Chapter ] 2 E-governance: An Enabling Tool for Good Governance Sangita Dhal ING OBJECTIVES Democracies all over the world share a common vision where good governance through digital governments will become a reality and a way of life. ‘+ The emergence of information and communication technology (ICT) in this field has affected the functions and roles of governments, ‘+ E-governance represents a structural change in the bureaucracy and is perceived as a key to a more flexible and proactive governance in tune with the concerns of citizen-friendly administration. + E-governance represents a paradigm shift in the nature of democracy and provides citizens a platform for participation in the governance processes. Democracy as an idea or concept does not explain its true essence and character unless it is translated into reality through making institutions and governance people-friendly and result-oriented. In other words, ‘mere stress on democracy and democratic processes through the application of constitutional norms and. principles does not ensure justice, equality and rights. So, democratic institutions and the governance should evolve innovative techniques and effective methods with the help of which the cherished ideals, and objectives of the Constitution can be realized. Electronic governance forms a part of the current reform agenda used by governments across the world to d and ensure public participation. The emergence of ICT in et services, provide information to citizens field has affected the functions and roles of ‘governments. Globalization at the end of the twentieth century triggered several political and economic transformations in the world, One of the very crucial ramifications ofthe ongoing process of unfolding a new world order was rolling back of the state through the Il eral economic policies of privatization and ‘market reforms (Hood 1991). Reinventing the process of governance has been a dominant theme since the 1990s, wherein governments all over the world ae attempting to improve the public service delivery systems through e-governance (Osborne and Gaebler 1992) Contextualizing Governance ‘The last two decades have witnessed a paradigmatic shift of the state towards a market-drive private sector led development model which spearheaded major changes in the structure of the state and 193Sangita Dhl govemance. The new emphasis in recent times on good governance has to be judged in a wider historical perspective, centred around the state-society relationship. Good governance isa value-laden term which has its philosophical basis in the New Right, the neo-liberal idea of the small but strong state. This view calls for reinventing and redefining the role of the State—downplaying the state and overvaluing the market. The concept can also be traced to the World Bank formulations which is associated with conditions for the larger goal of economic development supplemented by effective administrative ‘management (Chakrabarty and Bhattacharya 2008). Addressing Governance Deficit Much of government's initiatives, based on good intent and purpose, get defeated due to an inefficient administrative mechanism and inept handling through archaic methods governance. It is also the lack of transparency, responsiveness and accountability in the functioning of a multitude of governmental institutions and public services delivery systems that affect the ultimate outcome of every governmental initiative. Corruption has been a major eause for tardy progress in the implementing ambitious projects and policies of the goverment resulting in huge loss of revenues to the exchequer. Administrative reform and legislative revitalization, therefore, must begin atthe top. The federal government must set an example in good governance for states/provinces and local bodies to follow. The need to improve the ‘whole structure of administration through e-governance has assumed greater significance in the present times. The e-governance initiatives are aimed at creating a whole new culture of efficient administration, which is corruption free and citizen centric welfare oriented. Most ofthe Third World countries today have adopted this model of govemance in order to bridge the ‘governance deficit’. Measures to Address the Issue of Governance Deficit Introducing systemic and administrative reforms for providing efficient delivery of services. Creating genuinely independent regulatory bodies Fast-track meckanism to probe scams and punish those guilty Promoting inclusive growth. Creating conditions in which every citizen has equal opportunities Itis in this context thatthe present chapter explores the various dimensions of e-governance asa tool of ‘good governance to make the development process meaningful. The theoretical context of e-govemance emerged from the framework of new public management (NPM) which originated in the late 1970s and seeks to reinvent government by transforming it into an entrepreneurial, vision-driven, based on decentralization and participative management proactive state (Cox et al, 1994). It also envisages a changed role for the citizens who have become customers of public service who pays for the public service and has the opportunity to give feedback on publie service delivery (Denhardt and Denhardt 2009), Thus, itearves a new domain of citizen empowerment. Governments are using ICTs for interacting with citizens