Introduction:-

Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information and communication

technology (ICT) for delivering government services, exchange of information, communication
transactions, integration of various stand-alone systems and services between government-to-
citizen (G2C), government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G), government-
to-employees (G2E) as well as back-office processes and interactions within the entire
government framework. Through e-governance, government services are made available to
citizens in a convenient, efficient, and transparent manner.

E-Governance has become an essential part of any firm in globalisation process. Increasing
demands of clearness in administration, rapid information transfer, more competent performance
and improved public service has pushed organizations to choose electronic means for success in
business. Organizations can give better performance through innovative use of information
technology and e-governance. There are many advantages of e-governance and impact public
management through, for example, improved access to services, decreased operational costs,
enhanced knowledge management, and strengthened coordination of government agencies. E-
government has been major developments of the web. It is well established that Internet
supported digital communities, they present the national governments with a number of
challenges and opportunities. The application of ICT and e-governance has huge potential for
intermediate organizations in developing countries. The main goal of e-governance is to support
and simplify governance for all parties' government, citizens and businesses. E-governance uses
electronic medium to support and motivate good governance. Therefore the purpose of e-
governance are analogous to the objectives of good governance.

The complete transformation of the processes of Governance using the implementation of

Information & Communication Technology is called E-Governance. It aims at bringing in faster
and transparent service delivery, accountability, information sharing and people participation in
the decision making and govt. processes. E-governance means computerization of current
government procedures. Government has started implementation of the electronic governance for
each and every department to provide government documents to the citizens very much easily
and on the fly. But computerization may require staff members should be well educated of
computer and should be aware of latest technology, again there are some challenges for the
implementing new technology.

E-governance is the application of Information Technology to the processes of government

functioning to bring SMART .i.e. Smart, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent
Governance. Researchers have proved that governments are moving forward in e-government
development around the India. Despite the high demand placed by e-government on multitude
foundation pillars, including prerequisites of infrastructure and capacity development, the
progress of e-governance is still low.

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Concept of E-governance:-
E-governance is the application of ICT to the processes of government functioning for good
governance. In other words, e-governance is the public sector’s use of ICTs with the aim to
improve information and service delivery, encourage citizen participation in decision-making
and make government more accountable, transparent and efficient. The Ministry of Information
and Technology states that e-governance goes far beyond mere computerisation of stand alone
back office operations. It implies fundamental changes in government operations; and new set of
responsibilities for the legislature, executive, judiciary and citizens. According to the
Comptroller and Auditor General, UK, e-governance means providing public access to
information via the internet by government departments and their agencies. So in essence, e-
governance is the application of ICT in government functioning to bring in SMART governance
implying: simple, moral, accountable, responsive and transparent governance.

E-governance is the good usage of information and communication technologies to transform

and enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational and
transactional exchanges with in government, between government agencies at National, State,
Municipal & Local levels, citizen & businesses, and to authorise citizens through access and use
of information. Fundamentally, E-governance, entails electronic governance which uses
information and communication technologies at various levels of the government and the public
sector to improve governance. Theoretical studies demonstrated that E-Governance is the process
of change of the relationship of government with its constituents the citizens, the businesses and
between its own organs, through the use of tools of information and communication technology.
Keohane and Nye asserted that "Governance implies the processes and institutions, both formal
and informal that guide and restrain the collective activities of a group. Government is the subset
that acts with authority and creates formal obligations. Governance need not necessarily be
conducted exclusively by governments. Private firms, associations of firms, nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), and associations of NGOs all engage in it, often in association with
governmental bodies, to create governance and sometimes without governmental authority." The
objective of E-governance is to embrace information and communication technologies and offer
an opportunity to citizens, so they can get involve in decision making process. According to The
UNESCO, E-governance is the public sector's use of information and communication
technologies in order to enhance information and service delivery, motivating inhabitant
involvement in the decision-making process and making government more accountable,
transparent and effective. E-governance involves new styles of management, novel ways to
decide policy and investment, new ways of accessing education, and listening to citizens and
new ways of organizing and delivering information and services. The purpose is to give better
access, accountability and efficiency in the delivery of government information and services. E-
Governance has capability to provide all government information and services on internet to the
public and private sector. An e-governance initiatives and innovations will ensure a more
democratic, transparent and accountable framework for the public and private apparatus to

