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28 Survey of Literature In the present era of information society, there is a growing importance for the applications of ICTs to solve the problems of various sectors of society. The dynamics of public administration in India have changed drastically with the introduction of e-governance as a guiding concept in the early 1990s. Citizens, the world over, have been demanding smaller, effective and responsive governments, obviously inspired by the unprecedented and rapid success of the finance capital in the global market. Consequently, policy makers began the search for smaller and efficient governments. Re-engineering of service systems, performance management, transparency in government operations, downsizing or right-sizing the government workforce, emphasis on delivery of reliable and quick public services and citizen satisfaction came to be considered as benchmarks by most of the administrators. In the present era of information society, there is a growing importance for the applications of ICTs to solve the administrative problems of societies. Information technology also known as Information and Communication(s) Technology(ICT)is concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information, especially in organizations. ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems, etc. To analyze the use of ICTs in different sectors of bureaucratic structures and administrative institutions, the researcher attempted to review various experiences of ICT applications in development activities from all over the world. In this background, the main research goal of this study is to understand the impact of e-governance in the administration

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Survey of Literature

In the present era of information society, there is a growing importance for the

applications of ICTs to solve the problems of various sectors of society. The

dynamics of public administration in India have changed drastically with the

introduction of e-governance as a guiding concept in the early 1990s. Citizens, the

world over, have been demanding smaller, effective and responsive governments,

obviously inspired by the unprecedented and rapid success of the finance capital in

the global market. Consequently, policy makers began the search for smaller and

efficient governments. Re-engineering of service systems, performance management,

transparency in government operations, downsizing or right-sizing the government

workforce, emphasis on delivery of reliable and quick public services and citizen

satisfaction came to be considered as benchmarks by most of the administrators. In

the present era of information society, there is a growing importance for the

applications of ICTs to solve the administrative problems of societies. Information

technology also known as Information and Communication(s) Technology(ICT)is

concerned with the use of technology in managing and processing information,

especially in organizations. ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication

device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and

network hardware and software, satellite systems, etc. To analyze the use of ICTs in

different sectors of bureaucratic structures and administrative institutions, the

researcher attempted to review various experiences of ICT applications in

development activities from all over the world. In this background, the main research

goal of this study is to understand the impact of e-governance in the administration

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and bureaucracy in India. For this, we have utilized various indicators and surveyed

different methodologies from various studies. In the following pages through light on

the literature available in the areas of ICT and administrative structures published at

international and national levels.

Review of Literature

Review of Literature is a significant part of any research. The investigator

acquires information about what has been done in the field of study, gather up-to date

information about previous researches in the area and obtain information on the topic

of investigation. A familiarity with available literature in the area of research is

required for making, new grounds and the proper designing of the study. Review of

related studies further avoids duplication of the work that has already been done in

that area. It also helps the investigator to study the various aspects of the concept in

its multi – dimensional perspective. The researcher reviewed many a book, articles,

reports and websites in the areas of administrative development and ICT and its

application in socio-economic development domain with international and national

perspectives to understand the different concepts and issues of in ICT-led governance

activities. The studies were classified into different categories like theoretical works,

international, national and local experiences and are presented as under:

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Books

David Garson. G, (2006)1, explains that the use of technology in government

has since exploded, and today its complexity, sophistication and universality has

spawned not just a huge industry to serve and support the unique needs of public –

sector IT, but also has led to everything from a media market to education for Chief

Information Officers (CIOs). It provides a comprehensive overview of the political

issues raised by information policy in the public sector and administrative issues that

managers will likely encounter in governing the vertical state. It also combines the

theory with practice on everything from e-democracy, access and privacy to

information planning, partnerships, project management and implementation issues.

Harris Roger and Rajesh Rajora (2006)2 in their report examine the application of

large –scale approaches to the use of Information and Communications Technology

(ICT) for electronic governance and poverty reduction. The study examined 18

development projects in India that make use of ICTs in the form of community

telecentres for the benefit of the poor. The study established that several projects have

failed to understand the importance of cultivating close relationships with their

beneficiary community, either by employing inappropriate staff within telecentres or

by failing to supply incentives for those staff to ensure that they are sensitive to the

needs of the community. Finally, the authors conclude that as a result, the quality of

the projects has suffered.                                                             1David Garson. G, (2006), Public Information Technology and E-Governance: Managing the Virtual State, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, USA. 

2Harris Roger and Rajesh Rajora (2006), Empowering the Poor: Information and Communications Technology for Governance and Poverty Reduction-A Study of Rural Development Projects in India, UNDP-APDIP ICT4D Series, UNDP.  

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Kiran Prasad (2004)3 illustrates the applications of ICTs for recasting development

in India and several other developing societies. He explored the application of ICTs in

the core sectors of agriculture, healthcare, geographic information system,

networking, rural and industrial development. Another major focus of the book is the

implication of communication convergence, the development of cyber journalism,

electronic organizational communication, e-public relations, e-governance and e-

democracy in the era of globalization. He raised several fundamental questions on

development policy and communication research and responds to the polemic issue of

bridging the digital divide in India that can inspire the development efforts of several

developing countries.

Mishra.D.D (2005:290)4 addressed the issue of combating corruption from the

system of delivering public services. Though e-governance offers a viable offers

strategy to reduce corruption from delivery system, it is not a panacea. It assists

change and creates efficient, consistent, transparent and accountable system, with no

scope for arbitrary discretion, and empowers people by facilitating them to check the

status online from anywhere and give feedbacks/ complaints without fearing wrath of

public servants.

                                                            3Kiran Prasad (2004), Information and Communication Technology: Recasting Development, B.R. Publishing Corporation, New Delhi.  4Mishra.D.D (2005), “e-Governance : Responsive and Transparent Service Delivery Mechanism”, in, Amita Singh (ed), Administrative Reforms : Towards Sustainable Practices, Sage Publications, New Delhi 

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RadhaKuamri(2002)5, opined that E-government is a mechanism through which

information and communication technology can be adopted in governance systems.

E-governance will allow citizens to communicate with government and participate in

government’s policy making. Many developing countries are searching for different

ways to bring about e-governance. The mechanism of e-Seva has adopted in India, by

the state of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.), proves to be successful in bringing about e-

governance. The impact of e-Seva has been analysed basing on a field study

conducted in December 2002.The results indicate that the impact of e-Seva as an e-

governance project has been very encouraging and the citizens are highly satisfied

with the project. Irrespective of age factor and educational background, customers are

using the services offered at the e-Sevacentres. The study indicate that the citizens are

ready to witness the transformation of government from”procedure and power

centered” to “citizen & service centered” using information technology as a tool.

