The journey towardsEMPOWERMENT: January-February 2005 Issue

Volume I issue 1, Jan-Feb 2005

e-Governance and information sharing PAGE 6 Women and e-Governance PAGE 13 e-Governance: The key players PAGE 17 ICT challenges PAGE 25 The bimonthly magazine on e-Governance

The journey towards EMPOWERMENT www.egovonline.net

CONTENTS

Editorial

5

Agenda e-Governance and information sharing: A democratic tool

by Thomas B Riley

6

Notebook e-Panchayat:Road to rural transformation

by Ajai Chowdhry

10

Women and e-Governance: A case study of the Tamil Nadu police

by RK Mitra, MP Gupta and GP Sahu

13

e-Governance: The key players

by C Umashankar

17

Commentary e-Governance for masses: Hope-hype-hope journey in India

by DC Misra and Rama Hariharan

21

ICT challenges: The Scandinavian governance model

by Morten Falch

25

Open Source: The Indian e-Governance scenario

by Puneet Kalia

30

Features

| January – February 2005

Book review

by Joe Thomas K

33

News review

36

Interview: Jaijit Bhattacharya

38

Facts and data

41

About town

42

3

EDITORIAL

Volume I, issue 1 January – February 2005

Editor Ravi Gupta Editorial and marketing correspondence egov G-4 Sector 39 NOIDA 201301, India Phone: +91 120 2502181-87 Fax: +91 120 2500060 In Singapore 25 International Business Park #4-103F, German Centre Singapore 609916 Printed by Yashi Media Works Pvt Ltd New Delhi, India Designed by TSA Effects www.tsafx.com egov does not neccesarily subscribe to the views expressed in this publication. All views expressed in the magazine are those of the contributors. egov is not responsible or accountable for any loss incurred, directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided. egov is published with the support of GIS Development (www.GISdevelopment.net)

A promise whose time has come It is often said that the growth of IT in India is not due to the government but inspite of it! And when one talks of China, people say that the reverse is true.

One cannot undermine the role of government in the development of a country. As a senior government official told me once, “What hundreds of private companies or NGOs can achieve in decades is nothing compared to what an active government officer can do in months.”

Information technology is emerging as an important way to re-engineer and bring innovation in government. This is leading to reduced corruption, faster delivery of services, and increased capacity of the government to respond to citizens’ problems.

In developing countries such as India, the private sector with its ever-increasing overseas software business is forcing the governments to explore adopting IT in a proactive way. This is leading to hundreds of isolated champions in the government who are trying to computerise their departments and organisations. Many such initiatives are known but many more are unknown. It is a situation in which every officer has to invent his / her own wheel, and wait and watch. And computerisation is just the first step! egov magazine is an attempt to help document these successful / unsuccessful initiatives not only from India but from all over the world, especially from the developing countries that are facing similar struggles. Also, we are looking at egov as a forum for viewpoints from citizens, NGOs, private players, academicians, and of course government officials who could share their successes and failures on a single platform.

We look forward to your valuable feedback, suggestions and articles for this magazine!

© CSDMS, 2005

Ravi Gupta ravi.gupta@csdms.org

| January – February 2005

5

AGENDA

e-Governance and information sharing: A democratic tool The rise of the Internet has created new expectations and citizens are now beginning to demand accountability from private sector organisations This article shall look at ways in which governments can facilitate better access to information in both the public and private sector. This is an important factor in the e-Governance equation. Information sharing is an essential activity for governments for any form of eGovernance programme to succeed.

The particular emphasis here is on the growing influence of the Internet and all the new, emerging communication technologies through which services can be delivered in all sectors of society.

In our information rich environment we need to finds ways for the citizen to be better informed. In the emerging knowledge economy it is time we looked at the whole question of information rights from a new perspective. In the past, the push has been on access to official government information. Much of this is codified in law in most developed countries (and many developing countries). As of June 2004 there are 54 national freedom of information laws passed and enacted or being proposed.

There are dozens more such laws at the provincial/state, regional and local levels around the world that have resulted in increased government accountability. But, the rise of the Internet has created new expectations and citizens are now beginning to demand accountability from private sector organisations. Thus, governments have a role in providing not only better access to government information, but also leading discussions on how private sector organisations would be more accountable to the citizen, and contemplating what legislation might be necessary.

Data protection (also known as privacy laws in many countries) is currently the major information issue that covers 6

Information sharing is the key for governments implementing any form of e-Governance both the public and private sector. In a very short period of time we are going to see freedom of information expand from the parameters of access to government documents to encompass both the public and private sector. Information best practices also need to be written in order to help the developing world. In an information rich era, combined with the rise of the dominance of the Digital Age in many countries, great potential exists to democratise information at all levels of society throughout the world. Due to our new information technologies, information is not only a commodity to be bartered in the marketplace but a potentially powerful democratic tool.

This is perhaps one of the most interesting times given that we are undergoing such an evolution as to how we live and operate as a society. We are witnessing a phenomenal abundance of change in societies around the world in a very short

period. The source of some of this change is new technologies and the Internet. In the past decade and a half we have seen every aspect of the lives of individuals and organisations go through many evolutions and uncertainties. Large, medium and small corporations alike have discovered the need to adapt to the new technologies, or sink in the emerging global knowledge economy. There is no facet of life in the industrialised and developing world that has not undergone some form of shift. The resultant new information economy has brought with it different approaches to work.

There has been a surge in tele-workers, entrepreneurs and home-run businesses. Corporations have downsized, and knowledge workers migrate from company to company, open to the highest bidder and the organisation with the best deal. The highly proficient, intelligent and innovative knowledge worker is in demand. Knowledge itself seems to have become a commodity in the marketplace of ideas. We now live in intense information driven society.

Nowhere has this been more evident than with government, who are constantly having to cope with the persistently emerging new technologies and demands from citizens. In today’s wired world, the interactive citizen is one of the fundamental cornerstones of change. Governments can no longer simply be dispensers of information. New technologies are being used not only to deliver services to the public but also to enhance government administration and facilitate businesses.

Information sharing is of particular relevance to developing countries.

Governments hold reams of information in both paper and electronic formats that are essential to a country. Much of this www.egovonline.net |

information sits in government databases and archives and is only circulated in a limited away within governments, or left dormant and unused. Much information is given to the public as a natural part of government services. However, what is distributed is limited in nature. Sharing different forms of information with the public could range from health to business to education to agriculture to weather, and a thousand and one other categories that could prove useful to an individual.

Information sharing will need to become an essential part of the democratic process as governments become more open and accountable.

Information as a democratic tool Within the next decade, or sooner, we will probably not even use the words ‘the Internet’, or ‘the Net’ because the actual convergences of technologies is creating a new phenomenon, especially with the rise of cell phones and handheld devices.

Now an individual can be connected to the online world through a variety of technologies. The Internet will soon be seamless and ubiquitous to the citizen.

Voice recognition technologies at home and at the workplace will allow you to receive your email, send a message, take a virtual tour of the office, meet others in virtual meeting spaces, go there anonymously with created identities, book a holiday, shop online from wherever you are, do research, book a movie, monitor the babysitter, and thousands of other functions all of which will depend on the needs and interests of the individual.

Whatever the opinions or views of individuals and governments in society it is evident that we need a far deeper debate and discourse over the impacts of technologies. There are concerns over ensuring that all citizens have universal access to the Internet (and are free to use it or not use it as they wish). There are serious, abiding anxieties about the digital divide that is occurring throughout the world.

The shape of information rights to come: democracy’s best tool As the Internet takes hold in our daily lives, the need for governments to develop information policies to suit the changing nature of these technologies is becoming | January – February 2005

more evident. We are now awash with information in our new cyber environments. There are currently billions of pages out on the World Wide Web. Book publishing has flourished with many new artists and authors coming into the public consciousness due to the Internet.

Self-publishers have a tool to express themselves. Web sites are dedicated to new authors in many countries around the world. This is just one trend amongst many.

The World Wide Web is now so big that some websites are not even getting joined to the network of networks because there might be a connection problem in their local area. Also, government and private organisations over the past few years have web sites that can only be accessed through their own Intranets, or by having a specific address for a website with a password to enter. ‘Google’ is an excellent search tool but is as good as it can access information in the public domain. The world is at the fingertips of the citizen, but the new challenge is actually finding what is out there and getting access to the vast amounts of information both on government web sites and in departmental databases. The government of Canada is working to find ways to merge their databases to enable citizens to take advantage of the information stored by the government. There are many technical problems being faced. This attempt to find ways to provide more information to the citizen reflects the desire to respond to a growing information aware society.

Information is shaping our world and information is now a precious commodity for the citizen. In these new online environments, citizens are increasingly demanding more privacy rights to protect their personal information. However, there is also a contradiction here. At the moment citizens are sharing and using personal and aggregate information more than ever before. But in a cyberspace environment, the citizen is becoming increasingly sophisticated in understanding the impact that information can have on one’s life. The individual wants to ensure that one’s own personal information is not abused. The individual wants the

ability to control his/her personal information environment in cyberspace. At the same time, the individual wants unfettered access to all manner of information. But the sheer amount of information available, the ability to communicate information, and the value that individuals put on information, is bringing a new understanding of the nature of information itself.

Thus, on the side of freedom of information the public is starting to demand more information for all facets of their lives. We see more data on labels of commercial products; shareholders demand more information about the activities of the companies in which they are investing (not just the usual ‘hyped’ good news about the company’s activities in the past year). Much of this trend has been driven by the alleged financial malfeasance of companies such as Enron and WorldCom in the United States and Nortel Networks in Canada. Citizens are demanding and seeking more information about many activities in society. The Information Age appears to be bringing more demands for accountability. In the years to come, the public could come to expect more and more accountability in the form of enlightening information, from private and public organisations alike. Users are driving this change on the Internet, where 7

there is now so much discourse, exchange of information, and thousands of blogs. The Internet is an open network, which is contributing to the development of open environments.

This idea is now spreading into society as a whole, resulting in demands for more and more accountability from all our public and private sector organisations.

Thus, it appears that the next wave of information rights is beginning to spread out to the private sector as government, the courts, public interest groups and citizens demand accountability and transparency.

As the average citizen becomes a r m e d with more knowledge (or

and 20th centuries. This will change as the recognition dawns that it is also the aggregate rights that strengthen the citizenry as a whole. As this idea flourishes, demands for information on a more sophisticated level will grow. Information Rights will become a part of civil society’s infrastructure. As the knowledge economy grows, and the knowledge professional comes to be seen as a continuing, powerful force in our society, so will the demands grow for wider swathes of information. It might seem at the moment that we already live in a world with too much information. This change of demand for information will be for ‘organised’ information that informs, not overwhelms, the citizen. These trends are creating increasingly new problems for governments. In the spreading e-democracy movement around the world the major emphasis is on how governments can better provide information to the citizen and how the public can take advantage of what is available from government.

Technology is the key driver in finding ways and means to allow the public to access public information.

online with electronic service delivery, more content is going to become available to the public. However, it is not going to be enough to put information up on a website. Any information is going to have to be organised. In many cases, there is too much information on a website, which makes the site virtually unusable by the citizen. Thus, information management is rising in importance as an important discipline within government. This is vital, so that policies can be evolved that ensure citizens get the information they need and want (not what someone ‘thinks’ the public want), and at the same time protect individual privacy.

Once governments put content online, a policy issue will immediately emerge. The private sector learnt this in the early days of the web. The growth of online marketing and e-Commerce brought with it major privacy and copyright issues. If the citizen who goes online for government information finds a request rejected, the issue would become: why can’t I have access? Part of the answer to this is that government departments and agencies decide in advance what information can be public, based on their respective freedom of information laws, In the future, we will probably not even use the words and make them publicly available in a comprehensive form. the Internet, or the Net because the actual convergences In an information-intensive society, citizens might want of technologies is creating a new phenomenon more from both governments and the private sector alike. The above is simply an overview of at least has the capacity to be armed with Information is now an issue in a new the emerging issues and problems. Soluknowledge), then it will be private sector form, and governments are going to be tions need to be sought, as these new organisations, along with governments, subject to pressures from emerging infor- technologies become even more persuawho are going to have to become more mation forces in society. For example, the sive forces in our society. forthcoming about the information held secrecy of governments, at the moment, in their organisations. The private sector is defined to the degree that information Possible solutions: Information here means not just large corporations or is shared with the public. The lack of ef- as a practical tool businesses, but rather all organisations, in- ficacy of a freedom of information law is This is a good model to be followed not cluding non-profits. Just as privacy moved shown by the narrowness with which gov- only by national governments but interinto the domain of the private sector 30 ernment exempts information from the national organisations. If we are to handle years ago, when Sweden passed the first public. But the challenge of governments the digital divide between those who have data protection law in the world, so will now is not just to pass or amend freedom the opportunities to be online, and the vast freedom of information become a part of of information laws. In our new environ- numbers of people who cannot necessarthe private sector domain. The shape and ments, we have to look at information as ily afford the costs of going online, it is form it takes will be different, but pro- the force it has become in society. Chang- going to be essential to level the playing viding of more information to society will ing environments bring different attitudes. field. In any populist democracy it is imoccur.

We need modern information policies that portant that initiatives embrace all people.

We currently live in an age of indi- reflect these changes in our society.

At the moment it is estimated that there viduals’ rights developed in the late 19th For example, as governments go are about 400 million people online. These 8

www.egovonline.net |

are small numbers where our world population has exceeded 6 billion people.

International organisations could also conduct programmes to educate people on usage of the Internet. Education then leads to individual usage. It will, naturally, vary across individuals but through knowledge of how to use the Internet, people can be participants in this new trend in democracy as they see fit. Such programmes can embrace many peoples around the world and ensure that the users who most benefit are not just those in the affluent, industrialised countries.

National governments should seek ways to engage their citizenry in the process of government. They can do this in many ways such as: • making more information available online from government itself to ensure there is an informed citizenry • providing websites that seek input from people on all manner of government programmes and issues • developing listserves, discussion groups on important national issues, and other means to engage the citizenry • providing grants to organisations seeking online democratic activities • developing local community projects that embrace all levels of society

from the academic world, to businesses (large and small), to non-profit and volunteer organisations; this can encompass governments in developing countries • developing easy to use websites to facilitate seamless access by citizens • ensuring information on websites is easily attainable, in a form understood by the citizen and can easily be downloaded • provide search engines and hot links to ensure that the citizen gets what he or she wants in the right format from the right agency • work to develop information policies and policies to implement different communications technologies that encompass all the citizens in the countries (especially in developing countries where access to the Internet is limited) • develop programmes to teach local leaders, public minded citizens and volunteers in the communities to become information facilitators As indicated above, the Internet is a medium that has allowed people to involve themselves in the democratic process in new and unique ways. Governments at all levels and international organisations will increasingly be impacted by these

changes. Thus, there is also a need for awareness-building within governments and international organisations of the changes that are occurring. This can be accomplished through educational and training programmes. Disseminating information on a wide basis can improve conditions in a country. Information sharing from the government is the lynchpin of the Knowledge Society. For such a society to evolve worldwide, it is incumbent on governments to do what they must to bring all its people’s into this new economy.

