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E-panchayats: a case for democratizing decentralization

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 Reference: Manoj, D & Belwal, R. 2007. E-panchayats: a case for democratizing decentralization. In Sudha
Menon (ed.), Panchayati Raj: Perspectives and Experiences. India: ICFAI Books, pp. 56–76.
ISBN-13: 978-8131412039

E Panchayats: A Case for Democratizing Decentralization

Dr. Manoj Dixit

Reader (Associate Professor)
Department of Public Administration
University of Lucknow
Lucknow – India

Dr. Rakesh Belwal

Assistant Professor
Department of Management
Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa – Ethiopia

Abstract: The quality of democracies is known by the way these handle information. Inaccurate and
distorted information leads to malfunctions in the system. The notion of e-governance is though attracting such
democracies, but linking such information for better governance in the absence or lack of basic infrastructure
and human skills makes the task difficult.
India –being one of the biggest democracies needs to do much more in terms of eGovernance. Central as
well as several State governments are targeting their citizens with more access to information technology,
however the user groups makes the dead end on the information highway. Their participation is somehow
conservative in all such initiatives. The present paper tries to illustrate various such initiatives taken and the
problems encountered by India at the micro level. A review based approach followed by multidimensional
analysis is resorted to present the facts, figures, comparisons and suggestions that could help decision makers
and other interest groups in evolving better e-Governance mechanisms.

Key Words: e-Governance, India, ICT, democracy, e-Governance projects

Preface
It's well known that Governance, inter alia, refers to modes of managing public institutions in terms of
effectiveness and legitimacy. E-Governance as mode of managing such public institutions is getting fast
legitimized globally albeit with different degrees of effectiveness. Countries across the world are employing e-
governance as a means of attaining participation, adherence to law, transparency, and accountability.
Characteristics such as independence, transparency, disclosure of pertinent information, common interest,
quality-practices, process-base, responsible, accountable, practical and reliable are being coined to reflect good
governance. E-governance in the present context is being looked as governance that is entrepreneurial,
reinvented as also responsive.1 Reduction in procedural delays, red-tapism and corruption amidst increased
participation, communication, and single window clearance are some of the major benefits that are being cited
in its favor.2
The emergence of the new information and communication technologies is adding value to the existing
processes in terms of identity, form and relationships that characterize Good Governance. ICT is being
witnessed as change agent that describes how well Governments reshape and implement newer sets of
responsibilities for the executive, legislature and the citizenry. As one of the frontline applications to re-invent
the way, E-governance is meant to ensure better transparency and services to the public.3
Internet is one of the important means of causing e-governance. Conducting several aspects of
government business operations over the Internet is in different stages across and within different countries.
The stages differ in terms of information, interaction, and transaction. Moreover, it is usual to find the
situations where resources are present but governance is missing and vice versa. This conundrum is one among
the factors causing digital divide. The concept of e-governance is gaining warm welcome on the technological
front, but on the participation front the situation is somewhat skewed towards inhibition. Still there are doubts
whether e-governance will be applicable in developing countries? However, it is being looked as the
developing governance which can bridge the gap between the developing and the developed world altogether
in times ahead. The world is currently being affected by digital divide, for the richest 20% of the world’s
people accounts for more than 90 % of internet users. It's surprising to note that South Asia, having home to
23% of the world’s people, has less than 1% of internet users. In spite of that, internet's adoption globally has

1
generated sound waves in certain sectors and the ripples of those can help bringing public and governments
closer. However, challenges are there imposing hurdles in-between. The hurdles like literacy- both general and
computer, low degree of vernacular bent, infrastructural disparities, and behavioral ones- like resistance to
change and nimbleness needed for updates and online replies, are more or less acting as retarding agents to the
drive.

