Empowering Citizens - with Digital Technologies

Krishnan V SJul 2014

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Digital Technologies • Mobile Technologies

– Provide instant info, regular status updates, file civil complaints and certain criminal complaints• Social Media

– Provide performance reports, call for public opinion and suggestions• Web conferencing

– Reduce high-risk transport of accused to courts for trial thus reducing the stress on police officials and reduce expenses– Allow court sessions to be conducted even when any party is out of town– Reduce adjournments and speed up trials

• Internet technologies– Provide online platforms for many requests such as passport application, building plan approval etc

• Data Analytics– Allow law enforcement officials to quickly cross-reference crime information and narrow down the possible suspects– Assess trends in crime, tax collection, traffic patterns etc

• Document Management and Workflow Management technologies– Eliminate loss of records due to physical storage– Speed up access of records and allow much faster completion of work

• Verizon Telejustice Collaboration Solutions can help– Reduce the cost and manage safety risks associated with transporting prisoners to courtrooms– Enable public defenders to interact with clients from their offices– Reduce the time Law enforcement officers spend travelling to and from court

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Certain Global Facts• USA

– Average duration of a case in US is 1 year– Total filings in district courts in 2013 : ~ 3,75,000 cases

• Austria– Electronic flow of case documents has reduced many processes from 10 days to a few

hours• Singapore

– a Smart card is provided to each party in a case which automatically records the presence of each party on the court’s premises. Judge views the info on laptop and decides if the case can be taken up

• India – Pending cases : 3.2 crores as of Dec 2011– 85L cases pending for more than 5 years– Many hours are apparently wasted each day finding out if all concerned parties of all

the day’s cases are present. Use of a Smart card to record attendance automatically will eliminate this wastage of time

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Empowering Citizens - SpheresInstant info on

daily necessities

Uplift of poor and needy

Easy access to Consumer protection agencies

Easy access to Law

Enforcement

Single Accountability for each civic

work

Quick settlement of

cases

Quarterly Interactions from each ministry

Empowerment

Digital technologies can assist citizens and Government in various spheres, leading to a holistic empowerment and higher satisfaction among citizens

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Instant Info on daily necessities

Who will benefit ?

• Farmers : Know the demand of produce at each market• Businessmen : Know the availability in each area and

plan for procurement• Fishermen : Get real-time weather update• Consumers : Know the best prices available for all goods• Commuters : Know the traffic blocks and free roads,

save fuel for nation with less vehicles travelling through congested traffic

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Uplift of poor and needy

Who will benefit ?

• Citizens– Receive the subsidies earmarked for them directly– Participate in government schemes such as NREGS without hassles

• Government– Reduce the overheads and hassles associated with creating multiple

layers to pass on the benefits of schemes to the target section– Reduce overall expenses– More job opportunities for poor from the cost savings– Overall boost to economy from more people earning and spending– Gain essential visibility in its role as protector of the weak

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Easy access to Consumer protection agencies

Who will benefit ?

• Consumer - All businesses will have to work with a high degree of ethics and good quality

• Business– Those with good integrity will prosper more as they will

not have to wage a price war with those who indulge in adulteration

– Consumers will be happy to pay a higher price as quality will be better

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Easy access to Law enforcement

Who will benefit ?

• Citizens– Allow immediate access to law enforcement officials at times of emergency– Receive consistent approach to all complaints– Receive a regular status update and cooperate with the officials without having their work disrupted

• Law Enforcement officers– Gain better cooperation from citizens and a better perception about their work– Provide top officials a clear view of their work, hurdles faced and assistance needed– Easy sharing of information when needed with their counterparts from other agencies

• Top officials– A real-time view on the status of cases and progress from each area, bringing to light cases that are

pending for a longer duration– Better data analysis, better understanding of constraints which will help decide what needs are to be

addressed on top priority – Helps identify good performers and reward them suitably– Boost confidence of citizens on law enforcement, reduce crime rate and allow a more peaceful life for all

law enforcement officers

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Single Accountability for each Civic Work

Who will benefit ?

• Citizens– Expect better performance from the civic bodies as there is a clear

responsibility and accountability in case of a failure– Know who is responsible and to be approached for any complaint/grievance– Can recommend what issue is of top priority for their area, thus allowing the

officials address the sensitive problems first

• PWD and Contractors– Gain better cooperation from citizens and a better perception about their

work– Better acceptance of their work based on quality and not about the cost– Less complaints about the cost

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Quick settlement of cases

Who will benefit ?

• Citizens– Law-abiding citizens will get speedy justice, law-breakers will get deterred due to

swift action by authorities– Will be able to proceed with their case without any disruption to their daily work

• Judiciary and Law enforcement– Utilise their time with productive work, no unnecessary paperwork and delays– Get instant status on all cases, better case and records management– Faster workflow from one section to another– Less security problems in transporting accused to the courts and back during the

trial– Better law and order situation and less stressful life for law enforcement officials

as crime rate will reduce

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Quarterly Interactions

Who will benefit ?

• Citizens– Will get a regular update on the key aspects from each ministry– Can assess performance based on actual data, not based on wrong

perceptions and blind beliefs about politicians and governments– Use the forum to air their problems and even participate with the

Government in solving them

• Government– Share achievements with people so that their good work is also highlighted

and not just their short-comings– Less criticism and thus less time wasted in responding to criticism, time spent

on productive activities

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Thank you