Mandatory E-Governance Services In India

Legal framework for mandatory e-governance services in India is long due. If we make e-governance service optional or discretionary, the whole purpose would be defeated. This is the reason why we need time bound and accountable e-governance based public services in India.

Keeping this objective in mind, the central government formulated the draft electronic delivery of services bill 2011 (EDS Bill 2011). The EDS Bill 2011 intends to provide delivery of government services to all citizens by electronic means by phasing out of manual delivery of services delivered by the government including matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The Bill if made a law would require complete overhaul of the present e-governance infrastructure and services delivery mechanism of Indian government. However, the real problem with Indian e-governance initiative is that legal framework for mandatory electronic delivery of services in India is missing, says Praveen Dalal, Supreme Court lawyers and Managing Partner of India’s exclusive techno legal law firm Perry4Law.

Till now there was no provision under which citizens could ask for mandatory electronic delivery of services by the government. After the Bill becomes an enforceable law, the Indian Government would be under an obligation to mandatorily provide electronic services to its citizens, opines Dalal.

To effectuate this objective, high-level delegates from all ministries will be meeting next month to decide on a cut off date to switch to total e-governance. However, before introducing it in the Parliament, each ministry will assess its readiness and accordingly fix the timelines for mandatory electronic service delivery in India. However, no department will exceed a cut off date fixed for the country.

I wish this initiative would become reality very soon.

Reasons For Failures Of E-Governance In India?

E-governance in India has by and large a failure. This is because of the poor policy decisions taken by Indian government. There is too much stress upon procurement as opposed to management. India has to accept that computerization of traditional governmental and public functions are not e-governance. We have to empower the citizens with the power of ICT.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become an indispensable part of our daily life. It has the potential to streamline procedures, inculcate discipline among workforce, and bring transparency and accountability and reduction of costs. The benefits are tremendous provided we have the will, insight and knowledge to use it.

E-governance in India is in its infancy stage. The National E-Governance Plan (NEGP) is the umbrella under which all e-governance initiatives are taking place. However, there are very few successful and completed e-governance initiatives like MCA21 in India. Whether it is e-courts, e-readiness, legal enablement of ICT systems, e-gazette, e-commerce etc none are even close to success. So where lies the problem?

Firstly, there seems to be lack of insight among the policy-makers. The ICT polices and strategies of India are not covering the e-governance aspects at the national level. No political party ever considers e-governance as an important part of their political agenda before elections. Even commodities like onion and potatoes find place in national debates but not e-governance.

Secondly, there is too much stress upon procurement as opposed to management. India has to accept that computeristion of traditional governmental and public functions are not e-governance. We have to empower the citizens with the power of ICT. We have to make the governmental services user-friendly as well as productive and easy.

Thirdly, there is lack of transparency in governmental dealing and in the absence of the same e-governance is just paperwork. In India, we have the Right to Information Act, 2005 but the same has been a failure in India. The public information officers keep on denying the relevant information on flimsy grounds.

In exceptional cases, citizens may get some information but by and large very few people get the information.

Fourthly, accountability among governmental officers is missing. There is no mechanism through which we can punish a wrong doer for his violations and negligence. This results in a casual attitude towards public good and e-governance. If we fix accountability and time-bound progress requirements then a lot of problems can be solved.

Fifthly, public participation in both policy making and governmental decisions is missing. If we get the opinion of those who are somehow surviving at the grassroots level we can solve the majority of our problems. However, the fact is that grassroots level problems are never solved.

The induction of information technology into governance, especially at the rural level, is not an easy task due to unstructured nature of rural development, low literacy levels and reluctance to adopt information technology. Regional disparities which were already glaring in poverty, employment generation, literacy are widening further. E-governance will be successful only if we start to undertake due efforts to implement it in all blocks and districts and spread it to the grass root level.

Being the largest democratic country, India must show an example to other in this context. But in last many years we have not seen the efficiency of public servants, who are supposed to be the some of the best brain of India. For attaining developed status our public service system must work in a better way. Citizen must participate in various activities, if we really want to see India as a developed nation. Public service must be strengthened in India in true spirit, if we want to become to become a developed nation in near future.