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operate in. The governments of developing countries must establish a suitable environment for e-
governance. E-governance is the method of service delivery and information dissemination to
citizens using electronic means providing many benefits over the conventional system. These
include increased efficiency in various Governmental processes, transparency and anticorruption
in all transactions, empowerment of citizens and encouragement of their participation in
governance. Ray and Dash (2015) considered that e-governance should also include the aspects
of internal working which cover use of information technology to increase competence and
effectiveness of internal functions and internal communications and internetworking. Internal
aspects cover the overall change of government hierarchy to adjust to the new requirements and
expectations of efficient and improved services, simplification and rationalization in the business
process to better serve the stake-holders in a transparent and cost-effective manner.

Models of E-governance:-
Prof. Dr. Arie Halachmi in his paper, namely, ‘ E-Government Theory and Practice: The
Evidence from Tennessee (USA),’ has given five important models of e-governance, which can
be used as a guide in designing e-government initiatives depending on the local situation and
governance activities that are expected to be performed. These models are:

• The Broadcasting Model

• The Critical Flow Model

• The Comparative Analysis Model

• The E-Advocacy/Mobilisation and Lobbying Model

• The Interactive-Service Model

We will now discuss these models individually.

 The Broadcasting Model - The model is based on dissemination/broadcasting of useful

governance information, which is in the public domain into the wider public domain with
ICT and convergent media. The strength of the model rests upon the fact that a more
informed citizenry is better able to judge the functioning of existing governance
mechanisms and make an informed opinion about them. Consequently, they become
more empowered to exercise their rights and responsibilities. Widespread application of
this model corrects ‘information failure situations’ by providing people with the relevant
information relating to the governance sphere to make informed opinion and impact
governance processes.
Further, the use of ICT opens an alternative channel for people to access information as
well as validate existing information from different sources.

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  The Critical Flow Model - The model is based on disseminating/channelling
information of critical value to the targeted audience or into the wider public domain with
ICT and convergent media. The strength of this model is that ICT makes the concept of
‘distance’ and ‘time’ redundant when information is hosted on a digital network, and this
could be used advantageously by instantly transferring the critical information to its
strategic user group located anywhere or by making it freely available in the wider public
domain.
 The Comparative Analysis - Model This model is highly significant model for
developing countries and can be used for empowering people. Essentially, the model
continuously assimilates best practices in the areas of governance and then uses them as
benchmarks to evaluate other governance practices. It then uses the result to advocate
positive changes or to influence ‘public’ opinion on these governance practices. The
comparison could be made over a time scale to get a snapshot of the past and present
situation or could be used to compare the effectiveness of an intervention by comparing
two similar situations. The strength of this model lie in the infinite capacity of digital
networks to store varied information and retrieve and transmit it instantly across all
geographical and hierarchal barriers.
 The E-Advocacy/Mobilisation and Lobbying - Model This model builds the
momentum of real-world processes by adding the opinions and concerns expressed by
virtual communities. This model helps the global civil society to impact on global
decision-making processes. It is based on setting up a planned, directed flow of
information to build strong virtual allies to complement actions in the real world. Virtual
communities are formed which share similar values and concerns and these communities
in turn link up with or support real-life groups/activities for concerted action.
Hence, it creates a diversity of virtual community and the ideas, expertise and resources
are accumulated through this virtual form of networking. In addition, it is able to mobilise
and leverage human resources and information beyond geographical, institutional and
bureaucratic barriers and use it for concerted action.
 The Interactive-Service Model - It opens avenues for direct participation of individuals
in governance processes and brings in greater objectivity and transparency in decision-
making processes through ICT. Fundamentally, ICT has the potential to bring in every
individual in a digital network and enable interactive (two-way) flows of information
among them.

