15thNCEG Back Ground Paper

15th National Conference on e-Governance Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
9th - 10th February, 2012
Background Papers
Government of India Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
15 National Conference on e-Governance Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

9th - 10th February, 2012
th
Background Papers
Government of India Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Contents
Plenary Session - I
Towards Effective Electronic Service Delivery
1. Electronic Service Delivery..................................................................................................... 2 Benefits of e-Services ......................................................................................................... 2 2. State of e-Service Delivery in India ........................................................................................ 4 Achievements ...................................................................................................................... 4 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) .......................................................................................... 5 Passport Seva Project ........................................................................................................... 5 Current Status ...................................................................................................................... 5 Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 6 Income Tax .......................................................................................................................... 6 Current Status ...................................................................................................................... 6 Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 7 MCA21 ............................................................................................................................... 7 Current Status ...................................................................................................................... 7 Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 8 e-Office ............................................................................................................................... 8 Current Status ...................................................................................................................... 8 Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 9 e-Courts ............................................................................................................................... 9 Current Status .....................................................................................................................10 Benefits .............................................................................................................................. 10 Challenges ......................................................................................................................... 11 3. Imperatives for Successful e-Service Delivery ..................................................................... 14 Infrastructure ..................................................................................................................... 15 Integration ......................................................................................................................... 16 Inclusion ............................................................................................................................ 17 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................19
Plenary Session - II
Democratisation of Information
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 22 2. Democratisation of Information ............................................................................................ 24 3. Current Scenario ................................................................................................................... 25 4. Benefits of Democratisation of Information .......................................................................... 26 5. Challenges to Democratisation of Information ..................................................................... 27 6. Pitfalls of Democratisation of Information ........................................................................... 28 7. IT as an Enabler .................................................................................................................... 29 8. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 30 9. Appendix A - The National e-Governance Plan and Electronics .......................................... 31 Service Delivery Bill, 2011 10. Appendix B - Right to Information Act ................................................................................32
Plenary Session - III

Background paper on Social Audit
1. What does Social Audit mean? ............................................................................................. 34 2. The basic need for social audit .............................................................................................. 35 3. Types of audits ...................................................................................................................... 36 4. CAG Audits and Social Audits ............................................................................................. 37 Social Audit as a supplement to Government Audit ......................................................... 38 Mutually beneficial initiatives .......................................................................................... 39 5. Objectives of social audit ...................................................................................................... 40 6. Types of social audit .............................................................................................................. 42 7. Key requirements for social audit ......................................................................................... 43 8. Implementation of social audit .............................................................................................. 45
9. How does social audit benefit the people? ............................................................................ 46 10. What are the limitations of social audit? ............................................................................. 47 11. Why is social audit difficult in India? ................................................................................. 48 12. Citizen Engagement ............................................................................................................ 49 13. Social Audit- The Ground Reality ....................................................................................... 50 Global trends ..................................................................................................................... 52 Domestic trends ................................................................................................................ 52 Some interesting examples ............................................................................................... 53 14. References ........................................................................................................................... 54
Plenary Session - IV
Participatory Government
1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. 56 Definition .......................................................................................................................... 56 Context .............................................................................................................................. 56 2. Understanding Participation ................................................................................................. 57 3. Why Participatory Government? ...................................................................................... 58 4. Enabling Environment ......................................................................................................... 59 Roadmap .......................................................................................................................... 60 Models ............................................................................................................................. 61 Innovation ......................................................................................................................... 61 5. Institutionalizing participation .............................................................................................. 63 e-Governance .................................................................................................................... 64 6. Monitoring & Evaluation ..................................................................................................... 65 7. Critical Success Factors ....................................................................................................... 66 8. Key Performance Indicators ................................................................................................. 67 Barriers ............................................................................................................................. 67
9. Beyond Participatory Government ....................................................................................... 69 Indian Scenario ................................................................................................................. 69 10. Case Study PRI in Maharastra ........................................................................................... 70 11. Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 71 12. References ........................................................................................................................... 72
Session - I
Towards Effective Electronic Service Delivery
Electronic Service Delivery

Electronic Service (e-Service) Delivery refers to the provision of government services through use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It helps the government get closer to the citizens by creating awareness about their rights and empowering their participation. Moreover, it increases transparency, reduces corruption and encourages balanced regional development in the country. With India's vast population and geographic dispersion, one of the real challenges faced by the government is to reach every citizen at the grass root level and provide them with information and access to different government services. This has made it difficult for the people to leverage the full potential of government initiatives. To deal with this challenge, the Government of India had launched the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) in 2006 with a vision to making the government services accessible to the common man while ensuring efficiency, transparency, reliability and effective delivery of services at affordable costs. This has been facilitated by the rapid evolution of India's IT industry. e-Governance can help curtail government expenditure through reduced paper work and increased efficiency of government employees. Additionally, through the rollout of some services, such as, e-filing of income tax, the government can increase its revenue collections. The Government of India has set aside a huge corpus for the expansion of current initiatives and faster development of upcoming initiatives. It is planning to take a focused approach on the development of technical infrastructure and human resources to ensure effective e-Service delivery. This will involve proper training of employees and individuals as well as adoption of emerging technologies, such as cloud computing and diversifying the means of service delivery through mobile phones. Benefits of e-Services The dissemination of services using ICT offers significant benefits in terms of costs, governance and effectiveness. While ICT leads to a transformation in work processes and service delivery, it also lowers transaction costs by enabling transparency and accountability. Some of the benefits of e-Services are: Fast, Convenient and Cost Effective Service Delivery With the advent of e-Service delivery, the government can provide information and services at lesser costs, in reduced time and with greater convenience. For instance, after the computerisation of land records in Karnataka, farmers can obtain a copy of their Records of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) within 30 minutes, as against 30 days that it used to take earlier. Moreover, a printed copy of the RTC at kiosks costs ` 15 only, as against heavy bribes that one had to pay earlier. The provision of multiple services at a central outlet further increases the speed of delivery of services, which in turn saves effort, money and time of the consumers. For example, as of November 2011, the government 1 had set up around 97,439 CSCs (Common Service Centres) across the country providing a broad range of
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CSC Website
15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers
services such as grievance redressal, ration card registration, birth and death certificates, electoral registration and NREGA digitisation work under a single roof, thereby increasing convenience for the people. Transparency, Accountability and Reduced Corruption Dissemination of information through ICT increases transparency, ensures accountability and prevents corruption. An increased use of computers and web based services improves the awareness levels of citizens about their rights and powers. This helps to reduce the discretionary powers of government officials and curtail corruption. For instance, land registration requirements in Andhra Pradesh after computerisation can now be completed within an hour without any official harassment or bribes. Use of ICT would make civil servants responsive and accountable with free flow of information regarding administration and policy. Moreover, it would reduce manipulative capacity and misuse of resources thus enhancing the trust of people in the government processes. Increased Participation by People With easy access to the government services, the faith of the citizens in the government increases and they come forward to share their views and feedback. Increased accessibility to information has empowered the citizens and has enhanced their participation by giving them the opportunity to share information and contribute in implementation of initiatives. For example, under 'Gyandoot2 in Madhya Pradesh, a citizen can file a complaint to the district administration through e-mail with an assured reply within seven days. Balanced Development With the spread of ICT awareness, the government has started offering services through electronic means that were typically difficult for the government to provide and for the people to utilise. This elimination of digital divide has increased the availability of services at the doorstep of the poor and has led to strengthening of people in backward areas. Initially, the rollout of government services through ICT was believed to benefit only the people who had access to computers and were acquainted with their usage. However, after the execution of projects such as Gyandoot and Bhoomi3, the perception has been proven wrong. People who use these services can visit kiosks for assistance and rest of the work is done by the officials in lieu of a nominal fee. With this, e-Service delivery has become an effective mode of encouraging balanced regional development in the country.
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Gyandoot is an intranet in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh connecting rural cyber cafes catering to the everyday needs of the masses. Bhoomi project is an initiative taken in Karnataka for on-line delivery and management of land records.
State of e-Service Delivery in India