Indian Scenario
In India both government and enlightened citizen expect IT-driven public-private partnerships become the
order of the day. The last couple of years have seen e-governance dropping roots in India offering government
services to a large base of people across different segments and geographical locations.4 At present, the status
of e-Governance in India presents a wide variation in the level of computerization and the use of IT enabled
applications within and outside the Government. In spite of sustained efforts, the entire Government machinery,
especially in the States has not yet become fully available for the use of computerization and other IT
applications.
Notwithstanding, India has gained considerably in terms of Internet access in the recent past. The growth
rate of 684%1 in last five years and the rise in number of internet users makes hope for the planers to use this
media for reaching the mass with least ambiguity or aberrations. 5 However, such growth seems to be
superficial when looked upon the perspective of tele-density. India still has poor penetration of telephone lines
– that could be attributed as the live vessels for e-governance. Table-1 presents the performance of Indian
states in terms of tele-density occupying extremes. The highest numbers of lines in the national capital Delhi
(27 per 100 inhabitants) and lowest in Bihar (1.3 per 100 inhabitants) presents the microscopic view of highly
deviated connectivity. The distribution of other states within these two extremes is skewed more towards the
latter. This brings the initial doubt whether e-governance is relevant at all for India in the present context.
Table- 1 Top 5 V/s Worst 5 Indian State in terms of Teledensity (x lines per 100 inhabitants)

TOP FIVE STATES WORST FIVE STATES

URBAN RURAL TOTAL URBAN RURAL
Delhi 30.2 0 26.9 Bihar 9.3 0.5
Punjab 25.7 4.6 11.6 Chattisgarh 5.6 0.4
Kerala 23.7 7.9 11.1 Jharkhand 6.1 0.4
Andaman & 15 7.7 9.6 Assam 11.5 0.5
Nicobar
Maharashtra 19.3 2.2 9 Uttar 8.8 0.6
Pradesh
Source: Adapted from Ministry of Communications and Information Technology *As on 31 March 2003
data

In spite of all the odds, India glitters off and on amid such dark clouds of apprehensions. Several E-
governance projects have got the attention of the world in India for their uniqueness and success. Table- 2
reveals some of E-governance initiatives taken by India. However, compiling a comprehensive list seems even
difficult for Indian government, for most of these projects have not been recorded as implemented by Indian
government in its official website. Diagram-1 shows outcome of an online enquiry conducted on online
database of Indian Government. Several states were found to have a zero status in terms of implementation of
E-Governance projects in contrast to the initiatives mentioned in Table-2.

Table- 2 Some E-governance Initiatives in Indian States

State/Union Initiatives covering departmental automation, user charge collection,
Territory delivery of policy/programme information and delivery of entitlements
Andhra e-Seva, CARD, VOICE, MPHS, FAST, e-Cops, AP online-One-stop-

1
World Internet Users and Population Stats. Internet Usage Statistics-The Big Picture.
www.InternetWorldStats.com/ accessed on 21.01.2006
2
 Pradesh shop on the Internet, Saukaryam, Online Transaction processing, APSWAN
(Andhra Pradesh State Wide Area Network), Grama Dootha
Bihar Sales Tax Administration Management Information
Chattisgarh Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society, Treasury office, e-linking
project
Delhi Automatic Vehicle Tracking System, Computerisation of website of RCS
office, Electronic Clearance System, Management Information System for
Education etc
Goa Dharani Project
Gujarat Mahiti Shakti, request for Government documents online, Form book
online, G R book online, census online, tender notice. The Dairy Information
System Kiosk (DISK), Citizen Services Portal (CSP), Vishwa Gram Project,
Gyan Ganga Project
Haryana Nai Disha
Himachal Lok Mitra
Pradesh
Karnataka Bhoomi, Khajane, Kaveri, Bellandur, Karnataka, ICT Enabled Gram
Panchayat
Kerala e-Srinkhala, RDNet, Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for the
Disbursement of Services (FRIENDS)
Kolkata Connecting the Cops WAN
Madhya Gyandoot, Gram Sampark, Smart Card in Transport Department,
Pradesh Computerization MP State Agricultural Marketing Board (Mandi Board) , E-
Gram Suvidha, Headstart
Maharashtra SETU, Online Complaint Management System, Mumbai; The
Telemedicine Project, The Warana Wired Villages Initiative, One Village One
Computer (1V1C)
Punjab Punjabsewa, Sukhmani
Rajasthan Jan Mitra, RajSWIFT, Lokmitra, RajNIDHI
Tamil Nadu Rasi Maiyams Kanchipuram; Application forms related to public utility,
tender notices and display
North Community Information Center. Forms available on the Meghalaya
Eastern States website under schemes related to social welfare, food civil supplies and
consumer affairs, housing transport etc.
Source: Adapted from E-GOVERNANCE: 20 Hot eGov Projects in India, from
http://www.dqindia.com/content/top_stories/103101501.asp accessed on 12.06.2006