Thomas B.Riley (rtriley6@cs.com) Chair and Executive Director Commonwealth Centre for E-Governance www.electronicgov.net President, Riley Information Services 41 Morenz Terrace, Ottawa Canada K2K 3H2 www.rileyis.com

Editorial Guidelines egov contains articles and features on e-Governance and related issues. Authors are requested to follow these guidelines while sending their articles to egov.

Research Articles/Features: Manuscripts reporting significant original research should be between 2500-3000 words. It must contain an abstract of the article of maximum 500 words.

Book/website reviews: The word limit for reviews of book/ website is 1000. Mention the title, name of the author(s), name of the publisher, year of publication, price and number of pages and also send

| January – February 2005

the cover photograph of the book concerned in hard copy or in TIFF format with resolution at least 300 dpi. Books on e-Governance related themes, published from year 2002 onwards, are preferable. In case of website, provide the URL.

Reports or Notes on conference/ workshop/seminar(s): Reports or notes on conferences, workshops and seminars on eGovernance or related fields must be 800-1000 words in length. Mention the theme, venue, date, and name of the organiser(s). Please supply relevant photographs. The conference held in the past two months of the forthcoming issue are preferred.

Provide the URL of the organiser’s website or a link to the papers.

The Editor reserves the right to reject, edit and adjust articles in order to conform to the magazine's format. No remuneration is paid or charges levied for contributions.

All Correspondence should be addressed to The Editor egov G-4, Sector 39 NOIDA (UP) 201 301, India Tel +91 120 2502180-87 Fax +91 120 2500060 Email info@egovonline.net

9

NOTEBOOK

e–Panchayat Road to rural transformation ‘India lives in its villages’ – the much-used adage holds true even today, with more than 700 million people living in over 0.6 million villages. The issues that face this population, though much discussed, remain the same after more than 50 years of independence – poverty, illiteracy, lack of basic health facilities, and absence of true self-governance The change or lack of change has not been because governments have spared efforts. Millions of rupees have been doled out or otherwise spent on developmental projects over the years. As once famously quoted by Rajiv Gandhi - “only 15 paise of every rupee spent ever reached the poor for whom it was meant”.

Apart from the sheer size and variable composition of the country that proved daunting, lack of transparency and administrative inefficiencies have taken their toll. It is in this context that one should assess the importance of the 73rd amendment of the Indian constitution.

The 73rd amendment of the constitution is a watershed development that could genuinely impact the role of Panchayati Raj institutions in self-governance.

Panchayati Raj Institutions have been vested with powers and authority to enable them to function as institutions of self-governance that can take decisions regarding: • Preparation of plans for economic development and social justice • Decision making powers relating to the wide ranging subjects such as Agriculture, Land Improvement, Minor Irrigation, Fisheries, Social Forestry, Rural Industries, Drinking water, Health and Sanitation etc The amendment not only clears the way for a third tier of the executive, it also provides for the financial resources that could breathe life into the idea of local level implementation of citizens’ needs. The amendment also provides for the representation of minority and marginalised groups.

The change in the constitution notwithstanding, other steps need to be taken for Panchayati Raj institutions to take root. A step in the right direction was the ePanchayat initiative by the central and state governments. A recently concluded meeting of the state Panchayati Raj ministers and the Panchayati Raj secretaries in Jaipur, Rajasthan reached at conclusions that could turn this idea into a reality.

The core of any electronic delivery of services is the infrastructure that needs to be put in place. Unlike more developed parts of the world, technology has not yet reached the grassroots level in countries like India. There needs to be a special effort in setting up the technology infrastructure that is required for the panchayats.

The infrastructure determines the longevity and sustainability of such projects.

Assuringly, a number of such citizen-centric projects have tasted success. The notable examples would be: • ITC e-Choupal – in a few years ITC has managed to spread the initiative to more than 5000 villages with demonstrated grassroots level impact like lowered costs and better yield prices for the farmers and elimination of middlemen in a number of transactions 10

•

n-Logue is another successful model that helps connect remote villages to the internet using various technologies. More than just connecting people to vital information in a cheap and efficient manner, n-Logue projects also generate revenues for village entrepreneurs • ‘Bhoomi’ - where land records can be registered online in Karnataka. The system has become simpler, faster and more efficient. The time needed for finding land records and registration has come down and the scope for activities that are clandestine have also come down because of the transparency of the system The World Bank in its summation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) states – ‘Infrastructure is an integral part of the development of any country. It is about providing basic services — water, sanitation, energy, roads and access to modern information communications technology’. Today, in a climate that enjoys both political will and financial support of the government, technology infrastructure forms the core of the success of any e-Panchayat effort.

The importance of computers and communication infrastructure lies in the fact that it enables delivery of services even to the remotest village. Other than the simple delivery of services from self-governing bodies, it changes the way these bodies www.egovonline.net |

Connectivity issues The e-Panchayat initiative is useful in that it can connect to users at different levels - cheaply and effectively.

Tremendous amounts of data and information can be used in more effective and transparent ways. Connectivity aligns e-Panchayat efforts with other government efforts in eGovernance, education and health services.

Currently there are a number of options available for connecting villages across India. The simple dial-up is the most obvious option due to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) reach into more than three lakh villages. In villages that lack dial up facility, wireless (WLL) is the next most attractive option as more than 75 per cent of the villages lie within a 20 kilometer radius of the taluk headquarters, and therefore within the coverage area of the system.

function. The system becomes accessible to all because knowledge comes into the public domain and there are no gatekeepers of information. The fact is that physical information blockers – like a file being lost – become redundant.

Also, the new communication technology drastically reduces the time needed for a number of physical steps. Therefore, the setting up of information technology is important in empowering people and changing traditional modes of functioning in running self-governance bodies such as those envisioned through the Panchayati Raj. The infrastructure core should then be supported in the two major hurdles that the country faces: 1.

2.

Lack of power Lack of connectivity

(However robust the technology selected, lack of power makes it redundant and lack of connectivity renders the technology powerless for transformation).

Infrastructure core Infrastructure needs to be tailored to the diverse conditions and functionality that would be required of it in a country like India. The equipment, at the minimum, needs to be sturdy to face the extremes in temperature, terrain, dust, and other diverse environmental factors. Over and above, the makers of the equipment need be versatile in adding functionality or adapting the technology for local operating conditions. For example, the power sources in different villages may be different and the infrastructure needs to be flexible to adapt to such situations. Other than first time innovation, technology partners need to be prepared to face the additional challenges that would come up as the system is used over time.

Power

Then there is the option of connectivity through satellite and other emerging technologies like the WiMax (able to cover up to a 40 kilometer radius). While e-Panchayat efforts are being considered, a phased implementation of connectivity can be looked into depending on the geography and maturity of the technology.

Once these issues are addressed the aspects that need consideration are the infrastructure support strategy and the rollout strategy. Training in relevant Panchayati Raj management software is the next level issue that needs to be tackled.

Lastly, integration of e-Governance efforts with e-Panchayat efforts, and the offering of additional citizen services through the Internet should receive individual attention. | January – February 2005

Currently, most villages in the country face extreme variability in the availability of electricity/power. A large number of villages have no power for long periods, or the supply is extremely erratic with fluctuations. In some areas the power supply is available during the nights when it cannot be put to use. This is a hurdle guaranteed to end the e-Panchayat effort even before it starts. Without power, computers cannot be used. The technology that is selected in such a scenario must overcome this issue. A number of alternatives are currently available right from solar panels and windmills to biomass.

Human-powered gensets are the other genuine option that can generate power and employment in the rural areas. Moreover, there are new power solutions that have evolved to provide output that suits the requirement of a PC and can be charged for use over longer periods of time. These power solutions enable batteries to be charged any time of the day and the system is connected to the battery power source. In short, the implementation of the project would require a detailed understanding of the power situation in individual villages. This information could then be used to categorise areas for timing implementation.

Infrastructure roll out The Geographical span of India is vast. There are over 600 districts and 2,50,000 panchayats that need to be connected. Infrastructure rollout requires understanding of the terrain, organisational wherewithal to handle it, and most importantly experience and expertise to tackle it smoothly. There are numerous parameters that need to be constantly monitored and the problems that arise are multi-dimensional. Therefore, implementation must be handled by organisations with a proven track-record in managing large projects and handling the rural scenario.

Infrastructure service support The e-Panchayat effort does not stop at putting computers in all villages and 11

connecting them up with power and Internet. The e-Panchayat effort would essentially be a dynamic evolving project. There will be additions, deletions and evolution of functionality.

Software needs to be upgraded, hardware needs to be maintained. Lack of familiarity with geographies, local languages, even cultures and other local factors can result in equipment downtimes that need to be minimised. The responsibility of the technology partner, therefore, does not end with simply delivering the computer at a village. The organisations involved need to be able to keep up with the services demanded from any nook and cranny, and at least initially for a defined time-period. Here again, the experience of the Indian rural terrain, rural problems, and reach of the organisation become vital.

PRI management software While infrastructure forms the centrepiece of the computerisation project, success to a large extent depends on the usage of standard software for various operations. This ensures interoperability, familiarity to the users, and monitoring and metrics that are comparable. Though the platform remains common, the language should be that of the individual state it is being implemented in. It is like using a local language operating system – Indians using Hindi Windows and Chinese use Chinese Windows operating software.

More than just the commonality of the software, it needs to be ensured that a measurement criteria is built into the system. The system should self-generate reports that indicate usage, implementation and other defined targets. The areas that can immediately benefit from such software are: • Book keeping • Record maintenance and authentication • Tracking of village development funds • Reporting formats • Registrations, certifications, etc.

Capacity building Training of all stakeholders in the system is another critical factor for the success of the initiative. The stakeholders include the panchayat, the villagers, and the youth or entrepreneurs who would be involved in running the system. The diversity of languages and differences in the skill-set implies that innovative solutions are required for addressing this need. Printed manuals will not be the solution. The involvement of local NGOs would be critical.

They can reach into the villages and use their language for training the people. However, the government could also support the effort through local language television programmes, and through inclusion of such programmes in the school curriculum.

Aligning e-Panchayats with e-Governance efforts Numerous efforts are being initiated in integrating technology to various aspects of citizen-centric service delivery in the country. In such a scenario it becomes essential for e-Governance and allied projects to be integrated with e-Panchayat efforts. Allied programmes would include: • Education • Information services such as e-mail • Health and primary care • Certificate and Forms issuances • Welfare schemes • Communication, market prices, auctions, etc.

The other parallel activity could be technology-enabled entrepreneurial efforts that provide employment and better standards of living such as: • Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), e-mail, printing, photos 12

• • •

Telemedicine Videoconferencing Entertainment and information

Priority The implementation of the e-Panchayat project should be deemed on par with creating national infrastructure like power, ports and roads, and implementation must be done in a mission mode. There is a need for a central project office - preferably within the ministry of the Panchayati Raj - with clearly assigned responsibilities and set target dates for rollout. The Panchayati Raj ministry should play the role of the central authority.

Like any other central authority it must be involved in creating standards and frameworks that could be used in a plug-and-play manner across states.

However, it is clear that the central authority alone is not sufficient. The importance of the state governments cannot be ignored.

While the central authority may be fully responsible for setting frameworks to ensure uniformity and interoperability, the state authorities are ultimately responsible for implementation, rollout and maintenance.

Conclusion It must be understood that all of the aforementioned efforts are aimed at using Information and Communication Technologies to embed good governance principles.

This not only involves empowering masses with information but also making governance an interactive process, facilitating transparency and accountability in the public sphere, thereby providing operational convenience in accessing government services, among many others. A website is only the first step. There are many more. The will to operationalise the promise is more important.

Ajai Chowdhry Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd, India (akcd@hclinsys.com)

www.egovonline.net |

NOTEBOOK

Women and e-Governance A case study of the Tamil Nadu police Electronic governance or e-Governance has been one of the developments that countries across the globe (developed and developing) have recognised as a potential driver (as well as an enabler) in the way governance can be reinvented to address problems in an efficient manner, and to deliver the services in a more responsive and responsible manner. A joint report of the National Performance Review and the US Government Information Technology Services Board, Access America: Reengineering Through Information Technology, issued 3 February 1997, introduced the new term. Initially it was a little more than a general recognition of Information Technology (IT) developments, and the application and use of these technologies by government organisations. That it could well serve as a means to realising more effective and less costly performance of government functions was recognised subsequently. As we have seen and experienced, it has become a dynamic concept of varying meaning and significance.

There is a firm realisation in countries all over that e-Governance is not just a government website on the Internet. The potential benefits of e-Governance would motivate governments across the globe to adopt it as a new mode of delivery of governance. A good start has been made in Europe, the United States and in countries such as Australia and Singapore. In developing countries, like India, a modest beginning is discernable and over the coming years political leaders of developing countries may find e-Governance as a politically rewarding alternative to traditional mode of governance. e-Government initiatives are faced with a number of challenges. Though there are many emerging programmes and initiatives on e-Government throughout the world at all levels of government, it is generally believed that it would take another decade for infrastructure to be built, policy issues to be resolved, and for interoperability to be established (McClure, 2000). The Indian Government, realising the importance of IT, has created a separate Ministry of Information Technology to promote IT in the country.

The Government has also approved the policy | January – February 2005

Scholars and researchers have viewed e-Governance from multiple perspectives. This article describes how e-Governance has been perceived as a new medium by the Tamil Nadu Police to address a traditional problem. The distinctive feature is that the stakeholders are mainly women – women police personnel and women victims of domestic violence.

For the women police personnel, this was a rare opportunity to have a close interface with the extraordinary capability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which, in all likelihood, they would never have in ordinary course, as also an opportunity to enhance their investigative and dispute resolution prowess. For women victims of domestic violence this was an experience distinctively different from the one they usually encountered in redressing their grievances.

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The distinctive feature of

of allocation of two to three per cent of the budget for this experiment is that the IT. The IT Bill, which would give legal recognistakeholders are mainly tion to electronic documents and facilitate women — an outstanding online transactional services through the Internet, example of a case of has already been tabled in the Parliament. e-Governance ‘for’ the A few instances of the India’s e-Governance iniwomen and ‘by’ the women tiatives at the district administration or police administration levels bear out the importance of IT as an important agenda of public administration in India.

This article describes an experiment by the Tamil Nadu Police to use e-Governance to address a problem whose solution remains elusive, and has more often than not brought criticism. The distinctive feature of this experiment of e-Governance is that the stakeholders are mainly women, and in a sense this is an outstanding example of a case of e-Governance ‘for’ the women and ‘by’ the women.

tal. Even if training was organised at nearby locations, relieving these officers was often delayed (they were required to attend their office as well). Under these circumstances, it was thought prudent to use the web as the medium to deliver training to the officers in their own workstation (as Internet accessibility was available throughout Tamil Nadu).

The objectives of the project were: • To develop web-based training in dispute resolution, interviewing techniques, and use of computer programmes for data entry and analyses.