Over the last few years, the Indian Government has commenced several initiatives to improve the dissemination of public services to the citizens. It has introduced policies around development of e-Service delivery to improve the reach and speed of government services. For this, significant investments have been made to build an efficient infrastructure. These investments vary from carrying out basic computerisation of government departments to creating effective service delivery mechanisms for various citizen centric services. Achievements The government had launched NeGP to make all government services accessible to common man in his locality through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realise the basic needs of the common man. The NeGP has developed 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) at the central, state and local government level to transform high priority citizen services from their current manual delivery to e-delivery. These include projects such as, Income Tax, Customs and Excise and Passports at the central level, and Land Records, Agriculture and e-District at the state level. There are also a number of integrated MMPs such as e-Procurement and Service Delivery Gateway which require coordinated implementation across multiple departments. The government has also set up core common infrastructure for effective delivery of public services. The three important elements forming the basis of this infrastructure are - State Wide Area Network (SWAN), State Data Centre (SDC) and Common Service Centres (CSCs). SWAN has been planned to act as the backbone network for data, voice and video communications throughout a state and to cater to the information communication requirements of all the departments. On the other hand, data centres have been established under SDC in all the states to host state level e-Governance data thus enabling seamless service delivery. In order to build a front-end channel and increase the access of public services in rural areas, the government had approved the Common Service Centre (CSC) scheme in September 2006. As on November 30, 2011, there were 97,439 CSCs across India. While the CSCs established a delivery channel facilitating the reach of public services to rural areas, the government has also encouraged people in urban areas to use internet for accessing public services. In order to assess the impact of the various capacity building schemes, the government has formed the National e-Governance Division (NeGD). A Capacity Building Management Cell (CBMC) has been also established within the NeGD. It plays a key role in setting up the structure, and framing guidelines and policies of capacity building schemes at both the national level (NeGD) as well as state level (State e-Mission Teams). State e-Mission Teams (SeMT) have been specifically introduced to enhance the skills of state government employees as well as to provide technical and professional support to state governments.
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The government has also adopted various measures to monitor the performance of support infrastructure formed under the NeGP. One of the measures includes appointment of Third Party Auditing (TPA) agencies in some of the states to monitor the performance of SWANs. These states are Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala. Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) NeGP consists of 27 MMPs comprising 9 Central, 11 State and 7 Integrated MMPs. Each MMP is owned and spearheaded by the relevant ministry / agency of the national or state government and is called Mission Mode because it has a definite time table, service levels, project implementation team and process reengineering plans. Some of the initiatives4 have already been a success while some others are expected to improve the service delivery capability of the government in the future. A few important initiatives facilitating e-Service delivery are discussed below: Passport Seva Project Economic liberalisation, greater international trade and higher disposable incomes have led to greater number of Indians travelling abroad for business and tourism. This, in turn, has led to a rapid increase in the number of passport applications. The number of passport applications stood at 5,502,0885 in 2010, which were around 3.5 times the number of applications received in 1990. To meet the growing demand, the Central Passport Organisation (CPO) decided to make use of technology and launched the Passport Seva Project in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs with an objective of delivering passport services to the citizens in a timely, transparent and reliable manner. Current Status The project started with gathering all the system data for the CPO and creating infrastructure, procuring hardware and training employees for pilot projects. This included setting up of 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), a data centre, a disaster recovery centre and a call centre that would operate 18x7 in 17 languages, and a centralised nationwide computer system that would issue passports. This was followed by setting up and running pilot sites and consequently rolling out the service at national level.
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Saaransh A Compendium of Mission Mode Projects Under NeGP Ministry of External Affairs Website
Benefits The Passport Seva Project has resulted in the following benefits: It has brought down the number of days required for processing a passport from 45 days to 3 days. The over-the-counter public dealing time has increased to 7 hours a day as against 4 hours provided earlier to the citizens. This service helps save time, money and effort, as most of the tasks such as application submission, document upload and appointment scheduling can be completed online. The verification procedure has become simpler and less time consuming since the information can be downloaded and updated online easily.
Income Tax The Income Tax MMP has been implemented with the objective of promoting access to information and facilities anytime and anywhere, thus facilitating the citizens to transact their businesses with the department. The project is managed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance and provides the following services: Online Return Filing Tax Accounting Processing of Tax Return Processing of TDS Return Taxpayer Grievance Redressal Taxpayer Correspondence Tax Compliance PAN Allocation
Income Tax e-Service delivery model has provided significant benefits to the tax payers. They can now transact with the Income Tax Department as per their own convenience and with minimal paperwork. The department has also made it compulsory for the companies to file their Income Tax Return (ITR) online. Current Status The project has achieved its objectives and the tax collections have also shown a surge. This can be attributed to the increased accountability and simplification of processes which has encouraged participation by tax payers to fulfill their statutory requirements. Some of the key achievements are below: A universal database has been created by compiling 36 regional databases. The e-returns filings have increased to 15-20% of the total number of returns and the contribution stands at around 75-80% of total tax collected.
PAN allotment in the country has reached around 100 million. To support the online tax filing infrastructure, RBI has authorised 32 agency banks, including 3 private banks for collection of tax payments.
Benefits MCA21 The MCA21 MMP was designed and implemented to automate the functions related to enforcement and compliance of laws under the Companies Act 1956. Its objective was to ensure availability of all registry related services such as document filing, companies' registration and public access to corporate information from anywhere and anytime through a secured web portal. There are over 100 services offered under this initiative, some of which include: Name Approval Incorporation of New Companies Annual Statutory Returns Filing Filing of Forms for Changes in Names / Address / Director's Details Filings for Various Statutory Services Required Under The Companies Act Inspection of Company Documents (Public Records) Investor Grievance Redressal e-filing has enabled the government to collate all the information at a common place for easy access and policy making. Time taken to obtain refunds and TDS claims has come down. e-filing and substitution of the verification form with a single page form (ITR-V) has helped to decrease paper usage. The e-TDS service has improved TDS credit and tax accounting. Tracking of ECS refunds through agency banks has become easier.
Current Status The project was launched in Coimbatore in February 2006, followed by Delhi in March 2006. The rollout at all other offices across the country was completed in September 2006, and since then the project has achieved the following milestones: About 260,560 new companies have been registered using the service and 12.75 lakh users have viewed company documents online from the registry. Around, 93% of the total filings are made directly at the MCA portal while the balance is filed through facilitation centres.
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The portal has registered an average of 40 lakh hits per day and about 102 lakh documents have been filed electronically so far.
Benefits MCA21 has enabled anywhere, anytime secure e-filing for transactions through providing e-forms. e-filing of forms has reduced the probability of errors that are committed while filling forms. It provides convenient multi-model payment mechanism comprising the existing payment system and payment through cards and internet banking. The services can be accessed from home using the software that is freely available with no additional costs to the user. The use of digital signatures while making transactions ensures security of electronic forms and documents in confirmation with the IT Act 2000. The waiting time during each user trip at the service delivery centre has come down from 75 minutes to 25 minutes.
e-Office The e-Office MMP was launched by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG) to develop an integrated system of record and file management. It aims to introduce the concept of e-file (electronic files), rule based file routing, flexible workflows and digital signatures for authentication, thus leading to a paperless environment (refer to e-Office Architecture on the following page). With the deployment of the above measures, the government aims to improve efficiency, consistency and effectiveness of government responses. Additionally, it intends to reduce turnaround time, processing delays and establish transparency in the system. In 2009, National Informatics Centre (NIC) was selected to develop the e-Office software. Following this, three pilot projects were launched in September 2010 in DAR&PG, DIT (Department of Information Technology, e-Governance division) and Department of Personnel and Training (Training division). Current Status DAR&PG implemented e-Office MMP in 12 ministries / departments during 2011. The department has laid a strategic plan to implement the same in 29 ministries / departments by 2016. The government aims to cover all the departments by the end of 12th Five Year Plan. The MMP also envisages product awareness trainings, process studies and capacity building as part of the post implementation support.
e-Office Architecture
Benefits The project will provide the following benefits: e-Courts e-Courts MMP has been envisioned to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Indian Judicial System through overall process re-engineering. It aims at making the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, cost effective, transparent and accountable. e-Courts helps judicial administration with streamlining of regular activities and reducing pendency of cases for litigants and judiciary. It helps to increase transparency and database accessibility using the ICT based
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Easy accessibility of records across government offices through automation. Prevention of unauthorised access by facilitating role based search and use of digital signature certificate at the time of information exchange. Interoperability by integrating different government departments and different levels within the same department. Reduction in paper usage. Standardisation and automation of recurring processes / workflows.
platform, throughout the courts of law spread across the country. Moreover, it intends to ensure interconnectivity between the lowest levels of judiciary, taluka and the highest level, the apex court of law i.e., Supreme Court. Current Status The implementation, management, and monitoring of the MMP has largely been completed at the central and state levels, and has successfully achieved the following milestones: 70% of the site preparation completed with 10,299 courts in 1,539 court complexes. 9,536 judges and 36,605 court staff have been trained. Hardware has been installed in 3,518 courts in 385 court complexes. LAN installation has been completed at 3,554 courts in 355 court complexes. All the 19 High Courts and Supreme Courts have received the hardware and 18 have completed the installation. LAN installation has been completed in 8 High Courts. Application software deployment has been completed at 156 court complexes.
Benefits
It will ensure transparency in the flow of information regarding the case status and verdicts. Since the project provides for establishing video conferencing facilities in the courts and prisons, this will improve the case flow and court management. After the complete implementation of project, the citizens will be able to avail a variety of services such as, filing of cases and information about them, and certified copies of orders and judgments. The case management automation would empower the judges to have more control over managing case dockets and will increase their accessibility to legal and judicial databases.
These were a few of the 27 MMPs. In the next five years, the Government of India has planned to come up with several e-Governance initiatives in addition to completing the present ones. The challenge lies in the effective implementation of projects for which efficient measures and infrastructure needs to be developed.
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Challenges Although the government has come up with several initiatives to facilitate the access to public services, the desired outcomes are yet to be fully realised. This can be largely attributed to various front-end and back-end challenges that the government continues to face. Front-end challenges relate to user-specific issues such as, high illiteracy levels, non-availability of userfriendly interfaces, inadequate power supply in rural areas, low broadband penetration and most importantly, lack of awareness of e-Governance initiatives. On the other hand, back-end challenges relate to technical, process or human resource issues within the government. These issues include lack of systems integration within a department, lack of integration across government departments, limited knowledge of using computers at various levels of bureaucracy and deployment of technology without proper process re-engineering. The front-end challenges are described below: Low Rate of Literacy: The illiteracy level is very high in India and poses a big challenge to the success of various e-Service delivery initiatives. Although the government has launched various initiatives to increase citizen accessibility to public services, the basic literacy challenge remains a major impediment for their success. The government needs to take robust steps to raise literacy levels in the country; else accessibility will remain an ongoing challenge. Inadequate Power Supply: Lack of adequate power supply is hindering the last mile connectivity of government services in rural areas. Currently, a number of villages in the country face problems with regard to the availability of electricity. A large number of villages either have no power for long periods, or face erratic power supply. To ensure effective utilisation of IT infrastructure, the government will have to invest heavily to develop an efficient rural power infrastructure. Low Broadband Penetration: Currently, the use of broadband in India (with a penetration of less than 1%) is amongst the lowest in the world. This can be largely attributed to low computer literacy and high costs of internet access. This is significantly impacting the e-Service delivery of government services as the government is not able to reach the users at the grass root level and the services are not utilised to their full capacity. The government has to make investments to create robust national infrastructure catering to requirements not only in urban areas but also in rural towns and villages. According to TRAI, an investment of ` 32,300 crores is required to set up a Pan-India optical fibre network and make all villages broadband enabled. Absence of User-Friendly Interfaces: One of the major accessibility problems faced by the people, especially in rural areas is the usage of English as the main language across government portals. To overcome
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t-end Challenges Fron
Fron t-end Challenges
this, applications need to be deployed in local languages as well as made user-friendly (use of easy-to-understand graphics). For this, the government needs to translate various terminologies under e-Governance applications to make them understandable for the users across regions. Dearth of Trained Manpower: While the government has invested a lot in building CSCs and infrastructure at a local level, availability of trained manpower continues to be a challenge. Skill building through participation of corporates and NGOs is one of the routes the government needs to explore aggressively. Lack of Awareness: Lack of awareness regarding benefits of e-Governance has led to low levels of citizen participation. The government has to build various citizen engagement programmes, especially for the rural population, to encourage participation and enhance the reach of government services. The key back-end challenges are: Lack of Interoperability: Interoperability is one of the major challenges in the Indian e-Governance infrastructure. This issue is prevalent both at the technical and organisational level. While the complex frameworks of systems trigger issues around technical interoperability, a lack of cooperation amongst government agencies results in issues around organisational interoperability. In order to create an interoperable technical infrastructure, information contained in the application forms and documents need to be dematerialised. Moreover, to facilitate an interoperable organisational infrastructure, an effective framework has to be designed to support integration among the various government departments. Resistance to Change: The employees in government ministries / departments, particularly at the state level, lack awareness about the significance of e-Service delivery to general public as well as to themselves. As such, the employees are resistant to any changes in the way of working or in embracing technology. The government, therefore, needs to organise change management workshops as well as functional trainings to bring about a change in the mindset and enhance skills of employees at various levels. Poor Project Planning and Implementation: Poor scheduling and delays in implementation of core projects (such as, e-Office, e-Procurement, NSDG etc.), which are required to support other projects, has meant that full benefits of services offered through different projects are not reaching the citizens. Similarly, lack of synchronisation and disjointed efforts between different projects has meant that expensive infrastructure is not being utilised optimally. For example, the SWAN, CSCs and SDCs were required to be implemented in each state in a synchronised manner. However, these schemes were announced at different points in time and were
taken up by different states with different priorities. The government needs to develop an effective framework for 'Programme Management' such that inter-dependency of projects is taken into consideration and timelines are strictly adhered to. Lack of Defined Outcomes and Measurement Mechanisms: The government has made limited efforts to understand citizen expectations, define outcomes and service levels, and create a framework for continuous monitoring and measurement. This has led to poorly designed projects as well as low uptake from the citizens. The government has to develop a mechanism for citizen engagement as well as appraisal of various initiatives, both from a citizen perspective as well as to monitor progress in terms of implementation of projects. Inadequate Data Security: In order to avail benefits of various government services, citizens have to provide personal information multiple times to different government agencies. Therefore, the government has to develop a framework for storing personal data so that all government agencies can access the information from a single location. This, in turn, will imply that a huge quantum of data (databases of central and state governments, citizens and businesses) is accessible through the internet. The government will have to ensure that the personal data shared by the citizens is kept secure. Partial Online Execution of Services: Most of the e-Governance initiatives do not allow citizens to fully execute their transactions online. For instance, in the Passport Seva Process, the citizens can fill and submit the application forms online. However, they are still required to visit the Seva Kendras for verification of documents and submission of fees. The government needs to build back-end infrastructure and processes such that the services can be fully executed online, thereby realising the complete potential of e-Services.
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Imperatives for Successful e-Service Delivery