E-governance in India:-
India is a country of diverse culture, tradition, language, geography and the monetary condition
of the people. In this country, there are number of people who are below the minimal
socioeconomic benchmarks. This includes rural and urban poor, women in rural areas, street
children, people of disadvantaged castes and people living in less developed areas. The

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susceptibility of these sections of society has increased with globalization and this section is
prone to become even more marginalized, economically and socially. According to scholars,
India is a developing country with great potential for a speedy development. However, it has
undergone the impact of political crisis. These events severely affected India's growth as well as
they have pushed India back by many years.
E-Governance/ICT initiatives has immense role in the enhancement of improving accessibility,
cutting down costs, lessening corruption, extending help and increased access to un-served
groups in India. In the age of technical advancement, e-government initiatives have reached most
of the people belonging to these sections of society. Improved access to information and services
has offered economic and social development opportunities, enabled participation and
communication in policy and decision-making processes and empowerment of the feeblest
groups of society. This has promoted ownership and building of social capital, which in turn,
constitute a basis for local revival.
India has good position in implementing ICT in the Asia. India is linked with most of the nations
of the world. With the adoption of E governance formation and communication technology,
India's tourism is enhanced. Furthermore, the steady changes taking place in the
telecommunications industry in India which positively impact in fiscal growth of country and
provide better services and lower prices for customers. In India, government is also providing
investment incentives in terms of tax concessions and establishment of e-zones for ICT-based
industries. There are agencies such as India National ICT Council and projects such as e-
government initiatives which are accountable for spearheading, devising and implementing of E
governance. The successive establishment of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in 1976 with
the financial help of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was major step to
execute e-Governance in India. After that numerous e-Governance initiatives launched at both
national and state levels. These projects implemented to make progress to address major
problems related to government service. On the basis of the advice of the Second Administrative
Reforms Commission, the Government of India devised a National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)
in 2003. The NeGP was initiated with a vision of "Make all Government services accessible to
the common man in his area, through a common service delivery channel and guarantee
efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at reasonable costs to meet the basic
needs of the common people (NeGP, 2003). Afterwards array of projects were implemented.
Reviewing the academic studies, it has been found that there a hot debate related to e-governance
as it does not provide a clear agreement on the requirement to have bureaucratic system change
with the use of ICT. Many theorists stated that e-Governance led revolution has good impact on
government organisations because they aid to achieve better governance by lessening cost, better
dissemination of information, supporting better involvement and interaction and efficient
delivery of services (Jaeger, 2003). Other group of researchers argued about the importance of
transforming the existing model of government bureaucracy (Kallinikos, 2004). Some
researchers raise concern about the impact of information and communication technology
applications and bring changes to government processes (Ciborra, 2015). Studies have shown
that E governance has potential to bring vivid changes or transform government institutions
rather than automate or reform organisational structures (Ho, 2002).

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Strategies for E-governance in India:-
1. To build technical infrastructure/framework across India
India lacks a full fledged ICT framework for implementation of e-governance. Complete
implementation of E-governance in India will include building technical Hardware and Software
infrastructure. It will also include better and faster connectivity options. Newer connectivity
options will include faster Broadband connections and faster wireless networks such as 3G and
4G. The infrastructure must be built by Government, Private Sector as well as individuals.
Infrastructure will also include promotion of Internet Cafes, Information and Interactive Kiosks.
However while building technical infrastructure, disabled persons must also be considered. The
technology implemented, shall incorporate the disabled persons.

2. To build institutional capacity

Apart from building technical infrastructure, the Government needs to build its institutional
capacity. This will include training of Government employees, appointment of experts.
Alongwith the Government has also to create an Expert database for better utilisation of
intellectual resources with it. Apart from this, the Government has to equip the departments with
hi-technology and has also to setup special investigating agency.