This training would be for women officers deployed in all-women police units • To deliver this training to a total of 30 women officers from all three women police units located in metropolitan cities • To evaluate the outcome of the training provided online

Queen’s Award Project of the Tamil Nadu Police In 1993, the Tamil Nadu Police, as part of a well-defined strategy, began to deploy women officers to newly established all-women police stations. In the next stage, these all-women police units were entrusted with the job of dealing with crimes against women. It was felt that handling cases of crimes against women needed an altogether different approach, and women police personnel would be more suitable to handle such cases, as this function of policing was more of social intervention than normal policing.

The next priority was generation of skills amongst the women police personnel to address such crimes, as these women did not receive any special training for such kind of jobs previously. It was felt that lack of skills in addressing cases of domestic disputes and violence against women might make it difficult for the women officers to take decisions about the best way to proceed, and as such the desired objective would remain elusive. The need felt to equip the officers with latest techniques and knowledge of the subject area led to the conceptualisation of what became the Queen’s Award project (It won an award called the Queens Award under the aegis of the UK government).

Induction of other stakeholders: Public Private Partnership (PPP) It was not possible to execute the project in-house due to shortage of professionals within the police cadres, and the authorities sought help from non-profit, non-government organisations such as Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC). The PCVC team comprising three criminologists was entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the course material and developing a database for recording domestic disputes and violence.

These were first prepared in English and then translated to Tamil.

Project implementation Project objectives That skill would be a key enabler was clearly understood, and areas of stress for the purpose of training were delineated after a detailed deliberation involving police officers, project team members, social scientists, and criminologists whose services were used to make the project more functional.

The following areas of skill and attendant training requirements were identified: • Interview techniques • Dispute resolution • Data management including record of demographics and other relevant details of the complainants.

Use of the web for training The next challenge was how and where to impart training? Women officers, particularly those at lower ranks, found it difficult to leave their stations to attend training courses usually conducted at the State Training Centres in the state capi14

Though the western model of dispute resolution was used as the basis, the course modules had to be tailored to the needs of the local culture in relation to the nature of disputes that were unique to Indian circumstances. This involved considerable time and thought. The experts prepared a syllabus for the course, which served as the basis for further development of the course modules for the project. Two additional modules, covering introduction to family violence and counseling techniques, were incorporated into the course syllabus.

A contact log sheet was prepared. This included questions about the background of petitioner (reporting domestic disputes www.egovonline.net |

as well as domestic violence), nature and duration of disputes/violence, and place and parties involved in violence, among others.

This was a more detailed questionnaire than the ones in use at the police stations. If the case involved any form of physical and/or sexual violence, the officer incharge would have to make a risk assessment in order to direct the petitioner to proper care. A danger score sheet (which helps to calculate the risk of death) was prepared for this purpose. This would not only help the officers to record the seriousness of the case they were dealing with, but also in reaching a spontaneous decision to help the women petitioners whose lives were at risk. This document contact sheet was then transferred to electronic format. The purpose of the computerised interview schedule was to keep electronic records, to generate information for statistical reports for supervisors, and for policy purposes.

Induction of an Application Service Provider (ASP) Application Service Providers (ASPs) are basically IT vendors who team up with the clients right from the stage of system study, and work in very close collaboration with the users. What makes ASPs different from usual outsourcing is that the project is developed and operationalised right at the workplace.

The use of information technology was integral to the project. In order to process the course materials electronically and to set up a database and design the website, several meetings were held with a local ASP. The service provider and the PCVC team worked closely to make the academic-to-technology link. The project team used the document version of the contact sheet to create a database for entering data, and a web site was created (www.wbtdr.net). The web site contains a home page with an introduction to the Police Training College, and a text box for login.

Module buttons were available to the trainees and chat room, e-mails and forums for communication were developed for communication and sharing of trainees’ expertise in handling domestic dispute cases in each of the sites. (Passwords for each of the trainees were prepared to prevent intruder misuse). Meanwhile, computers were purchased for the project sites and the necessary software was installed.

Three major cities, Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai were chosen for the project for two reasons: | January – February 2005

(i) Women police stations in these cities were the first to be established (in 1993) and were considered to have officers with greater experience in dealing with a variety of petitions, and (ii) These stations allowed a wide geographic coverage.

Ten women police officers from each of the three stations i.e. 30 were selected for the project. A majority of the officers had good working knowledge of English.

Fifty percent of the officers had a Masters degree, 20 percent had a Bachelors degree, and 30 percent held a high school diploma. In terms of ranking, 20 percent of the officers were of Inspector and Sub Inspector rank, and the rest were police Head Constables and Constables. The age ranged from 25-48 years (mean 37.9 years), and experience ranged from 4-26 years (mean 17 years). The project was under the direct supervision of a senior police officer (also the overseer of the Police Training College in the state).

The 30 officers were brought together for a fortnight to the training college situated in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. This not only enabled the officers to meet their counterparts in other stations, but also helped them to grasp the purpose and nature of the course, and their requirements to fulfill the training programme. The officers were given orientation to data management, interview techniques, and dispute resolution. They were given basic training in computer usage (both with English and Tamil keyboards). The Indian Center for Mediation and Dispute Resolution located in Chennai provided an orientation on dispute resolution and its use in the Indian context.

The women officers were given permission to use their on-duty time to use the computer in order to fulfill the training requirements. An unintended effect of the programme was that these officers were seen to be privileged over other officers. To help resolve the tensions thus created, the chief inspector incharge allowed others to watch and learn what the project officers were doing. A pre-test was given to the trainees in order to check their level of theoretical and practical knowledge in dispute resolution and their ability at handling domestic violence cases.

The project was inaugurated in the first week of October 2002. Several problems were encountered in the first phase. For example, though the database created by the IT team was tested earlier, for many reasons it did not work onsite in the first instance especially in the Madurai and Coimbatore. It was found that after data was entered, the officers did not know how to save and generate printouts.

Two sets of training were required for this project: (i) an online dispute resolution course, and (ii) training in interviewing procedures including data entry.

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In the first phase, the course module on understanding the dynamics of family violence went online (in Tamil and English versions). This was to help the trainees to understand the seriousness of violence against women at home. It was also designed to help officers distinguish between serious domestic violence (involving a threat to the life of the petitioners) and small petty disputes, because the officers needed to know when to initiate action against the perpetrator. In the second phase, the module on ‘Introduction to Dispute Resolution’ dealing with negotiation, mediation and arbitration was introduced. Due to work pressure, the trainees were slow in using the computer and reading the modules.

In developing countries such as India, the strength of the police is proportionally very small compared to the population. These women officers were not only dealing with cases of domestic violence but were also fulfilling other duties as bandobust (escort), along with other law enforcement duties.

Officers were given training on data entry using the contact sheet prepared by the PCVC team. The PCVC training team visited the three sites twice in the month of October 2002 and installed the contact sheet and trained the project officers on entering and maintaining data using the database. The project director and the PCVC team made enormous efforts in convincing some of the older trainees to accept the necessity of having professional skills in dispute resolution and to use the computer for data entry. After a bit of practice, the trainees started recognising the value of computer usage in their profession.

They were able to consult and discuss with other officers in their stations and began to provide suggestions for improving the contact sheet. Their feedback was important because officers like them were eventually going to utilise the system (if implemented on a large scale). They were also able to request for the appropriate font to be used. All these showed their eagerness and motivation to learn.

After several revisions of the website using feedback from the trainees, the project was launched full-fledgedly. By end-May 2003, three modules on mediation, arbitration and counseling techniques were covered. As per the latest information, the project was completed on schedule (September 2003). An impact assessment is underway.

Key learning Although the impact of the project is yet to be studied in full scale, certain key learning could be derived: • The project is an apt example of how IT can be used as a medium to address a serious problem by involving key stakeholders (in this case primarily women as a matter of project design) • An e-Governance project usually tends to be evolutionary. Constraints and tension would be different at different stages •· Project planning and management hold the key to successful implementation.

•· Involvement of officers (those who would actually use, as well as the involvement and support of senior officers) is a key enabler to e-Governance

•·

Since the project was not developed in a laboratory (there was a meaningful partnership between users, professional experts and the application service provider), this confirms the importance of Public Private Partnership(PPP) for eGovernance

Apart from being an outstanding e-Governance initiative in itself, this case proves that e-Governance has no gender bias. Women can be successful partners in harnessing ICT to make meaningful contribution to the Society.

The authors wish to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance provided by the Tamil Nadu Police.

References Benbasat, I., Goldstein, D.K. and Mead, M. (‘87), The Case Research Strategy in Studies of Information Systems, MIS Quarterly (11:3), pp. 369-386.

Bertot, J.C. and McClure, C.R. (2001), Government Information Quarterly: A new beginning, Government Information Quarterly, 18, pp. 1–2 Gupta, M.P., Kumar, P., and Bhattacharyya J. (2004), Government On-line, McGraw Hill, New Delhi, India.

McClure D. (2000), Associate Director of US General Accounting R. K. Mitra in his Deputy Secretary deposition Ministry of Home Affairs before Government of India, New Delhi the USA Senate, 2000 M. P. Gupta & G P Sahu quoted in Dept. of Management Studies the IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, Economist, New Delhi – 110016, India Dec 2000. (mpgupta@dms.iitd.ernet.in)

Invitation to write for egov We welcome readers to contribute to egov with articles. Articles should preferably discuss and highlight projects, initiatives, and other efforts in e-Governance that are less known through the mainstream media. The magazine is a forum for researchers, academicians, policy-makers, implementers (government and private), and other interested user-groups. Please refer to the guidelines for submission that appear on page nine.

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NOTEBOOK

e-Governance: The key players India has been talking about e-Governance for the last seven to eight years. With an anarchic Constitutional and administrative system in place, there is hardly any role for e-Governance. However, it would be better to say that India is still in the phase of learning e-Governance In a democratic system power is supposed to be vested with the citizens. This is unfortunately not true in India where the system has not ensured ‘real’ power to the people. Today we are witnessing a situation where politicians, bureaucrats, and the judiciary have real power and authority. India has been talking about e-Governance for the last seven to eight years. With an anarchic Constitutional and administrative system in place, there is hardly any role for e-Governance. However, it would be better to say that India is still in the phase of learning e-Governance. e-Governance is a new technology in the hands of administrators. Technology alone cannot bring about change in the scenario. India needs constitutional and administrative changes to make the system accountable to the citizens. The criminal as well as the civil justice system has to ensure justice at lightning speed, and not at the leisurely speed with which it has been functioning now. No Government should resort to e-Governance for the sake of technology, or for the sake of satisfying funding agencies. Any initiative should have a clear citizen focus. While failures are part of the evolution process - many e-Governance failures would ultimately result in true learning, and one day may result in true governance.

There are many issues that determine the success and failure of any project. However, before actually getting into the minute of implementation, which this writer would take up in a subsequent discussion, it would be useful to outline key players with roles in any e-Governance initiative.

Political masters e-Governance is the highest form of administrative reform in any country. So, the political masters play a crucial role in e-Governance.

No administrative reform can be commenced except through the political masters. The ball has to be set in motion by the political execu| January – February 2005

tive through policy pronouncements backed by legislation or Acts, etc.

Bureaucrats The role of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in the field of eGovernance is next only to the political masters.

These officers guide the political masters in their day-to-day administration. It is a reality in India that unless a project has the blessing of the IAS, it will never take-off. IAS officers serve at the policy making level such as the Secretariat, and policy implementation level such as HODs/District Collectors, Additional Collectors/Sub Collectors, etc.

The IAS, over the years, has become more powerful due to the constitutional protection afforded to it, and its proximity to the political masters. Such a position gives them a natural leverage to act as leaders in their respective roles. Yet, these officers can act only under the directions of their political masters. These directions are given in the form of acts, legislation, rules, regulations, government orders, etc. It is futile to expect IAS officers alone to perform in the area of e-Governance in the absence of clear policy support. When a clear policy with milestones for e-Governance is in place, IAS officers can be a force to be recko ned with. However, this is too simplistic to be true. The IAS itself is under severe threat due to system deficiencies. An upright officer who goes by his/her conscience and follows the constitutional norms has less

The real beneficiaries of e-Governance

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Technology alone cannot bring about change in the scenario. India needs constitutional and administrative changes to make the system accountable to the citizens

chance of success under the present system. Corruption and inefficiency in the IAS is an accepted fact today.

It had been acknowledged at all levels that frequent and arbitrary transfers and postings of IAS officers have brought down the morale of the service. Yet no concrete action has been taken to correct this malady till date. e-Governance can never become a reality with such an anarchic system in place! The leaders who have the capability to drive the e-Governance momentum of the nation have been disabled by all these system deficiencies. India needs to address these deficiencies and redress them before aiming at e-Governance. Without addressing these deficiencies, it would be futile to create new posts/systems exclusively for implementation of e-Governance.

Government employees – the key True e-Governance presupposes the full involvement of the bureaucracy. The entire bureaucracy that operates at various levels with pen, paper, and manual registers has to switch over to ‘keyboard and mouse’. The devil’s advocate would argue that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to make this happen. Their argument usually goes in the following manner: • The lower and middle level bureaucracy is not computer literate - it is very difficult to impart computer education to the older among them.

• The lower and middle level bureaucracy is corrupt and inefficient and since this type of experiment has not met with any success with e-Governance thus far - it is too risky a proposition.

Tiruvarur, one of the most backward districts of Tamil Nadu proved wrong all these apprehensions. The Taluk Automation Software that administers the entire land record system, national old age pension scheme, etc. has been online for the past five years with the full involvement of all government employees starting from Village Administrative Officers to the Taluk Tahsildar (officer for a cluster of villages)! There is no reason why this cannot happen in the rest of the country.

If we are not ready to involve government employees, what choice do we have does India have to replicate the private sector driven e-Seva like e-Governance system? Certainly not. As the days pass by, citizens will take governments to task for not providing them the vital services they want online 24/7.

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The private sector happily came forward to the city-based e-Seva system in Andhra Pradesh that covered only certificates and utility payments. However, the same cannot be replicated in rural areas! The private sector cannot have a place in typical government services such as rural development service, social welfare services, services to the SC/ST people, rural health services, rural education services, police services, and so on, since there are no across-the-counter services in these areas and the citizens are in no position to pay any user-charges. Therefore, any long-term plan for e-Governance presupposes the full involvement of the lower and middle level bureaucracy.

In his 14-year experience in the IAS, this writer has found that the lower and middle level bureaucracies are like raw clay. They could be moulded in any shape. They change colours according to their leader. If the leader is honest and efficient, they also try to be honest and efficient. They can reach up to any level of efficiency provided the leader is ready to motivate them. If the leader is corrupt, they all cooperate with him/her. If the leader does not believe in efficiency, they follow the leader in letter and spirit. The Tiruvarur experiment taught this writer that government employees could master computers in no time. There was no bar on the basis of age, sex or education. Even as this article goes to print, the Software administrator in Valangaiman Taluk continues to be a village Assistant (considered menial) from one of the villages of the Taluk. Looking at his interest and efficiency this writer made a special order for him to be the software administrator for the Taluk. He has been continuing for the past five years!