Satyanarayana. J (2000)6 described the concept and implementation of Computer-

aided Administration of Registration Department (CARD) project in Andhra Pradesh.

The project is directed at altering the antiquate procedures that have governed the

registration system, affecting sales of urban and agricultural properties. The CARD

project ensures speedy, transparent, easily accessible and reliable services to citizens.

After about six months of operation of project, the results are found to be highly

encouraging. About 80 per cent of transactions are still being handled manually at a

few places due to hardware and software related problems. During the period of

stabilization, the manual system of copying the indexing of documents was continued                                                             5RadhaKuamri Ch. (2002), “Impact of e-Seva in Andhra Pradesh A Study”, Promice of E-Governance, 6Satyanarayana. J (2000), “Computer-aided Registration of Deeds and Stamp Duties”, in, SubhashBhatnagar and Robert Schware (eds), Information and Communication Technology in Development, Cases from India, New Delhi ; Sage Publications 

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along with the computerized process. This has put unavoidable additional burden on

the staff. Initial results (during the period from 4 November to 31 May 1999) indicate

a good possibility of the project shaping into an extremely citizen-friendly application

with prospects of further improvements and replication in other states.

Subash C. Bhatnagar and Robert Schware (2000)7 conducted 16 case studies and

explained the successful use of ICT in rural development. They attempted to traces

the history of ICT use in rural India, examines some of the problems that have

afflicted the implication of rural development programmes, at the same time showing

how ICT applications could overcome them, assesses the early efforts in ICT use, and

proposes a scheme by which to classify ICT applications. There are sixteen case

studies written by administrators who lead project in their areas, which spell out the

various applications of ICT that have made a difference in the delivery of services or

products in rural India. Among the services covered are health care milk distribution,

disaster management, postal services, telephones, and services for disabled. These

applications of ICT cover the use of simple and inexpensive technologies at one end,

and sophisticated satellite-based communication at the other.

There has been considerable debate in India about the quality of public service

delivery in the present information era and the state governments have attempted in

recent years to improve delivery systems more effectively. In this context, the World

Bank (2006)8 undertook a study that focuses on specific innovations in service                                                             7Subash C. Bhatnagar and Robert Schware (2000), Information and Communication Technology in Development: Cases from India, New Delhi; Sage Publications.  8 World Bank (2006) Reforming Public Services in India: Drawing from Success, New Delhi; Sage

Publications.

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delivery across India. The study identified common factors underlying their success.

In doing so, it highlights the efficacy of six instruments to improve service fostering

competition, simplifying transactions, restructuring agency processes,

decentralization, building broad political support for program delivery, and

strengthening accordingly mechanisms. Covering a range of services and cases such

as ITC’s e-Choupal, Madhya Pradesh’s effort to decentralize teacher management,

Karnataka’s road transport corporation, Andhra Pradesh’s e-Seva, and Tamil Nadu’s

success in improving human development outcomes were discussed in the study. The

study has drawn lessons that can help improve service delivery across sectors and

facilitate the transplanting of success stories to other settings. Reforming public

services in India has much to offer the politician and the planner, as well as the

scholar and the activist. With its insightful analysis of existing experiments in village,

city and state administration in India, this report serves as a valuable guide for

students of public policy, governance and development.

Ashok Kumar (2000:94,104)9 presents a review of the computerization programme

of 1,124 Mandal Revenue Offices (MROs) in the state and its first application- the

delivery of statutory certificates stating caste, place and date of birth and landholding

to individuals in a few minutes without the current delay of 20 to 30 days. The study

found that information technology has been successfully introduced in phase I on

August 1998 in 90 MROs for issue of integrated caste certificates. Data has been re-

validated and the staff trained. Citizen interface counters have been set up.

Application of software has been identified and pilot studies are being conducted. The                                                                                                                                                                            9Ashok Kumar (2000), “Computerization of Mandal Revenue Offices in Andhra Pradesh: Integrated Certificate Application”, in, SubhashBhatnagar and Robert Schware (eds), Information and Communication Technology in Development, Cases from India, New Delhi ; Sage Publications 

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actual impact would be felt when the season for the requirement of the certificates

sets in. The certificates are mainly issued to students belonging to socially backward

classes at the start of the academic year, i.e., in the month of April through July, to

obtain the benefits of the reservation policy. Phase II has already been initiated. A

complementary land records package has been implemented in the remaining 230

MROs located at the headquarters of the erst-while mandals of Ranga Reddy district

of Andhra Pradesh.

Journal Articles and Working Papers

AkshayMathur and DhirubhaiAmbani (2005)10 expressed that the application of

ICT solutions for the development of rural India and other developing countries opens

up a vast majority range of possibilities. Giving an opportunity to the vast majority of

the population living in rural areas, to cross the digital divide to obtain access to

information resource and services provided by the ICT is the next revolution waiting

to happen. Although this is a development issue, it is just not the government, non-

government organizations or the rural masses that have a role to play. The new

technologies being developed can help in providing information resources at a low

cost and make applications feasible and profitable. The authors concluded that a large

number of hurdles still remain but creative ideas, breakthrough ICT technologies and

committed organizations can usher in the next revolution in the developing world.

                                                            10AkshayMathur and DhirubhaiAmbani (2005), “ICT and Rural Societies: Opportunities for Growth”, in, The International Information and Liberty Review, Vol. 37, No.4, December 

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Bose B.P.C. (2003)11 opined that use of Information and Communication Technology

in administration is a novel and innovative method that had the potential to change

the nature and scope of administrative systems. e-Governance is pre-condition for

Good Governance. The introduction of e-Governance requires redefinition of the

fundamentals in a number of spheres. e-Governance is multi-dimensional in

character. The implementation of e-Governance requires adjustments at all levels;

structural, functional, procedural, technological, behavioral, etc. e-Governance is

impractical in the light of political, social and economic problems that we are

confronting – illiteracy, lack of infrastructure, negative work culture, behavioural

dimension, accessibility, integration of activities of various actors and agencies,

political instability, political leadership etc., However, the author concludes that there

is considerable agreement on thrust areas in reforms and priorities, especially the

need to make administration more citizen-centered flexible, accountable and

transparent. Two major instruments of any governance is potential leadership and

bureaucracy. Constant Political commitment and support and change in the

bureaucratic mindset for these reform initiatives may transform them into a reality, if

not to the fuller extent.

Cecchini and Scott (2003)12 summarized a range of ICT- based applications in India.