It is surprising to note that Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli,
Daman & Diu , Himachal Pradesh , Lakshwadeep , Mizoram , Sikkim , Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and
Uttaranchal don’t have any e-Government projects implemented as per the government records. This explains
varied degree of initiatives and commitments in terms of e-Governance implementation in India. However,
somehow the listing of projects in government of India website seems to have fallen victim to lethargic
updates and it is true that some of these states are running major e-governance projects. This reveals the
mismanagement among those on whom lies the responsibility of managing e-governance projects.
Diagram-1 The Status of E-Governance Projects in Indian States (Year-2006)

3
 States Having More Than 10 E-Gov States Having Less Than 10 E-Gov
Projects Im plem ented in India Projects Im plem ented in India

Assam 10 Nagaland 1

Manipur 14 Goa 1

Pondicherry 20 Bihar 1

Madhya Pradesh 21 Orissa 2

Gujarat 21 Jharkhand 2

Andhra Pradesh 23 Chandigarh 2

Haryana 25 Jammu & Kashmir 3

Tripura 27 Meghalaya 4
West Bengal 29 Kerala 4
Maharashtra 38 Delhi 4

0 10 20 30 40 Rajasthan 5

No. of Projects Karnataka 5

0 2 4 6

Source: Secured through online state-wise query on National Data on E-Governance Projects at
http://www.egovdatabase.gov.in/selectstate.jsp on 8th July 2006. (The site Last Modified on: Thursday
December 22, 2005)
Information is one of the most potent revolutionary forces, which can help in bridging the knowledge
disparity in the country. In addition to generate a sustained revenue stream for those directly involved, e-
governance can extend access to education, health care, markets, financial services, vocational skills, and
administrative services to the public. In other words, it can pave the way for democratizing decentralization by
empowering people with information thereby eliminating intermediary exploitation in the production and
distribution chains and increasing government accountability.
However, this requires a higher degree of e-preparedness among the stakeholders. India’s e-preparedness
is fairly lopsided with respect to success rates of e-programs launched in different parts of the country. Table-3
presents the region wise distribution of the states and their status in e-readiness. Within the regions too, e-
readiness of various Indian states varies on the continuum from one extreme to the other. While the states of
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh are the
leaders in this regard with high degree of penetration as well as preparedness6; there are states lagging with
similar intensities. A number of states have been found retaining the below optimal mark.

Table- 3 Regional Distribution of the States/UTs in terms of e-Readiness Index

Bel
As Ave Lea
ow
Reg Lea piring Expe rage st Tot
Average
ion ders Leader ctants Achiever Achiever al
Achiever
s s s
s
Cen 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
tral
East 0 0 1 1 1 2 5
Nort 1 3 0 2 2 0 8
h
Nort 0 0 0 1 3 4 8
h-east
Sout 3 1 1 0 0 1 6
h