3. To build legal infrastructure

For better implementation of e-governance, the Government will need to frame laws which will
fully incorporate the established as will as emerging technology. Changing technology has
changed many pre-established notions; similarly the technology is growing and changing rapidly.
It is important, that the Government makes laws which incorporate the current technology and
has enough space to incorporate the changing future technology. These IT laws need to be
flexible to adjust with the rapidly changing technology. Currently India has only the IT Act,
2000 which is mainly an E-Commerce legislation. India has also modified many laws to include
electronic technology, however it is not sufficient to cover e-governance completely.

4. To build judicial infrastructure

Overall technological awareness in current Judges is very low. The judiciary as a whole needs to
be trained in new technology, its benefits and drawbacks and the various usages. The judiciary
may alternatively appoint new judges with new judges and setup special Courts to deal with the
matters relating to ICT. The Government can also setup special tribunals to deal with matters
relating with ICT.
5. To make all information available online
The Government has to publish all the information online through websites. This can be
facilitated through centralised storage of information, localisation of content and content
management. The information of government is public information, therefore the citizens are
entitled to know every piece of information of the Government, because the Government is of
the People, by the People and for the People.

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6. To popularise E-governance
Literacy percentage in India is alarming. The whole world is moving towards e-governance, but
India still lacks in the literacy department. The people need to be educated and made e-literate
for e-governance to flourish. There are very few e-literate people in India is very low. The
Government needs to campaign for e-governance, increase people’s awareness towards e-
governance. Government can only encourage people to go online if it can make people feel
comfortable with e-governance. This can be done through educating the people about the
advantages of e-governance over physical governance. This can also be done through raising
awareness of the leaders who can motivate the people to go online.

7. Centre-State Partnership
Indian setup is quasi-federal. Therefore Centre-State and inter-state cooperation is necessary for
smooth functioning of the democratic process. This cooperation is also necessary for successful
implementation of e-governance. This cooperation shall extend to Centre-state, inter-state and
inter-department relationships. For the same the Government can setup a Central Hub like the
current Government of India portal, for accessing the information of all the organs of the central
government and also all the state government. The states can cooperate with the Centre to create
a National Citizen Database.

8. To set standards
Finally it is important to set various standards to bring e-governance to the quality and
performance level of private corporate sector. The Government of India is currently working on
standards management and has various drafts prepared for the same. These standards include
following: Inter-operability standards, Security standards, Technical standards, Quality
standards. Government websites in India currently have no uniform standard. Many Government
of Maharashtra websites differ in standards within even two of its webpages. There is no set
standard as to quality of the information, document, the formats, etc. It is very important for the
Government to set uniform national standards to be followed by all the Governments and
agencies.

Importance of E-governance:-

ICT applications have the following significance in the process of E-Governance:

A)Administrative Development
B) Effective Service Delivery

A) Administrative Development - ICTs help in reforming administrative processes to a great

extent. ICTs help in the following manners:

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  Automation of Administrative Processes - When there is minimal human intervention
and everything is system driven then this leads to effective and efficient as well as timely
services. Now departments are computerised and connected through network and
software has been built and designed around government depts. ensuring efficiency in
operations.
The departments have launched their own individual websites carrying information of
their respective departments enabling online carrying of operations and file movements
as well as budgeting, accounting, data flow, etc. have become easy.

 Paper-Work Reduction- Paperwork is reduced to a great extent with communication

being enabled via electronic route and storage and retrieval of information in the
electronic form. In this concept files and mails (information) are transmitted over wires to
small computers at each employees desk and everything is computer managed. SO there
is reduction of physical movements and consumption as well as storage of huge piles of
paper.

 Quality Of Services - ICT facilitates Govt. to deliver services to the citizens with greater
accountability, responsiveness and sensitivity since now people are able to get services
efficiently and instantaneously as well as economically.
Online redressal of grievances ensures officials accountability and also sensitises them.
Video tele-conferencing monitoring has further facilitated central supervision, reporting
and face to face communication leading to better quality of services.