for rendering services and information, In the present era of increasing globalization and changing ideology of the government, the focus is on revamping the government administration which has to elletively address the issues of social equity, development goals, poverty and deprivation (Dunleavy and Hood 1994), Thus, zood govemance was recognized as an essential requirement for economic growth and job creation as it builds trust between the state and the citizens and stimulates markets and investments. Figure 12.1 shows the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP 1997) conception of good governance which encapsulates a work culture based on the principles of transparency, accountability, responsiveness and citizen-friendly administration 194\ r (Chapter 12 E-governance: An Enabling Tool for Good Governance ‘Transperancy Rite of law. ‘Accountability Goop GOVERNANCE Responsive Inclusive Participatory Figure 12.1. Different Dimensions of Good Governance Source: UNDP (1997), (Chotray and Stoker 2008). This results in the welfare ofthe people, promotes participatory development, effective, equitable and inclusive public policies, human rights, rule of law and democratization. Within this paradigm the idea of good governance was located in a multicultural liberal democratic state ensuring free and fair elections and partition, New Governance Model Governance isa core term deployed indifferent disciplines like development studies, public administration and globalization studies. The emphasis on the good govemance has ensured that sound managerial practices penetrate public administration thereby improving the quality of democracy. The World Bank (1992) and UNDP (1997) conception of the term was linked with participatory development, equitable and inclusive public policies, the rule of law, human rights, transparent processes, citizen-friendly bureaucracy and democratization (Santiso 2001). Within this paradigm, the idea of good govemance was located in a multicultural liberal demo ‘ensuring free and fair elections and participation. The key role of any successful government for the welfare of its people. Good governance encapsulates a work culture based on the principles of transparency, accountability, responsiveness and citizen-friendly administration, The Indian government {s using information technology to facilitate governance and provide services to citizens inthe sphere of power, agriculture and education. To enhance the process of civic engagement Gerry Stoker argues for Hemocratic decentralization and citizen-centric government which reduces the bureaucratic dominance over the development processes and advocates a shift in the locus of power to those who matter atthe grassroots (Stoker 1999). 195 |Sangita Dhl New public management and good govemance provide a useful conceptual framework to study e-governance. With rapid strides made in the field of ICT, govermments all over the world are using “digital technologies’ to reinvent their style of functioning and in serving the needs of a multicultural society and that of the common man, Advances in the communication and technology have an impact on our daily activities, whether replying to our mail, sending SMS, online payment of utility bills or using the Intemet to shop online, This also affects public administration because as use of technology and the Intemet grows, the govemmments’ use of technology in performing its several functions and responsibilities also grows (Norris 2001). According to the E-Governance Institute, The School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University, Newark the principles of e-governance (Garson 2004) are: Build services with citizen’s choices in mind. Increase government accessibility. Foster social cohesion, Disseminate information in a responsible fashion. Use taxpayer resources effectively and efficient, E-governance transforms not only the way in which public services are delivered but also the fundamental relationship between the goverment and the citizens. These include political participation, information 0.75), high EGDI (0.5-0.75), middle EGDI (0.25-0.5), low EGDI (< 0.25).Sangta Dhl middle-EGDI countries, e-government services are increasingly delivered through mobile devices. Vari- ‘ous factors can be attributed for the disparity in EGDI, some of which are listed below: + Limitations in ICT infrastructure and human capacity pose the greatest challenge, particularly in low-EGDI countries with constraints of public resources. + In low-EGDI countries, there is a shift towards intermediary channels, such as kiosks and Postal offices, having bigger roles in facilitating access and driving usage of e-government services to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups - *+ Low adult literacy rates in some middle-EGDI and low-EGDI countries coupled with little ‘education of low average years of schooling pose a challenge that will prevent these countries from making significant advancements in e-government development. The above UN E-government Survey, 2014 should ring an alarm for taking a call on urgent action for India. Fora country of India’s diverse population and regional disparity tackling corruption and providing access to government services is unthinkable without a robust e-governance infrastructure in place. The low ranking on EGDI cals for dep introspection to improve matters