Governments around the world have followed a structured approach for rolling out e-Governance initiatives and achieving higher levels of maturity. This maturity of e-Governance has been in terms of - number of services delivered online, automation of processes, level of interaction between government and citizens, ability of citizens to complete transactions online and extent of integration between different government bodies / processes. In this regard, a maturity model developed by Gartner provides a useful framework to understand the current state of e-Governance initiatives as well as to chart out a roadmap for improving the delivery of e-Services. As per the maturity model, e-Service delivery can be classified under four different stages. These stages represent the increasing maturity of service delivery through the use of ICT and indicate a shift towards transaction processing. The ultimate goal is to bring the maturity of e-Service delivery at the final stage, which facilitates an integration of initiatives, thus developing a greater focus on citizen needs and convenience.
e-Service Delivery Maturity Model
A review of e-Governance initiatives in India reveals that a majority of projects reside in 'Information' and 'Interaction' stages of the maturity model. In these stages, citizens can access basic information related to the services (check rules and regulations, download documents) and conduct part of the transactions online (fill forms online, make payment). However, citizens are still not able to complete the transactions online, partly because of technological limitations (e.g., checking for authenticity of user) but largely because of lack of integration across various levels and departments of the government. In order to achieve full benefits of
e-Governance and mature to the next stage, the government needs to bring about organisational as well as technological changes. It needs to make efficient use of technology, develop applications, build capacity and integrate efforts to effectively serve its citizens. The government needs to focus on 3 I's - Infrastructure, Integration and Inclusion - in order to realise the full benefits of e-Service delivery.
Infrastructure Technical and human capital infrastructure forms the backbone of any e-Service delivery. Technical infrastructure includes power, networks, applications and technologies that are aimed at ensuring easy, costeffective and secure access to various services offered under e-Governance. Human capital infrastructure, on the other hand, includes people involved in the delivery of e-Services. These people could be at the grass-root level helping citizens avail e-Services, or at the departmental level, processing information and requests generated by the citizens. The government will need to develop and maintain a minimum level of infrastructure to ensure that various e-Governance initiatives meet their stated objectives. In this regard, the government will need to address the following areas: Accelerate Infrastructure Development: The government needs to take steps and improve the core infrastructure within the country. This includes providing an uninterrupted power supply and access to computers, and expanding the broadband network to provide speedy access to government websites. The government also needs to improve IT infrastructure at the state / district levels to ensure that the people associated with delivery of services can transition to electronic form of delivering services and citizens in those areas can start benefiting from various projects launched by the government.
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Adopt Emerging Technologies: The government may look to adopt new technologies, such as cloud computing, which can not only help cut down the investment on infrastructure set-up but also reduce costs and efforts related to ongoing upgradation and maintenance. Cloud computing would also help reduce duplication of efforts and increase utilisation of available resources. The use of cloud computing and similar technologies can help the government on a long-term basis as these are readily available and easily scalable.
Cloud Computing allows people to access data and applications residing in a remote location through the internet. A provider can host servers, storage devices, applications etc. without the user being aware of the physical location of this IT infrastructure and without being concerned about its upgradation and maintenance.
Partner with Private Players: e-Governance projects are typically constrained by lack of financial resources and low level of skills and capacity. Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) can not only help overcome these challenges but also expedite the delivery of government services. Private players can bring in specialised expertise (project and change management) and facilitate faster development of tools and technologies. The government has already embarked on this journey through the launch of several initiatives. For example, the government has already gone live with Passport Seva, a portal that was developed in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services. The portal allows users to apply for a passport online, by filing an application form and submitting it online. Users also have the option of uploading documents and are only required to visit the Passport office for the payment of fees. The government may explore further ways to effectively leverage this model across all of its initiatives as this helps facilitate speedy delivery. Build Capacity and Effectively Manage Change: Training of government staff is another critical factor for the success of e-Service delivery. There is a need to build capacity and provide training at all levels of the government, especially at the departmental levels where employees are directly interacting with the citizens and processing transactions. Apart from addressing the skill issues, the government may also be required to make efforts to increase the comfort level of its employees as far as the delivery of e-Services is concerned. People get used to a particular style, and changing this will require the government to educate its employees. At the same time, the government may need to ensure that the necessary procedural and the administrative changes smoothly disseminate throughout the departments. Integration e-Governance is not simply a matter of putting the existing government services online; an integration and transformation of back-end government processes is essential to achieving its full potential. This includes the integration of systems at various levels (vertical integration) and different functions (horizontal integration). As most of the government initiatives are delivered on a piece-meal basis, it becomes imperative to ensure that the services are delivered using a common platform and that the back-end systems are integrated. The government not only needs to integrate systems and processes but also ensure re-engineering of processes to facilitate performance improvement. To achieve this, the government needs to ensure the following: Integrate Systems and Platforms: The government will need to ensure the use of a common platform across different initiatives, as this may help integrate different functionalities and avoid duplicities. Integrated systems can also help remove inconsistency in data structures and facilitate data validation. A horizontally
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integrated approach helps to build a single window for the citizens to access government services. Back-end integration removes the hassle of entering citizen data multiple times as it provides a single window access across the different government departments. In order to build an efficient integrated structure, the government needs to come up with effective solutions to resolve the complexity related to technical integration of diverse databases and system requirements across different functions. Focus on Business Process Re-engineering: To build efficiencies and focus on process improvement, the government may look at Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) at each initiative level. BPR can aid in redesigning process workflows, which ultimately help improve performance in terms of cost, quality and speed of service. Inclusion The success of any government initiative will need active participation from the citizens. Given the geographic spread and the huge population of a country such as India, the government will need to proactively think of ways of engaging its people. To facilitate participation, the government will have to generate greater awareness about its policies and initiatives and at the same time involve the citizens in its policy formulation and implementation. In India, it has been often argued that the uptake of e-Governance initiatives has been small due to lack of awareness (largely driven by lack of access) and a low level of engagement on the part of the citizens. This challenge can be addressed by: Use New Technologies: Emerging technologies such as the Web 2.0 and new service delivery channels such as mobile phones can be increasingly leveraged to enhance the government reach. The widespread acceptance of these technologies and their increasing usage presents the government with an alternative avenue to reach out to the citizens and solicit their participation.
Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that allow users to interact and collaborate with each other and create a virtual community. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites (facebook, Linkedin), blogs, video sharing sites (Youtube) etc.
The governments, both at the centre and the state, have started taking strides in this direction. For example, mobile phone based services such as SMS' are being used in Kerala for providing health related information. The government has also developed a Web 2.0 based portal, Gov 2.0, where citizens can become a part of online communities, and interact and collaborate with the government. Gov 2.0 also allows citizens to share real-time feedback, which if used constructively, can help increase the effectiveness of several government services.
The Government of Goa has launched a mobile governance initiative by establishing a SMS Gateway for providing SMS based services to residents by various government departments. These services include SMS alerts for receipt of applications, shortcomings in the applications, and status tracking. The Gateway has integrated SMS into the e-Services provided to the residents by the various departments. This has been facilitated by integrating Application Programming Interface (API) with the eServices software. Currently, the SMS Gateway services are being provided to the following departments: Goa State Pollution Control Board, Directorate of Accounts, Directorate of Printing and Stationery, Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary services, and Commercial Taxes.
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Engage NGOs, Self-Help Groups and Corporates: The government may involve NGOs and Self-Help Groups to create awareness and promote e-Governance initiatives, especially in rural areas. The diversity of languages and differences in skill-set requires the development of localised solutions to impart training. NGOs, through their extensive reach can make effective use of local languages and reach out to people living in remote areas. NGOs and Self-Help Groups tend to employ locals who have the ability to effectively communicate with people of a particular region. Corporates can also be roped in to increase citizen awareness. As per Clause 135 of the Companies Bill 2011, any company with a net worth of ` 500 crores or having a turnover of ` 1,000 crores is required to spend a minimum 2% of its net profits (average of last three years) towards Corporate Social responsibility (CSR). This can be effectively utilised towards the promotion of education, social business projects or the enhancement of vocational skills, which can increase the level of engagement on the part of the citizens towards e-Governance.
Chhavi Rajawat, Sarpanch of Soda village in Rajasthan and an MBA, highlights some of the challenges faced at the grass-root level and steps needed to overcome them. She talks about lack of funds and support from bureaucrats at the district / block level, lack of educational alternatives for children to study subjects of their choice (e.g., computers or science) and lack of empowerment at Sarpanch level to prioritise projects for the village, as some of the fundamental challenges faced by her. Her efforts to bring about a change in her village, has resulted in some corporates coming forward to help her out, as part of their CSR initiatives. SAP India is collaborating with Soda village to launch the first 'e-enabling Gram Panchayat', as part of which it will set up a computer lab to foster basic computer literacy among the villagers as well as understand and re-engineer Sarpanch functions in order to better understand the scope of citizen services such as, birth, marriage and death certificates, automation of records etc. Additionally, SAP will provide all the necessary infrastructure and technology expertise and manage the operational costs, such as electricity or solar panels, teachers, trainers etc.