Probably he is a drop out from school! India has to learn this vital lesson from Tiruvarur and replicate the style adopted there all over the country. The solution lies in Tiruvarur like e-Governance in the long run.

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Role of private IT partners Role of the champions e-Governance needs a visible champion. The role is to take ownership of the initiative and inspire the users. Unless users have confidence in the system they would not operate the same. Merely pronouncing policies or issuing government orders cannot implement e-Governance, and policies for each sphere of activity should be backed by projecting a champion. Such an individual has to be given the necessary policy, financial, and operational supports. Apart from these, there has to be stability of tenure (a minimum of three-to-five years in one sphere of e-Governance activity) as the system needs the champion to conceive the idea, develop it into a workable concept, implement the same, and assist during the stabilisation period.

Any e-Governance system needs at least 12 months to achieve stabilisation, and this period requires technical, financial and operational supports apart from the guidance from the champion who conceived the entire project. Rajiv Chawla, who championed the country’s most successful e-Governance project ‘Bhoomi’, had a stable tenure to accomplish this task. It is futile to expect an e-Governance project to survive in the long run without the champion factor. A mechanism should be built to sustain the e-Governance system after the departure of the champion, or at least after the stabilisation period. This can be done only through policy intervention backed by financial and technical support.

Role of NGOs NGOs must have a say in driving the e-Governance momentum in India, especially in rural areas. They could play a critical role in bridging the divide between the bureaucracy

The role of private sector IT partners is a key to any successful e-Governance implementation. So far the country has not made use of private sector IT partners in the right manner. The tender based selection process looked for software suppliers instead of application software partners. As suppliers, the Indian IT partners have done their job like any other product supplier - supply the product and move out! However, application software and its associated database cannot be run through a supplier-based system. It can run only through appropriate partnership.

Governments have to accept the reality that the IT vendor who developed the application software is also a trustworthy partner in the long run. The relationship cannot end with the supply of the product as per given specifications. Because of the client-supplier syndrome, governments all over the country, barring Andhra Pradesh, have learnt to rely on the National Informatics Centre (NIC) primarily because of the continuity associated with NIC. This compromise formula can never lead the nation to a self-reliant e-Governed system.

Private sector IT application developers need to be seen as partners.

Such a partnership should be on a long-term basis. It starts with an initial three-year partnership to be renewed after every three years.

The tender procedures of the Government have to be reoriented to incorporate this methodology. For different departments, the government can have different IT partners, and each such partner should be treated like a lifetime partner for the government. That is the right way to go.

The Government should build capacity within its own human resources.

These human resources basically have to ensure quality control, security and integrity of the system. A system cannot be completely left to the mercy of the private partners too. It is a comforting thing that today we have sound encryption algorithms that provide safety and security to the database, even from its own creators! and the citizens using IT as a tool. The only successful experiment witnessed in India wherein NGOs have driven e-Governance is the rural e-Seva experiment of the West Godavari district, spearheaded by the dynamic District Collector Sanjay Jaju. West Godavari has proven that NGOs run by women self-help groups could effectively bridge the gap between the bureaucracy and the rural citizens using IT tools. NGOs have a pivotal role in rural-specific e-Governance because private IT partners would never enter into rural areas due to low margins. Moreover, NGOs could step in as watchful associates sensitising people and other stakeholders to any malfeasance. A new type of corporate fraud on rural people could be seen recently in the Melur Taluk of TamilNadu. Corporates were exploiting women self-help groups to procure an outdated wireless system with no Internet connectivity from precious Government of India subsidy that was meant for the poor and downtrodden. India has to be wary of this type of corporate cheating in the name of e-Governance.

Role of funding agencies Today we have many funding agencies, national and international, that support e-Governance initiatives. Notable | January – February 2005

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become resellers for Microsoft and other proprietary software packages. The time has come for introspection, and to identify whether it is worthwhile to continue these state level organisations or just sell them away.

Role of the media The media has an important role to play in promoting e-Governance. It is important that media reporters are well acquainted with the issues relating to public administration and the technical issues arising out of Information Technology tools used. A person with less technical competence may tend to understand a power point presentation as a great symbol of e-Governance! Reporting such an event as a great movement may actually derail the eGovernance momentum in India. Mature media coverage on e-Governance activities in India would go a long way in promoting true e-Governance. among them are UNDP, the World Bank and the Department of International Funding. Funding agencies expect quick results. e-Governance is a gradual process starting with policy changes, back office automation, front office automation, and later Internet-based e-Governance. Expecting government agencies to deliver results quickly is tantamount to driving them to commit to wrong methodology, inevitably resulting in wastage of funds and efforts. It is imperative that the funding agencies have experienced and qualified appraisers with them. This writer’s experience has been that international funding agencies do not have any such expertise. Naturally the outcome from these funding operations results in halfbaked projects or non e-Governance projects.

Role of the National Institute of Smart Government (NISG) NISG, formed in 2003 at Hyderabad is one of the major players in implementing e-Governance projects in India. Its role should be to act like an NGO and to motivate governments to accept e-Goverence as their way of public administration.

It should be more proactive when it comes to the backward States. At least 75 per cent of the funding from NISG should be earmarked for the backward States.

NISG had given more focus into the empowerment part of the citizens. However, citizens get automatically empowered with e-Governance. Support from NGOs is required primarily in rural areas only after building the e-Governance backbone in the Government offices.

There is a proverb in Tamil ‘unless you have it in the kettle you cannot scoop anything from there’. This is true in the case of e-Governance. Unless governments have something to offer using IT tools, primarily Internet, the enabling factors such as NGOs cannot have a true impact. The perceived impact can be felt only through the media and not on the ground if we neglect the core e-Governance functioning in Government offices. In this writer’s, NISG has to concentrate over 90 percent of its activities in building up the core e-governance competence of various State Governments. As the core competency of governments increase, a shift has to be made to enable the NGOs to play a major role, especially in rural areas.

Role of state level IT organisations Every state government has its own state level IT organisation. These organisations, though conceived to run on commercial lines, have ended up as yet another arm of the government thus failing in their primary role. Many of them have 20

Conclusion India is rich with minerals and natural resources, yet is a poor nation. Similarly, India provides the backbone for IT manpower for the rest of the world but its own public administration is in shambles. e-Governance, as a technology, provides bright scope to improve the citizen focus of public administration. The problem today is poor management, and tackling this requires huge constitutional, judicial and administrative reforms. e-Governance can become successful only if such path-breaking changes accompany it. India has to look at successful e-Governance initiatives elsewhere, such as in Singapore, and learn from their experiences.

The need for a champion for e-Governance under the Indian context has to be understood.

The IAS, provides a natural base for leadership in e-Governance. has to be given the honour and stability to carry out e-Governance projects.

C Umashankar (umashankarc@gmail.com) IAS, Tamil Nadu Cadre, India

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COMMENTARY

e-Governance for masses

Hope-hype-hope journey in India The past few years have witnessed a sudden surge of interest in e-Governance. The reasons behind this are many. Improved understanding of the capabilities offered by Information and Communication Technologies has been one important factor The past few years have witnessed a sudden surge of interest in e-Governance. The reasons for this are many. Improved understanding of the capabilities offered by ICTs has been one important factor. Another has been the interest of the private sector in e-Governance as it perceived the government segment as offering tremendous opportunities for growth. Is e-Governance the new investment mantra of the private sector? Or is it just old wine in new bottle? If it existed in the past, why was there a lack of awareness about its existence or rather, how has it attracted the attention of all and sundry now? This article attempts to answer these questions by tracing the history of e-Governance as it existed in the early era of government computerisation in India, the hype that was generated by the sudden availability of Internet technologies, market driven boom of dot com companies, and the new hope that it gives to citizens and government alike in delivering good governance as a more organised, with outcome-oriented approach towards implementing e-Governance particularly in rural areas.

The hope Those who care to explore the recent development history would recall that the application of computers in the process of governance in India, had begun way back in the 1980’s with some of the early and popular initiatives such as the Computerised Rural Information Systems Project (CRISP, http:// crisp.nic.in ) by the Department of Rural Development (Government of India), the District Information Systems of the National Informatics Centre (DISNIC) Project, the National Resource Data Management System (NRDMS) by Department of Science and Technology (Government of India) and Surendra Nagar Experiments, among others.

The Land Records Computerisation Project | January – February 2005

(LRCP, http://dolr.nic.in) was another key initiative taken by the Government of India in addressing issues related to records management concerning land holdings and ownership. At the time when these projects were conceived and executed, ICT, particularly networking technologies, were in a very nascent stage in India and had not gained roots in the government segment. Accordingly, most of these projects focused on exploiting the computing/processing power of computer systems. For example, at the district level, computers were primarily used to process data (spatial, non-spatial or both) related to various developmental schemes to strengthen the monitoring and planning done by the district administration.

As afforded by the prevailing technologies, these projects in a way fulfilled the concern of government agencies to enhance speed and accuracy in data crunching and report generation for different purposes. They were laying the right foundation for a long and arduous journey of e-Governance in terms of, so-called, back-end computerisation. However, these projects could achieve only limited success. Some of the factors that limited the success of the aforementioned initiatives during those days were: absence of localisation; non-availability of the Internet; lack of awareness of the new medium at the district level; lack of hardware maintenance support; insufficient support for data entry (as much of the data entry was carried out at a higher level due to lack of infrastructure at the lower level offices); lack of capacity-building at the district level and lack of users’ participation in evolving solutions thereby introducing the design-reality gap; among others. Further, these initiatives exhibited the characteristics more of operations (on-going activity) rather than that of a project (with definite time, definite cost and definite deliverables). They did not receive public attention primarily because they were focused on strengthening the working within the government in terms of monitoring and report generation and not on the citizens. Nevertheless, these initiatives showed the far-sightedness of decision/policy makers and left an indelible mark in the journey of e-Governance in India by generating hope among the policy makers of the potential offered by computers, and also highlighted the need for back-end computerisation to address the need of masses in times to come.

The hype Recent developments in ICTs have introduced a plethora of opportunities for development in every conceivable area. In particular, computers coupled with Internet technologies have broken all bounds of cost, distance and time. While on the one hand ICTs present opportunities for doing the usual things in a better and more 21

ICTs not only present opportunities for doing the usual things in a better and more efficient manner they have opened up doors for doing things that were hitherto unimagined efficient manner, they have also opened up doors for doing things that were hitherto unimagined. In particular, ICTs offer tremendous potential to address issues of social inclusion and economic empowerment.

With the endless opportunities afforded by Internet technologies and cheaper availability of computers, more government organisations were jumping into the bandwagon of ‘e-Governance’ without any organised effort. One such effort was the hosting of the websites of government departments and agencies. In an effort to sincerely learn from one another, many government departments went ahead with static department websites. Though the effort was commendable, it could not hold water for long as most of the websites became stale with obsolete information. No attempt was made to update the information on the department websites, primarily because the departments had still not come to treat the website as an instrument of maintaining public relations. Further, nobody was made accountable for ensuring that the website projected the latest information. Many a times, the hosting organisation was blamed for not maintaining up-to-date information.

This led to the disenchantment of the government with the idea of a website and a misconstrued notion that websites in general were not useful.

Another area where a lot of hype was generated was in delivering e-Governance services to citizens. Many central and state government departments exposed partially developed services to citizens. In particular, the focus was on enhancing the front-end delivery, and little or no attention was paid to back-end computerisation. The strategy generated hype among both government officials and citizens.

Citizens felt relieved of the cumbersome need to deal with unfriendly government officials for getting a form or submitting an application. The initial returns, however, failed to sustain the goodwill of the people as they realised that government departments functioned as inefficiently as before. This was mainly because backend computerisation was yet to take place. Further, majority of services required interaction among multiple departments thereby deepening the frustration. Also, delivering many services electronically required many legal and administrative reforms that were not envisaged in the project, thereby resulting in poor returns from the implementation of such services.

The surging enthusiasm for e-Governance pushed many state governments to set up a panel of private software solution providers/total solution providers who would help them design and implement e-Governance solutions.

However, many of these efforts resulted in wastage of funds, time and energy.

The reasons were many. The culture of private solution providers did not match with the pace with which the Government babudom worked. Government officials were slow on sharing the huge domain knowledge of the Government while private players had limited time to understand and provide solutions.

This resulted in software solutions that did not meet the requirements of the department. Further, private players charged for every effort from their side, which proved to be too costly for the government. Many of such hastily built partnerships fell by the wayside due to lack of cultural compatibility and understanding of the domain.

Last, but not the least, is the latest interest in delivering e-Governance services to rural citizens who constitute more than 70 percent of the population, and who are also major consumers of government services. Despite localisation initiatives by many state governments, e-Governance service de22

livery for rural citizens was not picking up very well because of the – poor understanding of the information and service needs of the rural people, lack of electrical and ICT infrastructure, poor capacities of rural people to adapt to the new form of service delivery and low literacy. Many projects were undertaken by different state governments, NGOs and international organisations in this area with varying degree of success.

The period of hype was not without positive notes. The hype heightened the need for a separate Government Ministry/ Department, both at the level of central and state governments, which would be instrumental in framing policies and acting as a regulatory authority. Some the key initiatives include the report by the IT Task Force (http://it-taskforce.nic.in) constituted by the then Prime Minister and the report of the committee on IT for Masses (http:// itformasses.nic.in). Other major steps included the formation of a Department of IT under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MC&IT), Government of India, IT departments at the state level, and IT managers in central government ministries, among others. One of the major contributions of the MC&IT was the formulation of the IT Act 2000 which provided a legal framework for the new electronic era. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and Pensions (GoI) also came up with the idea of a minimum agenda for e-Governance and suggested central ministries to adhere to the same as a measure of pushing administrative reforms. State administrations also responded enthusiastically to meet the heightened awareness by formulating IT Policies and e-Governance action plans.

Lack of literature in the public domain on e-Governance was evident and was addressed. Though lessons from abroad were useful and enriched local knowledge, India’s unique position as a developing country with poor infrastructure, poor literacy, multiple languages and largely rural population required that lessons would have to be learnt (and best practices generated) largely through self-effort. Many organisations undertook studies that resulted in a plethora of literature for the Indian context. Such studies included the eGovernance Maturity Model, National e-Governance initiatives (NEGI), e-Readiness www.egovonline.net |

Strategies for expediting e-Governance Assessment Framework and World Bank reports, among others, contributing to a common body of knowledge which was useful input for the next phase.

• The ICT infrastructure (Computing and communication environment and Internet) created under e-Governance projects should be opened and made accessible to the general public so as to realise better Return on Investment (ROI).

Hope The lesson learnt during the hype phase, coupled with better understanding from studies helped in evolving a more stable and focused picture, with majority of e-Governance initiatives being executed across the country as projects with definite time, definite cost and definite deliverables. This is also reflected in the design of Core Mission Mode Projects (to have a mission-mode focus to identify e-Governance projects), and National e-Governance Action Plan (NeGAP, http://www.mit.gov.in/ actionplan/about.asp) undertaken by the Department of Information Technology.