and adopt a multi-pronged strategy to address the challenges. India with its vast supply of IT manpower and well-managed IT companies ‘must adopt steps to develop more citizen centric strategies and projects in e-governance. However, what is missing isthe lack of political will and administrative commitment to change the status-quo. Challenges to ICT Implementation in Governance ‘While e-governance offers many opportunities for better information sharing, information delivery and better service to citizens, it also creates significant challenges. Government systems must be protected from viruses and hacking, sensitive information must be safeguarded (Denhardt 2009). Though India has achieved several milestones in the development of an e-governance framework for the country, certain basic problems exist which pose as obstacles to the sustainability of these initiatives in India. According to global e-Government Report, India has a long way to go to overcome the digital divide and has a very low rank (4.3 per cent) in promoting e-governance as compared to Singapore which tops the list with 46.3 per cent followed by USA, 45.3 per cent, The E-citizen Web Portal in Singapore is an example of one-stop-shop for citizens to access information and services from various government departments in a fast and convenient way. Thus, citizens of Singapore are able to access nearly 1600 e-services pertaining to business, health, education, recreation, and so on. Evolution of e-govemance is a highly complex process involving the blending of hardware, software, networking, proces-re-engineering and change-management. The task is a complex management of diverse challenges that emanate from a multitude of sources. The key challenges with e-governance are not technology of the Internet issues but organizational, technical and institutional isues such as Resistance to re-engineering of departmental processes. Lack of infrastruc! skill and awareness of projects, Underuilization of existing information and communication technology infrastructure ‘Tendency to resist the change in work culture Lack of trained human resources. Digital/social divides. Lack of bilingual websites 210= Chapter 12 governance: An Enabling Tool for Good Govermance According to United Nations Survey, 75 per cent of projects are notable to sustain due to poor planning: (UNO 2008). The real challenge isto develop and sustain successful e-governance projects: Evolution of e-govemance is highly complex process requiring provisioning of hardware, software, networking, process-re-engineering and change-management. Though ICTs are playing a significant role in enabling governments to pursue the agenda of good governance, the lack of human resources, organizational and technological infrastructure, committed politcal leadership and bureaucracy have posed hindrances 10 the effective implementation of ICT in governance, | India faces the problems of low connectivity technical professionals, finances coupled with inap- propriate planning. Lack of a clear vision for implementing various e-governance initiatives. 3. E-govemance applications should be preceded with re-engineering of the administrative pro~ cesses in the government departments and organizations. 4. Most ICT applications are implemented in a quick time frame without any change in the organi- ational structure and work procedures. Most ICT projects fail because of their inability to address the exiting divides in the society in terms of rural/urban, rich/poor, male/female, literateiliterate, However, the real challenge is to develop and sustain successful e-governance projects and deliver state-of-the-art e-services to citizens. There is a lot of hope on the potential of e-governance to transform the intemal efficiency of government and the relationship of government with stakeholders (Deva 2005). To overeome the issue of a digital divide, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) has developed multilingual software which helps to reach out to the rural population in their local languages thereby creates an effective information and communication system for the rural and agricultural sector. E-governance applications should be widespread to cover the rural and remote areas of the country so that the rural population can access the Internet for information that is useful for them. It has been observed that most of the projects make use of business models, public-private partnership models, localization, appropriate technology and interface witha smart government; however, most of them fail to replicate the initial success story. The need of the hour is to address the substantive issues and examine the problems hich have caused hiccups for the e-govemnance projects. The induction of technology alone will not improve governance rather there is a need to adopt a balanced approach for implementation of e-governance initiatives. Significance of E-governance Governments across the country today are using ICT to facilitate govemance and provide services to citizens in different spheres of engagement. Governments have been working on making. its departments IT enabled for almost a decade now, India has many challenges in areas like, infrastructure, connectivity, financial inclusion, transport, energy and rural development. Itis the experience of the last 65 years, which proves that these chronic problems cannot be