E-governance involves using information and communication technologies to make governance more efficient, transparent and accessible. It aims for simple, moral, accountable, responsive and transparent governance. E-governance can provide one-stop services to citizens through applications like e-citizen centers, e-transport, e-medicine and e-education. It offers benefits like increased speed, reduced costs, improved transparency and accountability, and greater convenience and access to information for citizens. However, challenges include lack of trust, resistance to change, the digital divide, high costs, and privacy and security concerns.

1. E-Governance
Nisha Robin Rohit
Assistant Professor
AMET

2. Definition of e-Governance
Electronic governance or e-governance implies government functioning with the application of ICT (Information and
Communications Technology). Hence e-Governance is basically a move towards SMART governance implying: simple,
moral, accountable, responsive and transparent governance.

4. What is SMART Governance?
 Simple — implies simplification of rules and regulations of the government and avoiding complex processes with the
application of ICTs and therefore, providing a user-friendly government.
 Moral — meaning the emergence of a new system in the administrative and political machinery with technology
interventions to improve the efficiency of various government agencies.
 Accountable — develop effective information management systems and other performance measurement mechanisms
to ensure the accountability of public service functionaries.
 Responsive — Speed up processes by streamlining them, hence making the system more responsive.
 Transparent — providing information in the public domain like websites or various portals hence making functions and
processes of the government transparent.

5. Need for e-Governance
 Countries have recognized Information Technology (IT) as an effective tool in
catalysing and achieving a efficient and effective governance.
 Hence, countries have made considerable investments in it and are successfully
integrated it with their present policies and process, thereby reaping the benefits to
their society.
 In India also these developments have been noted and considerable efforts have been
undertaken by central and various state governments and their implementation
agencies to deliver the benefits to the masses.

6. This age of digital economy is continuously evolving and due to which, the concept of
governance has also undergone lots of change with resulting in various questions to be
answered by all stakeholders like
 How government can become more responsive and accessible?
 How can political and bureaucracy can provide better Government services
 How can the government use advanced technologies for transferring benefits,
improving health care and education.

7. These questions have been addressed with adoption of e-governance. The e-
Governance has consequently become an accepted methodology involving the
use of Information Technology for
Improving transparency
Providing information speedily to all citizens at any time of the day
Improving administration and bureaucratic efficiency
Improving public services such as transportation, power, health, water and
security.
Accomplishing all the above in cost-effective manner

8. Today, a country like India, with 1.2 billion population, more than 600,000 villages,
increasing aspirations of the citizens for better quality of life outlines the use of
Information Technology in improving government processes has not just become vital
but essential and without which it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
serve its citizens efficiently and transparently and ensure participation of larger number
of people in decision making at all levels of Government – Centre, State and local.

9. Challenges in e-governance
There are large numbers of potential barriers in the implementation of e-Governance. Some hindrance in
the path of implementation, like security, unequal access to the computer technology by the citizen, high
initial cost for setting up the e government solutions and resistance to change. Challenges identified as
trust, resistance to change, digital divide, cost and privacy and security concerns.
Trust
 Trust can be defined along two dimensions: as an assessment of a current situation, or as an innate
personality traitor predisposition.
 Recently, confidential information on military veterans was compromised when a computer containing
their personal information was lost.
 This type of incident can erode trust and user confidence in government systems.

10. Resistance to change:
The resistant to change phenomenon can explain much of the hesitation that occurs on the
part of constituents in moving from a paper based to a Web-based system for interacting with
government.
 Digital Divide
The digital divide refers to the separation that exists between individuals, communities,
and businesses that have access to information technology and those that do not have
such access.

11.  An individual living below poverty line does not afford a computer for himself to harness
the benefits of e-government and other online services.
 As the digital divide narrows, broader adoption of e-government in the public domain
becomes possible.
 Economic poverty is not the only cause of digital divide.
 It can also be caused by the lack of awareness among the people.
 Even some of the economic stable people don’t know about the scope of e -governance.

12. Cost
 Cost is one of the most important prohibiting factor that comes in the path of e-
governance implementation particularly in the developing countries like India
where most of the people living below the poverty line.
 Elected officers and politician don’t seem to be interested in implementing e-
governance.

13. Privacy and Security
 There will be three basic levels of access exists for e-government stakeholders:
 no access to a Web service;
 limited access to a Web-service or
 full-access to a Web service
 However when personal sensitive data exists the formation of the security
access policy is a much more complex process with legal consideration.
 With the implementation of e-government projects, effective measures must
be taken to protect sensitive personal information.
 A lack of clear security standards and protocols can limit the development of
projects that contain sensitive information such as income, medical history.

15. Following are the advantages of E-Governance
Speed:
Technology makes communication speedier.
Internet, Phones, Cell Phones have reduced the time taken in normal communication.
Cost Reduction:
Most of the Government expenditure is appropriated towards the cost of stationary.
Paper-based communication needs lots of stationary, printers, computers, etc. which calls
for continuous heavy expenditure.
Internet and Phones makes communication cheaper saving valuable money for the
Government.

16. Transparency:
 Use of ICT makes governing profess transparent. All the information of the Government would be
made available on the internet.
 The citizens can see the information whenever they want to see.
 But this is only possible when every piece of information of the Government is uploaded on the
internet and is available for the public to peruse.
 Current governing process leaves many ways to conceal the information from all the people.
 ICT helps make the information available online eliminating all the possibilities of concealing of
information.

17. Accountability:
Once the governing process is made transparent the Government is automatically made
accountable. Accountability is answerability of the Government to the people.
It is the answerability for the deeds of the Government.
An accountable Government is a responsible Government.
Convenience:
 E-Government brings public services to citizens on their schedule and their venue.

18. Improved Customer Service:
 E-Government allows to redeploy resources from back-end processing to the front line of
customer service.
Increased access to information:
E-Government improves the accessibility of government information to citizens allowing it
become an important resource in the making the decisions that affect daily life and so it helps in
empowerment of citizens

19. Applications of e-governance
Government To Citizen (G2C)
G2C will aim at connecting citizens to government
by talking to citizens and supporting accountability,
by listening to citizens and
supporting democracy, and
by improving public services.
It will involve better services to the citizens through single point delivery mechanism
and will involve areas like:

20. •E-Citizen
Under e-citizen integrated service centers are created.
The purpose of these centers is to provide various customer services.
It offers services like issue of Certificates, Ration Cards, Passports,
Payment of Bills and taxes etc.
These centers will become one-stop Government Shops for delivery of all
services.
Applications of e-governance

21. • E-Transport
The transport aspects that can be easily e-governed include:
Registration of motor vehicles, Issue of driving licenses, Issue of plying permissions
(Permits), Tax and fee collection through Cash and Bank Challans and Control of
Pollution.
• E-Medicine
It involves linking of various hospitals in different parts of the country, thus providing
better medical services to the citizen.
Applications of e-governance

22. •E-Education
E-Education constitutes various initiatives of educating the citizen and the
Government with the various Information Technologies.
•E-Registration
E-Governing the registration and transfer of the properties and stamp duty to be paid
thereon brings substantial reduction of paper work and reduces the duplicating of
entries. Further the transparency in work increases and the overall time of process
registration reduces.
Applications of e-governance