These applications provide various services to the people, the services include

telemedicine, e-government services, and improved access to microfinance through

smart cards. The author identified computerized land records as one of the potential

                                                            11BoseB.P.C. (2003), “E-Governance: Reform Initiatives in Andhra Pradesh”, in, Dynamics of Public Administration, Vol. 13-14, No. 1&2, January –December. 12Cecchini and Scott, (2003), “Can Information and Communications Technology Applications Contribute to Poverty Reduction? Lessons from Rural India”, in, Information Technology for Development, Vol. 10, No. 2 

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benefits to Indian citizens through increased transparency, less corruption, better

delivery of government services and greater government responsiveness. The author

felt that in earlier examples of CARD in Andhra Pradesh, and STAR and REGiNET

in Tamil Nadu, this potential is not always realized. The computerization of one

element of the whole process of the production, registration and transfer of

documents does not always produce quicker response overall, reduced corruption or

increased transparency of the whole process.

Chapman and Tom Slaymaker (2002)13 investigate the role that ICTs have to play

in developing countries, focusing particularly on those rural areas that are currently

least affected by the latest affected by the latest advances in the ‘digital divide’ debate

which focuses on information disparities to assess the potential role of ICTs in the

context of current rural development paradigms. It addresses the current divergence

between the technology derives and the potential beneficiaries in the rural areas in

developing countries, together with the opportunities arising from the continued

convergence of ICTs ,old and new. It further explores how ICTs could have greater

role in future rural development strategies through the integration of available

technologies and the diverse institutional and knowledge landscapes that exist in

developing countries. It concludes that there are numerous, well established barriers

to improving information exchanges like knowledge capture, the high cost of

information access and infrastructure constraints all affect the equitable distribution

of information in all rural areas. However, technological advances in ICTs have

                                                            13Chapman and Tom Slaymaker, (2002), ICTs and Rural Development: Current Interventions and Opportunities for Action, Working Paper No. 192, Overseas Development Institute, London, November.  

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reduced the cost and increased the quantity and speed of information transfer

dramatically.

Dinesh Dada (2006)14 provides an insight to the trends that exist within academic

writings in the much talked about area of e-government, and the potential they hold

for developing countries. While there is much hype about success stories, the bitter

truth that presents itself is that the majority of e-government projects in developing

countries fail. Though, the reasons are so many, the major problem is seen to be the

gaps that exist between the design and reality of the system. The topic of e-

government is still quite new, and perspectives are quite likely to change over time.

Gollakota (2008)15analyzed a telecentre kiosk initiative, also in Tamil Nadu, by the

sugar manufacturer EID Parry aimed at providing information to farmers, with some

of the kiosks being company owned but some operating through kiosk franchisees

who were also able to offer more general computer-based services such as Internet

browsing, communication services and desk top publishing. The author concluded

that better relationship between local farmers and company were achieved through

the project, which had 36 kiosks by 2006, but there were also problems. There were

concerns that caste, community and gender influenced access to the kiosks and

therefore that poor and disadvantaged were often not reached by the initiative. In

addition, there were serious problems of financial viability for the franchisees since,

in poor rural areas, it is difficult to generate adequate revenue to make such a business

viable.

                                                            14Dinesh Dada (2006), “The Failure of E-Government in Developing Countries: A Literature Review”, in, The Electronic Journal on Information System in Developing Countries,Vol. 26, No. 1 15Gollakota (2008), “ICT Use by Business in Rural India: The Case of EID Parry,sIndiagriline”, in, Indian Journal of Information Management, Vol. 28, No. 4 

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Heeks (2001)16 provided three main changes potential for improving efficiency and

effectiveness of government services by introducing e-governance. This is achieved

by introducing ICT tools which results in reduced delivery time, increased quality of

services, reduced cost, innovative outputs and an increased quality of outputs. The

first potential is in replacing human executed information handling processes of

governments such as receiving, management and transmission of information. The

author refers to this approach as “Automation”. The second potential can achieved by

using ICT tools to aid the decision making process of the government staff which he

calls “Information”. The third potential is “transformation” of the government

services in which ICT supported processes will take a key role in executing

information processes and support decision –making by government staff.

Inderjeet Singh Sodhi, (2007)17 stated that “At present electronic delivery of public

services is largely confined to basic and regulatory services, such as issue of

certificates / licenses and payment of bills. It enhances accountability, responsiveness

and transparency in the delivery of services and also checks corruption. Information

technology provides greater transparency in government operations. The process of

IT and e-governance is simple, easy, inexpensive, and open to a vast array of

information and services. They help to enhance the quality of public service provision

to the poor, downtrodden, and marginalized sections of the society and also to the

women and rural people”.

                                                            16Heeks (2001) “Understanding e-Governance for Development”, in, I-Government Working paper series paper No. 11, Manchester: Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester 17Inderjeet Singh Sodhi, (2007), “Role of Information Technology and E-Governance in Effective Delivery of Public Service-Initiatives, Challenges and Prospects “, in,Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. LIII, No. 4, October-December 

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Kumar and Best, M .L. (2006)18described the SARI (Suitable Access in Rural India)

project in the state of Tamil Nadu. The authors selected 80 telecentres kiosks were set

offering a range of services including basic computer education, w-email, web

browsing and various e-government services including the provision of certificates.

Although the kiosks succeeded initially in delivering the e-government services,

many failed subsequently. The authors identified a range of reasons for the failure

including lack of training lack of trained staff, movement of key officials and, a

deeper level, opposition from government officials at the local level who perceived a

threat from the kiosks to their role, authority and influence in the community and,

more darkly, to their opportunities for corruption.

Kuriyan, R., Ray, I and Toyama.K. (2008)19 examined the extensive

Akshayatelecentre project in the state of Kerala, and argued that it is problematic to

achieve the twin goals of commercial profitability of telecentres with social

development for those at the bottom of the pyramid.

