IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

Online system of filing petitions launched in Krishnagiri

Public need not wait in queues to get their grievances redressed or in front of a clerk at a Government office to get their birth or community certificates. Submission of forms is just a click away!

Akshaya, India’s first district-wide e-literacy campaign aimed at providing basic computer education to 5.9 lakh people, is probably the biggest success story of decentralised planning in Kerala. The project was conceptualised in 2002 when officials of the Malappuram district panchayat approached the Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM) with Rs 60 lakh in their pockets and a request to bridge the digital divide.

The response from the state government was positive. However, leasing 7,000 computers for the purpose, as initially requested by the panchayat did not appear to be a feasible long-term option. The state government decided to adopt an entrepreneurial approach instead and offer the unemployed youth of the district an opportunity to build a business.

In an experiment jointly conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Anand Agricultural University (AAU), farmers and rural womenfolk are being taught about right farm practices and value addition to crafts through satellite-based video conferencing.

The initiative was kick started last week with the AAU scientists interacting with the farmers in Khavda and Adesar (Kutch), Chikhodra (Anand), Bodeli (Vadodara), and Kharaghoda (Surendranagar). Another seven centers would start functioning shortly taking the total to 12. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the ISRO, the AAU and two NGOs (SEWA and Kutch Abhiyan) for the scheme that would subsequently spread to all districts.

The government’s ambitious project of setting up 1,00,000 Common Service Centres takes technology to the doorstep of the common citizen

The next stage of Information Technology (IT), it seems, will now happen in the countryside, if the Manmohan Singh government’s decision to create a network of 1,00,000 e-kiosks, to be known as Common Services Centre (CSCs), in the rural areas in 2007 is to become a reality. E-kiosk is seen as a nodal point to make e-governance meaningful. It is when villagers can transact official business through the network of e-kiosks that it can be claimed digitalisation of governance has been achieved.