Many systematic efforts, in terms of projects, such as ‘e-Governance @ oneday’ in Vadodara, Rural Access to Services through Internet (RASI), ‘RuralBazar’ (assisting marketing needs of the produce by Rural people through the Internet; http://RuralBazar.nic.in), Municipality and ELCOT Paperless Computerisation in TN, ‘InfoGram’ in Goa, ‘LokMitra’ in Himachal Pradesh, ‘Akshaya’ in Malapuram district of Kerala with more than 600 Kiosks in 100 Panchayats, CARD and e-Seva in Andhra Pradesh, CIC Project (http://www.cic.nic.in) in North-Eastern States and J&K, ‘Sarita’ in Maharastra, Railway Seat Reservation Project, Courts Computerisation (with online case related all information on net from Supreme Court and High Courts; District courts are being taken up), Passport Computerisation, ‘Aarohi’ (Uttaranchal’s Computer Aided Education programme in Schools), Land Record Computerisation in various states providing computerised RoR and other details (out of which the ‘Bhoomi’ Project of Karnataka became very popular as it was also supported by some of the key administrative/statuary reforms taken up by the state government), water bills payment in Karnataka (operational round the clock), Panchayat (Village/Block/District) financial data on the Internet in Orissa, Old Age Pension/Treasury /Transport Computerisation and ‘Agmarknet’ (prices of agricultural produce in various mandies/markets) in many states, etc. were driven by better design elements with a focus on service delivery to respective stakeholders. These projects faced less of the design-reality gap during implementation.

Serious players from the government, industry and community level (whichever be | January – February 2005

• Attempts should be made to introduce communication technologies that are indigenous, cost-effective, suitable to rural areas, and that can be easily maintained locally. Wireless technologies offer tremendous potential for solving the last-mile problem. Some of the technology institutions such as IIT, Chennai are already working in this area using CorDect WLL technology. The government should identify gaps, fund, promote and implement such projects through the country’s various technical institutions.

• Language is an important issue for providing universal access to content. In this context, expediting the digitisation of language scripts in UNICODE format (which is both a nationally and internationally accepted standard) is important.

• Information and service-need assessment, particularly of the marginalised populations, should be an essential exercise to ensure that e-Governance benefits reach the widest population base.

• The role of Local Service Providers (LSPs) is essential to sustain project activities at the village level, and to carry it forward. LSPs could be unemployed rural youth, entrepreneurs, PRIs, NGOs, Self Help Groups (SHGs), or other institutions like cooperative societies. Several models are being tried out with varying degrees of success. These models should be studied for their applicability to local contexts.

• The Government will have to support efforts to localise and contextualise government content as per the needs and life events of various sections of the population.The best way to strengthen rural participation is by involving the state/district administration through Panchayati Raj Institutions - the ultimate instruments of local self-governance. The Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat should be suitably sensitised to the benefits of ICTs so that they become initiators and sustainors of the ICT initiative.

• Building e-Literacy should be part of every ICT initiative undertaken by the government. The model adopted in the Akshaya project of the Government of Kerala is a case in point. Each project should have elements to address and strengthen social and community empowerment (inclusion, access to market, etc).

• The design of e-Governance initiatives should incorporate opportunities for local employment generation. Areas that may be explored include content creation, translation, ICT centre management, ICT maintenance, etc. The Government in general, and financial institutions in particular should recognise and support the formation of SHGs engaged in ITenabled services (such as data collection/entry activity outsourced to SHGs by government departments on payment basis) related to various government programmes. This would enhance employment opportunities in rural areas, and also the quality of monitoring in view of update data availability right from the grass roots level.

• Steps should be taken to reform the laws of government working in terms of procedure and practices without which the regained hope may again degenerate into shallow hype.

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the case) back such initiatives.

These forces treat the issue of e-Governance with a balanced approach in terms of theory and practice, in models and methodologies, funds and functionaries, and provider and consumer. The funding priority is accorded for proposals that are better designed in terms of project parameters (such as identification of service consumers, sustainability, etc) with larger participation from end-user/client community. Many state governments, to exploit the capabilities of private participation, are adopting innovative solutions. Private players are being sought for infrastructure deployment and/or maintenance, and also in service delivery.

Efforts are on to have a more service-oriented approach to the identification of e-Governance projects where the focus is on identifying important services for Government customers (citizens and businesses), and weaving the project concept around efficient service-delivery by ensuring back-end computerisation and department-level collaboration. Central level efforts are underway to enhance the output of these initiatives through realising single service-delivery gateways (collaborative service delivery), and a National Portal (India Online) enhancing and strengthening the current government of India portal (http://IndiaImage.nic.in) that could act as a model for other domains and governments. The preparation of the framework and methodologies is underway to assess, position and support eGovernance initiatives across the country. The key initiatives in this regard is the e-Government Assessment Framework 2.0 available on the website of DIT (http:/ /egov.mit.gov.in/), and the Interoperability Framework for e-Governance being prepared by the National Informatics Centre (NIC, http://Home.nic.in).

Challenges

D C Misra (dcmisra@hub.nic.in) Senior Technical Director NIC, DIT, MC&IT Govt. of India.

Rama Hariharan (rama@hub.nic.in) Principal Systems Analyst NIC, DIT, MC&IT Govt. of India.

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Though the scenario on e-Governance is improving, it lacks the desired momentum as it faces the following key challenges in reaching the masses, 70 per cent of whom live in villages. The issues that need to be addressed while introducing ICTs, particularly to large segments of society include: • Assessment of local needs - Every eGovernance project should consider the local needs of the intended beneficiaries as a starting point. ICT solutions based on presumed and felt needs will not yield desired results.

In a country as diverse as India the needs would vary from one area to another based on different social conditions, economic bases, cultures, etc.

• Connectivity – Telephone connectivity in India is about 3 percent and will not rise unless the last mile cost is lowered. More cost effective communication technologies

•

•

•

•

based on wireless such as CorDect should be explored for use in remote and rural areas.

Content – Localising government content in local languages and local context is of critical importance in India. For the majority of Indians who speak little or no English, e-Governance makes little meaning as most of the government websites present content in English.

Regular updation – As a normal process, much of the content should be driven by backend processes and automatically updated. In the absence of full automatisation, it is desired that content should be updated regularly on the websites of government agencies (Central Departments, State Departments, Districts and Blocks). It is heartening to note that while many Blocks have come up with websites, some of the districts are yet to launch one of their own (http:// GOIDirectory.nic.in).

Human Capacity – It is not enough to just provide e-Governance services. It is equally important to augment human capacity and empower people to utilise ICT to access and use the services.

Sustainability – Using and maintaining service delivery centres involves substantial costs and can be a major concern for continuation of projects. Planning for long-term sustenance of the centres is equally crucial for their success. Other usages of the service delivery centres such as local-to-global and local-to-local e-Commerce should be explored.

Road ahead Challenges and solution strategies will keep changing. The need to provide government information and services in the public domain through the Internet or any public medium is not only desirable, but mandatory for meeting the demands of the people. Equally essential is the need to make this body of knowledge and services accessible to the 70 percent of the population living in the 6,00,000 villages of rural India. The Service Delivery Centres in these villages would serve as lamps of knowledge lighting up the lives of citizens in every nook and corner of the country.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of the employer.

www.egovonline.net |

COMMENTARY

ICT challenges

The Scandinavian governance model ICT penetrates all parts of political decision-making. This article deals with the kind of challenges ICT poses in the present form to societal governance and democratic control The use of technology is an important factor in the organisation of our society. When we speak of a model for the future society we often use the term ‘information society’ or the ‘networked society’. Information society and network society are not new concepts but have existed for many years (Machlup, 1962 and Nora & Minc, 1980). The reason that these are on the agenda today is the dramatic development in information technology and telecommunications technology – the two technologies that are decisive for dealing with information and its dissemination in networks.

This article deals with the kind of challenges ICT poses in the present form to societal governance and democratic control. ICT penetrates all parts of political decision-making. Political parties and movements have their own websites. The public sector uses the Internet to inform citizens and will in the longer run also use ICT to strengthen the direct communication with the individual citizen. ICT’s direct application as a tool in the political decision-making process has been subject to detailed studies (e.g. Hoff, Horrocks & Tops, 2000 and Dutton, 1999). But this article will concentrate on the more indirect effect: How will application of ICT in other areas affect the democratic governing process? It will not focus on ICT as a tool in the democratic process but on how use of ICT in society in general affects the way societal groups could exercise the possibility for influence in the information society. This broad problem area would be explained by examining specific problem areas where the development of ICT has posed new demands to societal regulation in Europe.

The regulatory challenges connected with ICT are at two levels: • Firstly, the use of ICT creates new products and services (such as digital information) that have not been taken into account by the present regulation.

• Secondly, ICT influences the overall framework for regulation of existing products and services. One example is the regulation of financial markets. Here the use of ICT | January – February 2005

implies that international financial transactions could be made faster than ever before, which makes it much more difficult to control national monetary markets.

The latter point is closely connected to the ongoing globalisation phenomenon in which use of ICTtechnology plays an important part.

This article would not involve all the regulatory problems that are connected to globalisation in general, but would focus on those with a direct relation to the use of ICT, and those that influence the individual citizen most directly. The idea is to look into the consequences that emerge when ICT is used by private citizens in their interplay with the surrounding world, and not only in organising production.

Impact of ICT on governance Digitisation has meant that the technical platform can be used within many different application areas, and there has been a gradual merger of the sectors like IT, telecommunication and broadcasting. This has led to the development of a succession of services that are in the borderland of these three sectors. The Internet is the most prominent example of such a hybrid service.

This development challenges the present regulation on two fronts: Firstly, there is a merger of three separate sectors (IT, telecommunications and broadcast) that have until now been regulated in very different ways. Secondly, new services have appeared and have caused the emergence of new problems that have not been taken into account by the present regulatory models.

Within the telecom sector, regulation has concentrated on the infrastructure. This infrastructure has been provided from the outset by public-controlled national monopolies. These monopolies are now being privatised and competition is enforced through a complicated set of sector specific competition rules administered by national telecom agencies.

Broadcasting of radio/TV was formerly primarily a public activity. In most European countries broadcasting has been domi25

nated by government-controlled national broadcasting companies who were responsible for universal delivery of public services. Regulation of this semi-public broadcasting sector has primarily focussed on content rather than on the infrastructure itself.

Confronting these two sectors, where the state has played an extremely active role both through direct ownership and as regulator, the IT-sector finds itself in an area where public regulation has been much more limited and where, at the same time, it has been much more internationally oriented. In particular,

Infrastructure

Infrastructure has traditionally been an area with a considerable degree of public regulation. In most European countries companies with complete or partly public ownership have run both the telecom sector and radio/TV. This has changed distinctively in the past decade, and a whole new still-developing regime has appeared. The general trend is however clear. In the telecom sector it is foreseen that regulation of the universal service obligation will play a diminishing role while more emphasis would be placed on letting the market ensure access to the net. Consequently, the main emphasis would be to ensure a competitive market.

During the liberalisation process that started at the beginning of the 1990s the character of public control with the telecom sector changed from control via ownership to control through legislation and direct regulation. Today there is very detailed telecom regulation. The purpose of this regulation is to further competition in a situation where a company, as starting position, has 100 percent of the market. The intent is that this regulation could gradually be ‘normalised’, and partly substituted by the general competition legislation that is in force in other sectors.

The creation of a market with more competing suppliers means that it has been necessary, in part, to expand regulation to new areas, in part, to ensure that regulation is in accordance with the rules, and to make it more transparent. The model used within the EU separates operation from regulation, e.g. by privatisation of telecom companies, and separates the legislative power (the Parliament and the minister/ministry) from the judging power (the National Telecom Agency). According to this model, the

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the development of the Internet has been centred on the US, and regulation of content as well as infrastructure has largely been left to the market.

The merger of these three sectors places completely new demands on the future regulation. This not only concerns the technical design, but the use of ICT services will shape the role of private citizens in governance within different areas. The following areas would illustrate how ICT has a decisive role in the choice of governance models: • access to electronic services (infrastructure) • access to electronic information • consumer protection with regards to electronic trade The regulatory needs within each of these fields would be discussed, however the design of the specific rules will not be part of the discussion. The purpose is to discuss the applicability of different types of governance and modes of democratic influence. At the same time different models for regulating these fields would be presented (national legislation, indirect regulation, self regulation, etc.), and the democratic implications thereof would be discussed.

minister has only limited possibilities to intervene in announcements issued by the National Telecom Agency and to change their decisions.

The regulation of the radio spectrum is a clear example of how the market has been given a larger role in social regulation. Where formerly the incumbent telecom operator joined a monopoly and could ask the national telecom agency for a new frequency resource (e.g. to establish a network for mobile telephony), invitation for tenders for frequency resources for new services where all can bid is now the rule. The suppliers must then account for how and to what use they would apply the offered licences. It has been proposed to introduce further liberalisation where it would be permitted to re-sell the allocated licences to other operators (Valetti, 2001). If this materialises, it would be the market and not the national telecom agency that will ensure that licences are given to operators who could make the best use of the radio spectrum for the common benefit.

The privatisation of the telecom sector has reduced direct control. Previously, the influence of the users appeared through partly public ownership, which was seen in politically appointed board members. In Denmark, consumers were also represented in different ‘subscriber committees’.

In return the consumers had no choice between more suppliers as ‘Tele Danmark’, and before 1992 regional telecom companies, had exclusive rights on delivery of telecom services. Today however, public governance is directed towards ensuring the consumers a choice between several competing suppliers than to command the operations of the incumbent operator directly.

www.egovonline.net |

Developments in technology would eventually remove the justification for the current model for regulation of radio and TV broadcasting with licensing and a strong element of public ownership Content

Consumer protection

Electronic information now plays an increasing role due to technological development that has enabled the emergence of a succession of new possibilities that both quantitatively and qualitatively makes use of electronic information, among others.

Regulation of the broadcasting field still bears evidence that there have been substantial limitations on the volume of information that the individual user has had access to. It has therefore been an essential criterion to ensure versatility in the limited choice of programs that there is place for (public service).

The present European model for provision of public broadcasting services is being undermined by technological developments. Regulation is justified by limitations in the number of channels available for public broadcasting. These channels were provided to public-controlled TV stations financed partly or in full by public funds. Development of broadcasting via satellite enabled transmission of a much larger number of channels. Moreover, transmission could be made without the use of national infrastructure, and was therefore much more difficult to control. Introduction of digital radio and TV broadcasting further increased the number of channels that could be made available, and finally the Internet completely changed the concept of a TV channel with continuous transmission of information beyond the control of the user.

Developments in technology would eventually remove the justification for the current model for regulation of radio and TV broadcasting with licensing and a strong element of public ownership. It would be even more difficult to refuse access to commercial or other private broadcasters as technical limitations are removed. Furthermore, content regulation is complicated by the fact that broadcasters can access their customers without being physically present in the local market.

Moving to a country with a more liberal regulation can therefore easily circumvent national regulation.

