As part of R & D Lecture Series organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof. Aroon Manoharan, an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, delivered a lecture on the contemporary global e-governance scenario, on the 18th of January. This was followed by a Q & A session.
Prof. Binitha Thampi, who introduced the speaker, spoke about the promise of governance technology and its potential to bring about social transitions. Prof. Aroon began his lecture with an explanation of what constitutes e-governance. It has two components: external, which is the interaction between government and citizenry, and internal, which is about collaboration and integration of data within the government system. When the new millennium approached, there was anxiety that the Y2K problem would cripple computer systems across the world and that they wouldn’t be able to update themselves. Once the crisis was tided over successfully, there arose hope that technology would be able to bring about a big transformation of the world.
While there are various ways to look at the phenomenon of e-governance, Prof. Aroon said that he would approach it from a public management perspective. One of the biggest potential gains from adopting e-governance is the reduction of duplication of efforts and other inefficiencies within the government system. It also can provide a platform to engage with citizens and make services easily accessible. Also, the mobile phone revolution has provided people from all socioeconomic strata a chance to access e-governance services. This will ensure increased accountability of government actions.
In the next half of the lecture, Prof. Aroon discussed the results of a survey in which he was involved. The municipality websites of cities across the world were ranked based on a number of criteria, such as security, usability, availability of services, social engagement etc. While Seoul, the capital of South Korea topped the list, Delhi, the city representative of India, stood at the 52nd position. The rankings were remarkably consistent with the per capita income of the countries of which the cities were a part. One issue was that though some cities do well, sustainability becomes tough. Also, due to the financial crisis in 2009, governments intending to cut budgets often targeted e-governance services.
A member of the audience wanted to know Prof. Aroon’s opinion on the Digital India initiative by Indian government. He said it was an ambitious project and that it was long overdue. When a few from the audience raised the issue of privacy, Prof Aroon agreed that it was a serious concern. However, he was optimistic that accountability can be developed over time. He cited the example of the US, which in spite of linking most services to the Social Security Number, has reasonably good accountability because of a robust system of checks and balances. If a similar feat can be repeated here, Digital India can improve the country’s presence globally.
Report by Avinaash R
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