E-Governance is the use of modern electronic information and communication technology in governing function. Commonly referred as electronic governance or e-governance, is a significant advancement in the way governments interact with citizens, businesses, and other governing bodies.
About E-Governance and Needs
E-Governance represents the efficient use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by the government to foster transparent communication and provide services that meet the needs of the citizens. This approach reflects a commitment to leveraging emerging ICT technology to enhance efficiency and transparency in governance practices.
In the pursuit of delivering satisfactory services to citizens, governments are increasingly embracing this emerging ICT technology, encompassing a wide range of tools and platforms. These technologies include email, web applications, Database Management Systems, Intranet technology, cloud computing, AI chatbots, and other innovations. Furthermore, when we refer to “other governments,” within the context of e-governance, it encompasses subnational governing bodies such as state governments, provincial governments, local governments, and authorities of other countries.
As technology continues to evolve, the role of e- governance becomes increasingly pivotal in shaping the future of governance. By incorporating and leveraging these advanced technologies, governments can ensure that they are better equipped to meet the evolving needs of their citizens, facilitate seamless communication, and drive operational excellence across various government entities.
Overall, the utilization of modern electronic information and communication technology in governance, and the proliferation of e- governance, stand as tangible manifestations of the commitment of governments worldwide to embrace technological advancements and actively engage with citizens and stakeholders to build more transparent, efficient, and responsive governance systems.
The concept of e- governance is emerged after the U.S Government enacted the Government Paper Work Elimination Act in 1998. After this many countries formulated similar legislations and e – government plans to implement e government. Now it become the rhetoric of the almost all governments in world. Although many government like Estonia has successfully implemented e- government to reduced the governance cost, service delivery complexity, corruption and abuse of authority. E-government plan is very prone to failure because of poor design and unexpected technology changes.
Dimensions of E- governance:
- Government to citizens (G2C): E-Governance establish and promote the linkage of government with citizens. It is used to deliver the government services and also supported by the enterprise e services of private sectors. This domain is related to the electronic voting, Service delivery, Grievance handling, collecting suggestions on policy formation etc.
- Government to Business (G2B): Government have to promote, manage, control and monitor the business entities. The use of ICT to communicate with business forms is known as Government to Business e governance. It include the Online business registration, online reporting, e- taxation, e-permits, online licensing etc.
- Government to Government (G2G): Governments have to conduct extensive information sharing with other governments. For example a state government have to pass almost all information created. Governments have to collect and maintain the public statistics to use it for future planning and decision making . That data must regularly passed among other entities of governance.
Importance of E-Governance:
E-governance is inevitable for making government efficient, dynamic, rational and systematic to address the demand and expectations of the public. The importance of the e – government can be described in following topics.
- Ensuring Efficiency, economy and effectiveness in governance
- Establishing good relations with citizens and private sector
- Promoting transparency, accountibility and participation in governance
- Overcomming geographical remotensess
- Minimizing the procedural and structural bottelnecks of governments
- Reducing the cost, staffing, and role of intermediaries in service delivery.
- Digital institutanal memory and good public data management
- Increase the citizen satisfaction
- Drives the traditional societies toward knowledge based society
- Supports global governnance
E- governance need huge level of localization as per the socio-economic, political and administrative structure of nation. The digital literacy need to be increased. For checking whether a nation is ready to implement e- government we can perform e- readiness assessment.