Up to now it has been possible for public-owned public service channels to maintain a considerable market share in most European countries. But this has only been possible through commercialisation and by watering down the public service concept. If public service channels develop in a way that the content can hardly be distinguished from that of the privateowned commercial channels, it becomes difficult to justify a continuation of a model based on public service and ownership.

The development within the ICT sector has given the individual user more freedom of choice, as there is more content to choose between. In return it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure adequate quality and versatility. This is largely left to the market.

In many countries consumers enjoy better protection in e-Commerce than in traditional markets (Falch a.o., 1999). But this protection is not guaranteed for international transactions.

Even a limited international market for Internet trade, if totally unregulated, may have severe implications for consumer protection in both national e-Commerce and traditional national markets. In the American debate it has been proposed to define different rules for trade on the Internet than for other types of trade. For instance, it has been claimed that Internet trade transactions should be exempted from value added tax. David Johnson and David Post have even suggested to define the Internet as a new “borderless law space”, where regulation is based on certification (Johnson & Post, 98).

If such an alternative regulatory framework is recognised for certain types of transactions it can be questioned whether it will be possible to maintain a national legislation with rules that differ substantially from international regulation on the Internet. If the e-Commerce environment were unregulated, problems would arise in the offline world. Lack of consumer protection online would undermine protection in the traditional consumer environments.

There is thus an international dimension to the question of consumer protection in relation to e-Commerce – a dimension that has existed for a long time in principle – as consumers have had the possibility to buy goods and services from abroad before e-Commerce was invented. However, direct relationships between foreign suppliers abroad and consumers have been the exception.

Access to an electronic market place for consumer goods and services gives the consumer a range of new facilities, which in many respects increases the consumer’s power through better access and a more transparent market. The Internet will improve the possibilities to ‘shop around’ and compare offers from different suppliers. This would enable the creation of a more transparent market for consumers. In particular, in periphery regions the Internet may improve market access and thereby enhance competition.

Electronic trade does, however, create new problems related to consumer protection. The Internet has properties that facilitate fraud and complicate prosecution. These properties are related both directly to trade transactions and to the flow of information surrounding the transactions. Consumers may not be able verify the true identity of the supplier, and it may therefore be impossible to know how the transaction is regulated.

Norms for quality and safety of products differ from

| January – February 2005

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country to country. Consumers cannot be sure that products meet national standards if bought from another country on the Internet. This problem is augmented by the fact that the Internet does not allow physical inspection of goods before delivery. In some countries consumers enjoy the same protection with Internet trade as with door-to-door selling. Also the legal value of digital signatures varies from country to country. EU has chosen a model for digital signatures, which builds on a high degree of self-regulation. Digital signatures are to be offered by private key-centres, and not directly by governmental institutions.

Payments in the future would, to a large extent be made by the use of electronic money – money without a physical appearance – and money without any backing from a national bank. This type of money is very difficult to regulate. This has implications not only on the ability of national authorities to enforce monetary policies, but also on consumer protection as this type of money may loose its value if the ‘issuer’ becomes insolvent. Electronic money has been used within the financial sector for decades, but the Internet has made this facility available for private citizens as well.

Most countries regulate the use of personal information, and in some countries there are stricter rules protecting consumers in e-Commerce than in ordinary commerce. But the Internet is international and personal data can end up in many different countries, with very different regulations on handling of personal data.

The EU regulation of personal data is however very different from that of the United States. Here restrictions are mainly put on usage of personal data by the public sector, while it is up to the private sector to regulate their own use through voluntary agreements. Due to these differences it is difficult to maintain the level of consumer protection in Europe without restrictions on cross-border delivery of personal data. Today it is not allowed to transfer personal data from the EU to a country with a more liberal legislation on data protection. However, this ban is difficult to enforce in an electronic world and only complicates electronic trade across the Atlantic.

Another problem, which is related to the privacy issue, is the use of spam (the costs of distributing marketing information are drastically reduced). There is a risk of ‘information pollution’ i.e. that consumers are overwhelmed with enormous amounts of information that they have no interest in or have ever asked for.

Electronic commerce creates many new regulatory challenges, consumer protection being one of them. One of the 28

most important challenges is related to the need for international harmonisation, due to the difficulties in making a clear distinction between national and international transactions.

Regulation of electronic commerce is, to a certain extent, subject to a sort of international competition. Electronic commerce is an area that has received much attention in the industrial policy debate where being in the forefront seems to be a major concern, and the development of optimum conditions in the form of a competitive telecommunications infrastructure, availability of qualified manpower, etc. is a priority in most countries. This implies that adaptation of the national legal framework is taking place not only for the sake of the consumers, but also in order to facilitate electronic trade. No country wants to create an environment that encourages relocation of domestic Internet activities to other countries with more liberal regulation. Therefore, it is a risk that national regulation without international co-ordination would tend to focus more on the interest of the suppliers than the welfare of consumers. By all means, it will be much more difficult for national consumer organisations to ensure protection of the consumers.

Market based regulation may in this case be the outcome as a rule-based model for international governance is very difficult to implement. Firstly, the institutional set-up for adoption of new legislation at the international level is far more complicated and less efficient than at the national level.

Secondly, some countries – in particular the US – have a very weak tradition for rule-based governance in these areas and tend to prefer a type of governance based on self-regulation by the industry.

Conclusion An examination of different areas where ICT impacts the overall framework for governance shows a clear trend towards a more international and a more market-based type of governance. The same trend can be observed in many other parts of the society and it is obvious that technological developments within ICT are not the only reason for this development. Economic, organisational and political/cultural factors have all played a role in this process. Castells has identified three independent factors that have contributed to this process: the information technology revolution; the economic crisis and the subsequent restructuring; and the blooming cultural movements such as libertarianism, human rights, feminism and environmentalism (Castells, 1998 p.

356). Creation of the internal market within EU and the eswww.egovonline.net |

tablishment of the WTO have both contributed to the weakening of the decision-making power of national governments, and the wave of privatisations which in Europe began in the UK in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher are also an important factor explaining the trend away from public rule-based regulation towards a more market-based approach.

On the other hand, the development towards more market and less intervention from national governments has been particularly strong within the ICT sectors, and it is quite clear that the former types of governance have been challenged by technological developments that have accentuated the need for regulatory reforms. These reforms have, under specific environmental conditions dominant since the 1980s, resulted in a more market based and international-oriented regime of regulation.

References Castells, Manual: End of Millennium, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. Vol. III. Blackwell Publishers. Oxford, UK. Dutton, William H.(1999): Society on the line – Information Politics in the Digital Age. Oxford University Press.

M. Falch & A. Henten: Consumer Protection in the Electronic Market Place – Regulation in a global environment. Communications and Strategies, no. 34, 2nd quarter 1999, pp. 319-350.

Hardt, Michael & Antonio Negri: Globalization and Democracy. In Enwezor, Okwui et al.: Democracy unrealized. Documenta 11_Platform 1. Kassel: Hatje Cantz Publishers. 2002.

Hirst, Paul: Why the national still matters. Renewal 2(4), pp.12-20.

Hoff, Jens, Ivan Horrocks & Pieter Tops (eds); 2000: Democratic Governance and New Technology – Technologically mediated innovations in political practise in Western Europe. Routledge Johnson, David R. and David Post: Law and Borders – The Rise of Law in Cyberspace, First Monday issue 1, 1998 Machlup, Fritz (1962): The production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States. Princeton.

Nora, Simon Alain Minc (1980): The computerization of Society: A report to the president of France, Cambridge, MA MIT Press.

Porsdam, Helle (1999): Legally Speaking: Contemporary American Culture and the Law. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

Samarajiva, Rohan. (1997). Interactivity as though privacy mattered, in P. E. Agre & M. Rotenberg (eds), Technology and privacy: The new landscape, pp. 277-309. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

Valetti, T.M. (2001): Spectrum Trading.

Telecommunications Policy.

Vol. 25 no. 10/11 Nov./Dec. ‘01.

Morten Falch Center for Tele-Information Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Lyngby

| January – February 2005

Call for books Publishers, Authors, Writers are requested to send new titles to egov magazine CSDMS, G-4 Sector-39 Noida-201 301, UP India

Books are mentioned in the ‘Books received’ section before they are sent for detailed review.

[Note: Titles should be sent in two copies]

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COMMENTARY

Open Source

The Indian e-Governance scenario The opportunity cost of achieving development through Information Technology is huge due to the high cost of proprietary software. More and more governments are looking towards Open Source solutions to address economic issues Information Technology has gained lot of attention in recent times due to its ability to change the face of economies. It is a technology vital for development. But the opportunity cost of achieving development through Information Technology is huge due to the high cost of proprietary software. This is more true in the case of World over, governments are governments in developing countries finding that Open Source solutions where the e-Governance trumpet has offer significant benefits – strong been sounded high.

Lot of hype has been enough that some are considering created recently by the e-Governance or mandating its use industry, and many of the projects undertaken under the e-Governance agenda have not been able to see the light of the day due to cost overruns (the major hindrance). A related issue which few developing countries have fully confronted is that of copyright and software piracy. Complying with international standards means ending widespread copying of software (endemic in most developing countries), and the prospect of very high and recurrent software costs. Other problematic issues are security and virus problems. A not so recent development which is attracting much interest, especially in developing countries, is Open Source software and the Linux operating system in particular. This type of software goes a long way in helping to resolve the issues mentioned above.

What is Open Source?

Open Source is, in essence, a way of creating 30

and distributing software. We use the term ‘open-source’ to refer to software that is made readily available in the form of source code.

This includes open-source software, free software, ‘FOSS’, software libre, and ‘FLOSS’.

Rather than keeping the human-readable programme instructions (called source code) hidden from users, as traditional software companies such as Microsoft, Intuit and Apple typically do, open-source programmes give away the source code to one and all. Such access enables users skilled in programming to become de facto software developers by adding to or modifying the software code and then redistributing it. Nor is open-source software licensed to single users or companies in the typical fashion––users can pass on the software to others if they choose. Instead of preventing the software from being shared, open-source licenses dictate how the software is shared. For example, software licensed under the widely used GNU General Public License (GPL) allows any user to redistribute a programme without charge, but requires that any redistribution be accompanied by the source code.

Why FOSS for governments?

World over, governments are looking into Free/Open Source Software and in many cases finding that they offer significant benefits strong enough that some states/countries are considering or are already mandating the use of FOSS software in governments. These benefits are not necessarily the same benefits that are driving the wide scale adoption of FOSS in commercial companies. National priorities are different from corporate priorities, and FOSS supplies some benefits that are reaped at the national level, especially in developing nations. Some of the benefits driving government FOSS adoption are: www.egovonline.net |

• • • • • • •

Reduced Reliance on Imports Low cost of adoption Developing Local Industry National Security Issues Open Standards and Vendor Lock-in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Piracy Localisation

Right now, Governments are confronted with the following questions.

1. How to get government applications and relevant content developed?

2. How to get the common masses to use Open Source products?

We will get the answer to the former question, if we focus our attention towards the development of applications. Firstly, there should be a proper definition of the problem.

Once that is served to a programmer, they could come out with an innovative application effectively. These applications should not be developed and used and re-used in isolation but techies should be ready to share their knowledge with each other. For this to happen, techies have to put their head together and work towards the common cause. Open Source community is a right platform for these programmers to get together and come out with innovative applications. Moreover, these communities can work on a regional basis for the development of content locally. There would be better interaction among programmers if they work in teams on a regional basis.

Linus Torvalds put the codes out for he had a few problems to solve and he could definitely use the support of several others to get them solved. Being a charismatic coordinator, he got several people to contribute.

The latter question as how to get the common masses to use Open Sourced products begs a patient approach. Here various concepts of management such as marketing of products and services, value proposition, delighting the customer etc. come into the picture. Secondly, while designing e-Government solutions, the opinion of masses must be taken into account.

For instance, are developers interacting with common masses for analysing, designing and implementing e-Government solutions? It may seem little unreal here and critics would question the scope for developers to go to villages asking for user’s opinion after spending 12 hours in front of their computer screens writing the programme code. However, when we talk of using Open Source at the national | January – February 2005

level by developing applications for defence, it is must that we take the user’s perspective of the application in mind. Only then would concepts like customer delight be a reality.

One of the critical factors, which could make the diffusion of Open Source in the Indian e-Governance scenario a success is the involvement of the student community.

For Open Source to succeed in India, it is vital to educate and involve the student community (preferably from the first year).

In fact, it is better off formalising the involvement, say for instance, via a course on Open Source, and demanding the students to contribute (examination would take the form of evaluating their contribution).

In the process, students get organised, be a part of something, and train in developing solutions. But here again one has to move

Advocates of Open Source software have different ways of expressing themselves

31

Software applications

out of the league. The Indian education system has been should not be developed criticised time and again for focusing more on quantity and used and re-used in and less on quality. For that to happen the education sysisolation but techies tem should give students the opportunity to collaborate should be ready to share among themselves (work in groups, share responsibilitheir knowledge with each ties, etc.) and actually model requirements by interacting other with common masses/users, design and implement systems, and smartly build upon other systems developed by their seniors. A student feels a sense of belonging when he develops such an application. For the Indian economy to develop at 10 percent, students have to contribute as well. Common masses would be happy when students from engineering colleges interact with them with the intention of mapping their requirements. Students on the other hand get opportunities to learn about the country. Students learn by experience when they capture requirements interacting with common masses. Students then realise that they have to decide on whom (in the public) they should interact with, to what extent the public should be involved in designing the system, and so on.

Such interactions are in a way fun. Some of the students exposed to Open Source would most likely continue contributing. This might even result in a lot of entrepreneurial activity. The type of experience they would get and the type of confidence they will have while sitting for the interview can only be imagined.

Whatever has been proposed above cannot happen when students are asked to sit in class from nine to four for the whole year. The education system ought to change where the number of classroom hours has to be minimised and the focus is on working with practice/Open Source. The education system ought to come to terms with the fact that not everything can really be taught.

Students have to take efforts and learn on their own. Indian engineers are well trained in hard science. Offshore employers simply mould and put them to good use; that is what happens in M.S. education. It is worrying as to why the same processes are not replicated back home.

If students get to work for Open Source during their college years, then there is no need for any marketing strategy or market effort for the diffusion of Open Source in the Indian e-Governance market. This form of marketing will have a positive effect on the uptake of Open Sourced government applications. If we get the student population to contribute regularly towards Open Source, then the rest will fall in place all by itself.

Current status of Linux adoption in India While the Indian federal government currently has no official position on the FOSS/proprietary software, India represents a hotbed of FOSS development.

There are many department level initiatives: • The Central Excise Department has moved 1,000 desktops to Linux • The government supercomputer arm, the C-DAC, has moved over entirely to Linux35 • The Supreme Court has several pilot projects underway At the state level, there have been several FOSS initiatives. The most prominent of these is by the Madhya Pradesh state government. The state will use Linux in its e-Governance and Headstart programmes. While Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal and Maharashtra are already exploiting the advantages of Open Source 32

software (Linux), corporates like the Life Insurance Corporation have started migration from SCO-Unix to Linux to take advantage of the cost-effective alternative. Red Hat has installed its version of Linux on over 6,000 desktops in schools, with more likely to come.