Mahesh Chandra and NagarajKulkarni (2011)20 analyzed the working of National

Transport Register (NTR) in India. The authors noticed that National Transport

Project is one of the Mission mode projects under National e-governance Plan. The

Registered Transport Offices (RTOs) in various states and Union Territories across

the country are responsible for granting the Driving License, registration of motor

vehicles and also providing various other services to the citizens. It was observed

                                                            18Kumar and Best, M .L. (2006), “Impact and Sustainability of e-Government Services in Developing Countries: Lessons Learned from Tamil Nadu, India”, in, The Information Society, Vol. 22, No. 1 19Kuriyan, R., Ray, I and Toyama.K. (2008), “Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Bottom of the Pyramid Model in Practice”, in, The Information Society, Vol. 24, No. 2 20Mahesh Chandra and NagarajKulkarni (2011), “National Transport Register”, in, Informatics, Vol. 20, No. 2 

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that these offices are working in isolation due to which information availability was

limited and access to data from their offices was not available. Complaints received in

case of inter State transfer of vehicles. To do-away with the manual process so as to

ensure throughout the Central Government had made provisions in the Central Motor

Vehicles Rules 1989 for issuance of smart card based License (DL) and Registration

Certificate (RC). The authors focused on the scope of National Register (NR), its

benefits and technology and technology utilized for the Business Intelligence (BI) by

interlinking all the RTOs/DTOs. The National Register has the capacity to provide

critical information through a structured managerial reporting. The authors concluded

that the RTOs across the country remained isolated and completely disconnected and

ran with heterogeneous operational system. The department lacked of mechanism &

infrastructure for combining data residing at different sources and providing a united

view of these data to itself for its business needs and also to other stakeholders like

police, crime bureau, etc.

Madon, S., Sahay, S. and Sudan. R (2007)21 argued that information and

communication technologies provide an immense potential to support the effective

gathering and analyzing of health data, and they described the implementation of

computer –based health information system as HISP (Health Information System

Program). The authors felt that there is often a disjuncture between macro-level

policy priorities and micro – level implementation of health projects such as HISP.

They derived a set of ‘key enables’ to try to bridge this gap. Enables included the

provision of infrastructure such as physical building and power supply, the need to set

                                                            21Madon, S., Sahay, S. and Sudan. R (2007), “E-government Policy and Health Information Systems Implementation in Andhra Pradesh, India: Need for Articulation of Linkages between the Macro and Micro”, in, The Information Society, Vol. 23, No.5 

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targets through local consultation process, and capacity building at the local level in

terms of capabilities of primary health care workers, doctors etc.

NarasimhaiahGorla (2008)22 explains that Rural Electronic Government (e-

government) projects are aimed at providing government services and information to

rural public. The e-government initiatives have not been very successful in

developing countries because of several inherent constraints. He studied ten typical

rural e-government projects in India and analyse the optional, economic and

personnel hurdles faced in implementing them along with their progression. Based on

the implementation experiences of these projects, a list of recommendations is

provided for successful execution of e-government projects.

Noir and Walsham (2007)23 drew on research on health information systems in the

Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, in addition to field work in the capital

New Delhi. The authors argued that ICTs often play a mythical or ceremonial role

rather than being linked closely to local action. Examples of this include submitting

faulty, inaccurate or missing data in reporting procedures at the local levels in order

to avoid penalties or other sanctions from superiors at higher levels, where more

accurate data might reflect badly on what was happening in the field.

Pardhasaradhi. Y, (2004)24 introduces the concept of efficiency in the changing

definitions and understanding of the public administration from Wilsonian period to

the 21st Century with analysis of different concepts and dimensions of governance

                                                            22NarasimhaiahGorla (2008), “Hurdles in rural e-Government Projects in India: Lessons for Developing Countries,” in, International Journal on Electronic Government, Vol.5, No. 1. 23Noir and Walsham (2007), “The Great Legitimizer: ICT as Myth and Ceremony in the Indian Healthcare Sector”, in, Information Technology & People, Vol. 20, No.4 24Pardhasaradhi. Y (2004), “Information Technology for Governance and Efficiency”, in, Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. L, No. 1 

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and the transforming role of state. Use of technology in government has changed the

organizational structure and created different human and organizational networks

based on electronic and automated systems. It explains different problems and areas

of concerns which need to be given due consolidation for implementing ICT in

government for an efficient governance. The author concludes that owing to induction

of ICT there have been improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness in delivery

of services to the citizens, enabling from passive information access to active

participation in government activities. The ICT has been found to facilitate innovation

use of information collected and maintained by the government in the form and

imaginative information linkages and information sharing at all levels of the

government. Efficiency of e-government can be understood from the level of

empowerment the citizen enjoys in accessing and making choices about government

information system services provided regarding increased transparency and

accountability in government business and dismantling of administrative hierarchy

structure.

Prakash and De’ (2007)25 in their description of Bhoomi, a land record

computerization project in the state of Karnataka. They linked computerization

project of land records to wider objectives of land reform in India, and noted that

inaccurate land records have been a means of manipulation for powerful secessions of

Indian society and a cause of rural conflicts and unrest. The Bhoomi system created a

database of about 20 million records and a linked document called an RTC (record of

rights, tenancy and crops). The RTC had previously been issued through a manual

                                                            25Prakash and De’ (2007),”Importance of Development in ICT4D Projects”, in, Information and Technology & People, Vol. 20, No.3. 

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process by a village accountant but, with the Bhoomi system, farmers had to travel to

the sub-district headquarters and receive their RTC certificate through a Bhoomi

kiosk. The author linked their reservations concerning the Bhoomi system to broader

issues of development, arguing that system was aligned to review of development as

increased efficiency, whereas it did not contribute to wider development goals of

capacity building increased choice for people in rural areas, especially small and

landless farmers.

Puri S.K. (2007)26 examined a GIS project in the district of Anantpur in the state of

Andhra Pradesh. The project respected the need to recognize the knowledge that

communities have of the land that they inhabit, in addition to the potential benefits of

GIS technologies. The author described how the project involved participatory

mapping carried out by the local villagers, the results of which were then incorporated

in the GIS. The project was regarded as successful in that the GIS were utilized to

help generate improved approaches to land management practices. The author argued

that the case study demonstrated the need to construct knowledge alliances that

integrate top-down scientific knowledge with bottom-up indigenous knowledge. The

author suggested that a relatively enlightened view on knowledge of ‘low status’

villagers.

Radha Krishna Rao (2003)27 stated that E-Governance is the best option to remove

the barriers between the people and the administration at all levels of the functioning

of a democratic government. It is a bold attempt at transforming administration into a

                                                            26Puri S.K. (2007), Integrating Scientific with Indigenous Knowledge: Constructing Knowledge Alliances for Land Management in India, in, MISQuarterly, Vol. 31, No.2 27Radha Krishna Rao (2003), “e-Governance gaining in popularity”, in, Kurushetra, September, p. 12.  

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people friendly, transparent and accountable preposition. e-Governance concept

involves delivering a variety of services via the internet, telephone community,

centers or Government departments with a view to transform the Government from

being a ‘procedures and power centered mechanisms’ to ‘citizen and service centered

platform’.