4
 Wes 1 2 0 1 0 2 6
t
Source: INDIA: E-Readiness Assessment Report 2004

Since majority of India lives in rural areas, we need to have more projects for this sector for
democratizing the decentralization using e governance. The initiating efforts of establishing e-panchayats in
villages need strengthening and spread to states and people as well. Internet based services for birth and death
registrations, house tax assessment collections, trade licenses, old age pensions, works monitoring, financial
accounting; MIS for Panchayat administration are needed to be offered and executed immaculately in the
computerized e-Panchayat system. Some additional services like market prices and agricultural extension
advice being provided to the citizens of certain villages are further to be extended to other states, however in
customized context.7 Some of the successful "e-Panchayat" projects and other such programs in India are
Anantapur Rural (south) gram panchayat Andhra Pradesh 8 , E-panchayats' in Chattisgarh 9 , and process
automation based e-governance in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu.10 The efforts towards e-governance in
India are gaining momentum, albeit with varied intensities, magnitude and impact. India need not only need to
democratize decentralization using e-governance but also the experience and problems faced in implementing
those in pioneering projects. The description of three major projects that made an impeccable dent in the
society e-Choupal, Akshay and Bhoomi is being given in Table- 4:
Table- 4 Brief Description of Major E-Governance Projects
Project State Brief Description
Name
E- Madhya E-Choupals are created as a network of information centers equipped
2
Choupal Pradesh, with a computer connected to the Internet. The name is derived from the
Karnataka, Hindi word ‘choupal’ meaning a ‘traditional village gathering place’. The
Andhra ultimate objective is to set up enough number of e-Choupals in target states
Pradesh and so that a farmer has to travel no more than five kilometers to get to an e-
Uttar Pradesh Choupal. Each e-Choupal is intended to serve five to seven villages in this
5-km radius. It reaches out to more than a million farmers in nearly 11,000
villages through 2,000 kiosks across 4 states (Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). The average number of farmers with
access to a single e-Choupal is approximately 1,000.
Akshaya3 Kerela ‘Akshaya’ -a project implemented by IT Department, Government of
Kerala with Private Sector Participation, has been undertaken with the view
to bridge the digital divide by the successful dissemination of benefits of
Information Technology among people. It is expected to be the country’s
largest rural wireless network. It aims to improve public delivery of services
by bringing the benefits of e-governance and utility services like basic
connectivity to individual households in Kerala. As of now, there are 620
ICT centers, with each center servicing about 1000 families.
Bhoomi4 Karnataka “BHOOMI” is the first e-governance project of the Govt. of Karnataka
in Land Records Computerization System. It permits online updating of
land records making it radically different from land records systems
attempted elsewhere in India. The project facilitates computerized delivery
of 20 million rural land records to 6.7 million farmers through 177
Government owned kiosks in the Indian state of Karnataka which is fast
becoming the backbone for credible IT-enabled Government services for
the rural population, thus, bringing relief for the marginalized sections.
The concept of e-Governance and its implementation in leading states has provided experience, expertise
and strength for incorporating e-governance. With the passage of time, the concept is expected to become more
and more popular in the ‘things to do’ list of various states. Some states have already shown a strong
commitment towards its initial experimentation and final incorporation. A few such micro level initiatives

2
See, www.itcportal.com/ruraldevp_philosophy/echoupal.htm
3
See, http://www.akshaya.net/
4
See, www.revdept-01.kar.nic.in/bhoomi/home.htm
5
taken by various states are being covered as under which can help learning and implementing such projects
within and across all the states and union territories of India:

Andhra Pradesh
APSWAN (Andhra Pradesh State Wide Area Network)11
APSWAN is voice, data and video communication enabled network in the state of Andhra Pradesh in
India. The network connects the state secretariat with 25 centers and enables data transfer and exchanges
across government departments throughout the state with 2Mbps back bone for data voice and video
communication. In brief Government offices at the Secretariat, district collectorates and other offices at the
district level are the part of this network. The network aims to connect ‘Mandal’ headquarters, other towns and
eventually the villages either with dedicated line or Wireless or Dial Up facilities in future.
CARD12
CARD (Computer-Aided Administration of Registration Department) is another successful project of
electronic governance that has revolutionized the process of registration of legal documents at 214 offices in
the State of Andhra Pradesh. With its introduction, the quality and turnaround time for all registration services
have dramatically improved. The CARD project aims to support computerization of the land registration
process in the state.
GRAMA DOOTHA13
‘Grama Dootha’ aims to target the oppressed and depressed segments of the rural society by offering them an
Internet based Citizen to Government (C2G) platform for picking up appeals and grievances in Andhra Pradesh. It
intends to end the exploitation of villagers by the middlemen by helping them to contact government officials
directly, and facilitating interactions. Using this platform, even illiterate villagers can seek redressal of their
local problems. They can also inform to their public representatives to get online recommendations. The
objective is to create a cost-effective, replicable, economically self-reliant and financially viable model for taking
the benefits of Information and Technology (IT) to the rural masses.

