Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency, and

Accountability
E-governance: Applications, Models, Successes, Limitations,
and Potential
Citizens Charters
Transparency and Accountability -10th ARC
CVC
Lokayuktas and Lokpals
E-gov
RTI
Institutional and other measures

Topics to cover:
- Definition of e-governance
- Four stages of e-governance as outlined by OECD
- Four stages in Indian context
- Four kinds of interactions facilitated by e-governance
- Atleast one example for each of these (state/ central
government)
- 1 key recommendation from UNs report on e-gov
- 1 key lesson from Indias attempts at computerization of land
records
- 5 models of e-governance (e-BCCI)
- Success rate for e-gov projects in India
- Core principles for e-gov in India
- Key steps towards implementation of e-gov reforms (what
should be done and in what sequence?)
- NeGP: aim, 3 components
-

Good governance aims at providing public services effectively,

efficiently, and equitably to the citizens. Citizens are thus at the core
of good governance. It incorporates elimination of corruption, which
can be defined as the use of public office towards private gains.

E- Governance

E-Governance is generally understood as the use of ICT at all

levels of the Government in order to provide services to the
citizens, interaction with business enterprises, and
communication and exchange of information between different
agencies of the Government in a speedy, convenient efficient and
transparent manner

A successful e-Governance intervention isnt mere application of

ICT tools to governance; it requires a holistic approach, as it
encompasses domain knowledge, process reform management,
resources management, project management and change
 management. In each one of these, Knowledge Management
(KM) is an important component. Knowledge Management is a
process that, continuously and systematically, transfers
knowledge from individuals and teams, who generate them, to
the brain of the organisation for the benefit of the entire
organisation

OECD has defined four stages of e-government, each one more

demanding than the next. These are:

Information: putting information on web-sites

Interaction: allowing citizens to enquire about services,
procedures etc. and filling up forms and submitting them
online
Transaction: allowing payments online
Transformation: a mix of all the above and allowing the citizen
to participate in governance through ICT

In the Indian context, the stages of evolution of e-governance

have been:
i. Computerization of government offices
ii. Networking: connection of various departments by technology
iii. Online presence of departments
iv. Online interactivity with citizens

E-gov promotes various kinds of interactions: G2G (both

horizontal and vertical), G2C, G2B, and G2E (employee)

Benefits: Better access to information and quality service for

citizens; Simplicity, efficiency, and accountability in the
government, and expanded reach of governance

The UN comes out with an e-gov preparedness level index

annually; components include:
Web-measure index
Telecommunications infrastructure index (Internet users, PCs,
Main telephone lines, Cellphones, Broadband connections /
100 people)
Human Capital index (adult literacy ratio, combined with
primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio)

The UN survey also recommends that the development of an ICT

framework should focus on developing not only frontline
interfaces with the public as service recipients, but also back
office capacities for processing information and conducting
transactions. Also, utilization of appropriate industry expertise is
key
 International experience also warns us that only about 15% of
e-government projects are successful; this reinforces the fact
that e-governance should be first about governance, and only
next about technology. That is, without governance reforms,
technological solutions alone will be of no use. Main reasons
behind such failures are as follows:

The technological interface of the project does not match with

the IT- preparedness of the organization owning and
implementing the project

The organizational processes does not match with the

application platform provided by the technological solution

The management structures are not conducive to

implementation and sustenance of e-Governance projects

Adequate resources (time, money etc.) are not allocated to e-

Government projects

This shows that e-Governance projects cannot be planted from

outside. A holistic approach has to be adopted in order to
understand the needs of the citizens, the capabilities of government
organizations, their processes and structures and based on these,
the technology-based solution would have to be devised

In Indias case, the experience of trying to computerize land records

corroborates this evidence- while this initiative was one of the very
first ICT initiatives in India, it failed to take into account that the
existing land records do not accurately reflect the ground reality.
Hence, the scheme only led to perpetuation of existing loopholes
and errors

Some initiatives in India and lessons learnt

1. G2C:

i.Computerization of land records (GoI, Dept. of Land Resources):

The scheme failed to address the main problem in case of
land records in India, i.e. the land records do not reflect the
factual ground reality. Computerization only led to
perpetuation of existing loopholes and errors

ii. Bhoomi (Karnataka):

Computerized kiosks offer procurement of land records and
requests for changes to land titles
Demonstrates that if benefits to citizens are real and
substantial, projects become sustainable
For success, political will, end-to-end computerization, and
 continuity in project management team are essential

iii. Gyandoot (Maharashtra)

