E-Government:Opportunities and Challenges

in India

Subhash Bhatnagar

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

(subhash@imahd.ernet.in)

and

Consultant, PREM Public Sector, World Bank

sbhatnagar@worldbank.org

Presentation Structure

• E-Government: different perceptions and delivery models

• Cases resulting in multiple benefits: improved service delivery; reduced corruption; increased transparency; increased revenue; cost reduction; and empowerment.

• What are the critical success factors in implementing e-government?

• How to move forward?

E-Government: Scope and Definition

E-Government is about a process of reform in the way Governments work, share information and deliver services to external and internal clients for the benefit of both government and the citizens and businesses that they serve.

E-Government harnesses information technologies such as Wide Area Networks (WAN), Internet , World Wide Web, and mobile computing by government agencies to reach out to citizens, business, and other arms of the government to:

Improve delivery of services to citizensImprove interface with business and industryEmpower citizens through access to knowledge and information andMake the working of the government more efficient and effective

The resulting benefits could be more transparency, greater convenience, less corruption, revenue growth, and cost reduction

Different Delivery Models• Departments going on-line

– Greater departmental ownership: significant re-engineering possible

– Citizen visit many departments, each one may be more efficient– Could be a first step in the absence of high band width network

• Conveniently located Service Centers– Counters manned by public/private agencies– Multiple services at each location: payment, licenses, certificates– Can quickly move traffic from departments to service centers– Requires significant coordination

• Self Service through a Portal one stop shop– Back end computerization and Integration needed for data sharing– High internet penetration; willingness and ability of citizen to use– Security and mutual trust (builds with successful outcome) – Usage builds up gradually. Adoption rate has to be driven.– Requires strong centralized leadership for extensive co-ordination

Some Successful E-Government Applications from Developing Countries

• CARD, FAST,eSeva, BHOOMI in India• Citizen Service Center (mobile), Bahia, Brazil• E-procurement:Mexico,Philippines,Bulgaria,Chile, Korea • New Business Registration: Jordan,Jamaica, China • Tax collection State Border Check Posts, Gujarat• Income Tax on-line in Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Jordan• Customs on-line: India, Philippines, Jamaica• OPEN- Seoul Municipality, VOICE in Vijayvada• Gyandoot, n-Logue, drishtee in Rural India • Teachers Transfer in Karnataka and SmartGov in AP,

Khajane in Karnataka

Overall Assessment• Assessment is difficult in the absence of evaluations. Overall impact

is marginal. Limited number of applications. Service delivery has become efficient but impact on transparency/ corruption is marginal

• Largest number of applications for service delivery to urban citizens in revenue earning departments. Few applications in health/education

• Largely bottom-up, driven by reformist civil servants. Only 1-2 states have political support and central coordination.

• Technical sophistication in design varies a great deal. Data sharing,

scalability, security have not been adequately addressed.• Moving from manual to on-line for some steps. Produces large

benefits. Integrating across departments is complex, more so with legacy systems.

• Large number of web sites are not used. Citizens unwilling to engage. Intermediaries are needed.

Report Card on Bhoomi is GOOD• Survey: 180 users from 12 kiosks and 60 non users 4 taluks• Ease of Use: 78% of users who had used both systems found

Bhoomi simpler; 66% used Bhoomi without help vs. 28% in manual

• Complexity of Procedures: 80% did not have to meet any one other than at kiosk: In manual 19% met one officer and 61% met 2-4 officials

• Errors in documents: Bhoomi 8% vs manual 64%

• Rectification of errors: sought correction 93 % vs 49%, timely response 50% vs 4%

• Cost of service: 84% one visit to Bhoomi center at Taluk HQ

• Corruption: 66% paid bribes very often vs 3% in Bhoomi

• Staff behavior: Bhoomi Good (84%) vs manual Average (63%)

Report Card on Gyandoot• Offers 22 services at fees of Rs 10-15 : Mandi prices (30%),

grievance (13%), certificates promised in 8 days (25%)• Kiosks offer training, copying, word processing services for

bulk of revenue• Evaluation thru a survey indicates dwindling attendance at

Kiosks. 5602 (85% males) over 2 years logged in 18 kiosks. Attendance averages to one a day per kiosk

• Handle very small proportion of any type of transactions• Doubtful Viability: Investment in network of Rs 2.5

million; Rs 150K worth of equipment and expenses of Rs 1200 pm with average revenue from user fee of Rs 150 pm/ kiosk

Critical Success Factors

• Strong Political and Administrative Leadership , detailed Project Management

• Clearly identified goals and benefits• Significant Process Reengineering Required• Start Small, scale up through stages, manage expectations • Adopt established standards and protocols – minimize

customization• In-source Analysis ; Outsource design, software

development, data preparation, training, etc.• Training Expenses should not be minimized

Enablers of e-Government

• 20 % Technology

• 35 % Business Process Reengineering

• 40 % Change Management

• 5% Luck !

Technology

ProcessPeople

Organization for Implementing E-government

• A champion at the political level

• Ministerial level co-ordination committees

• A central support group

• Departmental Champions and co-ordination committee

• Institution for Training

• Private sector partners

Issues that Need Resolution• No country is completely ready? Balance between

strategizing, coordination and action • Approach: centrally driven versus departmental initiative?• Role, mandate, size of a central support agency. Where

should it be created?• Creating departmental ownership: Budget allocations,

training, demand, performance push• Who can help?(partnership with private sector: multi

national/local/one or many partners, partnering arrangement)

• How can progress be measured?

