Grant Amount: US$ 8,888

Keywords: INTERNET, GOVERNANCE, POLICY, COMMUNITY, INDIA

Geographic coverage: India

Objective

The objective of this project is to explore ways of using information and communications technology (ICT) tools for integrated delivery of government services to Indian citizens, in particular disadvantaged groups.

Research context

Many state and local level governments in India are in the process of developing ICT solutions to provide integrated delivery of services to citizens. Attempts however, have not delivered on services that require complex organizational processes, such as cross-referencing, discretion, evaluation and judgment. These types of processes are often essential to serve disadvantaged sections of society. This research project aims to study six initiatives in India, and combine its findings with the experience of Centrelink (http://www.centrelink.gov.au), a community service department of Government of Australia. The project goal is to develop a roadmap for process re-engineering and integrated service delivery. The outcomes of the research are policy briefs for governments and guidelines setting up front-end agencies for e-governance services.

Target beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries are the state governments involved in e-governance initiatives and administrative reforms in India. The ultimate beneficiaries are the citizens of India themselves, particularly the disadvantaged.

Outputs

The output of the research study is a document that will serve as a policy brief for the government and provide guidelines for implementing officials. It includes detailed documentation of issues and solutions for developing an e-governance front-end agency and a road map from the present ad hoc arrangements to a full-fledged institutionalized agency or department with appropriate outreach components.

Research results and outcomes

This project was still in progress at the time of writing, however interim reports indicate that government online services in India are still at a developmental level. The project sees the most critical issue is that many ICT initiatives have not motivated any fundamental changes in the way government works or in the way public services are provided. Several issues have been identified as cause of this, such as a lack of ownership at the ministerial level or that ministries consider e-governance to be an information technology (IT) issue, not one of changing the way government works. The result however, is that little structural change is underway in the Indian administration, change that is necessary for e-government services to evolve.

The project will compare and contrast the situation in India with the experience of Australia’s CentreLink, the front-end department for all other departments. This online service provides 60-70 percent of all welfare services delivered and is recognized as an independent ministry. The project will compare this with six initiatives undertaken by different states in India, representing different models at various stages of maturity. One example given was in Kerala, where the IT Ministry has initiated a programme called AKSHAYA – a large multi-stakeholder wireless network used to devolve responsibilities to the local level.

The results of the comparative analysis will be used to develop policy briefs for the Indian government and a series of guidelines setting up front-end agencies for e-governance services. The briefs will be used to make policy recommendations to government departments throughout India.

Project Duration

Start Date: April 2006
End Date: September 2006
Total Duration: 6 Months

Contact information

Parminder Jeet Singh, Director
IT for Change
393, 17th Main, 4th T Block
Jayanagar, Bangalore 560011, India
Telephone: +91 80 4146 1055
Fax: +91 80 2665 4134
Email: Parminder@ITforChange.net

Website: http://www.ITforChange.net

Reference website: http://www.centrelink.gov.au