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Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency, and Accountability E-governance: Applications, Models, Successes, Limitations, and Potential PM Modi quoteCitizens’ ChartersTransparency & accountability- institutional &other measures- 1st and 10th ARCTopics to coverGeneral governance- Key functions of government Good governance definition and image!Mahatama Gandhi quote on citizen centricityBarriers to good governance What can be done to improve governance/cc adminE- GovernanceDefinition of e-governanceBenefits of e-governanceFour kinds of ‘interactions’ facilitated by e-governanceAtleast one example for each of these (state/ central government)1 key lesson from India’s attempts at computerization of land recordsChallenges/limitations and potential Key steps towards implementation of e-gov reforms (what should be done and in what sequence?)Citizen’s charterPre-conditions of citizen centric governance India’s experience – guildines, gaps, improvementSevottam model Transparency and accountability Transparency- definition, key components RTI key sections (2,4,8,10), issues, stakeholders, success stories, 3 cultural shiftsAccountability- definition, mechanisms, key ways to improve.BN Bhagwati quote on transparencyImportant aspects of governanceKey functions of a government:Self preservation (intenral and external security)Supervision and resolution of conflicts (Rule of Law)Socio-economic developmentRegulation of economy and preventing market failureProvision of goods and services Barriers to good governance (ARC)Attitude problem of civil servants (indifference for citizens issues) Lack of accountability (key for inefficiency)Red tapism (important to understand the importance of flexibility)Low awareness of citizens of their duties and rightsDefinitions- Good governance aims at providing public services ethically, efficiently, and equitably to the citizens. Citizens are thus at the core of good governance. 2nd ARC (Adapted from UNICEF report) mentions following component of GGPALE k CRETWhat needs to be done for good governace-Strong legal framework and its application in spirit without any ill-willTransparency, accountability, e-governanceDecentralization and delegation (citizens become integral to governance)Other stuff- capacity, competence, integrity etc.“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us, We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it” -Mahatama GandhiE- GovernanceE-Governance is generally understood as the use of ICT at all levels of the Government in order to provide services to the citizens and receving feedback from them, interaction with business enterprises, communication and exchange of information within govternment in a speedy, convenient,efficient and transparent mannerBenefits:Efficiency- DBT transfer (90% transfer in 15 days) Transparency- Suo-moto declaration of results on websites, NGO Darpan portal (authenticity check)Accountability – PRAGATI, DISHA portal Feedback/grievance - CM portal, MSME Samadhan Better reach of services- Sampark portal E-gov promotes various kinds of interactions: G2G (both horizontal and vertical), G2C, G2B, and G2E (employee)Some initiatives in India and lessons learntG2C:Computerization of land records (GoI, Dept. of Land Resources):The scheme failed to address the main problem in case of land records in India, i.e. the land records do not reflect the factual ground reality. Computerization only led to perpetuation of existing loopholes and errorsShows that proper project planning and change management is key for repeaing benefits of e-governance projectsBhoomi (Karnataka):Computerized kiosks offer procurement of land records and requests for changes to land titlesDemonstrates that if benefits to citizens are real and substantial, projects become sustainableFor success, political will, end-to-end computerization, and continuity in project management team are essentialGyandoot (MP)Computerized kiosks offer information on agricultural commodity rates, and certificates for income, domicile, caste; BPL list, hindi newspaper etc., with a prescribed service charge for each serviceNo loan or government subsidies were involvedDemonstrates that supporting infrastructure is a must for e-gov projects, as situation of power supply, connectivity, and backend support was badUser charges in rural areas may be a detarrantLokvani (UP)Computerized kiosks offer information on various government schemes, land records,public grievances, details on MPLAD funds, grains allocated to fair shops for a prescribed serve charge for each service.Existing cyber cafes were given licenses to run this programme, so no government loans or subsidies were requiredDemonstrates thatPPP model can workwithout any additional capital expenditure and citizens would pay for services if they are value addingG2B:GeM(Ministry of Commerce & Industries):Manual procurement suffered from various deficiencies, including discrimination, cartel formation, delays, lack of transparency etc.E-procurement resulted in reduction in tender cycle time, reduction in opportunities for corrupt practices, cost savings (advertising), prevention of cartel formation, cashless transaction etc.Transactions worth 23000 Cr was seen in 2018-19 (4x