National E-Governance Plan Of India Has Failed

E-governance in India is ailing despite all glorious and false media propaganda. The chief parameter of the success of any e-governance plan is to analyse its e-infrastructure achievements. In India, e-infrastructure is in real mess.

Despite so many years and crores of public money, India has still to enact a versatile and robust ICT policy. In the absence of an ICT policy of India, the e-governance initiatives of India have failed to materialise.

It is in this background we have to analyse the role played by the department of information technology (DIT), India. Although DIT has formulated the national e-governance plan yet it would be more prudent to call it no e-governance plan of India (NEGP). This is because the common man and grass root level consumers have not been benefited at all by the e-governance initiatives of India.

Of course, we have some good achievements like MCA 21 as well. But by and larger, e-governance in India has failed to materialise. Corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, lack of time bound results, lack of progress analysis and punishments for deviations, etc are some of the reasons why we have no e-governance success in India.

It is highly unfortunate that the prime minister’s office (PMO) has no control over DIT in general and minister A. Raja in particular. The PMO could have played a better role by keeping a close vigil at the initiatives of DIT but it preferred to keep a mum and turn a blind eye towards all sorts of incompetencies, corruption and scams.

What Failed E-Governance In India

E-governance in India has become a source of corruption rather than removing corruption and bringing transparency. Various e-governance projects in India have been achieved on papers alone without any transparency and accountability for the hard earned public money wastage.

E-governance in India has by and large a flop show. There are many factors that led to the poor performance of the e-governance in India. The major among them are lack of planning, omnipresent corruption in governmental offices, lack of accountability, misleading policies, etc. Further, e-governance in India has never been considered a part of good governance.

E-governance is beyond the scope of e-government. While e-government is defined as a mere delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means, e-governance allows direct participation of constituents in government activities.

E-governance is not just about government web site and e-mail. It is not just about service delivery over the Internet. It is not just about digital access to government information or electronic payments. It will change how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes how citizens relate to each other. It will bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of needs and responsibilities.

E-governance will allow citizens to communicate with government, participate in the governments' policy-making and citizens to communicate each other. The e-governance will truly allow citizens to participate in the government decision-making process, reflect their true needs and welfare by utilizing e-government as a tool.

However, e-governance in India has been a complete failure. There is too much stress upon procurement as opposed to management. India has to accept that computerisation of traditional governmental and public functions are not e-governance. We have to empower the citizens with the power of information and communication technology (ICT).

ICT has become an indispensable part of our daily life. It has the potential to streamline procedures, inculcate discipline among workforce, and bring transparency and accountability and reduction of costs. The benefits are tremendous provided we have the will, insight and knowledge to use it.

E-governance in India is in its infancy stage. The National E-Governance Plan (NEGP) is the umbrella under which all e-governance initiatives are taking place. However, there are very few successful and completed e-governance initiatives like MCA21 in India. Whether it is e-courts, e-readiness, legal enablement of ICT systems, e-gazette, e-commerce etc none are even close to success. So where lies the problem?

Firstly, there seems to be lack of insight among the policy-makers. The ICT polices and strategies of India are not covering the e-governance aspects at the national level. No political party ever considers e-governance as an important part of their political agenda before elections. Even commodities like onion and potatoes find place in national debates but not e-governance.

Secondly, there is too much stress upon procurement as opposed to management. India has to accept that computerization of traditional governmental and public functions is not e-governance. We have to empower the citizens with the power of ICT. We have to make the governmental services user-friendly as well as productive and easy.

Thirdly, there is lack of transparency in governmental dealing and in the absence of the same e-governance is just paperwork. In India, we have the Right to Information Act, 2005 but the same has been a failure in India. The public information officers keep on denying the relevant information on flimsy grounds. In exceptional cases, citizens may get some information but by and large very few people get the information.

Fourthly, accountability among governmental officers is missing. There is no mechanism through which we can punish a wrong doer for his violations and negligence. This results in a casual attitude towards public good and e-governance. If we fix accountability and time-bound progress requirements then a lot of problems can be solved.