Gujarat
The Dairy Information System Kiosk (DISK)14
The Dairy Information System Kiosk (DISK) project has helped in the automation of milk buying process
at 2,500 rural milk collection societies in Gujarat and has been tested in two cooperative villages. The
application has been developed with special features to enable speedier collection of milk and faster
disbursement of payments to dairy farmers.
The Mahitishakti15
The Mahitishakti portal provides a single window to citizens in Gujarat for accessing information related
to all the major aspects of the government's functioning and various benefit schemes. The project offers
services ranging from obtaining ration cards to sanction for old age pension.
Citizen Services Portal16
The Citizen Services Portal (CSP) was conceptualized jointly by the Panchmahal District Administration
(PDA), Gujarat and the Centre for Electronic Governance (CEG) at the Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad. CSP offers to the rural citizens an improved access to information on various government
schemes and services and also facilitates the process of applying for the same from their villages. The CSP is
expected to enhance transparency in government functioning and offer scope for improved service delivery.
Vishwa Gram Project17
The Viswa-Gram project module "e-Gram Panchayat Monitoring System" facilitates in maintaining
revenue records of village and in issuing of necessary certificates to citizens. This module is designed &
developed by National Informatics Centre. The project is being implemented in about 40 villages of Bhavnagar
District of Gujarat.
Gyan Ganga Project18
This is yet another ambitious program of the Gujarat Government. The project is based on three tier
structure having n-Logue, Local Service Providers (LSP) and Kiosk Operators. N-Logue acts as a central
agency responsible for planning, implementing, maintaining and monitoring all the projects. Local Service
Provider serves as an important interlink between n-Logue and the kiosk operators who actually run the ‘Gyan
Ganga’ centres. LSPs have strong entrepreneurial and IT skills as well as good rapport in the project covered
villages. The lower most level of the project consists of kiosk operators in the villages who with basic
knowledge of computers extends all the planned services to the rural folks.

6
 Himachal Pradesh
The Lokmitra Project19
Lokmitra is a program aimed at providing information about vacancies, tenders, market rates, matrimonial
services and e-mail services among the villagers. It further provides people a platform for filing the classified
complaints. The Lok Mitra Intranet set up at the district headquarters consists servers, client systems and a
router, set up in the form of a LAN at the deputy commissioner’s office. A total of 25 panchayats are targeted
with Citizen Information Centres (CIC). Local youth sign an agreement with the district Lok Mitra society by
paying a security amount. In that way, the project offers local youth an opportunity to run an enterprise.
Karnataka
Bellandur, Karnataka, Ict Enabled Gram Panchayat20
Bellandur is a small Gram Panchayat of over 10000 inhabitants just outside Bangalore and 4 surrounding
villages. The project exists in an organized way since 1999 and has speeded up processes, reduced the
workload, and has set off other developments. Following the computerization of tax collection, the panchayat
has recovered huge outstanding by limiting corruption. What makes this project unique is that it is an
independent initiative funded by the village development committee. Further, Bellandur airs its committee
meetings over cable television in 20 neighboring villages.
Kerala
Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network For Disbursement Of Services (Friends)21
The aim of the project is to provide a single-window payment mechanism for government-to-citizen
interaction in the state of Kerala. It started off as a pilot project in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram in
June 2000. With its subsequent statewide rollout started after June 2001, the project facilitates 1,000 types of
payment bills originating from various public sector units. Citizens walk into a FRIENDS center and are issued
tokens to avail the services within a computerized queue management minimizing waiting time. The project
aims to incorporate other services and geographical areas throughout the state.
Kerala Rd Net22
Kerala RD Net, networks 152 office blocks, and providers regular updates of various activities undertaken
in the state.
Madhya Pradesh
E-Gram Suvidha23
A pilot project has been undertaken in Chhatarpur District Panchayat to develop a suitable GIS-based
facility management information system (MIS) named as ‘e-gram suvidha’. e-gram suvidha is a GIS-based
decision support system (DSS) which can provide sector-wise thematic maps at a press of a key. The systems
offers block-wise thematic maps with panchayats, viewing of village boundaries on existing facilities such as
middle school, hand-pumps, transformers and markets, computation of distances, and village profiles. The
system also facilitates query generation and output in the form of maps and helps identify suitable locations for
the creation of facility based on norms used for planning.
The Gramsamprak24
This project is aimed at imposing reality check on services. Under the program a nodal officer is
designated to take feedback on basic services on monthly basis from all the villages. The report is compiled at
district level for actions and is reviewed by Chief Secretary, collectors and higher level officials. The objective
is to get first hand information about various welfare schemes and then let the people have smooth access to
information.
Gyandoot25
The Gyandoot project in MP was initiated in January 2000 by members of the Indian Administrative
Services in consultation with various gram panchayats in Dhar district. Under the project, a low cost, self-
sustainable, and community-owned rural Intranet system (Soochnalaya) has been installed that caters to the
specific needs of village communities in the district. With more than thirty-five centers managed by rural
youth, the project runs the Soochanalays and charges for the services that include agricultural information,
market information, health, education, women’s issues and applications for services delivered by the district
administration related to land ownership, affirmative action and poverty alleviation. The project has now been
replicated in 20 districts. Dial-up internet lines are used to offer services through Kiosks, which are to be
replaced by wireless connections in future.
Headstart26
Headstart- another grassroots level initiative in the State, is a programme for computer-enabled education
in rural elementary schools to improve the quality of learning. In addition to secure basic computer literacy,

