E-Governance or electronic governance is the use of electronic i.e. information and communication technology (ICT) tools for governance by the government for the citizens. The ICT tools include the Internet, Local Area Network (LAN), mobiles, etc. The use of ICT facilitates providing access to information for the citizens by the government. The government has set up ICT enabled services, like, registration of birth/death certificate, booking of railway tickets, RTI application submission, etc. E-governance empowers the citizens socially and economically, and enhances their lives by providing them with quality information and better services. It enables citizens to access information directly, without paying any money to a middleman or a tout. It ushers transparency in the system. The services of the e-governance portal can be broadly classified into two broad categories : to provide information and to provide online services.
Initiative
In India, the main thrust for e-Governance was provided by the launching of NICNET in 1987 - the national satellite-based computer network. This was followed by the launch of the District Information System of the National Informatics Centre (DISNIC) program to computerize all district offices in the country for which free hardware and software was offered to the State Governments. NICNET was extended via the State capitals to all district headquarters by 1990. In the ensuing years, computerization, tele-connectivity and internet connectivity led to establishment of a large number of e-Governance initiatives, both at the union and state levels. The formulation of National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG) in 2006 has boosted the e-Governance process.
E-Governance Sites
Some of the Central initiatives for e-governance include:
◆ National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)
◆ National e-Governance Division (NeGD)
◆ e-Governance Infrastructure
◆ Mission Mode Projects
◆ Citizens Services
◆ Business Services
◆ Government Services
◆ Projects and Initiatives
◆ R&D in e-Governance
Several state governments have also taken e-governance initiatives in the area of agriculture, commercial taxes, district, employment exchange, land records, municipalities, gram panchayats, police, road transport, treasuries, etc.
Some of the key e-governance sites of India are as follows:
1. india.gov.in (The National Portal of India) : This is the National Portal of India, which provides a single window access to information and services being provided by the various Indian Government entities Fig. 2.3 (a), (b). The content in this portal is the result of a collaborative effort of various Indian government ministries and departments, at the central/state/district level. This portal is Mission Mode Project under the National E-Governance Plan, designed and maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC), DeitY, MoCIT, Government of India.
2. goidirectory.nic.in (Government of India Web Directory) : This portal is a onepoint source to access all Indian Government websites at all levels and from all sectors. It includes sites of different states and union territories of India, sites of government departments like judiciary and legislature. It also provides information about the various sectors like education and agriculture.