Radhakumari,Ch, (2013)28 assesses the functioning of the Karnataka Valuation and

e –Registration (KAVERI) project from citizen’s perspective. The study revealed

that people were going through long, cumbersome and highly time consuming

procedures for registration of immovable properties. Introduction of KAVERI project

has brought great relief to the citizens from these hardships. The time taken to get

important documents like Encumbrance Certificate (EC) and the time required for

completing the total registration process has reduced tremendously from one week to

three days and from one day to one hour. The study also highlighted that in spite of

the reduction in the time taken for the registration process, the dependence of citizens

on middlemen has not reduced, the achievement of which is one of the important

objectives of the project. Still citizens are apprehensive to go to Sub-Registrar’s

office directly for registration. Lack of adequate response from the officials at Sub-

Registrar’s office, payment of varying amounts of money to middlemen for getting

the work done, fear created by the middlemen that if anyone approaches the office

directly huge sum of money will be demanded; unprofessional and unethical attitude

of some of the office staff, an atmosphere of unwillingness in the office in general to

go an extra mile for helping the public etc. are the problems faced by the common

                                                            28Radhakumari, Ch. (2013) “A Business Process Reengineering and e-Governance Model –KAVERI of Karnataka”, in, International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume. 4, Issue. 1, January 

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public at the registrar’s office. The study has also brought to light that citizens get

better treatment by going through middlemen even though it means payment of

varying amounts of money. Efforts at creating more awareness through media about

the KAVERI project will make every one appreciate the purpose of it and enjoy the

benefits thereby produced. To achieve the objective of creating awareness among the

citizens about the project can be achieved through wide publicity by employing the

mass media and the Internet.

Rakesh K. Gahlot (2003)29 suggested that states are required to create infrastructure

for a state level Management Information and Decision Support System (MIDSS), to

enable them to take informed decisions, formulate comprehensive plans, and follow-

up on delivery of public services, and create user friendly public expenditure, public

infrastructures to enable masses for participation and responsiveness are to be

extended beyond the scope of Citizen Charter, by making information on the entire

government functioning readily available to the citizens through a State Portal at One

Stop Shop” open and available all the times.

Ramlal and AbidHaleem (2002)30 discussed the paradigm shift in the governance of

the citizen. This shift has been possible with the IT revolution and internet. The e-

governance has become citizen-centric. Various issues have been explored to provide

the best possible services to citizens. As per the need of the citizens, there is

requirement to identify the issues related to deal with the problems of high level of

illiteracy, social diversity and unequal distribution of wealth and low level of women

                                                            29Rakesh K. Gahlot (2003), “A State e-Governance Model”, in, Management in Government, January-March 30Ramlal and AbidHaleem (2002) “e-Governance: An Emerging Paradigm”, in, The Journal of Business Perspective, Vol. 6, No. 2, July-December 

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empowerment so as to conceptualize, design and implement a e-governance model. A

review of the existing models of e-governance has also been made to crystallize the

issues involved. The role of e-governance needs to be citizen-centric. Citizen –

oriented governance is undoubtedly one of the important considerations for the

governments all over the world. With the awareness levels of the common people on

the rise, citizens demand more access to the government information and an effective

and easy interface in their dealings with the Government. Information and

Communication Technology can help to sustain governance in three ways. They can

support tasks that involve complex decision-making, communication and decision

implementation.

Sangita S.N. and Bikash Chandra Dash (2008)31 examined the implications of e-

governance on service delivery based on secondary data. The authors opined that

service delivery system in most of the sectors has not been satisfactory. The

phenomenon of speed money and corruption has become one of the major issues in

administration. It is believed that 20 to 30 per cent of illicit money is siphoned-off

from government contractors and purchases due to lack o transparency and excess of

discretionary powers. Corruption at the grassroots has become a way of life. In rural

areas, nothing moves without speed money in public offices. People are compelled to

pay bribes to get government services and facilities (certificates, licenses, building

plan approvals, registration of properties and administration in schools and hospitals).

Approval of substandard works (roads, buildings and hospitals) and procurement of

poor quality of goods (medicines, materials, agricultural inputs and implements) is

                                                            31Sangita S.N and Bikash Chandra Dash (2008), “Information Communication Technology, Governance and Service Delivery in India: A Critical Review”, in, Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. LIV, No. 1, January-March 2008 

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very common. Stealing of power, water (through unauthorized connections) and

essential items (of public distribution system) and encroachment and misuse of

government properties are rampant. Misappropriation of funds meant for rural

development and weaker sections is reported widely. With this state of affairs, ICT

can be better instrument in dealing with the problems related to service delivery. The

authors concluded that still e-governance is not free from problems. The problems

like inadequate skilled manpower, lack of proper attitudinal orientation on the part of

officials and people, inadequate e-infrastructure, instances of men misusing the

technology, lack of proper awareness on the part of the general public, lack of

adequate funding etc., hindering the progress of electronic governance in India. The

authors suggested that sound policy and legal frame work, adequate infrastructure,

trained manpower, collaborative corporate sector, active civil society, and people’s

participation are essential for the promotion of e-governance in improving the quality

in improving the quality of service delivery.

Sanjay Kumar Divedi and Ajay Kumar Bharati(2010)32 discuss about the basic

problems and acceptability of e-governance in India. There are few successful e-

Governance projects in India and their characteristics which show the development of

e-Governance is significant. The authors concluded that in spite of poor

infrastructure, poverty, illiteracy, language dominance and all the other reasons, India

has number of award winning e-governance projects. Effective promotion schemes by

the India government will also a boosting factor to provide quality services to their

citizens.

                                                            32Sanjay Kumar Dived and Ajay Kumar Bharati (2010), “Governance in India-Problems and Acceptability”, in, Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology 

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Sameer Sachdeva (2003)33 points out various other gaps hindering implementation

of e- Governance in India. It brings a ten point strategy for implementing e-

Governance in India and thereby fulfilling the dream of better governance. It brings

forth the objective of achieving Electronic Governance (EG) beyond mere

computerization of standalone back office operations. It identifies the new set of

responsibilities for the executive, legislative and the citizenry and brings the need for

their training.

Sanjeev Mehta and ManmeetKalra (2006)34analyse some of the initiatives taken up

by the institutions and organizations, and identity the problems faced by these

initiatives in achieving the targeted objectives, respectively. The authors then

identified technological solutions to the various problems experienced and give an

insight into the ways ICT technologies can be successful and efficiently implemented

in achieving the social objectives with which they are identified.