7
Headstart aims to build multimedia rich lessons to impart effective learning by supplementing teaching.
Started with 648 schools, later crossing 2,070 mark in June 2003, it is India’s largest programme for computer-
enabled learning at the middle school level. It seeks to bridge the digital divide and takes computer-based
learning to rural schools.
Magarasgtra
The Telemedicine Project27
Telemedicine project aims to secure clinical information and records of patients in villages to be
converted into electronic digital data sent through ISDN/VSAT lines to a medical expert located in a tertiary
facility for providing expert opinion and advice. The first phase of the project targeted rural population of
50,000 from 1,500 families living in Aragonda and the surrounding six villages. Establishment of hospitals
having facilities such as CT scan, X-ray, a laboratory, minor and major operation theatres and an eight-bed
ICU have been realized in certain centers. The second phase of this project is proposed to connect 125 primary,
25 secondary and three tertiary healthcare centers in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh. The third phase would connect 2,500 primary centers, 500 secondary and 100 tertiary all over
the country.
The Warana Wired Villages Initiative28
The Warana “Wired Village” project in Maharashtra was initiated in 1998 by the Prime Minister’s Office
Information Technology (IT) Task Force. The stated goal of the project is not only to increase the efficiency
and productivity of the sugarcane co-operative, but also to provide a wide range of information services to 70
villages around Warana. The project aims at giving villagers access to information in local language about
crops and agricultural market prices, employment schemes from the government of Maharashtra, and
educational opportunities. However, some of the project’s features have not been implemented yet, which
include distance learning at IT centers, the digitalization of land records, and the connection of all of the
cooperative’s “business centers.”
One Village One Comprter (1V1C)
The project ‘One Village One Computer’ aims at introducing IT solutions in backward areas of the State
of Maharashtra. Setting up of information centers for a group of villages around each center has been
envisaged under this project. The centers are run by a local youth as an information + communication +
education centers for the region. All the information, contents are offered in the local language.

North-Eastern States
Sikkim is one of the remotest border states of India. Having started late, Sikkim is new to the concept of
eGovernance. However, to start with, 40 Community Information Centers (CIC) has been set up across the
remotest of regions within the State with computers, peripherals and a direct satellite link for internet access.
Community Information Centers are expected to ultimately evolve into a single window delivery facility
where citizens can pay their taxes, electricity bills, water and even get births and deaths registered online.
Notwithstanding, the Land Records, Electoral Rolls, Registration of vehicles, driving licenses, the treasury
have been computerized.
Punjab
Punjabsewa29
This is one of such initiatives taken in the state of Punjab. The mission of the Punjabsewa is to provide
citizens with the most up-to-date information and services and present it in a manner best suited to their needs.
The Punjabsewa is accessed by all Internet users on a 24/7 basis. In the initial phase, the Government is
providing information, procedures and applications forms for some of the most common services in the area of
transport, municipalities, pensions, revenue, common certificates, licenses, renewals, permissions, public
distribution, industry, electricity etc.
Rajasthan
The RAJ-SWIFT
Rajasthan's Department of Information Technology has developed a state-wide intranet called
'RAJSWIFT’. This system uses internet to facilitate online data, text and email communication between the
Office of the Chief Minister and the 32 District Collectors.
Lokmitra30
This provides access to govt transactions via internet and e-kiosks. It is equipped with five e-counters
connected to a central server. Any citizen can avail multiple services of different departments at these counters.
Tamilnadu

