29 March 2024

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS:

Q1. Although e-government in India has advanced significantly in recent years, there are still a number of obstacles standing in the way of its full potential. Analyse.

GS IV – E-Governance-related issues

Introduction:

• Using what is now known as information and communications technology to carry out governance’s tasks and achieve its goals is essentially what e-government is all about. In essence, it is the integration of ICT into government operations to promote “Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent” (SMART) governance.

Interaction Types in India’s e-Government:

• G2G (Government to Government): In this scenario, information and communication technology (ICT) is utilised to improve the flow of information and services both within and between various government bodies, as well as to reorganise the governmental procedures involved in their operation. For instance, the Government of Karnataka’s Khajane initiative is a comprehensive online treasury computerization initiative. As a result of the initiative, the State Government of Andhra Pradesh’s whole treasury-related operation is now computerised, or SmartGov.
• G2C (Government to Citizens): In this instance, the government and citizens have established an interface that allows the citizens to take advantage of the effective provision of a wide range of public services. Examples include the Department of Land Resources in the Government of India’s computerization of land records, the Bhoomi Project in Karnataka, the Revenue Administration through Computerised Energy (RACE) Billing Project in Bihar, and the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to professional colleges.
• G2B (Government to Business): In this context, e-Government solutions help the business community—which consists of suppliers of goods and services—interact with the government more easily. The goal is to decrease bureaucracy, save time, save operating expenses, and improve transparency in the corporate environment while doing business with the government. For instance, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has executed the MCA 21 Mission Mode Project under the NeGP; the e-Procurement Project in Andhra Pradesh
• G2E: Government to Employees: As the largest employer, the government must regularly communicate with its workforce, just like any other company. Using ICT tools contributes to higher employee satisfaction levels. Project Biometric Attendance, for instance.

Difficulties with e-Government:

• Different Language: People from a variety of cultures and religions reside in India. Since e-Government apps are developed in English, a major obstacle to implementing these initiatives is the diversity of persons in language contexts.
• Low Literacy: India has an extremely low literacy rate, which makes it difficult to implement e-Government initiatives. The initiatives don’t succeed much because illiterate individuals can’t use the e-Government apps.
• Government websites’ usability: e-Government users are frequently non-expert users who might not be able to utilise the programmes correctly.
• Services are not easily accessible: Despite the fact that the number of Internet users is increasing, a sizable portion of the Indian populace is unable to participate in e-Government initiatives for a variety of reasons.
• India’s population is likely the largest obstacle to the implementation of e-government initiatives.
• Absence of integrated services: The majority of state and federal government-provided e-government services are not integrated.
• Cost: Given that a large portion of the population in developing nations like India lives below the poverty line, cost is one of the biggest barriers to the adoption of e-Government in those countries.
• Privacy and Security: Ensuring the privacy and security of personal data provided by individuals seeking government services is a crucial challenge in the implementation of e-Government.

The next steps:

• Establishing a friendly atmosphere is essential to the successful execution of e-Government projects. This ought to be accomplished by
• fostering and exhibiting a change-oriented mindset within the government
• Offering political backing at the highest possible level
• Encouraging e-Government and conquering government resistance to change
• raising public awareness in an effort to spark a change-related demand.
• The acceptance of e-governance by both citizens and government workers is necessary for its benefits to materialise.
• This will foster a positive cycle of co-creation, learning, and efficiency by encouraging departments to work together as well as with nongovernmental partners.
• A first step has been taken with the use of Common Service Centres for government-to-citizen services, guidance for farmers, digital welfare benefit payments through bank accounts, etc.

Q2. How does smart governance work? Talk about how it can help build a more responsive, citizen-focused government that uses technology to make decisions and provide services more efficiently.

GS IV – E-Governance related issues

Introduction:

• The potential of information and communication technologies (ICT) to create good governance in its application is being recognised by more astute governance structures. E-governance is the general word used to describe this use of ICTs for governance.
• India, one of the most populous, democratic, and geographically expansive nations, has significant obstacles when attempting to use e-governance to empower its people and promote general economic development, particularly in rural areas.

Benefits of Smart Governance:

• Data-Driven Governance: Communication is made easier by technology. High volumes of data can now be transmitted instantly thanks to the Internet and cellphones, which supports efficient government.
• Savings: The expense of purchasing stationery for official use accounts for a large portion of government spending.
• Stationery is used extensively in correspondence and written records. On the other hand, swapping them out with smartphones and the internet can result in annual cost savings of crores.
• Transparency: Using e-governance contributes to the transparency of all company operations. You can upload all official documents to the internet.
• Particularly, the citizens have access to any information at any time and at their discretion.
• Accountability: Openness and accountability go hand in hand. The public has greater access to government functions and information, which makes the government more responsible for its actions.
• Effective land monitoring is necessary in India, a sizable developing nation with a complex land tenure system.
• Online record maintenance is a crucial component of e-governance in India, since it helps to guarantee that transactions pertaining to properties are not fraudulent in addition to physical transactions.
• MyGov: It seeks to provide a conduit between the public and the government in order to achieve good governance. It invites residents and visitors from overseas to take part in a variety of activities, such as “Do,” “Discuss,” “Poll,” “Talk,” “Blog,” etc.
• DigiLocker: This platform allows users to safely store and distribute their documents to service providers so they can view them electronically directly.
• The e-Hospital-Online Registration Framework (ORF) is a programme designed to make it easier for patients to schedule online out-of-office appointments at public hospitals. Medical record management, laboratory services, and patient care are also included in this framework.
• The National Scholarships Portal (NSP) offers students applying for and receiving scholarships from all scholarship programmes a single, accessible platform.
• DARPAN is an online tool that the State can use to track and evaluate the progress of important and high-priority projects. It makes it easier to present current data on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of chosen plans and projects to senior State Government and district administration officials.
• Establishing a culture of Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation is the goal of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation). Additionally, it is a strong system that facilitates real-time presence and communication among the main stakeholders while offering e-transparency and e-accountability. 2015 saw its launch.
• The country’s rural areas are utilising Common Services Centres 2.0 (CSC 2.0) to develop and facilitate the use of information technology. The CSCs are broadband-connected information and communication technology (ICT) kiosks that offer a range of public, business, and government services right to citizens’ doorsteps.
• Mobile Seva: It offers citizens access to government services via smartphones and tablets.
• Jeevan Pramaan is a biometric authentication system for pensioners based on Aadhaar. The Digital Life Certificate is authenticated by the system without requiring the pensioner to appear in person before their Pension Dispensing Authority (PDA).
• The Geographic Information System (GIS) platform for sharing, collaboration, location-based analytics, and decision support for departments has been established under the National Centre of Geo-informatics (NCoG) initiative.
• The National e-Government Plan (NeGP) integrates state-wide e-Government efforts into a unified vision and common goal by taking an integrated approach to them. Approved in 2006, it consists of 31 Mission Mode Projects that were eventually incorporated into the Digital India Programme.
• While implementing e-Governance changes in different parts of the country, it is important to keep in mind that different States in India have varying levels of preparation for electronic government.
• Currently, the nation is home to several prosperous initiatives. However, there aren’t many that apply to the entire country. Equitable replication and upgrading of successful models is required across the nation.