 Elimination Of Hierarchy - Through the introduction of Intranet and LAN there has
been a reduction in procedural delays caused by hierarchical processed in organisations
as it has become possible to send and receive information and data across various levels
in an organisation instantaneously helping the involvement of all levels in decision
making.

 Change in Administrative Culture - With E-Governance public action has come under
public glare thus inducing norms and values of accountability, openness, integrity,
fairness, equity, responsibility and justice in the administrative culture freeing it from
'bureau-pathology' and becoming efficient and responsive.

B) Effective Service Delivery: The abovementioned has become possible since ICTs ensure-

 Transparency - Via dissemination and publication of information on the web which

involves detailed public scrutiny making the service delivery efficient and accountable.

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  Economic Development - ICTs reduce transaction costs making services cheaper. To
state an example - rural areas suffer on account of lack of information regarding markets,
products, agriculture, health, education, weather, etc. and when all of this could be
accessed online by them it would evidently lead to better and more opportunities and
prosperity in such areas.

 Social Development - Access to information empowers citizens as they can participate

and voice their concerns which could be accommodated in programme/project
formulation, implementation, monitoring and service delivery. Also, web enabled
participation will counter the discriminatory factors affecting our societal behavior.

 Strategic Information System - The competitiveness in the organisational sphere today

has forced public functionaries to perform to their best ability and this is achieved only
when information regarding all aspects are made available to the management at every
point in order to make routine as well as strategic decisions which are done effectively
via the use of ICTs.

E-governance and E-government:-

E-governance and e-government are often used interchangeably, so distinguishing between them
at this stage is imperative. According to Thomas B. Riley government and governance are both
about getting the consent and cooperation of the governed. But whereas government is the
formal apparatus for this objective, governance is the outcome as experienced by those on the
receiving end. E-government can be more productive version of government in general, if it is
well implemented and managed. E-governance can evolve into participatory governance, if it is
well supported with appropriate principles, objectives, programmes and architectures.

E-government is, thus, the modernisation of processes and functions of government using the
tools of ICT as to transform the way it serves its constituents. As per the World Bank, e-
government refers to the use by government agencies of information technologies (such as wide
area networks, internet and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with
citizens, businesses and other arms of government. It is the use of technology to enhance the
access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners and
employees. E-governance, on the other hand, goes beyond the service delivery aspects and is
seen as a decisional process. It is about the use of ICTs in the systems of governance, that is,
using ICT to involve multistakeholders in decision-making and in making governments open and
accountable.

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Issues in implementation of E-governance:-
There are many obstacles to execute E-governance policies. These include insufficiency of
funds, infrastructural problems, scarce manpower, citizen enthusiasm, data accumulation, legal
framework readiness, and maintenance (Jayaradha and Shanthakumar, 2003). According to a
NASSCOM report, e-Governance in India is considered as a rapidly growing section with three
southern states namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu which made significant
progress. Experts recommend that in order to get desired benefits, government must have to take
several pro-active steps to address the operational, economic, personnel, planning and
implementation issues, which are the hold-ups to effective application of e-Governance (Rao,
2003). Advanced technologies requires novel way of thinking about service and business process
design, new ways of working, the development of new skills, the use of old skills more
effectively and a more flexible approach to working patterns and practices. Robbins (1998)
asserted that structural inertia (built-in mechanisms) is major obstacle for transformation process
in industries. Another inhibition is people's resistance to any change. It is important to design
such employee-oriented Human Resource strategies as would allow the organisation to prepare
employees for change and also support them to absorb rather than adsorb the changed systems.
There are also cultural obstacles which refer to values, beliefs, mind-set, practices and customs
of people. These hindrances have major challenge to install new system. Cultural barriers exist at
employee level, officers' level and political level (Sharma and Palvia, 2004). Changing from
being an organisation to become 'e-organisation' greatly impact organisation structure and
management styles as it results into re-distribution of power and control. It also changes the
alignment of the organisation.