Computerized kiosks offer information on agricultural
commodity rates, and certificates for income, domicile,
caste; BPL list, hindi newspaper etc., with a prescribed
service charge for each service
No loan or government subsidies were involved
Demonstrates that supporting infrastructure is a must for e-
gov projects, as situation of power supply, connectivity, and
backend support was bad
User charges in rural areas may be a detarrant

iv. Lokvani (UP)

Computerized kiosks offer information on various
government schemes, land records, agricultural commodity
rates, and certificates for income, domicile, caste; BPL list,
hindi newspaper etc., with a prescribed serve charge for
each service
Existing cyber cafes were given licenses to run this
programme, so no government loans or subsidies were
required
Demonstrates that PPP model can work

v. FRIENDS (Kerala)
Single Window Facility providing means to pay taxes and
other dues to the state government
Operated without back-end connectivity with government
departments, and was a huge success

vi. Karnataka:

Karnatakas government wants residents eventually to

interact by smartphone with hundreds of services from its
60 departments. In December it launched Mobile One, a
phone application, for checking property records, birth
certificates, car-registration documents and more. The state
also runs intercity bus services, utilities and other services,
so residents can now book tickets and pay electricity bills or
taxes on the phone, or check in with doctors or dentists

Residents are also encouraged to report local problems

through the app. If you spot a pothole or a pile of rubbish in
Bangalore, you can alert city officials by uploading a geo-
tagged photograph. (Lahore, in Pakistan, has a similar
service to get standing water removed, to discourage
mosquitoes and dengue.)
 vii. Others: e-Seva (AP), RACE (Revenue Administration through
Computerized Energy) Billing project (Bihar)

2. G2B:

i.E-procurement (AP and Gujarat):

Manual procurement suffered from various deficiencies,
including discrimination, cartel formation, delays, lack of
transparency etc.
E-procurement resulted in reduction in tender cycle time,
reduction in opportunities for corrupt practices, cost savings
(advertising), prevention of cartel formation etc.
Success of e-procurement initiatives in both AP and Gujarat
show that some G2B processes dont require extensive
back-end computerization, and offer quick wins

ii. MCA 21 (Ministry of Corporate Affairs):

Aims at providing easy and secure online access to all
registry related services to corporates and other
stakeholders
It also provides access to citizens to see relevant records
and ask for grievance redressal (G2C)
This also makes it easy for regulatory agencies such as RBI,
SEBI, IB, CBI etc. to access relevant information (G2G)

3. G2G:

i.Khajane (Karnataka):
It is a comprehensive online treasury computerization
project
Resulted in the computerization of the entire treasury
related activities of the State Government
Was implemented to eliminate systemic deficiencies in the
manual treasury system

ii. SmartGov (AP):

SmartGov replaces the paper file with an e-file
It provides the features of creation, movement, tracking and
closure of e-files, automation of repetitive tasks, decision
support system through knowledge management,
prioritization of work, easy access to files through an
efficient document management system and collaboration
between departments

Models of e-governance (one classification is G2G, G2C, G2B,

and G2E; other is this:)
 Broadcasting Model: Based on dissemination of useful governance
information to citizens
Critical Flow Model: Based on disseminating/channelling
information of critical (and maybe compromising) value to the
targeted audience with ICT; actors who would disclose such
information could be whistle-blowers, upright officials etc.
Comparative Analysis Model: this model continuously assimilates
best practices in different areas of governance and uses them as
benchmark to evaluate other governance practices. It then uses
the result to advocate positive changes or to influence 'public'
opinion on existing governance practices
E-Advocacy/ Lobbying and Pressure Group Model
Interactive-Service Model: Under this model, the various services
offered by the Government become directly available to its
citizens in an interactive manner. It opens up an interactive
Government to Consumer to Government (G2C2G) channel in
various aspects of governance, such as election of government
officials (e-ballots); decision to make on specific issues (eg: health
plans) etc.

Core principles essential for the success of e-governance in

India

Clarity of Purpose: Projects should be based not only on what

technology can achieve, but primarily on what citizens need
Environment building: Need to change the mindset of all the
stakeholders involved- politicians, government officials, and the
civil society at large
E-governance as an integral part of reform in governance
Step-wise approach: E-preparedness (infrastructure and human
resource capabilities), identification of areas/ activities that can
benefit from e-governance by each organization, prioritization,
business process re-engineering, developing technological
solutions, and implementation of e-gov projects
Disciplined way of working
Monitoring and Evaluation
Developing secure, fail-safe systems and disaster recovery
systems (prevent loss of data/ collapse of system/ online theft,
insecure transactions etc.)
Sustainability, financial and otherwise
Allowing for horizontal replicability, rather than reinventing the
wheel each time
Development of local language interfaces