Fifthly, public participation in both policy making and governmental decisions is missing. If we get the opinion of those who are somehow surviving at the grassroots level we can solve the majority of our problems. However, the fact is that grassroots level problems are never solved.

E-governance will be successful only if we start to undertake due efforts to implement it in all blocks and districts and spread it to the grass root level. Being the largest democratic country, India must show an example to other in this context.

But in last many years we have not seen the efficiency of public servants, who are supposed to be the some of the best brain of India. For attaining developed status our public service system must work in a better way. Citizen must participate in various activities, if we really want to see India as a developed nation. Public service must be strengthened in India in true spirit, if we want to become to become a developed nation in near future.

Champions Of Indian E-Governance Initiatives

E-governance in India is not making the desired impact. The reason for the same is lack of proper insight and expertise in this regard. However, there are some very good initiatives and experts in India who can make a big difference in successful implementation of Indian e-governance projects. Techno-legal experts like Praveen Dalal have been contributing for the legal enablement of ICT systems in India, e-governance regulations and policy formulations in India, etc.

Similarly, a Portal run by Samir Sachdeva is a wonderful example how private individuals can contribute in this regard. It carries wholesome and diverse information about e-governance in India. I hope India can have more such experts and knowledge bases.

The Parliament of India must be ICT empowered so that it can take appropriate ICT policy decisions at the national level and enact suitable techno-legal enactments.

Techno-Legal ICT Centre For Parliament Of India

Use of technology has benefited many individuals and organisations. The technology has even benefited governments and governmental functioning. However, the true use of technology is still awaiting a signal from Indian government and its agencies. One such pillar of Indian sovereign is Parliament of India that has to be more technology enabled and technology guided.

Information and communication technology (ICT) related issues have always been taken lightly by Indian parliament. For instance, the IT Amendment Bill, 2008 was passed by both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha without even a discussion or debate. This shows the indifferent attitude of Indian government/parliament towards ICT related laws in India.

There is an emergent need to streamline Indian parliament through use of ICT for all purposes, including law making. Perry4Law has launched a centre that intends to assist parliament of India and parliaments of other nations to effectively use ICT for valuable legislative functions and law making.

This is the first initiative of its kind in India and is of tremendous importance. It would extend its expertise for matters like cyber law, cyber forensics, e-governance, etc.

Now at least we can have reasonable and effective cyber law and technology laws that may be formulated in future. The centre has many objectives in mind and protecting human rights in cyberspace is one of them.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Best Technology Law Firm In India

Cyberspace has been an integral part of our daily lives. Whether it is e-commerce or e-governance, we have to essentially deal with information and communication technology (ICT). Of course, we cannot keep ourself aware of the fine details of various cyber laws and technology laws.

Perry4Law is India’s best and one of the best cyber law firms of world. It provides various techno-legal services including cyber law, cyber forensics, e-courts, etc.

Perry4Law Suggested A Centralised ICT Control Mechanism For Intelligence Agencies Of India

National Security issues of India are too complicated to be resolved immediately. The problem has further been aggravated in the absence of a suitable ICT Policy for National Security issues of India. The sardonic failure of the e-governance projects in India has put at rest the hollow claims of Indian government to use ICT for national security purposes.

Even the ICT Trends of India 2009 have shown that Indian efforts regarding streamlining legal, judicial, administrative, law enforcement, intelligence agencies functions, etc through use of ICT have received serious setbacks in the year 2009. There is also little hope that the same would be rejuvenated in the year 2010. On what basis the government of India (GOI) would use ICT for national and internal security of India is still a big question.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, “Intelligence agency of a country plays an important role in its internal and external security. There must be a “Centralised ICT Control System” to govern intelligence agencies if there are more than one. If there are numerous intelligence agencies working for different government departments, there is a possibility of lack of coordination and inadequate and inappropriate information sharing. Nothing can be more beneficial than a “Centralised ICT Control Centre” for the Indian National and Internal Security.

