Inter/intranet to the aid of governance

INTERNET IS much more than surfing and governance makes more sense by being the `net' rather than `in the net'. Sample this: the Kirori Mal College in Delhi has for the first time allowed prospective students to not only scout the web for application forms but even submit them `on-line'. The common entrance test (CET) for 82 colleges in Karnataka is so systematic after computerisation that the results with detailed mark list are available at the click of a mouse and each aspirant has the options available for him at the click of a mouse. The admission process for over a lakh aspirants is completed in a couple of hours.

People in the sleepy Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh now log on to an intranet for the latest prices of agri-commodities, information on animal husbandry and even tenders and jobs available in the State without having to trek miles to the district collector's office for such vital information.

These are but a few areas where information technology has been exploited to provide a successful citizen-government interface based on the premise that the customer, nay citizen, is king.

Contrary to popular perception that it is a fad among the rich and computers a device of the couch-bureaucrat, it offers cost- effective administration and can provide the best solutions in governance to the satisfaction of the common man, says Mr. Parminderjeet Singh, a police officer who has co-authored a book on e-governance@net.

Says Mr. Vivek Kulkarni, Secretary, Information Technology, Karnataka Government, and the brain behind several projects where it has been successfully exploited for ringing in transparency, efficiency and accountability in administration for the benefit of the common man: ``It is not technology but those who understand the service it offers that remain in business." Karnataka, which is described as the IT hub of the country, has introduced a great deal of computerisation and has had positive results.

For instance, since the State put the details of senior secondary examinations including photocopies of answer sheets on-line and gave students the option of seeking re-evaluation for a fee, the pass percentage went up significantly. Hamipur's is another brilliant example of the State delivering service speedily and at the click of a mouse. Through a unique intranet, with ``Soochna" or information kiosks spread over the district, people can log on to this minor web for a fee of Rs. 10 and seek information and services from the government, says Mr. Anuradha Thakur, the district collector.

The project, Lok Mitra, patterned on the lines of Gyandoot, a similar e-governance project in Madhya Pradesh, has not only become popular among people for the work being accomplished without a trip to the collector's office, but has provided avenues for many an educated rural youth to open Soochna kendras in the district.

According to Mr. Thakur, once the teething problems were overcome, many a self-help group have come forward to open such information centres as a source of self-employment. A beaming Mr. Thakur, however, notes that more than the technology itself it is the brains and the human element behind it that is responsible for its success. But connectivity remains a major problem, notes the officer adding that at times it takes several tries to log on to the `district-web'.

However, Mr. Parminder Singh argues that the gains from hooking to the net and providing service on it outweigh such problems. ``We are not talking of 24 hour connectivity, nonetheless the stage for such services is set." Renowned police officer, Ms. Kiran Bedi, who is helping to develop an on-line module that will enable people to go to the nearest cybercafe to find the status of their FIRs (first information report) and also get their grievances addressed, says this is administration at the doorstep.

Without having to depend on the whims of people in the corridors of power, the module, based on the needs of people, gives them access to information which should come to them as a matter of right and not favour.

Ms. Bedi has, as Joint Commissioner, Police Training College, also developed on-line self-learning modules for police constables and investigating officers, through which to upgrade their skills as also the legal aspects of policing. According to Ms. Bedi, for the common man, government is the bus-stop or the railway station, the police stations and a host of civic amenities such as water and electricity supply.

When these basic services are available to them and their queries addressed without having to stand in queues or `exploit connection' to get small favours, it goes a long way in ensuring the success of the administration - in effect the government. The vast amount of data processing and information dissemination enabled by information technology, has given many Southeast Asian countries an edge over India in making them favoured investment destinations, says Mr. Rajiv Nair, President, Microsoft India.

``One reason why India did not become a hardware superpower is because we are not automated," says Mr. Nair rueing that the ``organisation memory of our government is very poor. There has to be a system to trace your file and its status," he says. Nonetheless, Mr. Nair says imperatives for governments to apply it to gear up are all to0 pervading now to be ignored.

Says Mr. Parminder, ``India should now take up as soon as possible Internet related development as a strategy. All we need is a change in mindset."

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Science & Tech
Previous : Executable Net: Future course of the Net?
Next     : Monitoring air pollution from space