e-KRANTI
Background:-
Government of India accords highest priority to the Digital India programme that is an umbrella programme for transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The pillars of Digital India programme, namely ‘e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology’ and ‘e-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services’ respectively are directly linked to the e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) 2.0. The implementation of e-Kranti is vital for Digital India and for the delivery of e-governance, easy governance and good governance in the country.
Vision and Mission:-
- “Transforming e-Governance for Transforming Governance”
- “To ensure a Government-wide transformation by delivering Government services electronically to the citizens through integrated and interoperable systems via multiple modes, while ensuring efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs”
Principles of e-Kranti:-
- Transformation and not Translation :- This principle emphasizes that , the programs must not merely translate itself from document or Pen and Paper service to Digital service, it must transform itself, so that the end-user(Public) could get hassle free access to government services.
- Integrated Services and not Individual Services:- More often than not ,we have come across issues where various departments of Governments work in silos and there is rarely any co-ordination among them, instead the coordination part rests upon the individual who wants certain services.This give the space for corruption and bribery is paid to move a file from one department to another. But this principle is trying to change that by integrating the departments , making file movement digital , hence coordination part rests upon the departments and not on the beneficiary.
- Government Process Re-engineering :-Elimination of Non-Value-Adds,process optimization,Standardization, Automation and Self service
- Cloud by Default :-Government Cloud as default cloud for services and no requirement of separate infrastructure set up for any service.Government cloud service known as – Meghraj
- Mobile First :- Making services available via Mobile phones
- Mandating Standards and Protocols
- Language Localization
- Security and Electronic Data Preservation
E-Kranti as Part of Digital India :-
National e-Governance Plan:-
Make all Government services accessible to the COMMON MAN IN HIS LOCALITY, through Common Service Delivery Outlets and ensure EFFICIENCY, TRANSPARENCY & RELIABILITY of such services at AFFORDABLE COSTS to realise the BASIC NEEDS of the common man.
Key Components of NeGP:-
- Integrated Service Delivery Platform
- Mission Mode Projects (MMPS)
- Core ICT Infrastructure
Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats:-
NeGP vs e-Kranti :-
CAPEX-Capital Expense , OPEX-Operating Expense
Why e-Kranti :-
- Need to exploit Emerging Technologies
- Cloud
- Mobile Platform- Smart phones, Tablets
- Geo-Spatial Information System
- Big Data Analytics
- Avoid risk of obsolescence
- Need for introducing more agile implementation models
Institutes and Instruments :-
- National e-Governance Academy
- e-Governance Knowledge Portal
- Create e-Governance Impact Index
- Effective use of Social Media
Few Projects related to e-Kranti:-
- e-Sansad
- e-Vidhaan
- Roads and Highways Information System (RAHI)
- Agriculture 2.0
- Common IT Roadmap for Para Military Forces
- e-Bhasha
- Urban Governance
and Many More.
Analysis:-
- Indian IT sector growth is a result of capitalist market forces combined with abundant and cost-effective human resource availability.
- India over decades built the strengthen in IT sector and it is high time that the Government of India utilizes it to deliver the services.In this regard the e-Kranti is an welcome step.
- However , the major concern is the state of our education and dismal literacy rate which hampers the adoption of technology by masses. More so, IT is a sophisticated platform where many a time even the literate ones unable to transact properly.That means, majority of Indians does not have “digital literacy” , hence there is a social resistance to adopt this services.
- In the absence of digital literacy , many take the help of so called “Middle Man” to get the job done.This in turn , hampers the whole idea of e-governance, because one of its primary focus is self-service and eliminate middle man . Instead, it gave rise to a different kind of middle man altogether in India.
- Frauds are rampant and innocents are getting caught in the trap. The trap also engulfs the literate too.
- Hence, it is high time , literacy and digital literacy should be separated.
- The good part is , digital literacy only demands few protocols to be followed and once it is communicated and demonstrated properly , it may serve the purpose.
- Another revolutionizing idea is the localization of language, thus letting people transact with their own language. This gives fillip to the e-Kranti altogether.
- Thought , there may be an initial hesitance for adoption of technology , however with time, this will vanish and with it the middle man also will vanish.
- The next trouble is the Infrastructure part.Digital infrastructure is a costly affair and requires huge investment. Moreover , given the status quo of many services and rampant call-drops , dismal network services across India, this still seems like a dream.
- The call cost of India may be then lowest, but the data charges are one of the highest.Often one hears the consumer complain on awful data services.Network should search the phone and connect , instead People are searching for networks (sometime on the roof and sometime on the mountain)
- Hence , e-Kranti to succeed , the digital infrastructure should be accessible and affordable , else we will be left will high-end applications but no end-users.
On the conclusion, though, digital infrastructure is a competitive market and given the market capitalization and presence of healthy competition , right push and policies can troubleshoot these problems , there by making e-Kranti a grand success.
Recent Posts
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)