The government of India has still to enact suitable laws governing intelligence agencies on the one hand and establish a centralised “Control System” for them on the other. India must forsake the practice of achieving targets on paper only and must be honest with and accountable to its commitments. Let us hope that GOI would come up with effective and authoritative national security measures regarding the suggestions provided by experts in this regard.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Governance In India Has Failed

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the core strength of business community of India. The same has, however, failed to find a place in the national policies and strategies of India and in governmental dealings. The ICT Trends of India 2009 showed the naked truth of the contrary claims of Government of India. Despite negative reports and progress in India, the Indian government is loyal to the “India Shining Syndrome” rather than concentrating upon real and effective ICT projects management in India.

According to Praveen Dalal, the leading Techno-Legal Expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law “The Government and Indian Bureaucrats need to change their mindset and stress more upon outcomes and services rather than mere ICT procurement. India needs a services-based approach that is not only transparent but also backed by a more efficient and willing Government. Presently the Bureaucrats and Government of India are in a “resistance mode” towards novel and effective e-governance policies and strategies and they are merely computerising traditional official functions only. This is benefiting neither the Government nor the citizens and is resulting in wastage of thousands of crores of public money and UNDP/World Bank grants amount”.

The continued apathy, mismanagement and lack of accountability has finally shown its impact. The World Bank refused to operationalise the e-governance support project known as “E-Bharat” without its active management role in the same. The World Bank did not agree to the framework for implementation of E-Bharat as it was insisting on certain conditions to manage the project. For instance, against a hands-on project management approach being favoured by the World Bank, India was pushing for a programme mode where assistance could be linked to targets or milestones.

The expectations of World Bank are justified as there is a complete failure of e-governance projects in India barring few exceptions. In the absence of transparency and accountability, investing Crores of rupees in Indian e-governance projects is not a wise and profitable option. The World Bank must actively engage in day to day management functions of the projects it is sponsoring or funding.

In fact, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, in its latest report noted that e-Bharat project was “in trouble”. Following the Government's decision not to establish a dedicated Special Purpose Vehicle (national e-governance agency), a requirement insisted on by the World Bank earlier, the Bank had advocated a newer look to be adopted inter-alia suggesting termination of the preparation of the E-Bharat Project. With the management controls in its hand, the World Bank may continue this much needed e-governance project of India. It would be good for Indian common man if other fund providing agencies like UNDP also take similar steps so that e-governance projects are not eaten up by corruption of Indian officials.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Governance In India: Interview Of Praveen Dalal

E-Governance in India has failed by and large. Despite spending many thousand crores of money, the e-governance projects of India failed to make any significant impact. Of course, in exceptional cases, very few e-governance projects were successful in India. What failed the e-governance projects of India? Why these projects are not taking a concrete shape? What steps must be taken by Indian government to implement successful e-governance projects in India?

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Failures Of E-Governance in India

Very few words are more fanciful than the words electronic governance (e-governance). These words have a tendency to portray an image of all advanced Nation or capable manpower. But the bigger question is what is more important; the image or reality? We have to analyse this question in the light of e-governance in India and the efforts of Government of India to achieve the Herculean task of being an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enabled and capable Nation.

Let us peep into the mind of those who have a deeper insight of this “India Shining Syndrome” of Indian Government and Bureaucrats. According to Mr. Praveen Dalal, the Leading Techno-Legal ICT, Cyber Law, Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics Specialist of India, “The Government and Indian Bureaucrats need to change their mindset and stress more upon outcomes and services rather than mere ICT procurement. India needs a services-based approach that is not only transparent but also backed by a more efficient and willing Government. Presently the Bureaucrats and Government of India are in a “resistance mode” towards novel and effective e-governance policies and strategies and they are merely computerising traditional official functions only. This is benefiting neither the Government nor the citizens and is resulting in wastage of thousands of crores of public money and UNDP/World Bank grants amount”.

The truth becomes more obscure in the maze of various reports and surveys, most of which are Government or its agencies/partners “sponsored”. The Bureaucratic incompetencies and lack of Governmental will only find support in high profile workshops and seminars where common man has neither an access nor a say. At the International level, however, India’s ranking is falling when it comes to basic prerequisites of e-governance, i.e. e-readiness, public-governmental interaction, public services, etc.

