18th National Conference on e-Governance 30th & 31st January’2015 (Venue: Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat) The Organizers Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Government of India Department of Electronics and Information Technology Ministry of Communications & Information Technology Government of India Department of Science and Technology Government of Gujarat Knowledge Partner Background Paper | 1 Session Partners PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. 2 | Background Paper Table of Contents Session - 1 Digital Governance - New Frontiers 04 Session - 2 e-Governance Leaders as Change Agents 29 Session - 3 Accountable Governance Through Social Media and Citizen Engagement 51 Session - 4 Integrated Service Delivery- Standards and Interoperability 85 Session - 5 Use of Mobile Platform for Rapidly Expanding Access 95 Session - 6 Skill Development and Employability 113 Session - 7 Partnership with Industry- New Business Models and Service Delivery 129 Session - 8 Citizen Services in a Smart City - New Paradigm 144 Background Paper | 3 18th National Conference on e-Governance White Paper on “Digital Governance - New Frontiers” Developed by - Author: Tanmoy Chakrabarty, Vice President & Global Head Govt. Industry Solution Unit (ISU) 4 | Background Paper Table of Contents 1. Recap of Digital Governance in India 07 1.1. Good Governance is Digital Governance 07 1.2. Digital Governance in India 07 2. Why New Frontiers? 10 3. Doing More with Less (A Case for Speed and Scale) 12 4. What Will Make New Frontiers of Digital work 14 4.1 Improving Basic Fundamentals 14 4.2 Gaining Maturity 15 5. Technologies which will make it Happen 16 6. The New Frontiers 18 6.1. Online Government Services- Challenging Digital Divide 18 6.2. Energy Management Solution & Services 20 6.3. Excellence in Education 22 6.4. Proactive Health care for Senior Citizens – Innovation cum Research Project 23 6.5. Back Ground verification 24 6.6. Financial Inclusion – Banking the UnBanked 26 6.7. Connecting Citizens 27 Background Paper | 5 List of Abbreviations Abbreviation Expanded Form AI Artificial Intelligence API Application Programming Interface ATM Automated Teller Machine CCTV Closed-circuit television DCI Dental Council of India e-Governance Electronic Governance IT Information Technology MCA Ministry of Corporate Affairs MCI Medical Council of India PRS Passenger Reservation System QoS Quality of Services SOP Standard Operating Procedure 6 | Background Paper 1. Recap of Digital Governance in India 1.1. Good Governance is Digital Governance It is now widely acknowledged that in Good Governance, information is used strategically for public good and welfare of people. And in case of bad governance, the same information is used for private gains and suppression of constituents. In either forms of governance, the selective use of information creates hierarchal structures on which power is unequally distributed. Some facts on the role of information in governance are as follows: • Access to information forms the basis of decision-making (which could be for public good or private gains). • Well-informed decision-making is dependent on the quality and timeliness of information available. • Limiting access to information to an exclusive group without rationale and commensurate responsibilities opens up avenue for manipulation of information for exploitative purposes and private gains. Hence it is evident from above that Information Technology (IT) can play various roles to help in Good Governance which are as follows: • Technical Role: Automation of repetitive governance tasks and thereby improving efficiency of governance processes. For example, automated filing of utility bills, tax forms, e-voting, periodic information reporting and so on. • Supportive Role: Use of Information and Communication Technology to complement existing efforts and processes to improve governance. For example, use of internet to catalyse existing efforts towards transparency in government information and functioning or embedding use of social media and emails in connecting decision-makers with their constituencies. • Innovative and Disruptive Role: Use of Information and Communication Technology to initiate new governance services or new mechanisms for improved service delivery which would have not been impossible through non-ICT modes. With the advent of mobile enabled connectivity, can we have newer models of service delivery in crucial areas of Health, Security and so on ? Introduction of Digital Governance ensures that citizens can participate in and influence decision-making processes, which affect them closely. Citizens no longer remain passive recipients of governance services provided to them, but can pro-actively decide the types and standards of governance services that they want and the governance structures which can best deliver them. It is visible today that Digital Governance transforms governance from representative to a more individual based participation form, and from passive to being pro- active. Further as use of digital governance leads to closer contact of citizen with decision-makers/officials in the government, the impact is immediate. On the whole, it puts greater access and control over governance mechanism in the hands of citizen, and in process leads to more transparent, accountable and efficient governance. 1.2. Digital Governance in India India moved into the Digital era long time back. The Passenger Reservation System (PRS), when launched, was one of the pioneers to provide the disruptive way of ticket booking. The transformation of Stock Exchanges and Depositary Services demonstrated that it is Information Technology which can handle the scale and holistic Background Paper | 7 transformation of our country. Banks with Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) was the next revolution which took the banking services to the doorsteps of citizens in the country, and now will be the era of Direct Benefit Transfer, which will allow social transformation. The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was ultimately defined to take the Government to the citizens’ doorsteps. It planned to do the following: • Create Digital Infrastructure, for example State Data Center (SDC), State Wide area Network (SWAN) and so on • Remove Digital Divide by establishing Assisted Computer/Internet usage (Common Service Centre (CSC)) and also by incorporating concept of facilitation centre in individual projects. Call Centres were the other mechanisms which have been used. Build capacity to plan, Execute and absorb technology Create the interoperability infrastructure and the Electronic Service Delivery Infrastructure at local level of Governance The Plan created Mission Mode Projects (MMPs), which were to be implemented by various Line Ministries (functional Ministries). The execution could have been at the Central level/state level/ or both Centre & state level. The key to the success of the project has been the design and implementation. The projects like MCA21 and Passport Seva has set-up the benchmark for impact of e-Governance Projects. The key reason of the success being the clarity of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs in building the concept & the resolve to implement the project holistically. The consistent and continuous tracking of the milestones and measurement of success points have ensured that the benefits are available and visible. Both these projects are also a live example of successful Public Private Partnership. MCA21 also broke the myth of vendor lock-in (with private parties) as it changed hands in the year 2013 from one private sector service provider to the second private sector service provider. With successful transition and exit management methodology, India has moved on to the next level of maturity in Digital Governance. Taxation, both in Direct and Indirect Taxation, has been another area of transformation using Information Technology. Central Board of Direct Taxes and Central Board of Excise & Customs have progressively build a system which has brought the transformation. Though there is lot still to be done, the achievement made till now has been significant. Most of the states have ensured that the Value Added Taxation system is automated and is helping the states to augment the revenues. The Expenditure Management Systems in many states have real time dashboards with Integrated Financial Management Systems and some of the states do present the budgets online. The Digital Companies in the three states Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are doing well and are providing range of citizen services through franchise and Citizen Service Center (CSC) thereby bridging the digital divide. Some of the other Departments in the states have made significant progress. Notably in Delhi, the water billing system and Excise department for collection of excise revenue. Andhra Pradesh has used technology to implement many of the Social Sector program and MNREGA implementation needs specific mention. Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) at Andhra Pradesh tried to use technology with all the limitation (due to connectivity problem) to the best possible way. It has been appreciated by the audit bodies as well. The Central Government besides building up systems like MCA21, CBEC, UIDAI etc., had many other success stories also. Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, built a regulatory system for the Diaspora to regulate 8 | Background Paper the appointments