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Received wisdom in e-governance suggests that going digital is not a choice any more but is the only option to maintain the quality of life of citizens in the long-term.
UST Global, a leading provider of IT and digital services worldwide and which has been working on the ‘e-Nagarpalika’ project for the Madhya Pradesh government, cannot agree more.
Needs unique modelE-nagarpalika lays the foundation for the State’s digital economy. The e-governance platform connects 378 urban local bodies -- 16 municipal corporations, 98 municipal councils and 264 nagar panchayats.
An e-governance model that works for India is unique in many senses, said Alexander Varghese, Chief Administrator and Country Head, and Hari Chandrasekaran, VP and Global Head, Public Sector, UST Global.
This has largely to do with the fact that it would upend the successful models in countries like Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria, the UST Global honchos told BusinessLine .
In these countries, e-governance is said to have proved a huge success since it is based on a host of common denominators -- low economic base, low density of population, and an ageing demography.
Low-economy modelE-governance was a matter of choice in these geographies where banks and financial institutions would not set up branches/ ATMs/ kiosks wherever they liked.
“E-governance will not work in India if we were to apply conditions which facilitate it in Estonia, Romania or Bulgaria,” said Chandrasekaran.
The ratio of a government official to citizens here is heavily loaded against the latter. The administration cannot simply hope to reach out to all without IT. The only way it can hope to interface with them is through digital media, especially when the latter is becoming increasingly digital media-savvy.
Varghese concurred, saying that the low economy model is not valid in India given the big opportunity offered by the young population.
“But unless you’ve the commitment to stick to reforms, going digital could prove a disaster with ramifications for basic services starting from revenue collections,” he said.
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