of last year)Success of e-procurement initiatives showsome G2B processes don’t require extensive back-end computerization, and offer quick wins (launched in 2016)MCA 21 (Ministry of Corporate Affairs):Aims at providing easy and secure online access to all registry related services to corporates and other stakeholdersDesigned to automate processes related to proactive enforcement of Companies Act 1956It also provides access to citizens to see relevant records and ask for grievance redressal (G2C)This also makes it easy for regulatory agencies such as RBI, SEBI, IB, CBI etc. to access relevant information (G2G)G2G:SmartGov (AP):SmartGov replaces the paper file with an e-fileIt provides the features of creation, movement, tracking and closure of e-files, automation of repetitive tasks, decision support system through knowledge management, prioritization of work, easy access to files through an efficient document management system and collaboration between departmentsPolitical will, wholehearted support from staff in tandem with capacity building can enhance the adoptionii. ShaalaDarpan (Rajasthan):School education ERP systemIt comprehensively address the need of various activities and stakeholders of system (students- enrollment, result generation; teachers- attendance; staffing; administration- top down information monitoring)Large scale adoption requires multiple iteration and stakeholders feedback is must. Data entry is an error prone process and data must be linked to key process (eg. staffing) to improve accuracy; Data system is prone to be used for redundant monitoring activies hence prioritization is critical. Additionally, in-house technical team is needed to support the iterative system process.SuccessesKisan Call CentresTata KisanKendras (TKKs) capture information relevant to farmers, such as soil, ground water, and weather on real time basis using GISThe UN comes out with an ‘e-gov preparedness level index’ annually; components include:Online services indexTelecommunications infrastructure index(Internet users, PCs, Main telephone lines, Cellphones, Broadband connections / 100 people)Human Capital index(adult literacy ratio, combined with primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment ratio)India ranks 96th (worst among BRICS) while 15th in e-participation index (focuses on e-sharing, consultations etc.) signifying that India needs to work towards improving infrastructure and human capital related services/Limitations International experience also warns us that only about 15% of e-government projects are successful; this reinforces the fact that e-governance should be first about governance, and only next about technology. Main reasons behind such failures are as follows:Infrastructure Power supply is not available for long hoursConnectivity and good speed are critical for video/graphic based extension services. Rural areas lack good connectivity (Internet penetration ~30%)Economic feasibility of deployment kiosks (eg. Cybercafe partnership v/s govt. owned centres) Gyaandoot (MP) v/s Lokvani (UP)Capability Training of farmers is needed for many IT operations (18% digital literacy- rural)Lack of trained manpower at kiosks leading to inoperationManagement structures UsabilityThe user feedback during development is not taken which leads to bad products (WIPRO v/s in-house NIC team)Lack of content in regional languages Proper planning to ensure accuracy and usability (eg. Land dept record digitization failed)No consolidated one stop portal for all demands and multiplicity of central and state effortsAwareness-Lack of information on range of benefits or services available Hesitant to adopt for lack of demonstration or peer- review. Implementing e-governance reforms in IndiaApart from the technical requirement, success of e-Governance initiatives would depend on capacity building and creating awareness within government and outside it. It requires the administrative measures mentioned below: PlanningBuilding a congenial environment: This requires the willingness on the part of the employees to adapt to technology and the changes that it will bring to their mode of functioning, political support, incentives, awareness, and training and capacity buildingClarity of Purpose:Projects should be based not only on what technology can achieve, but primarily on what citizens needPrioritization of projects:Simpler projects that have a great impact on the users should be identified and implemented; these might include issuing of birth and death certificates, elementary online transactions such as payment of electricity bills, and only later more complex projects like PDS issuance etc. should be taken upCost effective- PPP possibilitie, Allowing for horizontal replicability, rather than reinventing the wheel each timeImplementationBusiness Process Re-engineering:Governmental forms, processes, and structures should be re-designed step-by-step to make them adaptable to e-governance, backed by procedural, institutional, and legal changes; redundant steps should be done away withDevelopingfail-safe technological Solutions:Develop a national level ‘enterprise architecture’ framework, that defines the structure and operation of every organizationCapacity building and creating awareness:Capacity building efforts