Implementing e-governance reforms in India

Apart from the technical requirement, success of e-Governance

initiatives would depend on capacity building and creating
awareness within government and outside it. It requires the
administrative measures mentioned below:

Building a congenial environment: This requires the willingness on

the part of the employees to adapt to technology and the
changes that it will bring to their mode of functioning, political
support, incentives, awareness, and training and capacity building
Prioritization of projects: Simpler projects that have a great
impact on the users should be identified and implemented; these
might include issuing of birth and death certificates, elementary
online transactions such as payment of electricity bills, and only
later more complex projects like PDS issuance etc. should be
taken up
Business Process Re-engineering: Governmental forms, processes,
and structures should be re-designed step-by-step to make them
adaptable to e-governance, backed by procedural, institutional,
and legal changes; redundant steps should be done away with
Capacity building and creating awareness: Capacity building
efforts should be undertaken both at the institutional as well as
employee level; a network of training institutes should be set up
at the state level
Developing Technological Solutions: Develop a national level
enterprise architecture framework, that defines the structure
and operation of every organization
Implementation: Citizen feedback should be sought and regularly
incorporated; while implementing large-scale projects, they
should be broken down into various small parts and implemented
Monitoring and Evaluation
Institutional support should be provided by apex departments at
union and state level
PPP possibilities (choice of vendor should be transparent)

National e-governance plan (NeGP)

This was initially formulated with the view to streamline various

existing e-gov initiatives across the country and facilitate learning
among states and projects.

Implementation Strategy of NeGP focuses on developing common

support infrastructure, apt governance, centralized initiative/
decentralized implementation, use of PPP where applicable, and a
programme approach (clustering of related projects under a
single head and steering body), and ownership of ministries. State
and central governments should first provide a clear mandate for
governance reforms that must precede the e-governance initiatives.

NeGP has the following 3 components: Institutional Structure,

Common Support Infrastructure, and Mission Mode Projects.
 Institutional Support: NeGP defines macro (national and state)
level overseeing and directing institutes, governance structures,
and their responsibilities
Common Support Infrastructure: State Data Centres (SDCs-
repositories for secure hosting of data and applications), State
Wide Area Networks (SWANs- high speed connections between
state and district, and district and block headquarters), and
Common Service Centers (CSCs-front end delivery points for e-
gov programmes to rural citizens; can be run by gram panchayats
initially) (SDC -> SWAN -> CSC)
Mission Mode Projects: Important projects such as pension,
income tax, passport, visa, and immigration, central excise,
banking, UID, insurance etc. can be taken up in mission mode

Syllabus talk:

Applications
Models (covered above)

Successes
Kisan Call Centres
Tata Kisan Kendras (TKKs) capture information relevant to
farmers, such as soil, ground water, and weather on real time
basis using GIS

Limitations
Rural population uses government services more than urban
one, and is technologically challenged
Low connectivity in the rural areas precludes any possibility of
e-service provision
Despite NeGP, India still lacks a full-fledged ICT framework for
implementation of e-governance, which will require building
technical hardware and software infrastructure
Lack of financial resources
Lack of skills and capacity within the government

Potential
ICT can be used for good governance, to enhance
democratization, and promote citizen empowerment
It encourages participation of citizens in the governance
process, and increase the easy of service delivery
It can help create an open door administration, and increase
transparency in the government
Government needs constant feedback from citizens

Citizens Charters
 Many surveys show that the impression of bureaucracy among the
citizenry is not favorable; they think the bureaucracy is top-heavy,
overgrown in size, unproductive, unaccountable, and lacking in
integrity and honesty.

Some of the problems with bureaucracy arise because of weak

institutions, low awareness levels of their rights among citizens, and
ineffective implementation of laws and rules.

In order to make governance more citizen-centric, the following pre-

conditions must be fulfilled:
Sound legal framework
Proper institutions for law implementation
Sound personnel management techniques
Decentralization, Deregulation, and Accountability

A Citizens Charter is a public statement that defines the

entitlements of citizens to a specific service, the standards of the
service, the conditions to be met by users, and the remedies
available to the latter in case of non-compliance of standards.

Even though promises made under these charters are not

enforceable in a court of law, each organization should specify
suitable compensatory/ remedial measures in case of default.

