The concept of e-governance is now a reality for Indian citizens. We are graduating from pilot e-governance projects to bigger Mission Mode projects. In this, the core strategy is to move ahead in a systematic manner, and the approach is to achieve success step by step. We are learning from e-governance examples worldwide; we also have our own experience in completing pilot projects successfully.
The NeGP has identified 22 projects which are to be implemented in a phased manner over the next 3-4 years by line ministries at the central and state level. State-based WANs have been identified as part of the core infrastructure for supporting these e-governance initiatives, and the Department of IT (DIT) has earmarked Rs 3,334 crore for supporting this activity. The DIT will cover the entire cost of the establishment, operation and maintenance of state-based WANs for five years on a 100 percent grant basis.
| A hundred thousand ICT kiosks |
| The ICT kiosks project is at an advanced stage. The conceptualisation
of this project has been successfully completed. All the preparations have
been done, now formal approval by the ministry is awaited. “In this project, our goal is to establish 100,000 ICT kiosks across India, with rural areas given higher consideration. One out of every six villages will have an ICT kiosk,” comments Chandrashekhar. The implementation strategy of this initiative will be completely dependent on public-private partnership. “We plan to take on this project via block-wise coverage,” adds Chandrashekhar. |
Says R Chandrashekhar, Joint Secretary in the DIT, “e-governance projects in India are rapidly advancing towards service delivery projects. But we need to strengthen our capacity-building aspect. To achieve this, we not only need to implement a strategic approach, but also need to be in touch with what’s going on around the world in the field of e-governance.”
| On the e-procurement front |
| Considerable progress been made on the e-procurement
initiative. “It will be a unique project as it will require a great
amount of participation and the involvement of different ministries and
departments,” says Chandrashekhar. The Central Vigilance Committee
(CVC) has recommended this project for bigger organisations and PSUs. Online
tenders are now a reality. “Soon, entire government tenders will be
available online,” states Chandrashekhar. Data centres are among three pillars of NeGP. Some projects have commenced with the Government of Karnataka and NIC that have a data centre. The concept of a data centre requires huge infrastructure-related issues like redundant power supply. But the way it is been moving up, this trend will catch up very soon. Developing standards is certainly a key aspect in any continued success. Lots of integration and involvement of different bodies is required to design these standards. The government is aggressively working on this, and has already formed five groups to develop these standards. An apex committee has also been formed at DIT. But there is a long road ahead. All the projects have different concerns and focuses. For example, some e-governance projects have been initiated where storage is the top priority; others have security as a major concern to address, so each and every project is going to have its own strategy. |
The Indian situation is a little different as each project has its own priorities. For example, some have a core focus of revenue collection, others have massive storage requirements, and in some places the utmost importance is placed on security. The common aspect is service deliverability. “Earlier, when we were doing these projects on a pilot basis, the service deliverability aspect was lacking. At that time, the focus was on issues such as record keeping, revenue collection and data storage,” recalls Chandrashekhar.
e-governance has advanced to a higher stage, and the focus is increasingly on delivering services. In certain areas, the government welcomes participation from NGOs and private organisations. More participation of such kind will be appreciated by the people who are the users or consumers of e-governance. “This participation can only happen on the front-end level. All the back-end work will be handled by the government. For example, in the case of ICT kiosks, setting up of a kiosk can be done by any private party, but to run that kiosk all support will be provided by the government,” informs Chandrashekhar.
The Government of India has approved the NeGP for implementation till 2007. The plan seeks to lay the foundation and provide the impetus for long-term growth of e-governance within the country. It is seeking to create the right governance and institutional mechanisms, set up the core infrastructure and policies, and then implement a number of Mission Mode Projects at the centre, state and integrated service levels to create a citizen-centric and business-centric environment for governance.
| Industry says… |
| Sudhir Narang, Senior Vice-president, Government
Business & Service Providers, Cisco Systems India & SAARC “Cisco India is always committed to NeGP’s initiatives. John Chambers, President & CEO of Cisco Systems, during his visit to India in 2005, committed to invest US $5 million to support the NeGP. Cisco has also committed to establish Common Service Centres (CSC) in up to 100 villages in India; these will provide citizens online access to government services in rural areas. The company will provide networking equipment necessary for the CSCs. Apart from this, Cisco will also conduct a year-long series of activities including senior-level workshops, research, and reference visits to train government officials in this regard. We are also working with state governments to set up State Wide Area Networks (SWANs), and Cisco is deploying Secretariat LAN deployments for state governments. There are so many other projects in which we are actively involved with the government for implementation of various e-governance initiatives.” Rohit Kumar, Country Head, Public Sector, Microsoft Satish Kaushal, Country Manager, Government (SWG), IBM Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman & CEO, HCL |
NeGP is an ambitious programme aimed at improving the quality, accessibility and effectiveness of government services to citizens and businesses with the help of information technology. It has enabled convenient and transparent access to the government and private services while providing equitable opportunities to all. It is also been used as an effective tool to drive administrative reforms within the government, and can change the perception of people about the government. In addition, it has created a national IT backbone for fast, reliable and efficient connectivity, data storage and access. There would also be integrated service centres for delivery of citizen services.
The focus of NeGP is on the following.
- Adequate weightage must be given for quality and speed of implementation in procurement procedures for IT services.
- Incorporation of a suitable system of incentivisation of states to encourage adoption.
- The trend of delivery of services through common service centres should be encouraged and promoted.
- Wherever possible, services should be outsourced.
- The full potential for private sector investment should be exploited.
- Connectivity should be extended up to block level through NICNET/ SWANs.
- NeGP also envisages significant investments in areas such as government process re-engineering, capacity building, training, assessment and awareness. The plan is to be executed over a four-year period. An apex committee under the Cabinet Secretary is already in place for providing the strategic direction and management oversight.
Autor: Faiz Askari
Quelle: Express Computers, 28.04.2006