Some of the imperatives outlined above can not only help increase the reach and access but also encourage citizen participation and aid in building efficiencies, which are crucial for the success of any e-Governance project. In addition to these, the government will also need to develop a comprehensive assessment framework as it will be crucial to measure the success of any e-Governance initiative at the grass root level. Care will need to be taken to draft an e-Governance assessment plan that aims to measure the outcomes against the stated objectives, identify delays and recommend solutions. All these measures, if addressed effectively, can help the government realise its objective of bringing public services closer to the citizens.
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Conclusion Since 2006, when the NeGP was introduced, the government has learnt a lot from the successes and failures of various initiatives. Based on these learnings and dialogue with several experts, the Department of Information Technology (DIT) has drawn up a Strategic Plan for the next five years. The Plan discusses the aspirations in each of the core areas over the next five years. These core areas include setting up of additional SWANs, SDCs and CSCs, appraisal of MMPs, implementation of the various capacity building schemes, strengthening of SeMTS, providing high speed and secured e-Governance network, and the design, development and implementation of e-Governance applications. The Plan also lays down the goals for the DIT to define outcome based targets, identify a mechanism to encourage participation of Indian IT industry, define security related parameters and the number of citizen touch points, and explore the use of advanced technologies. This is a step in the right direction as such a plan will not only help the government measure the effectiveness of its e-Governance initiatives but also take corrective actions. To promote better governance and provide greater impetus to timely delivery of services to the citizens, the government has introduced two bills in the recently concluded winter session of the Parliament. The first bill, The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of Their Grievances Bill, aims to provide the public with the right to get delivery of services within a stipulated timeframe and also attempts to set-up a grievance redressal mechanism including tackling graft in lower ranks of administration. The bill requires government departments to acknowledge complaints of non-delivery within two days of receipt and action these within 30 days. The second bill, The Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, has been introduced to enable electronic delivery of government services across all states. Under the proposed bill, the central government, the state government and public authorities shall be mandated to deliver all public services by electronic mode within five years of the commencement of the Act. The proposed bill requires each authority to publish the list of all public services to be delivered by it through the electronic mode. A periodic review at the beginning of each year is also mandated where each authority shall review and notify a list of services that shall be made available through electronic mode and the manner and quality of delivery of such services. The government's commitment to e-Service delivery is also evident by the scope of investments it plans to make for e-enablement. Under the NeGP, the government has already pumped in more than ` 10,000 crores to make public services online and for development of infrastructure. The figures are expected to reach ` 40,000 crores by 2014. This will involve increasing the count of service offerings from 600 to 1,100 and increasing the count of CSCs from 97,439 to 250,000 to ensure presence in each Gram Panchayat. The government also has plans to roll out certain services such as land records and employment exchange in 2012, followed by treasury and commercial tax services in 2013. e-Service delivery is an effective and efficient tool available to the government for development of the society, and the initiatives highlighted above signify the government's commitment to such a delivery mechanism. Multiple challenges remain for successful implementation of different projects, but once these are addressed, the government will be able to realise its vision of providing services to each and every citizen of the country.
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Session - II
Introduction
The free flow of information is a basic human right. The ability to seek, receive and impart information is crucial for respect of human rights. One way of looking at Democratisation of Information is the ability of every person to get the information they need to make their lives better as it helps them in effective decision-making. Another dimension to this is building an information-driven society which has access to all services and facilities with minimum bureaucratic and procedural formalities. An information-driven society leads to transparency and accountability. This provides impetus to programmes aimed at improving the processes and systems of public bodies thereby improving service delivery.
Information availability is basic to human dignity. The 'Right to Know' is for everyone. A must for people to exercise their rights. Drives transparency, accountability and improved service levels
A number of international bodies with the responsibility of promoting and protecting human rights have recognised the fundamental nature of the Right to Information (RTI). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1948 (source Toby Mendel, Freedom of Information, A Comparative Legal Survey), is generally considered to be the flagship statement of international human rights. Article 19, binding on all states as a matter of customary international law, guarantees the Right to Freedom of Expression and Information in the following terms:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Information is required at multiple levels as follows: At the first level, the public should be aware of their rights. There are numerous examples where millions of people are not even aware of their basic rights. For example, the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) has been in place for many decades in India, but a number of the targeted beneficiaries are not even aware of their entitlements. At the second level, people need to have information that will enable them to use the services provided by the government. For example, a beneficiary needs to know the ration card registration process in order to avail the benefits. A simple IT based system of ration card registration where the beneficiary is helped through the process can make a huge difference.
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At the third level, people will be able to demand services as per service level agreements set by the government and raise grievances so that the system is able to correct itself based on the feedback from the users.
Unfortunately, many people do not have information at the first level itself. Thus, awareness of rights, government services and welfare schemes is central to democratisation of information. The electronic delivery of services provides information to users so that they are aware of the services and benefit from it by using multiple communication channels. Some of the electronic channels being used today include Web portals (available on the Internet), e-mails, SMS, kiosks that ensure that information flows to people wherever they are. Service centres manned by skilled people are also a key channel for distribution of information. Other channels of information dissemination include print media, television, radio and public office premises. In this context, civil society organisations and media have a key role to play. The civil society organisations are increasing awareness and helping people get access to information. The media has played its part in generating awareness and remains a powerful means of ensuring reach and awareness. In India, the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill has been introduced while the RTI Act was passed in 2005. The challenge is, however, not in the absence of law but in its implementation. This includes bringing about a cultural change towards 'openness' in the way public authorities work. It also means managing the cost of information and using innovative ideas and Information Technology (IT) to make information accessible to public wherever they are at a reasonable cost. Use of technology is the only way by which information can be made available to a billion-plus people in India, as it can remove economic, language and other barriers to information flow. While the flow of information has some obvious benefits like increased transparency, accountability, public participation and empowerment, it has some pitfalls too. If the information is used to make allegations to malign public servants or create disorder it can negatively impact the working of public bodies. Adequate checks and balances are needed in the systems to ensure that information is not misused by such elements. Today, a number of public authorities at the central and state levels are using IT to manage and disseminate information. However, the progress has been slow. While India is miles ahead of other countries in the maturity of its IT industry, the pace of adoption within the government space is slow. Various governments have been striving to bring about changes in the way public authorities function. Large transformational projects have been implemented. The success of these projects hinges not only on the technical solution but also on its adoption by various stakeholders. Some examples of successful use of technology are as follows: Ministry of Corporate Affairs Projects State Portals like MP Online eDistrict Projects IT in Social Welfare Projects like AP NREGA Setting up of call centres, where the call centre facilitates drafting an RTI application
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The vision of building an information-driven, inclusive society that has access to all information and services with minimal bureaucratic and procedural delays is driving governments worldwide to move towards digitisation so that information and services can be provided to the public easily. To make this happen, the following are imperative: Relevant information should be available to everyone. Information should be available in such form which is easily accessible (Internet, mobile telephony, notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts, inspection of offices of public authority etc). Information available should be understandable (language).
The key tenets to ensure Freedom of Information is listed as follows (source: Toby Mendel, Freedom of Information, A Comparative Legal Survey): Maximum Disclosure - This tenet has multiple implications such as The body seeking to deny access to information bears the onus of proving that it may legitimately be withheld. No public bodies should be excluded from the ambit of the law.
Obligation to Publish - Public bodies should be under an obligation to publish key information. The amount of information covered should increase over time particularly as new technologies make it cheaper and easier to disseminate information. Promotion of Open Government - The success of Freedom of Information law depends on having a culture of openness. This may be the biggest challenge facing democratisation of information as a cultural change is difficult to bring about. Limited Scope of Exceptions - Exceptions should be clearly and narrowly drawn and subject to strict "harm" and "public interest" tests. Process to Facilitate Access - Requests for information should be processed rapidly and fairly, and an independent review of any refusals should be available. Costs - Individuals should not be deterred from making requests for information due to excessive costs.
Information empowers people to make considered decisions. People should have the information to avail services, see progress and air grievances.
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Current Scenario
The Electronics Service Delivery Bill provides for delivery of public services by the government to all persons by the electronic medium to enhance transparency, efficiency, accountability, accessibility and reliability in delivery of such services. A number of projects have been undertaken by the Central and State level bodies to ensure electronic service delivery. However, the pace of work is slow. The government has stipulated a five-year period for all public services to be delivered in electronic mode. The RTI Act is under implementation and some progress has been made. For instance, the following areas are being explored: Proposal to leverage Common Service Centres (CSCs) for RTI RTI Call Centres Some states have already setup RTI call centres, while some others are in the process of setting up the same. RTI Portal e-Governance initiatives such as e-District, e-Municipalities should have an RTI module.
The use of IT in the government sectors in India is low as compared to many countries. This means that authorities need to sift through huge volumes of data manually and follow sub-optimal processes to deliver services and information to the stakeholders. This translates into huge productivity loss for the nation. As long as files remain on paper, the speed with which data can be processed, collated and disseminated will remain slow and costly. A digitised government can ensure efficient processes and service delivery at a lower cost. Various e-Governance initiatives ranging from Citizen Services, Social Development, Public Health, Public Infrastructure, Disaster Management and Revenue and Tax have made significant improvement in public services and engagements by using IT. A lot more can obviously be done.
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Benefits of Democratisation of Information

