E - GOVERNANCE [INTRODUCTION]

MEANING OF E - GOVERNANCE

E-Governance - the use of IT to improve the ability of government to address the needs of
society. It includes the publishing of policy and program related information to transact with
citizens. It extends beyond provision of on-line services and covers the use of IT for strategic
planning and reaching development goals of the government

E-Governance is the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies with
the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in
the decision-making process and making government more accountable, transparent and
effective.

E-Governance involves new styles of leadership, new ways of debating and deciding policy
and investment, new ways of accessing education, new ways of listening to citizens and new
ways of organizing and delivering information and services.

E-governance may be understood as the performance of this governance via the electronic
medium in order to facilitate an efficient, speedy and transparent process of disseminating
information to the public, and other agencies, and for performing government administration
activities.

E-governance is generally considered as a wider concept than e-government, since it can

bring about a change in the way how citizens relate to governments and to each other.

E-governance can bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of citizen needs and
responsibilities. Its objective is to engage, enable and empower the citizen.

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 E - GOVERNANCE [INTRODUCTION]

E - Governance and E - Government

e-Governance and e-Government are two very distinct terms. Whereas e-Governance is a
broader topic that deals with the whole spectrum of the relationship and networks within
government regarding the usage and application of ICTs, e-Government is a narrower
discipline dealing with the development of online services to the citizen, i.e. government
services – such as e-agriculture, e-passport, e-tax, e-transportation, e-health, etc. E-
Governance is a wider concept that defines and assesses the impact that technologies are
having on the practice and administration of governments and the relationships between
public servants and the civil society, and dealings with the elected bodies or outside groups,
such as not-for-profit organizations, NGOs or private sector corporate entities. E-Governance
encompasses a series of necessary steps for government agencies to develop and administer,
in order to ensure successful implementation of e-government services to the public at large.
E-Government or Electronic Government is the delivery of more convenient, customer-
oriented and cost effective public services and sharing of information through electronic
media. Specifically, e-Government harnesses information and communication technologies
(such as Wide Area Networks, the Internet, and mobile computing) to transform relations
with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. E-government is an administration
where citizens can avail of government services such as land records, filing of tax, etc,
E-Government is also defined as the use of Information and Communication Technologies to
provide better government services. It refers to more efficient, more transparent and
potentially two-way information flow between the government and citizens. E-Governance is
socially inclusive governance with the promise of good governance and effective
participation and inclusion of citizens.

E-Governance is the development, deployment and enforcement of the policies, laws and
regulations, necessary to support the functioning of a Knowledge Society as well as of e-
Government. E-Governance brings about ‘anytime anywhere access’ to the citizen. E-
governance is about transforming the relationship between governments and their citizens
through the use of information technologies, and that E-government is about delivering
government services using information technologies.

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 E - GOVERNANCE [INTRODUCTION]

PURPOSE OF E-GOVERNANCE

The purpose of implementing e-governance is to enhance good governance. Good

governance is generally characterized by participation, transparency and accountability. The
recent advances in communication technologies and the Internet provide opportunities to
transform the relationship between governments and citizens in a new way, thus contributing
to the achievement of good governance goals. The use of information technology can
increase the broad involvement of citizens in the process of governance at all levels by
providing the possibility of on-line discussion groups and by enhancing the rapid
development and effectiveness of pressure groups. Advantages for the government involve
that the government may provide better service in terms of time, making governance more
efficient and more effective. In addition, the transaction costs can be lowered and government
services become more accessible.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

With the sole mission of bringing district administration closer to the common people thus
offering efficient and effective services, E governance is evolved with the following
objectives.

To provide a friendly, affordable, speedier and efficient interface between the government
and the public.
To ensure greater transparency, efficiency, objectivity, accountability and speed that can
help tackle most of the maladies of the government by providing efficient services to the
public.
To provide responsive and transparent services to the citizens of the state.
To provide cost effective service and at the same time improving the quality of service.
To provide a single window for government services at district level.

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