratic

decision-making and red tapism.

So where do we go from here? To my mind the immediate need of

the hour is to make the administration get a citizen-centered focus and make use

of technology for storing, retrieving, processing, handling and doling out

information. However, to do this every office needs to do some ground work,

carry out system analysis to weed out incorrect procedures, lengthy formalities

and above all right sizing-get the right people for the right positions by

training and re-staffing.

Unfortunately, Information Technology in the administrative

parlance has been simply equated to computerization, resulting in myriads of

computers installed in government offices. There is absolutely no focus on the

information part of IT. Anybody who understands Information Technology will

agree that IT is more about information and less about technology. The wrong

understanding of this definition in the governments has, however, resulted in

needless addition of computers leading to a system, which neither has a citizen

focus, nor has evolved as a panacea to the maladies faced by the system.

An Eye for Solutions



In most of the cases, if every government department can take a lead,
analyze its functioning, simple, local IT solutions keeping citizens as focus

can be found. Many such decentralized local initiatives are exemplars in this

regard. The need of the hour is to build on the successes of these initiatives

and replicate them everywhere without reinventing the wheel. A strong political

and administrative will can achieve this in fairly minimal time.

Due to the scale of operation and multiplicity of tasks what one

needs in a government system is creation and maintenance of databases that allow

faster and easier retrieval and sorting of data. Smooth front-ends that can

allow user-friendly access to these databases are the next step. Another issue

is networking and connectivity-making all these related computers and

databases talk to each other, share the information and live symbiotically. A

stand-alone computer serves no purpose and is an injustice to its inherent

capacity. These computers talking sub consciously without any human intervention

is the key to administrative reforms. It is also important that once the

databases are readied and set, any further transaction be compulsorily routed

through the database so that the database is routinely and sub-consciously

updated and at remains relevant and dynamic at all times.

The bane of most of the government databases is that they are

people-centric rather than being process-centric. It is therefore essential that

processes are ingrained into the departmental bloodstream, and the transactions

are compulsorily done through the databases, so that updated happens

automatically.

The possibilities of having common databases for multiple

departments, needs serious attention and promotion. The centralized maintenance

of databases at various strategic levels emerges out of this principle. Throwing

open these databases into the public domain, is the next logical step in the

completion of this cycle. Such an exercise not just helps in citizen centering

the whole process, but also enables purification and weeding of incorrect data.

One also needs to dispel the myth that IT solutions in the

government are an unaffordable luxury to nations like India. The fact is that,

IT is only a tool that influences the objective, and the equivocal objective is

to make the system more transparent, open and accountable. Most of the rural

areas suffer on account of various problems, including the lack of right

information regarding the markets, products, agriculture, health, weather and

education. If all this can be addressed through connectivity and IT, a sea

change can be brought in the conditions of the rural communities.

The results of mobile communication in the rural hinterland are

showing overwhelming evidence that similar reforms are possible, and would alter

the balance in the state-sponsored delivery mechanisms. Creation of a knowledge

and information economy can bring in plenty of opportunities, thus snowballing

into prosperity to the impoverished areas than any other rhetoric. All the

villages can become knowledge hubs, gain symbiotically from each other and

derive benefits from the global networks.

Another area where IT can improve things is in the delivery of

civic services. These services range from bill payments, certifications and

grievance redressal to citizen forums that can push the representative democracy

toward becoming a popular democracy. It can't be denied that the interface

between the governments and the citizens, which today exists as that of a

benefactor and beneficiary has to be transformed into one of a principal and

client. Technology can surely act as a major catalyst in this regard.

To say the least, if we fail to act now, the risks associated

with the information gap may widen into an unbridgeable gulf that may increase

global inequality and leave the poor further behind. But if we approach the

matter with the same kind of urgency and application as the commercial

"dot-com" sector, then we have every chance of building a strong, new,

wired future that not only includes the world's poor but gives them an

unprecedented opportunity to finally break out the poverty they have suffered

for eons.

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you

don't try.

-The author is an IAS officer of AP cadre.



The views expressed are his own and do not reflect the policies of the
Government



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