It is well recognised that information plays a pivotal role in the lives of people. Some examples are as follows: A pensioner does not know how to get pension or faces challenges getting pension and is unable to get help to resolve the issue. A daily wage earner does not get full wages for work done. People loose their lives and property as they do not get advance information on disaster even though the information is available to a few. People below the poverty line are unable to get the benefits of various social welfare schemes, including food and health insurance. A public body increases its revenue 80 times in two years and increases its collections 150 times over a three-year period with the implementation of an IT application that provides e-services to citizens. Citizens, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and activists are able to see information on progress made at the village level and conduct social audits.
Thus, information is driving transparency, accountability and integrity in the functioning of public bodies. Moreover, it is helping increase public awareness and adoption of government programmes. It is connecting people to the government. If citizens are involved in decisions, adoption of new schemes will become easier.
Information drives transparency and accountability in the system. It empowers people and ensures participation. It helps improve feedback, thereby strengthening the system.
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Challenges to Democratisation of Information

While there is consensus that information needs to reach everyone, there are several barriers that need to be surmounted. These barriers include: Economic Barriers - Certain sections of citizens may not be able to pay for the cost of information even though it is available. IT Infrastructure Barriers - Communication infrastructure may not be available leading to poor accessibility. The table below shows internet penetration for India, China, Russia and United States. India lags in this area (source: Internet World Stats).
Internet Penetration
Country Size (sq. km) 31,66,944 98,06,391 85,44,418 9,629,047 Population (2010 Estimate) 1,17,31,08,018 1,33,67,18,015 20,11,03,330 31,02,32863 Internet users Internet penetration 8.50% 36.30% 37.80% 82.50% Data Date
India China Brazil United States
10,00,00,000 48,50,00,000 7,59,43,600 5,14,42,100
Dec 2010 June 2011 June 2010 June 2010
Language Barriers - Information should be available in a language that is understood by the citizens. Other Barriers - These include government organisation barriers. Also, many people need assistance in accessing/understanding information due to factors like illiteracy and disability.
Data needs to be managed in a way that it is easily processed and presented to people through multiple channels. The cost of information includes the cost of media (print, electronic etc), cost of collating data, administrative costs etc. Public authorities need to plan proactively to identify and manage these costs. A cultural change to bring about openness has become necessary.
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Pitfalls of Democratisation of Information

Democracy brings with it added responsibility. All stakeholders including the public, government and private entities, civil society need to use the information available responsibly, lest it is misused for anti-social and anti-national activities. Information can be used by nefarious elements to slow down the government process and create mistrust among the stakeholders and also compromise the rights of people and various entities. Thus, adequate checks and balances need to be built to ensure that information is not misused.
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IT as an Enabler
Digitisation of public bodies can ensure availability of information. Data can be processed into information which can be disseminated easily. Developing multiple access channels including kiosks, physical centres like the CSCs, mobile telephony, call centres, Internet among others will remove the barriers related to IT infrastructure. Various countries have used technology to ensure successful information flow. For example, Canada has built an information source document that helps people find the source of information across the government. This includes the following features (source PricewaterhouseCoopers's study on 'Understanding the Key Issues and Constraints in implementing the RTI Act'): One-stop shop for Suo Moto information, Provides information on government, its organisation and its information holdings. Helps citizens to determine which institute to contact. Maintains a repository of addresses and telephone numbers of Federal departments and agencies subject to RTI. Other institutions associated with the federal government to facilitate access.
Annual reports and statistics on the number of requests and a summary of federal court cases related to access to information and privacy is published. Annual reports for assessing the compliance of government institutions with the provisions of the Act are tabled within months of the end of the financial year.
Focus on removing barriers to information flow. Ensure convenience to users.
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Conclusion
Information to all is the foundation of a democracy. Innovative use of IT can make the task of organising data, processing it into information and disseminating it cheaper and easier. As technology evolves, more and more people have access to technology including Internet, mobiles and telephones. This opens up new means of information dissemination and service delivery. However, ensuring information dissemination to all requires active participation from all stakeholders including the government, public bodies, citizens, media and civil society. The public bodies need to adopt technology aggressively. They also need to embark on a journey of cultural change that takes them from being secretive to being open. Use of technology by various departments like the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, State Portals, District Administration Computerisations, Social Welfare Schemes etc. have in many cases changed the lives of millions of people for the better. This needs to be followed up with a more planned approach targeted at reducing barriers to information flow. Leveraging existing infrastructure like the State Wide Area Network (SWAN), State Data Center (SDCs) and CSCs is the way forward for aggressive implementation of IT programmes. One of the parameters for measurement of performance of public bodies should be the progress made on democratisation of information. This will ensure that all public bodies will plan, set targets and review status based on this parameter. Adequate checks and balances need to be put in place to ensure that information is not misused. Some of the areas that need to be focussed on from an IT perspective are as follows: How IT can be used for democratisation of information? What are the pitfalls of democratisation of information and how can this be managed? Is the pace of automation in the government adequate?
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Appendix A - The National e-Governance Plan and Electronics Service Delivery Bill, 2011
The National e-Governance Plan seeks to lay the foundation and provide impetus for long-term growth of e-Governance within the country. The plan seeks to create the right governance and institutional mechanisms, set up the core infrastructure and policies and implement a number of Mission Mode Projects at the centre, state and integrated service levels to create a citizen-centric and business-centric environment for governance. NeGP is a major initiative of the Government of India, the first time under which a concerted effort is being made to take Information Technology to the masses in areas of concern to the common man. It aims to make most services available online, ensuring that all citizens would have access to them, thereby improving the quality of basic governance on an unprecedented scale.The Electronics and Service Delivery Bill, 2011 provides for delivery of public services by the government to all persons via electronic mode to enhance transparency, efficiency, accountability, accessibility and reliability in delivery of such services. As per the Bill, every competent authority of the appropriate government will publish the following: Public services that have to be delivered through electronic mode. The date by which each such service will be made available through the electronic medium. The manner of delivery of such services and their service levels. The grievance redressal mechanism available to any person aggrieved about the outcome of any request made by the concerned person for such service through electronic mode.
The Bill states that all public services will be delivered via electronic mode within five years from the commencement of this Bill. This is extendable by another three years.
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Appendix B - Right to Information Act

The RTI Act empowers the Indian citizens to seek information from a public authority, thus making the government and its functionaries more accountable and responsible. RTI is an act that sets out the practical regime of RTI for citizens to ensure access to information under the control of public authorities in order to ensure transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Every public authority will maintain all its records in a manner that facilitates RTI under the Act and ensures that all records that are appropriate are computerised. Constant endeavour to provide as much information Suo Moto to the public at regular intervals through various means of communication, including Internet to ensure that the public resorts to this Act minimally. Information will be disseminated widely and in such form or manner which is easily accessible to the public. All materials will be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area, and the information will be easily accessible to the extent possible in electronic format, available free or at such cost of the medium or the print cost as may be prescribed. Information that cannot be shared is also listed in the RTI Act. For example, there is no obligation to give any citizen: Information, disclosure which may prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India; strategic, scientific or economic interests of the states; India's relation with foreign countries or lead to incitement of an offence. Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court.
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Session - III
Background paper on Social Audit
What does Social Audit mean?