solved using traditional methods, The conventional methods are slow and are faced with different problems such as corruption, nepotism, pilferage and bribery. So, technology becomes an indispensable tool to counter the myriad socio-cultural ‘and psychological barriers before good govemnance. Today innovations taking place in the process of ‘governance are playing a key role in solving larger problems in an affordable manner. ‘These innovations are shaping the agenda for ‘Digital India Mission’. Digitization is changing the way governments ate addressing the problems of people in particular and the issues of developmentSangita Dhl in general. It is believed that, for these digital solutions, innovations will be the innate part of it and the fundamental of Digital India is digital infrastructure. The vision of Digital India has given a fillip to the overall ecosystem today with exemplary political will backing it up strongly. Today there is an emphasis on doing governmental transactions digitally and the political leadership is driving the change and ensuring its implementation. Through e-governance, citizens are becoming conscious of their right to get required services and both state and central governments recognize the need to deliver faster and efficient services tothe citizens Conclusion E-govemance aims to improve the speed, convenience and efficiency of public service delivery, by providing online access and information to rural women and men, such as land records, caste and income certificates and various other government services. However, for a majority of Indians—mostly poor and illiterate—the fruits of the developing technologies continue to be beyond their reach. The usage of technology is important in every sector whether it is agriculture, heath, education, poverty eradication or ‘employment, The right use of technology can lead to fruitful result in social and economic revolution. Development of technology contributes in rural development and thereby enhances the quality of life of the people. Technology plays a very important role in transforming the parameter of social and economic patterns of development model. The use of e-governanee in various sectors has brought major changes, in social and economic life of the people. However, for e-governance to actually lead to empowerment of citizens, the focus needs to be on multilevel institutional change which would create opportunities for the people to utilize these projects for their benefit and thereby strengthen the notion of ‘substantive democracy” which rests upon the idea of social equity and active interface between citizens, government, public officials and elected representatives. It has been observed that most of the projects make use of business models, PPP model, localization, appropriate technology and interface with smart government, however most fail to replicate the initial success story, As observed by Pippa Norris (2001), the key issue in evaluating e-govemance is the way in which it affects the nature ofthe relationship between political institutions, bureaucracies and citizens and whether it facilitates a relationship based on public accountability and participation, Constructing the Internet as a public good is critical from a developmental and equity perspective. The Internet aids inthe involvement of local civil society through e-govemance and empowers individuals and communities which help in building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society. The contemporary world is interdisciplinary and multi-dimensional in which the human kind has to understand and explain the profound changes through information technology, thereby laying the foundations of a knowledge society. It aids in the involvement of local civil society in e-governance and would create enabling individuals and communities, help in building a people-centred, inclusive and development oriented information society. Thus, any system, policy or government would succeed only if its processes are accountable and transparent and its citizens are engaged. Public administration, being the comerstone of governments’ work, is essential for improving peoples’ lives. As illustrated in this chapter, amidst the economic, social and environmental challenges, e-governance seeks to play a meaningful role in enabling the delivery of quality public services that tries to meet citizen needs and aspirations. Digitization is changing the way governments are addressing the problems of people in particular and the issues of development in general. Itis believed that, for these digital solutions, innovations will be the innate part of it and the fundamental of Digital India is digital infrastructure, The vision of Digital India has given a fillip to the overall ecosystem today with exemplary political will backing it up strongly. Today, there i an emphasis on doing governmental transactions digitally and the political leadership is driving the change and ensuring its implementation, 212Chapter 12 govemanc: An Esbing Toa fr Good Goverance Review Questions 1, Explain the impact of ;oyernance on the administration system in India What do you understand by e-govemnance? Briefly discuss the e-govemance initiatives adopted in India. 3. Evaluate the performance of e-govemance asa tool of good governance giving suitable examples 4. 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