Role of the Central Support Group

Assessing and enhancing preparedness Developing a strategy and implementation plan Resources for re-engineering, application development

and change management Guidelines, standards and best practices Developing public private partnership Identifying departmental champions Monitoring progress and impact Overseeing a few key projects Building/managing shared infrastructure

Training and Awareness Building Have a Key Role

• Training programs for Project leaders who can define project deliverables, deal (negotiate) with consultants and vendors and manage an outsourced development process

• Andhra Pradesh CIO Program conducted by IIMA

• Training of clerical staff on specific applications (developers)

• Awareness in citizens of on-line services and how to transact on Portals

• Training of supervisors and managers on using information

• Awareness in senior civil servants and political executives-highlighting benefits of Egovernment and effort required

Bridging the Digital Divide

NGOs and grass root organizations that catalyze and mange the community building process

Applications that draw a large cliental that pays for the service, ensuring economic viability of the kiosk

Content that empowers rural citizens and enables formation of communities

Technology that makes rural access inexpensive and robust

Problems in Service Delivery

• Inadequate reach: balancing quality and access• High cost particularly to the rural poor• Mismatch in demand and supply—health and education• Low productivity and wasted resources• Consequences of administrative corruption

– Service is denied/delayed unless bribe is paid

– Collusion --Loss of revenue to government

– Disincentive to SMEs, FDI, employees and citizens. Increases tolerance for corruption in society.

– Creates corruption in appointments and transfers.

Corruption in Service Delivery: Generic Problems

• Complex rules-need for intermediaries• Discretion to delay or deny without assigning reasons• Decisions and actions are not traceable. Citizens have poor

access to information• Lack of supervision in remote areas-problems of

decentralization• Large power distance between civil servants and citizens-

afraid to assert and complain• Poor mechanisms of complaint handling. Documentation is

weak for any investigation

Impact of E-Government• Faster processing, shorter wait, shorter queues• Less number of trips to government offices: saves

transport cost and avoids wage loss• More accurate and legible documents, easy

recovery from errors, better reception areas• Lesser corruption more transparency• Improved access to offices (nearer home, 24X7)

and functionaries (no intermediaries)• User fee may be levied- issue of acceptance• Improved complaint handling

Examples of Efficiency Gains

Country Type of Government Application

Number of days to process before application

Number of days to process after application

Service center, Bahia, Brazil

Registration of 29 documents

Several days 20-30 minutes per document, one day for business licenses

Chilean Tax system on-line

Filing Taxes online 25 days 12 hours

CARD, AP, India

Valuation of Property

Few days 5 minutes

CARD, AP, India,

Land Registration 7-15 days 2-3 hours

Bhoomi, India, Karnataka

Obtaining Land Title Certificate

3-30 days 5-30 minutes

InterstateCheck Posts, Gujarat

Collect Fines for over loading

30 minutes 2 minutes

Mandal Comp-uters, AP India

Issue of Caste Certificates

20-30 days 15 minutes

Customs Online Jamaica

Processing bill of entry

2-3 day 3-4 hours

Customs Online Philippines

Release of cargo 8 days 4 hours – 2 days to release cargo

On-line Tax, Singapore

Issue of Tax Assessments

12-18 months 3-5 months

Beijing’s Business E-Park, China

Online application for 32 business services

2-3 months for business license Many visits to multiple offices for filings

10-15 days for business license Several seconds for routine filing for companies

Egovernment-How does it help• Introduces transparency in data, decisions/actions,

rules, procedures and performance of Govt. agencies

• Automates processes to take away discretion

• Entry point for simplification of rules and reengineering processes

• Makes decisions traceable- tracks actions

• Builds accountability- greater access to information through web publishing-role of civil society

• Provides documentation to citizens for follow up

Egovernment-How does it help

• Modularizes Tasks Making Outsourcing Possible • Introduces competition amongst delivery channels and

departments• Standardized documentation of comments/ objections

leads to effective supervision- through comparative indicators

• Centralizes data for better audit and analysis Integration of data across applications-provides improved intelligence

• Enables unbiased sampling for audit purposes

Egovernment-How does it help

• Modularizes Tasks Making Outsourcing Possible • Introduces competition amongst delivery channels and

departments• Standardized documentation of comments/ objections

leads to effective supervision- through comparative indicators

• Centralizes data for better audit and analysis Integration of data across applications-provides improved intelligence

• Enables unbiased sampling for audit purposes

Type of Information being made transparent Resulting benefits

Rules and procedure governing services; public officials responsible for different tasks; citizen’s charter; Enhancing citizen’s exposure

Standardizes procedures for delivery of service. Reduces arbitrariness, e.g. demand for additional documents

Information about decisions and actions of government functionaries: outcome and process e.g. award of contracts and license, allocation of resources.

Exposure of corruption and improved accountability

Data about individual entities in Government records such as land records, comments on application for license, bill of entry for goods, status of tax payments.

Exposure of manipulation for exchange of bribe and corruption

Information on performance of economy: Statistical employment, income, trade etc.Performance indicator for Government departments

Civic engagement in governanceGreater accountability

Names of citizens with large outstanding loans, taxes; civil servants under investigation or convicted, index of corruption, performance of investigating agencies.

A kind of punishment for the corrupt through public exposure

Disclosure of assets, income, profile of election candidates, elected representatives, ministers and civil servants

Creates disincentive for corruption by creating fear of exposure

Summary: egovernment is not irreversible magic

• E-Government can advance the agenda on Governance reform, transparency, anti- corruption, empowerment. It is NOT a panacea

• Potential is recognized but Implementation is difficult. Gains are real but risks need to be understood. Challenge is to promote wide spread use in areas where benefits outweigh risks.

• Situate in a broader framework of anticorruption. Identify all pressure points and reengineer to remove discretion, simplify procedures and put out as much information in public domain. Incentive structure and institutional capacity

• Create competition in delivery channels• Strengthen physical supervision and actionable MIS• Build other forms of benefits for those who loose power and income• Co-opt civil society to build accountability