More and more state governments, educational institutions and corporates are exploring the possibility of adopting Linux operating systems. There were other state level initiatives announced, but little has been heard about these initiatives since Microsoft’s muchpublicised investment in 2002. According to Red Hat India’s Director Javed Tapia, over 25 percent of servers shipped in India run on the Linux operating system. Similarly, of the total desktops shipped annually, over two lakh desktops run on the Linux operating system.

Conclusion Open Source is a revolution, which is spreading like wildfire in the Indian e-Governance scene. It has given sleepless nights to Microsoft’s strategists sitting back in Redmond, USA as well as in India. The need of the hour is to help this revolution grow.

This is possible only when policy makers sitting in the aisle of power understand the benefits accruing out of its usage and put all their cards in the Open Source basket. At the same time there has to be a change in the mindset of the users towards this change from Microsoft products to Open Source products.

References Online Discussion among the India-egov yahoo group members on the Diffusion of Open Source in e-Governance in India Research papers on Open Source from MIT website. www.opensource.mit.edu/ online_papers.php Analysis of the research work done by the author which he is carrying out for his thesis titled “Diffusion of Open Source and Open standards in Indian eGovernance Scenario”

Puneet Kalia Room No. 364, Boys Hostel IIITM, Gwalior, India (er_kalia2002@yahoo.com)

www.egovonline.net |

BOOKS

Book review Various dimensions of e-Governance, and e-Government in particular, have been discussed in the earlier pages. This section reviews the literature on the subject Kingdom, Singapore], all the while maintaining the caveat that identical copying of e-Government application architecture and strategies may not yield similar results for a country like India. ...the science of the possible It explains quite superbly the components for Author J Satyanarayana any successful e-Government project as inclusive of effective Processes (which Publisher Prentice-Hall of India Pvt eliminate redundant or repetitive efforts from Ltd users, allow better cost management, sensiA123 Patparganj ble procurement and rational management), New Delhi 110001 People (faster user training/ capacity build+91 11 287654321 ing etc.), and Technology.

In particular the section on procurement Pages 235 performs an honest pros-and-cons evaluation of outsourcing of e-Government projects verPrice Rs.267 sus in-house implementation of the same.

What refresh the discussion on procurement are the workable options of Public Private The book in consideration is e-Government Partnerships (PPPs) and the Cooperative Development Environment (CDE) model. … the science of the possible by J In the light of efficiency requirements, competitiveness, questions of economic Satyanarayana [2004; Prentice-Hall of India viability and continuity of e-Government projects, the author stresses the imporPrivate Limited]. A Civil Servant by profes- tance of PPPs and CDE, and identifies conditions on the part of the government sion, the author is the Chief Executive Officer that are necessary in order to encourage private participation. These include: (CEO) of the National Institute for Smart 1. The need for strong political will to plan, direct and implement e-Government systems Government in Hyderabad. The book is an interesting blend of anecdotal discussion on 2. Public perception (awareness building) the subject and in-depth analyses of project 3. Sensitised Civil Service level issues in e-Government. The initial dis- 4. Transparent shortlisting procedures for bidders (tech suppliers) cussion in the book on basic definitions is well 5. Propensity for risk-taking placed in that the subject matter of e-Govern- 6. Proper visioning exercise ment itself needs to be clarified. The author 7. Creation of market potential derives from his own experience six thumb- However, the literature remains silent on what the new services would mean for rules, which could be encapsulated here as the consumers in terms of costs? Would the physical presence of the Government be need to see Information and Communication completely obviated for services available through electronic medium (this questechnology as a means and not an end (end tion is important as resource-challenged people with little or no literacy would be being ‘good governance’); and to focus on apprehensive of broaching new technologies let alone using them for basic servcitizens and not computers i.e. the process, ices)? Even for alternatives, which involve private partners, there is no clear-cut the software and the planning should aim at discussion on long-term economic viability of e-Government initiatives that might service and not a fixation with merely auto- actually encourage a long-standing ‘partnership’ as opposed to a one-time commating systems. Satyanarayana points out the mercial service provision by private players. Such scenarios could have been benefits of e-Government to governments, reviewed for all practical reasons.

Interestingly a section contrasting ‘e-readiness’ and ‘e-Government readiness’ citizens, businesses and the ICT industry and underlines a successful e-Government project is able to highlight the dilemma of developing countries and their capacity at all as one that scores high on the consumer-sat- levels (user, personnel, application systems, etc). In order to participate in the digital economy, Satyanarayana lists a set of 43 indicators and 6 macro and micro isfaction barometer.

The book scores well on account of indices at the level of Policy making (what are the telecom policies, how evolved sourcing of relevant reference points [using are ISP policies, etc.), Infrastructure (how good is the internet penetration, last case studies from the United States, United mile connectivity, etc), Resources (political resources, expenditure on training | January – February 2005

33

The visioning envisaged in the book through concrete

play with the ‘participatory rural appraisal’ (PRA) methodology, with recommendations is a first step to training the trainers the information available in instances where economically weaker in their journey towards electronic governance. sections are unable to use ICT. Though a few case studies are presented as efforts of bridging the and nature of workforce at senior and junior levels alike. etc), and Usage (e-literacy, digital divide, the core PRA model could have number of e-Government projects, etc). The clincher, however, is a 10-step been elaborated with descriptions on the simudescriptive section on moving towards e-readiness that covers all aspects from lated use of the exercise for content matter the visioning exercise, need for legislations, budgeting of projects to actual relevant to healthcare, education, relief work, establishment of government gateways. While such a section comprehensively etc. for greater clarity. The stress on NGO guides the policy maker on the road to putting in place e-Government systems, partnerships thereof could draw up a believbrevity takes the better of organised presentation, as the book would have done able picture of social mobilisation at the well to organise all scattered details relating to planning and execution of e- grassroots level.

Government projects under the 10-step section. Moreover, in one instance for the Towards the close of the book the author problem of reaching connectivity to remote areas the author only suggests the use deals with managing e-Government, which in of the Value Measurement Model (for projects whose funding cannot be justified a way overlaps with much of the content covusing normal cost-benefit calculations). Further elaboration of cost-sharing models, ered in the earlier sections on formulating apt or simulated modelling of financing e-Government projects could have been useful e-Government policies through capacity for the reader. building and sensitising of users and personThe sum and substance of the author’s discussion on the importance of nel, citizen-centric services, development and technology and the nature of the same to be adopted reflects the insight that his use of sustainable, interoperable, and cost-efpersonal experience as administrator and implementer of e-Government systems fective technology, and development of in India has given. He suggests the importance of a centralised database with a partnerships in the public-private arena, modular design, a single-sign-on facility, standardised metadata schemas i.e. among others. The value addition, however, structured data for inter-operable systems, user-friendliness of application is in the form of a proposed management architecture, importance of platform independent language such as XML, and structure for e-Government at the policy makeven recommends brand-specifics for choice of application architecture systems. ing (a proposed National e-Government As e-Government projects would involve large number of systems at diverse Council), strategy (a proposed Centre for locations, the use of Open Source Software is aptly discussed in the light of cost Electronic Government), and the enterprise savings, avoidance of vendor-lock-in and the scope of adaptation to government levels. The prescribed components/structures needs. for each level would certainly be useful to the While some may conclude that the sections on the importance of security policymaker. The concluding sections capture management of e-Government systems (threats in the user environment, in the case details of successful implementation of transport medium and the physical security of assets) give the impression of act- e-Government from around the world (couning as fillers for the book, the sections would still be recommended for one set of try portals, G2C, G2B, and instances of readership as a primer on security management. For instance, user confidence internal efficiency of e-Government systems). could be raised by the use of Public key infrastructure or PKI to meet the requireWhile the book may be too ‘technical’ ments of authentication, integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation. The for a lay reader looking for an introduction to transport medium i.e. the space between users and the ICT assets of the e-Govern- the subject (with its detailed e-Government ment system could be secured by the use of Virtual Private Network technologies. architecture models), the visioning envisaged Similarly, basic definitions of viruses, anti-virus techniques, security standards, in the book through concrete recommendaetc. would be useful at a capacity-building stage for system operators at all levels. tions is a first step to training the trainers in On the issue of digital divide, Satyanarayana looks at the divide as emerging their journey towards electronic governance. from the disparities in people’s obtainment of ‘digital dividends’ rather than the Satyanarayana has the depth of understandstandard ‘lack of access to the internet or possession of ICT assets’ cliché. This ing of technology architecture, implementing brings in a new perspective wherein the thrust is on spreading out a dependable methodologies and change management from service that allows access with convenience and affordability as the end goals all his direct handling of pioneering e-Governthe while ensuring that the content is of relevance to the user group and preferably ment projects like eSeva, CARD, in their local language. The focus on direct economic benefits (cost and time eProcurement and SmartGov that shows in the savings) and indirect benefits (distributive justice and improvement in quality of clarity of his presentation. No doubt the enlife of user groups) is well placed. The author hints at the role that NGOs could tire book is a superb resource, and a must-buy for students, practitioners and policymakers involved with e-Government issues.

More reviews at www.egovonline.net/books 34

Joe Thomas K www.egovonline.net |

BOOKS

Books received Government online Opportunities and Challenges MP Gupta, Prabhat Kumar and Jaijit Bhattacharya 2004; Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi 595 pages; Price not available ISBN 0-07-058323-4 Authored by an academician and two administrators (from the public and private sector) the book is a blend of years of insight into the technology and the administrative systems that drive e-Governments. The book is divided into three macro-sections with 6 chapters under each part (18 chapters in total). With a basket of over 50 case studies of e-Government experiences from around the world, the book is comprehensive.

The first six chapters broadly deal with the mode of thinking that must be adopted both on the inside and outside of government. It gives an overview of the journey from early forms of government and the changes that came along with them to e-Government as it has evolved over time. Replete with case studies, this section outlines strategies to move on the path of e-Government and discusses other factors like a committed leadership, a public-private relationship and reforms that are a must for successful planning and implementation of e-Government projects.

In particular, the section on ‘strategies’ is

very informative and detailed as far as planning (short and long-term), implementation, managing, and evaluation of e-Government programmes and projects is concerned. Section two focuses on technology and the six chapters therein deal with different dimensions of technology – from architecture systems, actual technologies (like smart cards, biometrics, wireless, etc.) to actual issues of enterprise resource planning and cyber legislation.

The last six chapters cover key e-Government requirements in concrete terms viz the need for integrated treasury systems for managing public finances, useful characteristics of user interface for e-Government, usefulness of a central ‘secretariat’, models of organisational change, etc. The book comes across as a useful reference for implementers and first-time readers – in that order.

E-Governance Concepts and Case Studies CSR Prabhu 2004; Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi 247 pages; INR 295 ISBN-81-203-2647-4 E-Governance: concepts and case studies is, as admitted by the author CSR Prabhu himself, good reading material for the students of the subject (including allied disciplines such as management and public administration). The book is di-

vided into five major sections with sections one to four tackling conceptual issues while the fifth section deals with case studies of actual implementation of e-Governance. Chapter one introduces eGovernance with short descriptions on its evolution, present trends, and titbits of trivia on usage of government online around the world. Chapter two deals with e-Governance models and explains six generic models in the context of developing countries.

Chapter three identifies infrastruc tural prerequisites for taking up e-Governance initiatives in developing countries and goes on to outline the various stages that e-Governance initiatives usually go through. Data warehousing and data mining applications are discussed in the context of their potential applications in agriculture, rural development, health, energy, as well as in state government activities in chapter four. However, the bulk of the reading material is focussed on case studies that are covered in section five. In all 22 case studies (domestic and international) are examined, with the bulk sourced from India. The author’s background as Deputy Director General and State Informatics Officer with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Hyderabad is particularly useful for the depth of coverage. While, it may be ambitious to claim that the book is a one-stop guide to e-Governance issues and implementation, the book is definitely valuable for basic conceptual clarity and information on e-Governance in general, and e-Government projects in particular.

Authors, Publishers, Agencies should submit 2 copies for review.

Kindly send the books marked ‘For review’ to e-Gov, G-4, Sector-39, Noida – 201 301, India

Have a book that merits review? Send it to us.

| January – February 2005

35

NEWS REVIEW

India

Information Technology to improve government functioning

The Himachal Pradesh Government has introduced a host of Information Technology (IT) measures to improve its functioning.

A high-speed Local Area Network (LAN) that would cover the entire state has been set up in the Himachal Pradesh state secretariat linking all branches and offices. All letters and files can now be identified to ensure efficiency and to avoid delays. Furthermore, any book in Hindi or English can be located among its 60,000 titles.

Himachal Pradesh has also become the first state in the country to introduce online filing of sales tax returns. The National Institute of Smart Governance (NISG), Hyderabad, has sanctioned a pilot project of INR 1.5 crore, to integrate services related to various government departments right down to the tehsil (an administrative sub-division of a district) level.

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Distribution of computerised RoRs in rural India The National e-Governance Action Plan (NEGAP) for rural India is gradually taking shape.

A lot of states are distributing computerised copies of Record of Right (RoR) of land to farmers. The scheme is yet to catch up in states such as Daman and Diu, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Bihar, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Meghalaya and Lakshadweep. However, in some North Eastern states community ownership and shifting cultivation are creating problems for digitisation of land records.

Goa is the first state to complete 100 percent digitisation of land record in all 11 taluks. Automated and updated copies of RoR are being issued to land owners with location details through the project called Dharni. The Bhoomi project in Karnataka facilitates updation of land records to ensure update certificates. Tamil Nilam project in Tamil Nadu is operational in 206 taluks. Similarly, in Gujarat the e-Dhara project functions in 226 taluks, while computerised copies of RoR are distributed in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 257 and 237 taluks, respectively.

In Orissa RoR is distributed in 171 tehsils whereas in West Bengal the copies are distributed to landowners in all blocks. In Sikkim RoRs are issued in two out of nine sub-divisions; however, Chattisgarh issues RoRs in only 11 tehsils. In Andhra Pradesh RoRs are distributed in 308 mandals, while three taluks have reached the facility of digitisation in Pondicherry. In Maharastra, RoRs are given in 70 taluks whereas in Uttar Pradesh the data entry work is complete but updation of work is still pending. Until now the scheme is operational in only one taluk in Kerala.

TCS and ICICI Infotech bag e-Gov project The Ministry of Company Affairs’ eGovernance project is about to start as the Committee on non-plan expenditure running under the Ministry of Finance is understood to have cleared the over USD 0.6 billion computerisation project ‘DCA21’.

DCA 21 (Department of Company Affairs) in an innovative e-Governance initiative that aims to facilitate businesses to register a company and file statutary documents quickly and easily.

The project was lagging behind schedule because the Company Affairs Ministry and the Administrative Ministry could not acquire the essential endorsement in time. The process was restarted when the lowest bidder TCS decreased its quotation. The Company Affairs Ministry chose TCS and ICICI Infotech jointly for its programme. According to ministry sources, project preparation for DCA-21 is expected to start by the end of 2005.

The project is intended at providing time and cost savings to over six lakh companies registered in India. The services proposed include filing of statutory documents, registration of new companies, and availability of documents in the public domain through the use of computers and the Internet.

