A key component of e-governance is to provide governments with a citizen-friendly face. Naturally, G2C (government-to-citizens) is an important element of all e-governance projects. FirstGov in the US, e-Envoy of the UK, e-Taiwan, e-Citizen in Singapore, e-Korea, e-Malaysia, Victoria Online in Australia and Government Online in Canada are award-winning G2C services in the world.
Closer home, e-Seva in Andhra Pradesh, Friends in Kerala, Sukhmani centres in Punjab, the Lok-Mitra project in Rajasthan, Coimbatore-Online in Tamil Nadu and BangaloreOne in Karnataka are some of the pioneering G2C initiatives in India.
e-Seva has several innovations to its credit. The people interface issue has been well addressed and the effects of ‘re-engineering’ are there for all to see. The ambience is good, the place is clean, less noisy and there is an air-conditioned environment, uncluttered by dilapidated furniture. There is access to drinking water, facilities like ATM, internet kiosks and phones—things one does not normally associate with government departments in India. The services are offered at dozens of centres, each with several counters, in a public-private-partnership model. The computers, printers and internet access are provided by the private operator, who is paid a fixed service charge for transactions completed at e-Seva counters, with the government providing the data.
Currently, the services include:
- Utility payments to government departments (electricity, water supply and sewerage charges)
- Certificates (birth, death, caste and educational certificates)
- Phone bills (public sector BSNL, private service provider Tata Teleservices)
Interestingly, BSNL has exclusive bill collection centres, in addition to special arrangements with banks for collecting payments. Yet, 70% of BSNL bill payments happen at e-Seva centres.
e-Seva has come a long way since 1999. Starting with a single centre offering six services with 1,000 transactions a month in 2001, e-Seva has grown to nearly 200 centres offering 160 services, clocking 30 million transactions/month with a value of Rs 500 crore a month. Additional services available in e-Seva centres include municipal property tax, income tax payment, passport application, train/bus ticket booking, movie tickets purchase and Western Union money transfer. e-Seva is providing true seva (service) to AP citizens.
Through the pioneering efforts of several IT secretaries—Vivek Kulkarni in Karnataka, Aruna Sundarajan in Kerala and NS Kalsi in Punjab—similar services are available in Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab. Thanks to common software developed by NIC, it is possible to extend the same to other states. Through special assistance from NISG, Karnataka is implementing the BangaloreOne project.
It will be a satisfying experience if the powers-that-be extend G2C service to all parts of the state and to all other states. Thanks to the mobile phone network and GPRS availability, connectivity is a non-issue, at least at all district headquarters. If a core set of services—utility bills, municipal tax, excise, service tax, income tax, passport services, caste, birth and death certificates—are available to all citizens, they will get a big relief. If the present government wishes to be seen as aam admi ka sarkar (government of the common man), they will be better off if they get services across the country implemented in ‘mission mode.’ The IT minister can roll out the “broadband revolution,’’ improve tele-density and “PC penetration”. This can create enough jobs in semi-urban areas. It will also improve the cash collection efficiency of governments. Any takers?
Autor: S Sadagopan
Quelle: The Financial Express, 31.03.2006