India is a welfare state, which means that a large number of programs and policies are designed and implemented for the benefit of people. These policies are controlled, managed and implemented by the government (i.e. politicians and bureaucrats). However, it must be ensured that the work done by these government officials is actually benefiting the intended beneficiaries, i.e. the people. The steps taken to ensure this constitute what is called Social Audit. The underlying principle of Social Audit is that local governance should be carried out, as much as possible, with the involvement of the people concerned. In short therefore, Social Audit is the understanding, measuring, reporting, and most importantly, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the local governance. From a financial point of view, the implementation of schemes and policies requires funds that are drawn from the state exchequer. The control exercised by people over the withdrawal, usage and management of these funds is another dimension of this exercise. Social Audit has become particularly relevant and important after the 73rd Amendment to the Indian constitution, relating to Panchayati Raj Institutions. Let us see what this Act says-
73rd Amendment Act, 1992The salient features of the Act are: To provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 20 lakh. To hold Panchayat elections regularly every 5 years.\ To provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women (not less than 33%) To appoint State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats. To constitute District Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for the district as a whole.
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The basic need for social audit

In any program/scheme, the following aspects are important to consider: 1. What exactly the people need 2. What the government thinks the people need 3. What is actually done There is a disconnect between (1) and (2) because of lack of communication between people and the government. In other words, since people are not made a part of requirements gathering, the government is unable to capture the complete requirements accurately. Further, there is a disconnect between (2) and (3) because of lack of accountability, and the resultant corruption. This again happens because the ultimate beneficiaries, i.e. the people have neither the visibility nor the control over the execution of the schemes. These are precisely the areas which social audit seeks to address.
Figure 1- The basic need for social audit
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Types of audits
There are at least three types of audits in the government sector: 1. Government Audit 2. People's Audit 3. Social Audit Government audit - A government audit (or simply called audit) is usually conducted by professional auditors without significant involvement of the affected people. Its main focus is on scrutinizing the integrity of processes and quality of outputs. However, it is not an effective method to gauge public perceptions and verify the outcome of a programme. People's audit - conducted by the people, sometimes with assistance from civil society organizations and NGOs, with a standing invitation to the government. It is an effective instrument to gauge public perception, gather local knowledge and conduct public verification. It can assess the outcomes of the programs, and can determine if the priorities have been set correctly. However, the findings of a people's audit do not have much validity and acceptance among governments, for the simple reason that government is not a part of it. Social audit - conducted jointly by the people and the government. The people are specifically those who are the intended beneficiaries of the scheme being audited. It is an effective tool to gauge the perceptions and knowledge of the people, and can evaluate the outcomes as well as the outputs of the program. This type of audit has much greater validity and acceptability among the government, at the same time it involves common people as well. There are a few important things to note about social audit. Firstly, it is essentially a government audit, but one that is conducted in a more transparent manner and involves the participation of the people as well. Secondly, it is not a replacement for a government audit. It is conducted in addition to it for certain types of programs and schemes, particularly those that involve big amounts of expenditure. Also, if the public feel that the government audit process has been inadequate, they can call for a social audit.
Women are engaged in canal digging work under the MGNREGA in Thrissur. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India has recommended to the States to set up directorates to train auditors from civil society to be part of social audit of the scheme. (Photo taken from www.thehindu.com)
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CAG Audits and Social Audits

Social audit is a relatively new concept in India, however, government audits have always been happening. Over the last four decades, the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) has been conducting performance audits of various programs and schemes of the Central and State Governments. Especially, during the last few years, with the introduction of new performance audit guidelines and international best practices, there is increased focus on the efficiency of government auditing. During the last few years, CAG has conducted performance audits of most of the key programs and schemes of the Government of India e.g. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Mid-day Meals Scheme, Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). CAG's audit is conducted on behalf of the tax payers by an external agency (i.e. the CAG). The Union and State Legislatures, through their respective legislative committees on public accounts and public undertakings, discuss the matters brought out in CAG's audit reports. On the basis of these discussions, recommendations are made to the executive for the necessary action. The biggest problem with the CAG audit is that it is essentially a Government process, involving only Government officials and Government auditors. There is a need to make the audit process more transparent and share the audit findings with all the stakeholders involved, particularly the intended beneficiaries of the Government programmes and schemes. The 73rd Amendment - In recent years, another very important development has happened - the devolution of Central funds and functions to the local tiers of Government, mainly the Panchayati Raj Institutions and the Urban Local Bodies. As discussed above, the devolution of funds and functions towards rd th PRIs and ULBs has been the result of the 73 and the 74 Amendments to the Constitution and the recommendations of the XI Finance Commission. Further, Central Government schemes also mandate a direct transfer of funds to PRIs and ULBs, with the role of the concerned State Governments being only nominal. The State legislature and administration does not have much control over these fiscal allocations, as these entities are outside its sphere of control. There are no local accountability structures either, and even if they exist, they are practically incapable. Audit Implications- The audit implications of this shift in Government expenditure to PRIs, ULBs and other agencies/societies also need to be considered. Compared to his audit jurisdiction over traditional Government Departments, the CAG's jurisdiction over such entities is much weaker. Legally, audit of local self government institutions like PRIs and ULBs is a States subject. An agency called State Local Funds Audit Department (LFAD) is chiefly responsible for the external audit of these institutions. Alternatively, the audit can be conducted by designated auditors as specified in the State laws. Also, the key programs/schemes of the 1 Government do not provide adequate clarity with respect to audit of the programmes by the CAG. Moreover, the primary focus of the CAG's performance audits is verifying the integrity of the processes within Governmental agencies. The verification of outputs and outcomes of the programme is not given equal
Content taken from Report of the task group on social audit- Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
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importance. The major reason for this is the audit methodology and evidence requirements (For example, unauthenticated oral evidence cannot usually be accepted). Manpower constraint is another important factor. (For example, practically speaking the CAG cannot verify employment generation for every household in a Gram Panchayat). Social Audit as a supplement to Government Audit There are basically three categorizations of audit viz. financial, compliance and performance audits. Where does social audit fit in? The type of audit is determined essentially by the audit objectives with reference to the generally accepted auditing standards. The objectives of social audit revolve around empowerment of the beneficiaries and directly affected stakeholders of the public sector programs in matters of planning, implementation, delivery of services, appraisal, corruption and frauds, impact, etc. While social audit has a crucial role in the implementation of social sector programs, in itself it cannot fulfill the complete audit objective of any of the three basic types of auditing. All the objectives and processes adopted for social audit will fit into the audit objectives of one or more of the three fundamental types of audits. Therefore, social audit cannot be a substitute for the public audit by the government agencies, but can be supplemented to one or more of them to augment the efficiency of the audits conducted by CAG of India. Thus, social audit is really not any different type of audit, but a method or technique to increase the efficacy of audit by the government.
A social audit or Janata Jaanch in progress in Unnao (Photo taken from www.citizennews.org)
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Mutually beneficial initiatives The state auditors and social auditors can help each other with many capacity building initiatives: 1. IAAD can prepare simple to understand audit training modules, in vernacular languages, which could explain the basic processes such as accounts keeping, expenditure, sanctions, measurement of assets and services, etc. These could be disseminated through various media, making particularly good use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT). 2. Besides simple audit training modules, IAAD could conduct workshops and seminars to all manner of persons involved in the social audit process, including the beneficiaries of the programme. These would be excellent platforms for brainstorming and knowledge sharing. 3. IAAD personnel also need to be made aware of various ground realities associated with social programs conducted at the grassroots. This could be done by making IAAD personnel participate in social audit sessions (Jan Sunwaais), associating with civil society institutions in various ways, etc.
Training of trainers, Social Audit, PRIA education, Himachal Pradesh (Photo courtesy PRIA education)
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Objectives of social audit

Following are the chief objectives of social audit: 1. Complete and correct identification of requirements- No program can be successful if the requirements are incorrectly, or incompletely understood. Having the people participate in requirements gathering ensures that this is done properly and accurately. 2. Classification/prioritization of plans and activities- Given the fact that time, resources and funds are limited, the prioritization of activities is critical for the success of any program. The feedback gathered from people helps to effect this prioritization. 3. Efficient and transparent utilization of funds- The aim is to ensure both efficient utilization and minimal corruption. Since the scheme beneficiaries (i.e. the people) are themselves involved, both these objectives are met. 4. Better adherence of the program with the defined goals- The degree of success of any programme is measured primarily by its adherence to the stated goals. People's participation ensures that the programme runs on track and does not stray from its stated goals. 5. Better quality of service- The government is not a ruler, it is a service provider. Its primary duty towards citizens is to provide quality service. When people become aware of their rights and participate in the process, quality of service improves automatically. Thus, all these objectives are achieved through the involvement of the end users of the programme, which ensures better planning and stricter accountability.
Figure 2- Objectives of Social Audit
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A social audit of the NREGS in progress in Miyaganj block, Unnao district, UP (Photo taken from www.assamtimes.org)
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Types of social audit