SatishBabu D.R and Sheela Prasad (2009)35 analyses the citizens’ positive response

to the application of ‘e- services’ in e-sevacentres in providing effective governance

in Hyderabad region. The survey based on a study of selected e-sevacentres in

Hyderabad. The study shows that compared to the earlier practices e-services are

more reliable, citizen- centred and reduced corruption. The authors felt that as a

policy, IT service of e-seva have been enlarging the scope and operation of

                                                            33Sameer Sachdeva (2003) “E-Governance Strategy for India”, in, Management in Government, January-March 34Sanjeev Mehta and ManmeetKalra (2006), “Information and Communication Technologies: A bridge for Social Equally and Sustainable Development in India”, in, The International Information & Library Review, Vol.38, No.3, September 35SatishBabu D.R and Sheela Prasad (2009), “Conceptualizing the Process of E-Governance: The E-Sava Experience in Hyderabad”, in, Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. LV, No. 2, April-June 

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administration in Andhra Pradesh in providing better and faster services. But given

the general low literacy levels and IT penetration, it is difficult to achieve the set

targets given by the socio-economic realities. Added to this, other inequalities such as

household income and occupation, poverty and Internet access, contribute to a great

extent to the digital divide. The authors concluded that the reduction and final

elimination of the digital divide will be the real achievement of IT and e-governance.

The e-seva is a step in this direction as the study shows. But the challenge of for e-

seva is to reach out both across diverse social groups and spatially to reflect inclusion

and thus a reduction of the digital divide.

Sreekumar, T.T. (2007)36 examined the Gyanadoot project in the drought-prone

rural Dhar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh. The author described how this

started in 2000 with the objective of enhancing participation by citizens and

government together in community affairs through creative uses of ICTs, and of

ensuring equal access to emerging technologies for the oppressed and exploited

segments of society. 40 kiosks were set up in different parts of the registration of

applications, rural email, information regarding government programmes etc.

However, the author observed that the kiosks were mainly used by the literate and

middle-income groups and he described three particular case studies on how the

complex layers of social power that characterize Indian village society severely limit

the potential of an initiative like Gyandoot to provide empowerment for the poor and

disadvantaged.

                                                            36Sreekumar, T.T. (2007), “Decrypting e-Governance: Narratives, Power Play and Participation in the Gyandoot Intranet”, in, Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, Vol.32, No. 4 

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Tejinder Sharma (2002)37 stated that the prime objective of any technological

innovation is to improve the quality of human life. This can be achieved not only by

the technological advances, but by successfully assimilating these technological

innovations into the human society. Such an approach is seen more important for

grievance and public administration.

UrmilaBagga (2005)38 opined that e-Governance in simple words means governance

using electronic tools. Here the government offers services and information to the

public by effectively making use of electronic tools. But e-governance is much more

than having computers in offices or creating websites. It is about redefining the vision

and scope of the entire gamut of relationships between citizens and government. It

involves the creation of system, integrating technology with administrative processes,

human resources and technology and dispencing information and faster services to

the citizens.

Webliography (Internet Sources)

National Knowledge Commission (2005)39 stated that E-Governance projects in

India are restricted to computerization of existing paper work procedures without

simplifying them, resulting unnecessary delays and red tape. There is a need to have

government processes re-engineering unnecessary steps and by reducing the time

                                                            37Tejinder Sharma (2002), “e-Governance: Process Reengineering Approach”, in, Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. XLVIII, No.4 38UrmilaBagga (2005), “Managing Cities through e-governance”, in, Nagarlok, Vol. XXXVII, January-March 39National Knowledge Commission (2005), Government of India, New Delhi, http://knowledgecommission.gov.in retrieved on12-11-2012.  

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taken in each step. In order to enable real e-Governance there is a required to have

“radical shift” in public government interaction processes.

Prashant Belwariar (2012)40 examined the working of e-services at District

Transport Offices situated at the far eastern corner of India, Manipur. The author

noticed that Vahan and Saradhi are standardized software applications for vehicle

registration and driving license so as to build a national register of vehicles and

driving licenses and simultaneously provide e-governance to citizens through District

Transport Offices (DTOs) located across the country. The author opined that the

biggest challenge faced were shortage of electricity and manpower at the DTOs. With

availability of power at most of the two thirds of houses a day and that too without

certainty the challenges of server crashes, other hardware failures and battery

damages were frequent. Overall, the processes at the DTOs have become efficient,

transparent, systematic and most importantly the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act

are better enforced.

Randeep Sudan (2002)41 examined the number of key initiatives for promoting the

pervasive use of IT in the experience of Andhra Pradesh. The author felt that the

introduction of IT into organizations is less a matter of technology and more a matter

of managing change. The continued success of the experiment begun in Andhra

Pradesh will depend on how far and how quickly changes can be brought about

within the existing structures of government.

                                                            40PrashantBelwariar (2012) Manipur – Providing e-Services at District Transport Offices, E-Gov Products & Services, April, www. Informatics.nic.in/uploads/pdfs/48060/of-April20129-11.pdf.

41RandeepSadan (2002), Towards SMART Governance: The Andhra Pradesh Experience,unpan1.un.urg/inbradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unfanou5509.pdf, retrieved 13-06-2012.

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Snajay Kumar (2012)42 noticed that the transport department has taken up many new

initiatives to make the services citizen-centric. There has been a computerization of

almost 70 per cent services. The notable among them is the license booking service.

The client need not go to District Transport Office (DTO) for getting a learning or

regular license. Just go to the website, book a slot and pay the required fees. Then the

client will be given a time slot to appear for a test. After the test, results are couriered

to client registered address within three days. The transport department has also

enabled online payment of taxes. For making a tax payment, the clients need not to

come to transport department office. The issuance of all India permit will be

computerized in the subsequent month. He also points out that for vehicles with

Hydraulic axles, the transport department is taking a special initiative. They need

permission of various departments to get a clearance. This takes days and needs lot of

manual work. So the transport department are trying to computerize the process. In

case of RTO’s the author stated that the RTO’s had counter – based service

mechanism where numerous counters cater to different activities like issue of license,

certificates, taxes, etc. The transport department felt that they were under-utilizing

transport department capacity. So the department tried to bring in ‘any service at any

counter’ model to provide flexibility in service delivery. In this system, one can

approach a Help Desk, which gives out forms for standing the nature of work. The

tokens for the queue are also issued. And once the client turn comes, he can approach

any counter for getting their work done. This is a time saving measure, and can avoid

the problem of some centres getting crowded, while others are free. It also makes the

                                                            42Snajay Kumar (2012), ICT for efficiency in Transportation, e-Gov Magazine, November 9, 2012, http://egov.eletsonline.com/2012/11/ict-for-efficiency-in-transportaiton/.  