should be undertaken both at the institutional as well as employee level; a network of training institutes should be set up at the state levelContinuous improvementCitizen feedback should be sought and regularly incorporated; while implementing large-scale projects, they should be broken down into various small parts and implementedMonitoring and EvaluationInstitutional support should be provided by apex departments at union & state level Potential(e-governance)Legilatures- Elections- e voting, referendum of key topics,Administration- Open door administration, constant citizen feedback. Judiciary- E-telcasting of proceedings, archiving, As PM Modi has said- “ Transparent governance is key to good governance and e-governance is the only effective way of transparent governance.”Citizens’ centric administrationA Citizens’ Charter is a public statement that defines the entitlements of citizens to a specific service, the standards of the service, the conditions to be met by users, and the remedies available to the latter in case of non-compliance of standards.Even though promises made under these charters are not enforceable in a court of law, each organization should specify suitable compensatory/ remedial measures in case of default. Indian experience of citizens’ chartersSince 1997, after wide consultations at the union and state levels, about 115 union level government agencies and 650 state level agencies have drawn up citizens’ charters. Guidelines issued by the Department of Administrative Reform clearly outline the necessary features of such charters: Charters should be simpleMust be framed in consultation with staff who will actually implement itSteps should be taken to spread awareness amongst citizens about these chartersAgainst each service, entitlement of the customer, service standards, and remedies available should be highlighted, and procedures and costs should be mentionedIt should be clarified that the charter is not justiciableCreate a feedback mechanismSeveral reviews since have shown that the performance and execution of these charters has been abysmal. The charters suffer from the following deficiencies as indicated by 2nd ARC report on CC Admin:Poor design and content- not updated Awareness- No institutionalial one stop service to make public aware Structure of charter- Measurable standards of delivery are rarely spelt out, so its hard to assess whether the standards of service set-out are achievedInadequate consultations and groundwork (end users and NGOs are rarely consulted)Inclusivity concerns- Needs of senior citizens and the disabled are rarely consideredLack of accountability and review/ remedial mechanismsTendency to have a uniform charter for all offices under the parent organizationExperience from the charter of the IT department shows that it applies uniformly to all field formations in the Department. However, field units across the country differ on account of workload (i.e. number of cases, complexity involved), human resources etc. Thus, there is need for having Citizens’ Charters at the level of field units which should be formulated by taking into account the ground situation while adhering to the overarching principles adopted by the organization as a whole.Aside from these deficiencies of charters where they do exist, a large number of ministries and departments haven’t adopted any charters at all. How to make Citizens’ Charters Effective- PAC reportsInternal restructuring should precede charter formulationCharters should be adapted to local conditions, and should be set out at the level of the field office– One size doesn’t fit allWide consultations should be made at the time of formulationFirm commitments should be made, with well-defined targetsRedressal mechanisms should be clearly spelt outThere should be periodic evaluationsand officers should be held accountable.Inlusion of citizens in the formulation and monitoring of charters.Sevottam model: Works as an evaluation mechanism to assess the quality of internal processes and their impact on the quality of service delivery; it evaluates organizations on the following three modules: First, effective charter implementation and communication of the charter objectives (review, monitoring, and implementation)Second, a good grievance redressal system (prevention, redress, and receipt)Third, excellence in service delivery (infrastructure, employees, and customers)Sevottam, whilea step in the right direction, is currently focused on process standards rather than service standards; the need is to focus on better quality of services. Additionally, it is currently voluntary and mandatory for organizations to adoptTransparency and accountability“Where a society has chosen to accept democracy as its creedal faith, it is elementary that citizens ought to know what their government is doing” – Justice P N BhagwatiIntroduction: Transparency?is?government's?obligation to share information with citizensHistorical context- It was MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan (MKKS), a grassroot organization led by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey that started the movement for Right to Information regarding developmental projects in Rajasthan. Rajsthan enacted RTI Act in 2000 and Union govt. in 2005.Key