Companies adopting e governance must develop customer orientation which understand the
requirements of the user, explore new ways of presenting information to meet customer needs;
design feedback mechanisms; manage customer relationships; streamline processes; develop
good communication process, organise information, work more flexibly; make better decisions,
coordinate activities, focus on major issues in the context of personnel which include doing job
analysis again to redefine job responsibilities and other job dimensions of various jobs affected
by the change. Organizations also concentrates on redesigning the recruitment and selection
process according to changing manpower needs, the identification of competencies of
technological environment to facilitate all employees to operate efficiently in a fully electronic
working environment, developing a performance management program that would integrate
changes in job responsibilities and requirements and which is development oriented, educating
employees about their new legal and corporate responsibilities and obligations, developing
knowledge workforces capable of multi-tasking (Riley 2003). Companies must evolve an
environment that would encourage any positive behaviour exhibited by employees, focus on
better management of efforts between various government agencies as it will affect program
effectiveness and efficiency. additionally, effective implementation requires changes in decision
making processes, involving quicker decision mechanisms, changes in organisation structure

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making it flatter and higher delegation of authority (Garg and Khataokar, 2003). It is essential to
incorporate the new vision with the structure, culture and strategies of the organisation.

Recommendations to Tackle Challenges:-

There is a need of appropriate strategies of e governance and information and communication
strategies to bring changes in various internal systems of organizations for issues. It has been
found in many studies that a highly motivated and satisfied workforce give better performance
than a demoralized and dissatisfied workforce (Prasad). There are some strategies to tackle
problems in various areas of human resource management in the changed environment. On the
basis of the new profile of employees required for e-governance, new sources of their availability
need to be tapped. One of these sources could be college campuses, a source which has been well
utilized by private organisations. Feasibility of other sources like HR consultancies, may also be
explored. The existing manpower may not be ready to be deployed into e-governance projects.
Training costs might be high due to geographical spread. Designing a selection process that
would objectively and correctly measure the skills and competences required to handle the
changed work style and job responsibilities is required. Such a process should incorporate
methods that would objectively assess the knowledge and skills required to handle the
redesigned job. The e-governance implementation leader should have strong conceptual and
management skills. The leader must be responsible for guidance as well as act as mentor and
coach. Leaders need to change their styles and will have to adopt different approaches to manage
people in new work settings in the organizations that are characterized by use of current
technologies, and continuous change.

To summarize, E-commerce is the exchange of information across electronic networks, at any

stage in the supply chain, whether within an organisation, between businesses, between
businesses and consumers, or between the public and private sector. E-Governance denotes to
the public sector's use of Information and Communication Technologies in order to improve
information and service delivery, encouraging inhabitant participation in the decision-making
process and making government more accountable, transparent and effective e-governance has
different meaning in the developing world. Aim of achieving e-governance and changing India's
economy goes far beyond mere computerization of separate back office operations. It means to
vitally change as to how the government operates, and this implies a new set of responsibilities
for the executive and politicians. It will need basic change in work culture and goal orientation,
and concurrent change in the existing processes. The change in the mind-set to develop and agree
the distributed and flat structured e-governance system is needed at higher level system to make
good position in world.

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Conclusion:-
The overall benefit of e-governance when dealing with business is that it enables the business to
perform more efficiently. According to Traunmuller and Lenk, e-governance is a global
phenomenon today and it is the most recent paradigm in public administration. The speed and
transparency associated with e-governance has the potential to make public administration
responsive and effective. As the development of e-governance gets past the phase of pilot
projects, it becomes apparent that sustainable development of e-governance will depend on an
adequate institutional framework that will enable public administration to manage and harmonise
the emerging multitude of technical and organisational changes at all levels of government.

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Reference:-
1- www.civilserviceindia.com
2- www.publicadministrationtheone.blogspot.com
3- www.acedmia.edu
4- www.indiaegovernance.blogspot.com
5- www.shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

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