8
 RASI31: Rural Access to Services through Internet
RASI is a scaled up version of a pilot program called SARI (Sustainable Access in Rural India). It is a
demonstrative project which believes that the creation, deployment, and delivery of information and
communication services and technologies in rural areas leads to improvements in health, empowerment,
learning, and economic development in these communities - and very importantly - that such services can be
realized in an economically sustainable fashion.
The program focuses at inventing and deploying innovative and context-appropriate technologies,
applications, and highly localized content that lead to economic and social development; conduct of social and
economic impact assessment research of these technologies; testing and generating business models that lead
to profit generation and allow the services and technologies to be self sustaining; and benefiting from the
Network Effect that comes from connecting up a large number of communities and users, aggregating demand
and integrating markets.32
E Panchayat
E-Panchayat is a software product conceptualized, designed and developed by National Informatics
Centre, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, as a part of its E-governance initiatives. E-Panchayat has been designed
taking into consideration all the information and knowledge management requirements in a Gram Panchayat.
The 1992 Panchayatraj Act of Government of India, and the success stories of the Gram Panchayats in various
states in the country have been taken into consideration while developing e-Panchayat. The village
secretariats and the functions of the village secretary besides the elected representatives of the gram panchayat
are all considered in this package. Thus e-Panchayat fits well into the information systems at gram panchayat
level. The software is web enabled, and citizen-centric. Therefore, even with less overheads the village level
functionaries and the citizens are envisaged to benefit by e-Panchayat.
E-Governance at the village level is catching up with the Award winning gyandoot project. The various
services which can be included (currently being enabled by gyandoot model) are:
o Rate of Agricultural Commodities
o Online Registration of Application
o Online Grievance Redressal
o Land records
o Net Supported Health Services
o Rural E-mail
o Rural E-auction
o Matrimonial Alliances
o Information Regarding Government Programmes
o Ask Savaliram
o Ask the Experts
o Intimation on Social Issues
o Online Employment Exchange
o Application Forms
o Local weather Report
o Transparency in Government Functioning
o Emergency Services
o Timetables
o E-agenda
o E-newspaper
o Rural Innovators
o E-education
Being a new idea, it remains to be seen whether this can be transplanted to other States as well. This is
currently been run in the most e-savvy state of India – Andhra Pradesh.
E- Initiatives in India: Analysis and Discussion
There has always been a debate on problems of governance and administration in India. Administrators,
politicians, academics and citizens have been talking about good governance, transparency, corruption, ethics,
etc.33 To this effects, diverse projects on eGovernance have been launched by different state governments in
India. Being one of the biggest democracies, India has witnessed its implementation in a great fervor.
However, the implementation, progress and effectiveness across the states and union territories have been as
diverse as India is. Some state has really done well in terms of e-Governance projects conceptualization as well