“The Governmental will and leadership is missing in India. To worsen the situation the Government of India is concentrating more upon the image rather than upon the end results. The grassroot level action is missing and the benefits of ICT are not reaching to the under privileged and deserving masses due to defective ICT strategies and policies of Indian Government. India is suffering from the “vicious circle” of defective e-governance, as the basic input .i.e. governance itself is poor. India needs a “virtuous circle” of e-governance through good governance that would have multiplication and amplification effect upon e-governance efforts of Indian Government. We neither have a right nor would be we honest and true if we call ourselves an e-governance oriented Nation as even the basic “e-mail communications” with the Government of India, including Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), President, Ministry of Information Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, etc are “NEVER” replied back” says Mr. Praveen Dalal.

It is astonishing to know that the so called “e-governance experts” in the Bureaucratic and Governmental circles of India do not even know when and how to respond back to urgent and pressing public communications (e-mails). What is the benefit of attending and participating in high profile conferences and workshops in a cool and comfortable hotel room environment when the Citizen to Government (C2G) and Government to Citizen (G2C) wings of Indian e-governance are “missing”? The C2G and G2C are the core pillars of not only e-governance but electronic commerce (e-commerce) as well. The problem seems to “lack of accountability” among the Government Departments in India.

It is surprising that despite these “serious problems” the India Shining image is often portrayed when it come to e-governance in India. All these factors have resulted in the failures of e-governance in India.

AUTHOR: KUNAL

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Governance In India Needs Better Management

E-governance in India has miserably failed. The reason why e-governance is a big failure is because neither our political parties nor our elected governments take e-governance seriously. To be serious means formulating effective policies and strategies on the one hand and their dedicated enforcement and management on the other.

Take the recent example in this regard. The website named E-Governance Standards is a platform that aims at providing suggestions to the Government of India (GOI) regarding e-governance in India. However, the site is down for maintenance/ revamping or perhaps withdrawal. The big question arises that from the date of its inception to till now what valuable contribution this site or the working groups or committees constituted under its banner have provided to the GOI? I think none. Much better and effective inputs have been provided by private individuals than the governmental machinery.

For instance, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law and leading Techno-Legal Expert of India, the First and Exclusive Working Group on Cyber Law in India was constituted last year. It is the first and exclusive Techno-Legal ICT Think Tank of India and includes International and National ICT experts as its Members. It is providing valuable suggestions and recommendations to the GOI regarding Techno-Legal ICT Policies and Strategies that India must adopt. The areas include cyber law in India, cyber security in India, cyber forensics in India, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in India, online dispute resolution (ODR) in India, etc. Besides it is also “coordinating” National and International Techno-Legal ICT issues and is striving towards an “International Harmonisation” of abovementioned issues.

If we analyse the inputs of this platform we can easily deduce that the platform is not only much more actively participating in matters touching techno-legal ICT policies of India but is also providing its suggestions to GOI on a regular basis. This is what is required from E-governance Standards platform or any other similar platform. In short, GOI must take e-governance seriously as India needs better e-governance management.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

E-Courts Project Failed In India

E-Courts have absolutely failed in India. It is clear that whatever initiatives taken in this regard in India, the same is attributable to private persons and institutions like Perry4Law. The Government of India (GOI) has absolutely failed to achieve the task of establishment of e-courts in India.

The lack of “political will” in India to successfully complete e-courts project in general and other mission mode projects (MMP) under the National E-Governance Plan (NEGP) in particular is really frustrating. The plight of e-governance in India is well known. However, other nations are trying their level best to ensure smooth and hassle free judicial systems.

For instance, the Malaysian government is considering amending laws to allow the e-filing of court documents as part of efforts to encourage a more efficient justice system. At present, the hard copies of documents are needed under the Rules of the High Court to file the various applications in court cases. A proposal has been given to change the law to allow also for the filing of digital copies via e-filing.

If we look at the Indian position, the situation is really frustrating. We do not have even the basic cyber law forget about a law for ensuring smooth e-filing in India. The government of India also committed a blunder by “pushing” a criminal friendly and weak Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 that has further made the position worst.