features of transparency:- Information sharing/access to infoMajor subset of transparency and identified as human right by ICCPR 1966Guaranteed by statue of parliament, i.e. RTI 2005Other govt. initiatives- .in, parliamentary debates on TV channels etc.Participative governancePRI/ULBs- Involvement of people in grass-root level by democratic decentralizationSocial audit- Initiated by MKKS under jansunvai later made part of MNREGAResident Welfare Association- Devolution of decision making power for basic civic services like electricity eg. Bhagidari initiative of Delhi govt.People’s Plan Campaign (PPC)- Kerala (1996)- local govt. to draw up their own 5 year plans and subsequent devolution of budgetary resources.Whistle blower’s protection- Statues like Whistle Blower Protection Act 2014 are there but their enforceability has been in question.AccountabilityIssues with Transparency in India: De jure available but laxed de facto applicationsLimited scopePolitical parties do not come under the ambit of RTIMany intelligence agencies have kept out of ambit of RTI but blanket exemption should not be exercised as observed by SC as the de facto case. (Section 8 of RTI)Difference in application to judiciary is against spirit of Art 14 of Indian constitutionIndependence and conflictsRecent changes regarding independence of RTI office holdersConflict betweenRTI (FR under art 19 (1) (a) and reasonable restrictions U/A 19(2) regarding security, foreign relations, public security etc.Effectiveness/ Implementation issuesAs observed by BN Srikrishna Commission on privacy, that data should not be disclosed if individual harm is greater than public good but that makes it all more subjectiveCost of data provisions (though for BPL it has been made free)CIC survey shows that 85% offices don’t disclose suo-moto information under Sec 4 of RTI related to budgeting, publicity and e-governanceRight to Information Act: Case studyKey features4 essential requirements of application: a) Applicant should be citizen of India.(b) Applicant should contain particulars of information sought.(c) Evidence of payment of application fee (d) Address of applicant- for sending replyFirst appeal - Officer senior to PIOAppeal if there is delay, false/incomplete information or after expiry of timeExpiry time is 30 days/48 hrs (in case of matters relating to life and liberty)Resolution of appeal within 30-45 daysSecond appeal- Information Officer (CIC/SIC where CIC doesn’t control SIC)Appeal if first appeal body fails to pass order in prescribed time or on dissatisfaction of order by first appealAppeal to be made in 90 days of time limit expiry (30-45 days)/ date after response by PIO; Other provisions:Information will be free for BPL citizens. For others, fee will be reasonableSec 2- all constitutional, statutory, executive, significantly govt. fundedSec 4- Suo moto declaration. Sec 8- Negative list (intelligence agencies et al.) Sec 10- Specific exclusions which are derogatory.Role of stakeholdersCivic society/NGOs- Awareness among masses, augmenting state in PIO trainingMedia- Both watchdogs and awareness (eg. Rafael Deal papers case on The Hindu)State govts- As they are connected with the last mile, their role in citizen awareness & engagement is critical eg Jankari call center- Bihar, Train the trainer (NGO) AssamSuccess stories (RTI)MNREGA corruption scam exposure- Bidar district KN where local politican family members were not working but getting paid2G scam which brought to fore the deep corporate and politician nexusOrissa land scam involving then ruling govt and billionare industrialist- Anil Agrawal involved violation of Land Acquisition Act and lands was granted w/o people’s consentIssues- covered above!Harnessing RTI’s potential- 3 fundamental shifts are neededCultural shift- Secrecy to OpennessPersonalized despotism to accountable authorityUnilateral decision making to participative governanceAccountability is answerability supplemented with sanctions where answerability is simply an obligation to give justification for one’s actionsMechanism: Horizontal (CVC on other institute) v/s vertical (top-down, boss on subordinatePolitical (Parliament), legal (Judiciary), Financial (CAG), Admin (CBI, CVC, Lokpal)Social (people, social audits), non-govt. institutes (Media, NGOs etc.)How to improve: Action on 3 key components- Answerability, Responsiveness, Enforcement as per 2nd ARC report on public administrationEnhancing answerability- RTI to be strengthened. Tech initiatives like PRAGATI (Pro-active governance and timely implementation) for monitoring of projects.Enhancing responsiveness- Social audits mechanism to be strengthened Enhancing enforcement- Ensuring independence of various watch dog institutions Judiciary- Tribunals should not be under excessive executive influence, cooling off period to judges before their appointment to other posts (like NHRC etc.)Media- Balancing transparency and confidentiality, improving Official secrecy act (1923) as recommended by 2nd ARCRegulatory bodies to not act as mere extension of political bodies. ACR overhaulACR to be made more objective directly related to the outcomesSeparate civil service body can also be instituted for decreasing political ................
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