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as implementation, whereas the progress has not been satisfactory for others. Various facts can be attributed to
this cause. However, the situation has not been similar across the states.
Current systems that are available in India are more secretive than transparent leading to inordinate delay
in providing information and services, to persons who want to access such information or who desire such
services. Corruption; lack of transparency; archaic rules and procedures; paper-based record keeping; urban-
centric offices leading to extreme inconveniences to rural folks; and overstaffing leading to inefficiency are
some other problems that an average Indian is facing. However, with more exposure and penetration, e-
Governance is likely to solve most of these problems if handled and implemented properly.
The failure to witness progress mainly accounts due to two major categories of factors: one- situational
and other functional. Among the situational factor, authors of this paper would like to put India's being the
developing country having affected by various social, economic and cultural constraints and the other like
utilization of resources, skill levels, motivation, commitment and participation. These factors either puts hurdle
on the establishment of e-governance projects or affects their functioning by making them inefficient, outdated
or non-participatory.
It is evident that hype of internet and technology has been very predominant among the rural masses and
they consider technology like the Aladdin’s lamp having high degree of expectation on it. However, such
functioning is difficult to attain without proper backend support, integration with other function and the proper
administration.
To secure public private partnership, most of the project takes the help of private entrepreneurs that act as
bridge between government bodies and individuals. The domain of control issues, individual capacities &
capabilities, self interest, expertise needed, and the faith of individuals on such intermediaries impose several
problems.
Moreover, the tendency of the implementer to become apathetic after the initial launch of the project
makes it altogether unsustainable. The government agencies lack in securing appraisals and feedbacks and the
projects jumps to decline stages without witnessing any growth or maturity.
An initial thought paper presented by the authorities in India plans to secure 60% funds from the private
sector 5 to mobilize the private sector needs a proactive approach on the part of government. Lack of
entrepreneurship on the part of government teams and continuous efforts towards the e-governance projects
may cool down the interest of private players to support and participate.
Infrastructural problem are most common one to be cited as a major barrier. Inability to host the sites in
faster servers, low teledensity and internet spread, electrical breakdowns and cuts, lack of power backup and
many more affect most of the projects adversely either on the government or on public front. National
Informatics Centers (NIC) upon whom lies the responsibilities to establish e-Governance capabilities needs a
broader assessment. Without having a nimble, skilled and technologically sophisticated team within every state
NIC unit, the disparities in the implementation of e-Governance project and their democratization will be an
uphill task. NICs being the functioning authorities in every district are in better position to secure and update
information than any other government agencies or private players. It’s a point to worry that the lackadaisical
attitude on the part of implementers makes the information obsolete and unusable in the later periods, and the
consumers finally become apathetical towards such initiatives as a corollary to dissatisfactions and
inefficiencies.
The penetration of computers in the state level offices is still not upto expectations. The offices either lack
sufficient number of computers and the peripherals or the proper skills to utilize those for information retrieval
and updates. The lack of such awareness or fear makes government employees resist from making use of
computer even for their own purposes or enquiries. That may affect people dependence and faith on
computerized system for such enquiries, leaving apart the transactions.
It is evident that there are numerous issues that need careful analysis to ensure proper implementation,
acceptance and ultimate sustainability of any such programs. Most of the time, the problems revolve around
‘infrastructure-skills-commitment’ triangle. It has been found that the synergic composition of these is missing
in most projects. If infrastructure is found, skills or commitment is missing or vice versa.
It is also important that Central Government formulates and implements policies for data security and
privacy for accelerating the speed for successful implementation of e-governance. Basic infrastructure for the
speedy deployment of e-governance applications needs to be extended to all important rural areas in the
country. A regular review of infrastructure should be carried out for ensuring the timely upgrades. Mobile

5
www.mit.gov.in/eg/thoughtpaper.pdf accessed on July 12, 2006.
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technologies can be used to avoid breakdowns in the physical channels of communication, wider coverage and
for reduced cost of maintenance. At the same time, the focus on commitment can lead to self propelling
mechanism for sustainable e-Government mechanism.
IT awareness among citizens needs to be increased further as internet penetration is steadily increasing
and at the same time steps need to be taken to ensure that government services are made accessible to citizens
in regional languages for greater accessibility and participation. Moreover, for the successful implementation
of e-Governance, common standards need to be adopted all over the country. This will ensure compatibility
and portability across departments and states.

Conclusion
To democratize the concept and application, e-Governance needs proper delivery and acceptance. While it
needs customized content secured through right channels and with proper targeting at one end; awareness,
accessibility and economy are the factors that affect the receiving end. To democratize the decentralization
caused by state and lower level functions, there is a need for appropriate resource kit. E-Governance can be
considered as a major resource that could help attaining better synergies. There is no doubt that the
effectiveness of e-governance vehicles depends upon the participation of citizens and the provision of
information, both the aspects need to be treated in the best possible manners. For a huge and heterogeneous
democracy like India, reaching the masses is an uphill task; however, keeping in view its capabilities and
recognition in ICT outside the country, it is all achievable. E-Governance demands a grassroots level approach
to democratize decentralization and its implementation now is a matter of more of internal will than the
technology.
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