Advantages and Disadvantage of E-Governance

E-Governance is about reform in governance facilitated by the creative use of Information and Communications Technology. The benefits expected out of e-governance are as under:

• Better access to information and quality services for citizens:

  • ICT would make available timely and reliable information on various aspects of governance. In the initial phase information would be made available with respect to simple aspects of governance such as forms, laws, rules, procedures etc later extending to detailed information including reports (including performanc reports), public database, decision making processes etc. The ultimate objective of E-Governance is to reach out to citizens by adopting a life-cycle approach i.e., providing public services to citizens which would be required right from birth to death.

• Simplicity and efficiency in the government:

  • Application of ICT to governance combined with detailed business process re-engineering would lead to simplification of complicated processes weeding out of redundant processes simplification in structures and changes in statutes and regulations. The end result would be simplification of the functioning of government enhanced decision making abilities and increased efficiency across government – all contributing to an overall environment of a more accountable government machinery. This in turn would result in enhanced productivity and efficiency in all sectors.

• Expanded reach of governance:

  • Rapid growth of communications technology and its adoption in governance would help in bringing government machinery to the doorsteps of the citizens. Expansion of telephone network, rapid strides in mobile telephony, spread of internet and strengthening of other communications infrastructure would facilitate delivery of a large number of services provided by the government. This enhancement of the reach of government – both spatial and demographic – would also enable better participation of citizens in the process of governance.

• Transparency:

  • Transparency is broadly accepted as a vital principle of good governance. It ensures that the stakeholders have the necessary information to make decisions for the progress of their lives. Transparency in government operations improves the confidence of citizen towards their government while reminding government about the need to be transparent to citizens in their decisions and associated impact. Current governing process leaves many ways to conceal the information from all the people. E-governance helps make the information available online eliminating all the possibilities of concealing of information.

• Reduced Corruption:

  • E-Governance can help in combating the menace of corruption through information exposure and better service delivery. Instant access to the information quick and efficient transaction enables them to understand rules and regulations. These procedural changes have provided the strength to the citizen to question the authorities and seek explanation. The transparency thus generated by the use of e-governance may lead to reduction in corruption.

• Accountability:

  • Once the governing process is made transparent the Government is automatically made accountable. Accountability is answerability of the Government to the people. It is the answerability for the deeds of the Government. An accountable Government is a responsible Government.

• Cost Reduction:

  • With the expansion of e-governance government expenditure involving paper-works like stationary printers and pages would see substantial reduction. Also, communication through phones and internet further reduces government expenditure saving valuable money for the Government.

• Environment Friendly:

  • Increasing use of information and Communication in governance would call for less use of papers in addition to less use of physical travel thus saving energy and costs of petrol/diesel for masses. This would see substantial benefit to the environment.

• Speed:

  • Use of technology makes communication quick , Internet, Phones. Cell Phones have reduced the time taken in normal communication which saves a lot of time for the government as well as people. The time saved can be used for other productive works.

Benefit of E-Governance for citizens:

• Aadhaar enables direct transfer of subsidies, pensions, and social welfare benefits to citizens' bank accounts, eliminating corruption and leakages. Over 300 million bank accounts have been linked to Aadhaar.
•  DigiLocker helps citizens access official documents like driving license, vehicle registration, education certificates digitally on the cloud, eliminating paperwork. 
•  The UMANG app provides over 100 government services like LPG cylinder booking, PF claim, Aadhaar update on a single mobile app, making access easier.
• Income tax filing through the e-filing portal has made the filing process simpler and faster compared to manual filing. Over 67 million returns were filed online in 2020-21.
• E-district portals in several states allow citizens to apply online for domicile, caste, income, rural employment certificates eliminating middlemen.
• E-voting initiatives are enabling migrants, defense personnel and others to cast their votes remotely through electronic means.
• Online registrations for hospital appointments, school admissions, document attestation services reduces citizens' physical trips to government offices.
• Bill payments like electricity, water, property tax, challans are being digitized across states for convenience.
• Grievance redressal systems like CPGRAMS allow citizens to lodge complaints online to various government authorities.