Social audit initiatives can broadly be categorized into two types those carried out by Gram Sabhas/Panchayats or local level Vigilance and Monitoring Committees, and those carried out by civil society groups. In both these types, the social auditors obtain direct feedback from beneficiaries on a large scale through Gram Sabha meetings, Jan Sunwais, Sammelans and other methods to verify the outcome and outputs of social sector programmes. Various social audit groups have contributed significantly in ensuring the responsibility and accountability of the implementing agencies of various schemes. Following this success, the Government of India has mandated social audit in almost all the flagship social sector programmes like. NREGS, ARWSP, NRHM, MDM etc. This has been implemented in various ways, e.g. village level monitoring committees, vigilance committees etc.
Trained members of Asha Parivar are seen auditing the government's NREGA records. Major irregularities are unearthed at each of these social audits.(Photo taken from wiki.ashanet.org)
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Key requirements for social audit

In order for social audit to be effective, some key requirements must be fulfilled: 1. Authority: As mentioned above, social audit means the actual beneficiaries of an activity are involved in it. In order for this involvement to be meaningful, people need to be given the appropriate authority and rights. As discussed above, the 73rd amendment of the constitution has empowered the Gram Sabha to conduct social audit. 2. Documentation: All activities, ranging from planning to implementation, must be supported by adequate documentation. Some important documents that could be made mandatory are: Financial documents- Budgets, income - expense statements Project documents- Meeting minutes, Progress reports, Issue registers Operational documents- Staff registers, inspection reports Other documents- Applications, tenders, proposals, contracts Further, documents should be made easily accessible to the public, being preferably kept online.2
Lack of access to documents the major reason for fraud! A social audit in Bihar's Araria district showed that fake muster rolls, bills and vouchers were the most common ways to siphon money from the NREGA funds. The faults in the records were so glaring that it became obvious that the wrong doers had never braced themselves to face a people's audit exercise. For example names of about 50 people were found on the muster roll and investigation showed that these 50 did not even belong to Jamua.
3. Legal provisions: Last but not the least, is to have strict provisions for punishment for nonadherence to the process of social audit. Unless there is legal punishment, the social audit will not make much difference on the ground as it will not translate into any real action against corruption/mismanagement. It will merely remain an exercise in futility.
Example taken from http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/jan/pov-audit.htm (Ashish Ranjan and Purushottam Kumar)
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Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana is a flagship programme of the Government of India which began in April 2005 and was aimed to accelerate the pace of rural electrification in the country. To check the ground reality of the same, Greenpeace along with its partner organisations conducted social audits in Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh and Madhubani and Saran districts in Bihar. (Photo taken from www.greenpeace.org)
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Implementation of social audit

Following steps are important in implementing social audit1. Define the goals clearly- The goals of the local elected body must be defined clearly and unambiguously. Unless the goals definition is not clear, not only can the audit process not be applied properly, but also the success of the scheme is not possible. 2. Identify all stakeholders- All stakeholders involved with the scheme need to be identified, along with their roles, rights and duties. One of the most important aspects of social auditing is to ensure a say for all stakeholders. It is therefore crucial that weaker sections of society are also represented adequately. 3. Establish core group- A core group of committed, trusted local people needs to be established, who will assess if the decisions based upon social audit have been implemented properly. These people should be qualified and willing to do the job assigned to them. 4. Define key performance indicators-The key performance indicators must be defined clearly. Also, data about these indicators must be collected by the stakeholders on a regular basis, and in a transparent manner. 5. Conduct regular meetings- Besides the social audit meeting, follow-up meetings with the panchayat body need to be conducted to review stakeholders' actions, issues, and deciding on the action items and the owners. 6. Share audit findings- In order to ensure transparency and accountability, it is critical that the findings of the social audit should be shared with all local stakeholders. A report of the social audit meeting should be distributed for Gram Panchayat review.
A Social audit in progress at Aaseewan Lok Man village panchayat (Photo taken from www.indiatogether.org)
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How does social audit benefit the people?

1. Better formulation of schemes, as people's input and feedback is solicited 2. Better utilization of funds and resources, as schemes are managed and prioritized more efficiently 3. Reduction in corruption, as a result of greater transparency and accountability 4. Increased awareness among people 5. Improved standard of governance Given below is a real-life example from Araria, Bihar that shows how corruption and nepotism subverts scheme implementation, and how social audit can expose such practices.3
Corruption and nepotism- how social audit benefits the people: The social audit in Bihar's Araria district exposed several glaring instances of corruption and nepotism. When the name of Sita Devi (name changed) figured in the list of top 20 families who had got work under NREGA, people came forward and said that she had never worked on NREGA sites but her family is close to the mukhiya.
The work of Samarthan, a CSO that operates in Madhya Pradesh in India, shows that budget monitoring can be a useful tool for helping governments implement such ambitious schemes and for ensuring that citizens actually benefit from them (Photo taken from www.openbudgetsblog.org)
Content taken from http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/jan/pov-audit.htm (Ashish Ranjan and Purushottam Kumar)
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What are the limitations of social audit?

Social audit is a powerful tool for program audit and monitoring by the intended beneficiaries and direct stakeholders. However, it has certain limitations that need to be understood properly in order to determine its positioning in the public sector audit framework. 1. Limited scope- The scope of social audits is essentially localized, and its focus is limited to only certain aspects out of a wide range of aspects spanning across financial, compliance and performance audits. 2. Ad-hoc nature- At least till now, social audits in India are sporadic and ad-hoc in nature. The only exceptions are cases where continuous monitoring by the Gram Sabha is a part and parcel of the social sector programs. 3. Non-standard procedures- The procedures to conduct social audit are non-standard and not very well defined, as a result the monitoring is informal and unprocessed. 4. Non-standard documentation- Last but not the least, the documentation of social audits is also non-standard. Therefore, it cannot be relied upon to provide consistent evidence. To sum up, the results of a social audit cannot be used to make generalizations over the entire population, and the above stated limitations must be kept in mind while analyzing the findings of this exercise.
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Why is social audit difficult in India?

We have seen above that social audit as a technique has its limitations. In addition to these, the peculiar socio-political conditions and environment of India impose certain other constraints and difficulties over this process. These may be summarized as below: 1. Lack of awareness- In the words of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government for the people, of the people, and by the people. However, the Indian masses are yet to understand the essence of these words. Most rural Indians still think of themselves as subjects, who are ruled by their rulers. Therefore, they have very low awareness of their rights. This lack of awareness is largely due to lack of education. 2. Lack of legal provisions- Social audit is still a relatively new concept in India, and there are no legal provisions for punitive action against erring officials. These officials have a tendency of retaining their control over the programs and schemes, as it allows them to indulge in corrupt practices. So while social audit is good as a concept on paper, and has helped people to become aware of their rights as citizens, it is yet to make any concrete difference in things. 3. Fear- Ultimately, social audit is a concept that rattles the corrupt and the powerful, as it reduces their control and authority and minimizes their chances of corruption. It is therefore hardly surprising that these people have often resorted to violence and intimidation to subvert this process. One such real-life example is cited below.4
The corrupt use fear to suppress the truth.. Going back to the example of Araria in Bihar, where a social audit meeting was being conducted, one hour into the public hearing violence suddenly erupted with the mukhiya's (elected representative of the Gram Panchayat) men brutally attacking a ward member, who was encouraging a local resident to speak honestly about the injustice of receiving lower wages than those recorded in the muster rolls of NREGA works. The ward member was beaten up in front of the Block Development Officer and the Circle Inspector. It was only when the police stepped in that the situation could be brought under control.
Content taken from http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/jan/pov-audit.htm (Ashish Ranjan and Purushottam Kumar)
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Citizen Engagement
In the context of social audit, it is imperative to mention a term that is highly relevant to this subject, and one that has gained considerable popularity in the last few years- citizen engagement. Traditionally, governments have been engaging with citizens in two types of ways- communication and consultation. The former involves communication of government schemes/plans/decisions to citizens, the latter involves the government seeking feedback from citizen representatives. In recent years, a new paradigm called Citizen Engagement has gained popularity. It is an interactive, bi-directional process that encourages involvement, participation and exchange of ideas. It reflects willingness on part of government to share information and make citizens a partner in decision making. In order to be effective, citizen engagement requires governments to allow citizens to participate in agenda-setting. Also, it should be ensured that policy or project proposals that are generated as a result of this engagement are considered while making a final decision. Citizen engagement is not limited to any one phase of the policy or project development process, it can and must be undertaken at all stages of the process. Thus, it is an iterative process that ensures that citizens' priorities are continually highlighted in policy making/project implementation. There are various ways in which citizen engagement can be incorporated in e-governance projects1. Sharing of information- This is the most elementary form of citizen engagement. Information about the program/scheme is shared with the stakeholders so that they get an awareness of the project details. It includes display of citizen's charter, services and service levels, officers and their roles and responsibilities etc. Regular meetings may be conducted to share information. In this era of information technology, mobile phones and the internet and excellent medium to disseminate information. 2. Soliciting feedback- Going a step further than the above is taking feedback from the stakeholders. The basic idea is that the end beneficiaries should have a say in deciding how the scheme should be designed, implemented and delivered, as they are going to ultimately use it. Again, this is not to be done at the beginning of the project, rather it must be an ongoing process that is invoked at all stages in the project. 3. Collaborative review- Another step further gives citizens the power to review (along with government officials) the progress of the scheme. Citizens may assess the utilization of funds, meeting of deadlines, quality of deliverables, and provide a joint assessment together with the government. 4. Joint decision making- The highest degree of citizen empowerment is the power of decision making. Of course, it is a joint power shared duly with the government, but it gives the citizens adequate authority to take decisions wherever and whenever required. As we have seen above, social audit uses all these four ways of citizen engagement. Thus, the terms social audit and citizen engagement are closely intertwined with each other. In fact, social audit is nothing but a form of citizen engagement that gives a high degree of power and authority to the end beneficiaries of the scheme- i.e. citizens.
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There are various models and mechanisms for citizen engagement in India. Some of the most successful ones are- National Capacity Building Framework (designed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj), Citizen Report Card (designed by a civil society organization in Bangalore) and last but not the least, Social Media (e.g. Facebook and Twitter, used by Delhi Police, Indore police etc).
Social Audit- The Ground Reality