The role of Parliament is to enact just, reasonable and growth oriented laws and not to retard the development through oppressive and redundant laws. With the Indian Congress government at the center, we can hope that it would rectify the mistake that it committed during the December 2008 Parliament session.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

India Is Transforming into Endemic E-Surveillance Society

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) must be used as a tool of development rather than as a means of harassment. Excessive and illegal e-surveillance eliminates the chances of effective use of ICT on the one hand and operates as an opponent of e-governance on the other. E-governance presupposes a free, fair and transparent public dealing in the cyberspace. Of late India has been treading on the wrong path of becoming an excessive surveillance State rather being a technology knowledge driven society. The only solace comes from the fact that the recent unconstitutional Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (Act 2008) has not been imposed upon Indian citizens through the essential "notification" and the same would be withdrawn and reformulated by the new Government in all probabilities.

AUTHOR: EDITOR LNAV

SOURCE: OPEDNEWS

Legal Enablement Of ICT Systems In India Is Urgently Required

Legal enablement of ICT systems in India requires a futuristic approach that can be achieved by acquiring techno-legal insight by the law makers. The most important requirement for achieving the same is an awareness and acceptance of the benefits of ICT by the policy and law makers in India. The “political will” is required to ensure a timely and appropriate legal enablement of ICT systems in India. There is also a requirement to reduce the wide existing corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, bureaucratic hurdles, etc in India. These vices are eliminating the chances of India becoming an ICT super power.

India needs good e-governance models, sound cyber law, effective cyber security, cyber forensics capabilities, etc to achieve the task of legal enablement of ICT systems. The industrial lobbying and vested interests have really brought a situation where India has started to fall back upon the ICT developmental path. Various International reports and surveys have shown that India’s e-governance, e-readiness, transparency, privacy rights, data protection, etc have deteriorated further.

AUTHOR: MR. PRAVEEN DALAL

SOURCE: ITVOIR

The Failures Of Indian E-Governance Initiatives

E-Governance in India has always been projected as a “success” though it is far from that. The problem lies with the fact that Indian politicians lacks the “will and knowledge” to execute various e-governance projects in India. The position is further made worst by Indian bureaucrats who enjoy blanket protection for their inefficiency and non accountability. Few of the recent cases illustrate this scenario.

The clouds of uncertainty have come to haunt the ambitious e-suvidha proposal following the tiff between the agencies managing the services over anomalies in payment and the over all administration. The agencies in questions -- CMS computers and e-suvidha (the nodal agency) -- have been in thick of controversy after the two alleged each other of breaking the agreement they had entered into when the services were thrown open to public some eight years ago. Well placed sources in the CMS computers, which had mooted the proposals said that it was because of the apathy on the part of e-suvidha's nodal agency that the proposal might soon be dumped. The result: harried denizens and their lost of faith on government claim of e-governance.

Similarly, a huge e-governance project that was to cost over Rs 40 crores, has been cancelled at the last minute after members of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) standing committee reportedly failed to reach an amicable solution on who should be awarded the tender. The e-governance ERP (Entrepreneur Resource Planning) project is part of obligatory reforms that the Pune Municipal Corporations is supposed to carry out to continue to receive funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Further, the much hyped Rs 21 crores e-governance project of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has come under cloud with several irregularities in the tender process coming to fore. NMC floated the tender on January 19. Seven firms purchased the tender document. The pre-bid meeting was held on February 2. In this meeting, some firms sought several relaxations many of which were granted. However, NMC did not publish a corrigendum in newspapers to inform other prospective bidders about the relaxation in conditions. It merely sent an e-mail about replies to the queries in pre-bid meet to the firms that had purchased the tender forms. The same was put on NMC's website. However, the relaxation in the conditions was not separately mentioned.

Clearly there is lack of transparency, accountability and insight among the people managing Indian e-governance initiatives. India needs good ICT Policies and Strategies to resolve issues pertaining to ICT in India. There is also a need to establish accountability of bureaucrats and other people managing the e-governance projects in India.