Thus e-governance is empowering common citizens by improving the accessibility and quality of government services across urban and rural populations.

Benefit of E-Governance for government itself:

• Digital workflows within government departments are enabling faster processing and movement of files, data and approvals. This improves efficiency.
• Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems are being used by government organizations to capture real-time attendance data, reducing payroll fraud.
• Usage of data analytics tools on digitized records is helping analyze trends, make data-driven policies and take corrective actions.
• Document digitization initiatives across central and state governments is reducing paper usage and enabling faster information access.
• Automation of back-end processes is enabling governments to process applications like pensions, licenses faster.
• Portals like e-courts, e-nivaran are facilitating speedy disposal of court cases and complaints digitally without delays.
• Integrated Financial Management Information System improves government accounting, budgeting, expenditure management processes. 
• GIS-enabled applications are helping in municipal governance for water supply, electricity management.
• Direct Benefit Transfer using digital payments has plugged subsidy leakages enabling targeted delivery.
• E-procurement through Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal has made purchases transparent and cashless.

Thus, e-governance is not only helping deliver citizen services efficiently but also improving the administrative efficiency of government through digital transformation.

Problems to E-Governance

E-governance has a whole gamut of inter-related issues which have to be addressed systematically.

Technical Issues

• Integration:

  • E-Governance needs to make sure it is integrated with all ministries all state governments and at lower levels of administration. Integration of data is main problem. The challenge is to capture the data in web based form and transferring it in common format for processing and sharing the information.

• Privacy:

  • Privacy of any transaction or information provided by the citizen to the government agency must be ensured. Otherwise the information can be misuse by the private sector or competitors and the users may be reluctant to access the services provided.

• Security:

  • Transaction security is another major problem in e-governance . The tax fine and bill payment must be secured and the system design should be full proof.

• Authentication:

  • The authentication of citizens requesting services needs to be verified before theyaccess or use the services. The digital signature plays an important role in providing the authenticity but this is expensive and requires frequent maintenance.

• Reliability:

  • Though the security measures are pretty high there have been incidences of hacking of websites which make it tough for people to share personal details. The growing concern about the security of cyber space and misuse of data is still holding back the citizens to full adaptation of facilities like Aadhar card.

• No accountability in case of breakdown:

  • Many a times the delay in service to customers is attributed to technological errors like server has gone down, server is slow, technological glitch etc. These lead to several problems for masses. For Example: server breakdown at railway ticketing centre.

Social Issues

• Accessibility:

  • E-governance service should be accessible for anybody from anywhere at any time.
    Even if internet population is growing exponentially there is a very big portion of the population who may not be able to access e-governance for various reasons.

• Usability:

  • All the users may not be expert of ICT transactions or the technology used for e-governance. Therefore, the service provided must be usable or user friendly . To make the system usable the guidance of operation may be provided to the users.

• Acceptance:

  • E-governance requires reconfiguration of internal and external structure of public sectors. The main aim is to improve the system efficiently and to provide high quality services to the citizens. E-governance is for citizen convenience instead of convenience of government. The power conflicts over the departmental and functional boundaries become more prominent in integration process.

• Use of local languages:

  • The access of information must be permitted in the local languages for user comfort. There should be language software or some other technologies to translate the information from English to local languages.

• Awareness in rural areas:

  • In India there are very high percentage of villages where awareness of
    e-governance is required since large portion of rural populations are not aware of new technologies and computer educations.

• User-friendliness especially for the illiterates and the elderly:

  • e-governance has an interface which elderly and uneducated person finds difficulty with. As there are no special facilities to help these people it acts as a hindrance for them. In general senior citizens do not have much computer education and they would have to approach a customer service officer for assistance. And also in case of rural people it gives scope for middle man who distort the information.

• Lack of Trust:

  • Trust in e-government is of vital importance for the effective adoption and use of electronic public services. The use of information and communication Technology tools in e-governance has witnessed an increasing diffusion and adoption worldwide. Despite these positive results e-government has not yet reached its full potential because of lack of trust in the technology . Recent news like website hack of Ministry of Home Affairs which has the most secretive documents enforces lack of trust in divulging personal details.