A citizens charter consists of the following parts:

Vision/ Mission statement: Outcomes desired/ broad strategy
to achieve them (vision statement is usually more faffy
(Vision: To eradicate poverty; mission is what you do
day to day to achieve the vision: Create sustainable
income streams by providing microfinance)
Outlining what subjects the organization deals with and what
service areas it covers
Outlining duties of citizens

Nine principles of service delivery, as enumerated by the citizens

charter movement in UK (basically: openness, equality,
collaboration, effectiveness, resourcefulness, remedial measures,
involvement of others, accessibility, and standards):

i. Standards: Set standards of service

ii. Transparency: Be open and provide full information
iii. Consult and involve
iv. Encourage access and promote choice
v. Equality: Treat all fairly
vi. Remedies: Put things right when they go wrong
vii. Use resources effectively
viii.Innovate and improve
ix. Collaborate: Work with other providers.
The UK also launched a charter mark scheme, wherein
organizations could get certification that they were firms abiding by
the principles of citizens charters (which would be perceived as an
indication of quality by their customers). This scheme was later
replaced by the closely related customer service excellence
scheme.

Indian experience of citizens charters

Since 1997, after wide consultations at the union and state levels,
about 115 union level government agencies and 650 state level
agencies have drawn up citizens charters. Guidelines issued by the
Department of Administrative Reform clearly outline the necessary
features of such charters:
Charters should be simple
Must be framed in consultation with staff who will actually
implement it
Steps should be taken to spread awareness amongst citizens
about these charters
Against each service, entitlement of the customer, service
standards, and remedies available should be highlighted, and
procedures and costs should be mentioned
It should be clarified that the charter is not justiciable
Create a feedback mechanism

Several reviews since have shown that the performance and

execution of these charters has been abysmal. The charters suffer
from the following deficiencies:
Measurable standards of delivery are rarely spelt out, so its
hard to assess whether the standards of service set-out are
achieved
Poor design and content
Lack of public awareness
Inadequate consultations and groundwork (end users and
NGOs are rarely consulted)
Charters are rarely updated, and show resistance to change
Needs of senior citizens and the disabled are rarely considered
Lack of accountability and review/ remedial mechanisms
Tendency to have a uniform charter for all offices under the
parent organization
Experience from the charter of the IT department shows
that it applies uniformly to all field formations in the
Department. However, field units across the country differ
on account of workload (i.e. number of cases, complexity
involved), human resources etc. Thus, there is need for
having Citizens Charters at the level of field units which
should be formulated by taking into account the ground
 situation while adhering to the overarching principles
adopted by the organization as a whole.

Aside from these deficiencies of charters where they do exist, a

large number of ministries and departments havent adopted any
charters at all.

How to make Citizens Charters Effective?

Internal restructuring should precede charter formulation

Charters should be adapted to local conditions, and
should be set out at the level of the field office (I think
this is the most important bit)
Wide consultations should be made at the time of formulation
Firm commitments should be made, with well-defined targets
Redressal mechanisms should be clearly spelt out
There should be periodic evaluations
Sevottam model:
This is the first standard adopted by a government
anywhere in the world for public service delivery
Works as an evaluation mechanism to assess the quality of
internal processes and their impact on the quality of service
delivery; it evaluates organizations on the following three
modules:
First, effective charter implementation and
communication of the charter objectives (review,
monitoring, and implementation)
Second, a good grievance redressal system (prevention,
redress, and receipt)
Third, excellence in service delivery (infrastructure,
employees, and customers)
Sevottam, while a step in the right direction, is currently
focused on process standards rather than service standards;
the need is to focus on better quality of services

ARC report recommends a seven-step model for citizen centricity,

which the union and state governments should adopt:

Define all services which you provide and identify your

clients.
Set standards and norms for each service.
Develop capability to meet the set standards.
Perform to achieve the standards
Monitor performance against the set standards.
Evaluate the impact through an independent mechanism.
Continuous improvement based on monitoring and
evaluation results
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Apart from citizens charters, there are various other measures that
the government can take to make the government more citizen
centric; mechanisms for citizens participation can be
conceptualized in the following forms:

Citizens seeking information

Citizens giving suggestions
Citizens demanding better services
Citizens holding service providers and the government
accountable
Active participation of citizens in decision making

Right to Public Services Acts have been enacted in various

places such as Bihar and Maharashtra; Bihar experience has been
stellar, while Maharashtra has been facing troubles.

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Grievance Redressal mechanisms at the national level are

coordinated by two nodal agencies: Department of Administrative
Reforms and Public Grievances (Ministry of Public Grievances), and
Directorate of Public Grievance, Cabinet Secretariat. Main work is
done by the Centralized Public Grievance and Monitoring System
(CPGRAMS), which provides the facility to launch an online
complaint from any part of the country; there have been calls for
instituting a similar system at the state level as well.

The Union and State Governments should ask all public

authorities to designate public grievance officers on the lines
of the Public Information Officers under the RTI Act
All grievance petitions received should be satisfactorily
disposed of within thirty days
Governments should also identify areas prone to more
complaints, and work towards removing the underlying causes
that cause a higher degree of complaints in these areas