Bengaluru-based telecom professional G Krishna Kumar said while Digital India was a great initiative to bridge the digital divide between the cities and the rural hinterland, the government would need to embark on an e-literacy mission for training people and helping them understand the benefits of using e-governance platform.
"Even in cities, we need a strong work flow automation set-up to be established. For example, if I request for some document from the government office, I should know how long it will take for the document to be processed and also what is the current status. This removes anxiety among the citizens, an assured service level would mean better accountability and reduced corruption," he said.
Citing the example of property registration in Bengaluru, he said despite it being digitised, most processes were still done manually and required multiple visits to the local office.
"The assured services and timelines are rarely met. Even if we have the technology and platform, enforcing the system can be a challenge. A strong willingness from the government is much needed," he said.
According to him, Digital India and smart cities initiatives can be aligned and existing e-governance systems should be modified to be brought under it.
Krishna said public private partnership (PPP) model of executing the projects was the right approach. Under this model, private players will look for profits and so it would be important for the government to provide a clear roadmap and blueprint for the same.
He said one successful case of PPP project was the Passport Seva Kendra, where the government partnered with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
"Maybe, the government should replicate the best practices (of the Passport Seva Kendra) so that it is a win-win for the stakeholders," he said.
30 June 2015 - 7:10am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: dna | From the print edition
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