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department staff more efficient as they are trained to handle all types of queries unlike

the previous system.

Sanjay Jaju (2012)43 opined that the MeeSevaprogramme is getting great response

from rural areas. The people in the rural areas use the Common Service Centres to

avail of MeeSeva Services. Earlier people in rural areas used to access services like

Community, Income, Birth and Death Certificates. The copies of Pahani/ Adangal,

etc., were also difficult to come by. The process followed by the department was

manual, and the citizens were required to submit physical application and collected

physically signed copies at the office for getting any certificate. The citizens living in

remote rural areas had to travel long distances for reaching the Taluq headquarters or

the District headquarters where such services could be accessed. Thus, it was a time –

consuming and costly affair for a common man to access citizen services. The

MeeSevaprograme has taken the entire process of availing government certificates

online. The rural folk can get hold of documents and certificates through the Web-

based system on an anytime, anywhere basis. Even people who are not comfortable

with digital technologies can avail of the services by visiting the Common Service

Centres (CSCs). The bottom line is that the MeeSeva is a system, by which

documents and certificates, pertaining to individuals, are issued by the Government

through a common kiosk. There is no waiting time, no multiple visits to the offices,

no pleading, no frustration-it’s a genuine silent revolution.

                                                            43Sanjay Jaju (2012).1MeeSevaThe Silent Revolution, e-Gov Magazine, http://e-gov.eletsonline.com/2012/mee-seva-the-silent-revilution, retrieved on 11-01-2013 

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Sangita and BikashS. N. and Chandra Dash (2005)44 analyse the role of Role of

electronic governance and service delivery, mainly concentrate on reviews the

experiences of e-governance reforms in improving the quality of governance and

service delivery in India. Many studies have found that the services provided by

governments are inadequate, unreliable and expensive. Citizens have to expend much

effort and time to obtain these services. Service delivery processes have problems

such as inadequate and irregular access to and supply of public services, lack of

responsibility, neglect of consumers and their needs, delayed response and prevalence

of briber.However, several studies express reservations about the efficiency of

computerised service delivery. For instance, the performance of e-centres in Kerala is

not encouraging. In most of the centres, the collection levels have stagnated and

collections are extremely erratic in few centres. Lack of coordination between centers

and participating departments, the apathy of participating departments and obstinate

and indifferent attitudes of office staff are major constraints in this regard.

The Millennial Survey of Public Services in India (2001)45 found that the services

provided by the government are inadequate, unreliable and costly. Citizens have lot of

effort and time to obtain these services. Service delivery process has problems such as

inadequate and irregular supply of public services, lack of responsiveness, less care

for the consumers, corruption, delayed response and bribery.

                                                            44SangitaS. N. and Bikash Chandra Dash (2005)Electronic Governance and Service Delivery in India: Theory and Practice, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Working Paper-165, http://www.isec.ac.in/WP%20-%20165.pdf, retrieved on 11-06-2012. 45The Millennial Survey of Public Services in India (2001), Public Affairs Centre, Bangalore, http://www.Pacindia.org/, 2001 retrieved on 22-1-2013.

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Vahan and Sarathi(e Gov reach)46 are designed and developed by National

Informatics Centre (NIC) in consultation with Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways to computerize services provided by RTO office in India. Vahan is used for

Registration of all categories of Vehicles, issue of Fitness and permits and collection

of Vehicle Tax. Web based Dealer system is also provided to facilitate easy

submission of registration data by dealer. This is integrated with Vahan to carry out

all types of transactions. Vahan is implemented in all 27 RTO in Gujarat. Sarathi

deals with the various categories of Licenses to be issue to citizen. These include

Learning License, Driving License,Conductor License and Driving School License.

Online learning license test is also integrated with Sarathi which is mandatory before

issue of LL. various types of transactions related to License can be done through

Sarathi. Online facility is also created to accept Learning License applications with

appointment. Key Management System for Sarathi in all RTO in Gujarat. This helps

to verify the issue of DL issued throughSarathi anywhere in India. Impact of these

services include: helped to RTO to stream line operations, Service delivery with

speed, accuracy and transparency, helped to reduce queues at RTO, Processes are

automated as far as possible, Use of technology to reduce waiting time for citizen at

RTO, Data accuracy is increased due to acceptance of online applications.

                                                            46egovreach.in/uploads/presentation/surat/gv_negp_13july2012.pdf., retrieved on 12-01-2013.  

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Reports

Bhatnagar’s (2010)47 empirical study of e-Governance projects in India found that,

due to lack of necessary process of reforms, full potential of e-Governance was not

exploited. However, a tremendous number of citizens preferred computerized

delivery in comparison to earlier methods of manual delivery.

Dhawal Bhatia, Kalpesh Mehta and Monica Raina, (2004)48 attempted to study the

e-Governance project on the RTO in Gujarat, which was automated three of its major

services: Issuing of driving licenses, registration of motor vehicles, and collection of

vehicle taxes. The evaluation results indicate that the project has successfully offered

benefits to its stakeholders and proved to be sustainable. In the initial stages, there

were very few citizens opting for the Optical Smart Card (OSC) based vehicle

registration. Getting a smart card is optional and citizens can opt for an RC book

issued through the manual system. Currently, citizens prefer the manual process since

any changes or renewals can be done in the book itself and they are done with the

help of an agent and he need not come personally to the Road Transport Office

(RTO) for the second time. The RTO staff found that in the manual system, access to

data was taking very long time and entry of stolen vehicles was done but without any

advantage to the police. In the computerized system, entry of stolen vehicles is

immediately done and any information regarding a vehicle is available at click of a

bottom. Till date around 100,000 OSC registrations have been issued.

                                                            47Bhatnagar’s (2010), Submission to Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, Government of India, http://mit.gov.in retrieved on 21-03-2012. 48Dhawal Bhatia and Kalpesh Mehta and Monica Raina (2004), “E-Government at Road Transport Office, Ahmadabad: An Evaluation”, in, Evaluation of E-Governance Projects: Studies Conducted by Centre for Electronic Governance, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad; (Asia Foundation, USA), April, 

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National e-Governance Plan

Based on the advice of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, the

Government of India formulated a National e-Governance Plan in 2003. The NeGP

was launched with a vision to “Make all Government services accessible to the

common man in his locality, through a common service delivery outlet and ensure

efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize

the basic needs of the common man” (NeGP, 2003)49.