One-minute property transfer The citizens of Bangalore will soon avail the facility of getting the encumbrance certificates for registration or transfer of property in a minute as a part of the e-Governance initiative www.egovonline.net |

in the state. Earlier, they had to wait for at least a week to get the same.

According to C Krishnappa, InspectorGeneral of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps, this data would be available by June later this year. Once the process starts functioning, the citizen would get the certificate within ten to 15 minutes. The process is part of Kaveri (Karnataka Valuation and e-Registration), a reorientation programme of the Department of Registrations and Stamps towards 100 percent automation.

Karnataka to get spatial database of natural resources In Mysore a digital database on the State Natural Resources Information System is being prepared on a scale of 1:50000 to help the state at various levels of decision-making and to ensure scientific execution of government programmes.

The digital database would help in landuse planning and management, agricultural production estimation, command area management, wasteland mapping, urban and regional planning, forestry, and so on.

e-Governance for citizens In Bangalore, an e-Governance project has been launched under which 15 multilingual centres will be set up across the city.

The project includes the government’s e-Governance wing, a group of software companies guided by CMS Computers, Ram Informatics and UTI Bank. These centres are coming up under a publicprivate partnership project called BangaloreOne or B1. According to Rajeev Chawla, Secretary and Special Secretary, Revenue Department, the 15 B1 centres would initially be operational in the city. In three years, there are ex| January – February 2005

pected to be 50 such centres. The centres would offer 24 services from seven government departments. Eventually, B1 would allow citizens to do everything from getting ticket reservations, cancellations, filing income tax returns, getting examination results to buying movie tickets!

Digitisation of electricity board divisional offices Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa has announced that all Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) divisional offices in Chennai, and the 600 others in the country would be computerised with an expenditure of USD 26.7 million to decrease the inconvenience faced by citizens regarding payment of power dues.

At the silver jubilee function of the Tuticorin Thermal Power Station, she said that the government had plans to spread the scheme to TNEB branches in rural areas as well. “The computer-based ‘power failure redress centre’, a facility successfully launched in Chennai in November 2003, would shortly be extended to Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi”, she said.

Computerisation of PGC in India The Public Grievances Commission (PGC) in India has decided to go online by the first half of the current year Shailaja Chandra, the PGC Chairperson, stated that the website would actually accelerate the whole complaint registration process. Moreover, it would

increase the reach of the organisation to a wider audience. After a complainant logs into the website, he/she has to register their name and then either file their complaint or get any information under the Delhi Right to Information Act 2000. Once the initial queries are addressed, the complainant would be asked to fill up an application form that would be followed by the allotment of a temporary registration number. A date of hearing would then be issued to the complainant. According to PGC member, Dr. Pathak, the website would give birth to an extensive awareness among the public about their right to information.

Global eGovernance norms in Andhra Pradesh After successfully implementing many e-Governance projects, the state of Andhra Pradesh is introducing international eGovernance standards to enable different applications and different codes to ‘talk’ to each other and bring uniformity across all state department offices in all blocks and districts by connecting the entire state via broadband.

JC Mohanty, Principal Secretary, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) department of the Andhra Pradesh government, placed that the government envisioned bringing the entire state online to enable the common public to access information from the government. A body has been formed (‘Apex Board on Standards’) under the state’s Chief Secretary to ensure that the new standards are incorporated through a unified gateway, which is already in place.

Read more news www.egovonline.net

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e-Governance project in Goa Officials of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) with regard to e-Governance initiatives in the Margao municipality. As per the MoU, KDMC would offer software to related departments. The KDMC, near Mumbai, has successfully implemented an e-Governance project, which has reached out services to approximately 1.2 million citizens.

Janasevana Kendrams in Kerala www.janasevanakendram.net

Q&A with Jaijit Bhattacharya Head, Oracle-HP e-Governance Centre of Excellence, India Does the Centre of Excellence (CoE) exist only in India, or does Oracle run similar centres around the world?

Launched in India in July 2003, the Oracle-HP e-Governance Centre of Excellence has been highly successful.

Oracle recently launched a similar centre in Manila with the help of the Philippines Government. Oracle e-Governance centres are also planned in Sri Lanka and China on the same lines as the centre in India.

How many people have been trained since the time the centre was set up?

This centre was set up to help governments to formulate appropriate solutions and strategies for adopting eGovernance in India. Towards this end the centre conducts detailed workshops for Heads of Departments in governments, among other activities. Over 250 senior government officials at the rank of Head-of-Department and above have participated in workshops conducted by the centre.

Chandigarh to launch the Right to Information Bill Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, inaugurated an initiative to establish Janasevana Kendrams in 53 municipalities and five corporations in the state.

The 58 Janasevana Kendrams, which are being set up by the Information Kerala Mission, will provide a range of services to members of the public visiting municipal and corporation offices. The Janasevana Kendram website was also inaugurated.

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What has been the nature of professional relationships that the Oracle centre has developed with government officials, private players, and others?

Does the interaction go beyond initial training i.e. is there a working arrangement for periodic capacity building?

Over the past year, the CoE has emerged as a platform to bring together the organisations that work in he area of e-Governance in India. The centre has worked closely with various state and central government bodies to understand the peculiarities of e-Governance in India, and to tailor-make technology solutions to empower government bodies to provide services to the masses of India. Partners such as the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT, Bangalore), Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), Satyam Infoway, Red Hat, Centre for Good Governance, Government of Andhra Pradesh and AP Technology Services, among others, have been contributing to the success of the CoE.

National portal to link panchayats

The Chandigarh administration has set up a proposal to launch the Right to Information Bill in the Indian Union Territory (UT) as part of the efforts to offer a ‘responsive, transparent and accountable’ administration to the residents.

The newly appointed UT Administrator, Gen SF Rodrigues announced that each department of the administration would come out with a charter in this regard.

This is seen as a welcome initiative in the direction of true e-Governance.

In Jaipur the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, launched the national portal www.panchayat.nic.in connecting a towww.egovonline.net |

out the e-Governance roadmap for a project. Getting these people to come together for a long period of time, at times stretching into 2-3 days can be a challenge.

This Linux-only centre continues to help governments to identify appropriate strategies, methodologies and solutions required for deployment of e-Governance at low total cost of ownership. As a structured approach to addressing the needs and concepts of e-Governance, the Centre has adopted the three P’s toolset of Presentations, Papers and Prototypes. Our website is www.egovcoe.com.

What generally are the challenges that a training centre faces in terms of the skills-set of the trainees, the mindsets, etc?

Most of the people who participate in the activities and workshops of the e-Governance centre are senior people, and there are times when we need the heads of various departments to sit together and draw

What is the profile of the trainees or at what level does the centre train personnel [top level officials/mid-level officials/ project operators]?

I would like to think of the e-Governance centre as a facilitation centre to get the best ideas in e-Governance on a single platform, and to ultimately help governments and citizens benefit from it. There is really very little training that the e-Governance centre carries out. We do facilitate executive capacity building programmes.

But these cannot be termed as training programmes.

What kind of courses are on offer – are they customised according to government, or is it sector specific or according to project requirements?

We do not offer any packaged courses.

The workshops and the executive capacity building programmes are highly targeted programmes that are built to meet specific e-Governance challenges by a certain department or Government.

Jaijit Bhattacharya can be reached at jaijit.bhattacharya@oracle.com

tal of 2,40,000 village panchayats across the country in a bid to take e-Governance to the rural people. The minister suggested that if governments could use e-Governance at the village level then almost all problems of the Panchayati Raj Institutes (PRIs) in the country could be solved.

lisers would also be available on the website. It aims to generate a framework for the functioning of all state PRIs. Over 6,000 Block Panchayats and 540 Zilla Parishads would use the portal designed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The same number is expected to contribute to the portal.

The portal comprises varied information - from local weather forecasts to registration of births. The content would include information on fund transfers from the national level, health advice for villagers in far-flung tribal and desert areas, registration of marriages, births, deaths, as well as land records. Besides these, local libraries and health centres tracking progress of various official orders, applications, and farming information related to seeds and ferti-

Website launched to help Gurgaon voters

| January – February 2005

www.ceoharyana.eci.gov.in In Gurgaon, locating a name on the voters list was a tiresome job at a point of time. However, the voters of Gurgaon Assembly constituency can breathe easy

this time. Gurgaon has perhaps become the first city in the country to get a Geographic Information System (GIS) based map-enabled search for voter identification.

Featured on the website of Haryana Chief Electoral Officer, the 'GIS Search for Gurgaon' enables a Gurgaon voter to scan the map of the constituency right up to the street-level and locate all polling stations. After locating the polling station, he can search the voters list to locate his name.

Philippines

First e-Governance Centre of Excellence

Oracle Philippines Corporation, HewlettPackard Philippines Corporation, Red Hat, Inc. through its local distributor Touch Solutions Inc., and the National Computer Centre (NCC) have jointly launched the first e-Governance Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Philippines.

The basic goal of establishing such a centre is to empower national government agencies (NGAs) and local government units by providing access to Information Technology (IT) and showcasing global best practices for e-Governance. The e-Governance Centre of Excellence would provide services like technical consultation, proof of concept, and thematic presentations. The centre will probably give 39

birth to some kind of interest amongst the decision makers in NGAs and LGUs who are embarking on or implementing e-Governance projects. The centre will also showcase e-Government architecture, with particular emphasis on open technology systems and standards, and would help the government to obtain industry-leading ICT skills and solutions at much lower costs.

Moreover, the centre would offer software architecture and solutions, hardware, training, support and consultancy services to government agencies.

This is expected to result in the public sector minimising costs and risks associated with implementing systems to transform operational processes and enhance capabilities for e-Governance.

Newgen software gets e-Gov deal Newgen Software, a document management and business process management solutions provider, bagged a Philippines Pesos 130 million project from the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and File Net. The e-Governance project commissioned

by Philippines’ Securities & Exchange Commission and Bureau of Internal Revenues evolves a system that allows electronic filing of quarterly and annual returns by corporate entities.

ESRI Ireland will deploy the EUR 1 million Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) systems that would be charged with generating capital valuations of properties in Northern Ireland to replace 1970s-based rental valuations. The old valuations do not take into account the location of properties, which, the VLA says, is a key factor in determining a property’s worth. and 200) into businesses with at least 200-member staff by 2008 is one of the plans. The other plan is to establish a virtual advisor to give online business advice, particularly for regional businesses. The programme would help to promote the creative talents of the Queensland ICT industry with state and federal government agencies. The Queensland government, the single biggest customer of the Sunshine State’s IT industry is projected to spend over 1 billion dollars (Australian) every year on ICT over the next three years. The government will conduct annual surveys of the ICT industry to monitor programme expenditures and implementation.

The Queensland government is planning to spend USD 18.5 million on the ICT sector over the next four years in an endeavour to reinforce the local technology industry and to enhance exports.

The transformation of medium-sized companies (staff strength between 20 40

Computerised information on land data

Ireland

ESRI goes for eGovernance deal

Australia

Queensland government to reinforce ICT

Kenya

The Valuation and Land Agency (VLA) of Northern Ireland has awarded a contract to The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to implement a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)based system, which would enable it to re-evaluate all properties in Northern Ireland to gain more accurate property valuation, and to comply with industry standards.

For basic land dealing, Kenya is going to make available all information on land through computers with the help of the Geographic Information Model System technology. The pilot project, undertaken for the Kenya Institute of Survey and Mapping by the Japanese International Corporation Agency, will roll out in other parts of the country, with Mombassa as the next stop.

NEWS REVIEW

is compiled

from various online resources and print publications. www.egovonline.net |

FACTS AND DATA

e-Government readiness Readiness ranking: South Asia Country Index 2004 Global ranking in 2004 2003 Maldives 0.4106 78 79 India 0.3879 86 87 Sri Lanka 0.3748 96 84 Pakistan 0.3042 122 137 Nepal 0.2807 132 130 Bangladesh 0.1788 159 159 Bhutan 0.1590 165 161

Readiness rankings 2004: top 25 Rank

Change +1 +1 -12 +15 -2 0 -4

Global access divide 2004

Readiness rankings: South & Eastern Asia Country Index 2004 Republic of Korea Singapore Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Brunei Darussalam China Mongolia Indonesia Viet Nam Myanmar Cambodia Lao People’s Dem. Rep. Timor-Leste

0.8575 0.8340 0.7260 0.5409 0.5260 0.5096 0.4632 0.4356 0.4152 0.3909 0.3378 0.3031 0.2859 0.2329 0.0463

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Country

United States Denmark United Kingdom Sweden Republic of Korea Australia Canada Singapore Finland Norway Netherlands Germany New Zealand Iceland Switzerland Belgium Austria Japan Ireland Estonia Malta Chile Israel France Luxembourg Average World average

E-Government Readiness Index

0.9132 0.9047 0.8852 0.8741 0.8575 0.8377 0.8369 0.8340 0.8239 0.8178 0.8026 0.7873 0.7811 0.7699 0.7538 0.7525 0.7487 0.7260 0.7058 0.7029 0.6877 0.6835 0.6805 0.6687 0.6600 0.7798 0.4127

Global ranking in 2004 5 8 18 42 47 50 63 67 75 85 112 123 129 144 174

2003 13 12 18 43 33 56 55 74 103 70 97 126 134 149 169

Change +8 +4 0 +1 -14 +6 -8 +7 +28 -15 -15 +3 +5 +5 -5

[Compiled from United Nations Global e-Government Readiness Report 2004]

| January – February 2005

41

ABOUT TOWN

This section lists upcoming conferences, exhibitions, and other public events for the benefit of our readers 27 January 2005 Local e-gov EXPO London www.localegovnp.org.uk/events/expo 27-28 January 2005 3rd ICT for Government Conference Ghana www.techgov.gh/

17-18 March 2005 Eastern Europe e-GOV Days 2005 www.ocg.at/egov/eeegovdays05.html 20-22 March 2005 hrGov 2005 USA http://www.convurge.com/hrgov2005/

23–24 February 2005 eGov-Interop'05 Annual Conference Switzerland www.egovinterop.net

15-18 May 2005 National Conference on Digital Government Research USA dgrc.org/dgo2005

02-04 March 2005 TED Conference on eGovernment Italy www.inf.unibz.it/tcgov2005

01-02 June 2005 Web-Enabled Government 2005 USA WEG2005@e-gov.com

14-16 March 2005 e-GOV Days 2005 Austria www.ocg.at/egov/eeegovdays05.html

04-08 June 2005 Mountain Communities Conference ‘05 Canada http://www.banffcentre.ca

16-17 June 2005 5th European Conference on eGovernment ECEG2005 Belgium www.academic-conferences.org 10-12 July 2005 EURO mGOV 2005: Mobile Government Conference United Kingdom www.icmg.mgovernment.org/ 22-26 August 2005 EGOV05 International Conference on E-Government Denmark confadmin@faw.uni-linz.ac.at 17-19 November 2005 Conference Alerts USA www.worldses.org/conferences/2005/ florida/e-activities/index.html

How far are you?

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