Presentation 2: Universal e-Government and the Digital Divide
Prof. Subhash Bhatnagar

Governments around the world are embracing electronic government. In every region of the globe-from developing countries to industrialized ones-national and local governments are putting critical information online, automating once cumbersome processes and interacting electronically with their citizens. This enthusiasm comes in part from a belief that technology can transform government's often-negative image. Reform minded officials in many countries have used technology to improve delivery of services. Successful e-Government applications have advanced the agenda on governance and fiscal reform, transparency, anti-corruption, empowerment and poverty reduction. E-Government is one of the many tools whose potential in tackling these problems needs to be recognized.

To achieve success in implementation, e-Government projects need to be defined with clearly identified goals and measurable benefits for citizens and businesses. Significant process reform is needed when using ICT for automating procedures for delivering services. E-government is a process-and often a struggle that presents costs and risks, both financial and political. These risks can be significant. If not well-conceived and implemented, e-government initiatives can waste resources, fail in their promise to deliver useful services and thus increase public frustration with government.

Making e-Government widespread entails providing access to the Internet in rural areas. On-line delivery through assisted community service centers is the most practical solution in countries with low Internet penetration and significant levels of illiteracy. For many countries in Asia, the promise of e-Government will remain unfulfilled unless the digital divide is bridged.

E-Government applications that offer significant value (killer applications) to rural citizens can help in the expansion of rural telecenters. Access to these killer applications by privately owned tele-centers could make these tele-centers viable in a short span. Other services can be added once basic viability is ensured. In other contexts existing tele-centers that serve a commercial objective can be used as access points for delivering eGovernment services. In both these models grass root organizations and NGOs have an important role to play in interpreting the informational needs of rural communities and in making information and knowledge usable by such communities.

There have been a large number of pilots that deliver eGovernment services to rural populations in India. A few of these pilots have been scaled up to a moderate level. The presentation would highlight a few of these experiments and propose three models through which the digital divide can be bridged for delivering eGovernment.