Saransh (2011)50 examined the performance of Mission Mode Projects and observed

that under all the Road Transport Offices (RTOs) have implemented standardized

software, ie, Sarathi and Vahan. The Transport MMP also intends to setup national

and state registers. The setting up of these registers is facilitated in providing the real

time services to the citizens. Provision of online services is enabling the citizens to

get work done from the comfort of their home/ office at a time suitable to them. This

is not only reduced the rush of RTOs but will also save a lot of effort which goes into

entering the data into the system.

The Present Study

With the review of literature in the areas of ICT applications in

administration, the researcher felt that most of the studies touched up on areas of

theoretical explanation of e-governance, and different initiatives of ICT in

administration at international and national level, use of ICTs in administrative                                                             49National e-Governance Plan (2003), Department of Information Technology, Government of India, New Delhi, http://mit.gov.in retrieved on 24-02-2012.  50Saransh (2011), Road Transport Mission Mode Project, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Government of India, January 

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processes. At national level, many studies concentrated on the review of the efforts

made by the governments in the era of ICT and Globalization. Though, there are few

studies which concentrated on the issues of ICT applications in administration, but

confined to some areas of common citizen services at various state levels. Therefore,

there is a need for analyzing the role and impact of ICTs in the domain of

administration with a focus on the core areas of public services, transport department

and registration departments. The present study attempts to fill this gap and also an

addition to the existing literature and throws light on the role of ICTs in the areas of

Transport and Registration Departments of two south Indian states viz., Andhra

Pradesh and Karnataka.

Area of the study

Andhra Pradesh has moved faster on the road of e-Governance than any other

state in India. The state has undertaken various e-Government initiatives to provide

better, most efficient, transparent and responsive services to the citizens and promote

greater efficiency with the government. The first department of IT in the country was

formally established in Andhra Pradesh in 1998, to focus upon IT and give the sector

the impetus that it deserves. The state has initiated a number of e-government projects

under the concept of SMART Government, which have been successful and

appreciated. Significant among these are FAST (Fully Automated Services of

Transport Department) which was now renamed as CFST (Citizen Friendly Service

of Transport Department), CARD (Computer Aided-Administration of Registration

Department), e-seva (Electronic Citizen Services), etc. CFST department was

computerized as part of e-governance. As this department provides citizen friendly

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services of transport, CFST was selected for the present study to analyze e-

governance. The researcher has taken Kahairatabad Road Transport Office (R.T.O)

for the study with a sample of 120 respondents

Karnataka is in the forefront of Information Technology and is called the

Silicon state in India. Karnataka is the first state to announce IT policy in the year

1997. In addition, the state capital Bangalore has shown tremendous growth in the IT

sector and is the IT capital of India. The state has initiated a number of e-governance

projects. Revenue department was computerized as part of e-governance. Karnataka

Valuation and e-Registration (KAVERI) is a comprehensive computerization project

aimed at automating the entire registration process and speedy delivery of registered

documents to the citizens of Karnataka. The hassle-free procedure seeks to automate

and streamline the workflow. Bangalore Rural District is one of the 30

districts in Karnataka. It was formed in 1986, when Bangalore District was divided

into Bangalore Rural and Bangalore. Presently in Bangalore Rural district, the sample

data collected from the 10 sub registrar offices with a total sample of 120. Finally the

study reveals how the induction of e-Governance into the process of Transport and

Registration Departments has changed the imperatives of citizen in quantitative and

qualitative aspects. Based on the discussions with various officials at the state levels

and the availability of the data, the researcher has decided to study the above two

projects representing Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka with the following objectives

and research questions.

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The present study is basically an analysis of CFST(Citizen Friendly Services of

Transport Department)in Andhra Pradesh, KAVERI (Karnataka Valuation and e-

Registration)in Karnataka and the study areas include:

1. Delivery of services to the Citizens through ICT;

2. Restructuring of Administration through ICT;

3. Presentation of different cases representing two southern states in India.

The analysis is based on the indicators of each project include:

• Effectiveness of e-governance;

• Levels of satisfaction of people with e-governance;

• Pre and Post induction of e-governance in two states;

• Overall Quality of services after implementation of e-governance.

Objectives of the Study

1) To analyze the concept of e-Governance in India;

2) To observe the implementation of various e-Governance initiatives in India;

3) To understand the processes of e-Governance in Transport Department with

reference to CFST in Andhra Pradesh;

4) To study the processes of e-Governance in Registration Department with

reference to KAVERI in Karnataka.

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On the basis of the above objectives, the following hypotheses are tested in the

study

• The use of ICT promotes speedy process of administration; 

• ICTs bring about a profound change in administrative organizations and 

systems; 

• Technology adaptation at the grassroots level helps in saving of time and 

money to the citizen. 

Methodology and scope of the study

The data is collected through primary and secondary sources. Primary sources

include non-participant observation, informal discussions and questionnaires. Major

part of the data is collected through the help of these tools only. Other supplement

methods adopted are the study of published and unpublished documents, from various

books, international, national journals and reports. In addition the researcher

depended on Internet for reports and working papers uploaded by research institutes.

A total of 240 sample representing both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

were selected randomly.

In Andhra Pradesh there are 23 district and 38 CFST offices. But due to

financial resources and time, we restrict the study to Hyderabad region only. In

Hyderabad there are 5 CFST offices. Among them, the researcher selected Hyderabad

Central Zone (Khairathabad) RTA office, covers 45 localities, more number of

license are issued in this office and revenue collected is more. As the Khairathabad

RTA office is the oldest in Hyderabad, it is useful to know how the administrative

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structure has changed in course of time, and how computerization of transport

department helped both the employees as well as the public. The random sample

representing 120 was interviewed for the study.

The study on the impact of KAVERI project was carried out in one district of

Karnataka out of its 30 districts, namely Bangalore Rural. The KAVERI project

encompasses the whole of Karnataka and is well entrenched even at the rural level

with deep linkages to the already successful e-governance project, rather online

registration of land process called Bhoomi. In this case the researcher has selected a

sample of 120 for this study.

Organization of the Study

The study is divided into six chapters. The first chapter deals with the

introduction of the problem, concepts of ICT, Governance and Good Governancewith

International and national perspectives. It also discusses the evolution of e-

Governance in India. The second chapter is on survey of literature, objectives of the

study, hypothesis, methodology and organisation of the study. The third chapter is on

e-Governance initiatives in India. The fourth chapter explains the impact of CFST

(Citizen friendly Services of Transport Department)of Andhra Pradesh. The fifth

chapter deals with the KAVERI (Karnataka Valuation and e-Registration) and its

impact on the people in Karnataka. The conclusions of the study are presented in the

final chapter.