• Lack of Personal Touch:

  • As the interaction is virtual without any physical meetings there is no person to person interaction which is much valued in the Indian culture.

Economic Issues

• Cost:

  • Implementation, operations and maintenance cost of service provided should be low enough for high cost benefit ratio.

• Maintainability:

  • IT has been continuously evolving and software are frequently upgraded. Thus, the system must be compatible and maintainable for easily fulfillment of emerging needs.

• Reusability:

  • E-governance should be considered as nationwide plan and the implemented modules must be reusable by other administrations.

• Portability:

  • The primary requisite for portable applications is independence of components from hardware or software platforms to help in possible reuse by other administrations.

Other Issues

Some of the challenges and associated way ahead are as under:

• Willingness:

  • Decades of following a particular mode of governance procedure tends to develop inertia and resistance to change. Further, old skills and habits will require to be replaced with new skills and new processes if e-Governance is to sustain. There has to be a strong will from within the government itself to crossover from the present system to e-Governance.
• Political support at the highest level:
  • The vast scope of e-Governance combined with the enormous task of process re-engineering which will be necessary at various levels and the infrastructural and financial requirement necessarily call for commitment to the vision of e-Governance at the highest political level. A bottom-up approach will not suffice.

• Providing Incentives:

  • Weaning government entities from the mechanical application of technology to adoption of e-Governance tools will require incentivizing e-Governance among different entities and individuals. These incentives need to be reflected in the budgetary allocations. The best practices in the area of e-governance need to be documented so that other States can also take up these initiatives. e-Governance projects are best implemented in the Mission Mode.

• Developing Awareness:

  • Apart from building capabilities within the government there is need for generating widespread awareness among the public at large. The success of e-Governance lies in increasing the number of electronic interactions between citizens and the government and not merely in building the infrastructure of e-Governance.

• Overcoming resistance to change:

  • e-Governance has to be a collective effort. However, in every organization there are people who would not be convinced about its benefits or who would perceive it as a challenge to certain entrenched interests. Such resistance would need to be overcome by demonstrating the potential benefits of e-Governance; how it strengthens the organization internally creates goodwill externally and above all enhances citizens’ satisfaction.

• Training and capacity building:

  • Training would have to be imparted to government officials starting right from the cutting edge level so that any apprehensions of intrusive technology is removed and e-Governance is accepted as an achievable and desirable target.

• Creating Infrastructure:

  • To ensure that the benefits of e-governance reaches to every corner especially the rural and backward regions more e-government projects have to be implemented by building adequate e-infrastructure. In comparison with the large scale at which e-governance training is being undertaken by countries such as China there is a significant gap in the training infrastructure and programmes being implemented in India.

• Training:

  • Any large scale e-governance initiative can succeed only if there is an on-going and sustained programme for such training at the State and district levels. Further, there is also a need for training officials at IT policy level to take policy decisions and handle issues of strategy. Such officers could be expected to lead large e-governance programmes or become IT Secretaries in States etc. The training should include domestic and international components and such officers should be given exposure to such training/conferences/workshops internationally at frequent intervals.

• Business Process Re-engineering:

  • It is essential to recognize that e-government is all about discarding old procedures and transforming the process of decision-making. Technology is merely a tool and a catalyst for such transformation. e-Governance cannot be achieved simply by drafting a law or issuing an order. It requires changing how officials think and act. How they view their jobs, how they share information between departments with trade commerce and business and with common citizens.

Conclusion

Technology by itself is not panacea for solving all the problems and it requires enabler in the form of human resource management and leadership of organization to reap greater benefit of it. Ultimately, the success of an e-Governance initiative lies in how efficiently it has enhanced people’s participation in government functioning through wide ICT access bringing government and the services it offers closer to its citizens promoting accountability , transparency and responsiveness in government functioning and ensuring that government works better at lesser costs. These are the sine qua non for good governance and a vibrant democracy .

The e-governance process needs continuous input and feedback from the ‘customers’— the citizens, resident, businesses and officials who use electronic public services. Their voices and ideas from the grass roots are essential to making e-governance work. Hence e-governance has to be a shared vision with all the stakeholders – government and non-government – participating in defining this vision.