If we consider the present scenario, there is little uniformity in social audit programs across various social sector schemes. For example, the NREGA has formal social audit arrangements built into the scheme itself. However, other schemes like PDS, ARWSP, NRHM etc. do not have the same level of grass-root level monitoring and accountability. This matter could be taken up with the GoI for ensuring, to the extent feasible, uniformity of social audit/ monitoring arrangements at the village level for all social sector programs. This will help ensure that community participation is more effective and better institutionalized. Listed below are a few tables that throw light on the status of social audit in various statesTable 1: Status of social audit in various states (as per a survey conducted by the Vision Foundation)
Both tables taken from Report on social audit submitted to Planning Commission, by Dr Ranjan Mohapatra (Vision Foundation for Development Management)
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Table 2: Legal provisions of social audit in various states, as per the Panchayati Raj acts
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Global trends All over the world, State Audit Institutions recognize the need to partner with civil society in policy development, service delivery and public accountability. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) organized an Expert Group Meeting on 'Auditing for Social Change' (Seoul, Korea in May 2005), in which several SAIs took part. One of the main conclusions of this meeting was that participation of civil societies is critical to enhance accountability and align public services to citizens' needs. UN DESA organized another workshop on 'Dialogue on Civil Society Engagement in public Accountability' (Manila, Philippines in November 2006), in which several audit institutions and civil society organizations came together to share their experiences. The workshop threw light on the various types of collaboration between civil society groups and audit institutions from direct participation in audits (as in Philippines) to putting pressure for implementation of audit recommendations (as in Argentina), identification of entities that should be the subject of audits (in South Korea) and independent audits (as in India). Domestic trends As discussed above, social audit in India has got a phillip thanks to two major developmentsConstitutional Amendments which mandated that accounts of a Gram Panchayat be placed before a Gram Sabha, and by the RTI Act 2005. The Governments of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh deserve a special mention in this regard, in that they have taken the initiative to include social audit in their monitoring systems, through a collaborative effort through Gram Sabhas and a consortium of NGOs. These initiatives are an encouraging force for the CAG auditors to participate in the social audit process in these States. The experience in Rajasthan has shown that CAG can gain immensely from the oral evidence gathered at the public hearings. The CAG needs to work towards cooperation and coordination with the social audit groups to avoid duplication of work and use the findings of social audit in the audits being carried out by the IAAD. In other words, a synergy needs to be achieved. The CAG staff need not become a part of the social audit teams, instead, it can participate simply as an observer both in Gram Sabha meetings and Jan Sunwais/Sammelans organised by civil society groups. Doing so will enhance the experience, insight and capabilities of both the social auditors as well as the state auditors.
A social audit in progress in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh (Photo taken from www.greenpeace.org)
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Some interesting examples Social audits are commonly being conducted for schemes like NREGA, ARWSP, NRHM, MDM. However, there are a few interesting, unusual cases where social audits are being conducted too. One such example is the campaign called Living Soils.
The social audit of soil schemes- a unique initiative undertaken by Greenpeace (Photo taken from www.greenpeace.org)
Here, social audit was used as a tool to analyze the impact of the government policies on soil health. The audit was conducted by the well-known NGO Greenpeace. It was probably the first time ever social audits were conducted on soil health and support systems in India or elsewhere in the world. The journey started from Assam, a north eastern state in India and covered selected districts of Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. Wherever the team went, the villagers championed the cause. They were at the fore front, organizing demonstrations, street plays and public hearings. The single most important finding that came out from this audit was the farmers' desire to adopt organic farming methods, which was however difficult to achieve, as they were far too dependent on chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc.
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References
1. www.hanumant.com/SocialAudit.html 2. http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/jan/pov-audit.htm (Ashish Ranjan and Purushottam Kumar) 3. Social Audit and NREGA- A users' manual (Center for equity studies, sponsored by National Institute for Rural Development) 4. Report of the task group on social audit- Office of the Auditor and Comptroller General of India 5. Report on social audit submitted to Planning Commission, by Dr Ranjan Mohapatra, Vision Foundation for Development Management 6. Report on Living soils by Greenpeace 7. Framework for Citizen Engagement in e-Governance, prepared by the Department of Information Technology
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Session - IV
Participatory Government
Executive Summary
This document is intended to serve as a knowledge base for participatory government. As more and more countries are moving towards transparency and openness, this document describes in detail the concept of Participatory Government and what it takes to enhance participation in the Indian context with focus on developmental aspect of governance. It discusses ways and means to move towards participatory government and how participatory government can contribute towards effective service delivery. Definition Participatory government as the name suggests is an effective participation by all the stakeholders, especially at the local level which can influence the decision making process of the government. To thoroughly understand the concept of Participatory Government it is quite essential to answer few questions that emanate from the definition. Firstly what is effective participation? Does ten percent participation from the urban lot mean effective? No. When we talk about effective participation, we are talking about participation by the marginalized, socially excluded and the disadvantaged groups. Secondly who are the stakeholders? The stakeholders are either individuals or organizations who are either direct beneficiaries or has a stake in the governance process whose participation can influence the decision making process of the government. Lastly what should be the level of participation? Participation can be quite vague if not understood contextually, and in terms of breadth it can range from exclusive to inclusive and in terms of depth it can range from information sharing to consultation, collective deliberation, collaboration and joint decision-making. In the context of participatory government, we are referring to inclusive participation and the depth of participation purely depends on the circumstances. Context Governance entails processes and institutions that contribute to public decision-making. When those processes and institutions concern the public sector, the term public governance is used. It can be argued that there are three categories of public governance: civic, political and development. Civic and political governance deal with issues that are related to human rights. Development governance mainly pertains to planning, budgeting, monitoring and accountability of socio-economic development policies and programmes. Participatory governance is one of many institutional strategies of development governance. Citizen engagement is the desired outcome or logical end of participatory governance.
Figure 1
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Understanding Participation
The actual practice of participatory governance varies enormously in its form and effectiveness, depending on the initial endowments and the quality of the institutions for participation. One way of making sense of this diversity is to compare the varieties of practice along two dimensions, namely the scope and the intensity of participation. In terms of scope, participation can in principle encompass four distinct types of activities, which together might be said to constitute the act of governance namely (a) ascertaining people's preferences over alternative social outcomes and alternative processes of achieving those outcomes, (b) formulation of policies, rules and institutions based on those preferences, (c) implementation of the proposed policies, rules and institutions, and (d) monitoring, evaluation and ensuring accountability of policy formulation and implementation. Participation can be said to be the most extensive in scope when it occurs in each of these phases. Such comprehensive participation is, however, rare in real life; most instances of participatory governance cover a subset of the four phases. The scope of participation is not of course an adequate measure of the effectiveness or quality of participation, as it also depends on the intensity of participation. In each of the four phases, the intensity of participation can vary from the superficial to the deeply engaged form of involvement by the relevant stakeholders. The degree of intensity is in turn a function of the institutional framework within which participation is embedded. The institutional framework embodies the rules of the game that determine, for example, who will be allowed to participate in decision-making process, how they will express their preferences, how the preferences of different stakeholders will be reconciled, and how they will be involved in the processes of implementation, monitoring, evaluation and accountability. It is the quality of these institutional processes that ultimately determines the quality of participation. Citizen participation encompasses three inter-related basic elements: They are (i) (ii) Open and transparent government, involving citizens in its complex activities and decisionmaking processes; Consistent and persistent flow of information from the government to its citizens and viceversa; and
(iii) Efficient ways of informing citizens to understand their roles and responsibilities to participate as equal partners. Does participatory government mean taking away powers from the existing institutions? No. Participatory government is not about replacing, but rather complementing and reinforcing existing democratic institutions. It is about building bridges between citizens and government and strengthening institutions.
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Why Participatory Government?

Firstly, it is difficult for any government to assert that they have adequately captured the needs of its citizens and accordingly formulated the policies, schemes and moved towards implementation unless they have more inclusive approaches to capture the citizen needs and priorities. Secondly, most governments around the world are moving towards the role of facilitator and acknowledged the importance of more inclusive approaches right from policy making to the service delivery. Listed here are some of the key reasons on why governments should become more participatory. 1. Need to capacitate the "demand side" of service delivery 2. An ingredient of good governance because it establishes transparency and accountability 3. Growing need of more inclusive approaches 4. Redefines the relationship between government and citizens
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Enabling Environment
Willingness to participate from both state actors and citizens is the most important factor which can enable participation as shown in the figure. However bridging the gaps between the government and the citizens by way of new approaches, methodologies and processes is equally important. Listed below are some of the enabling arrangements. 1. Normative (a law to allow sustainable participation); 2. Regulatory (rules/regulations guiding/encouraging participation), and 3. Regenerative (capacity building of both government, NGO, and citizens) It is important to keep the external political factors, socio-cultural factors, economic and legal factors in mind before devising the bridging mechanisms as they may sometimes have counter-productive impact.
Figure 2
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Roadmap Participatory government is evolutionary in nature. It is quite essential to have a strategy and roadmap which can take the government from the current state to a state where there is effective participation from the stakeholders in the governance process. Figure below describes the roadmap for participatory government with respect to public service delivery.
Figure 3
Stage 1: Capturing stakeholder requirement and framing the government policy objectives: At this stage a thorough need analysis of the stakeholders is carried out and government policy objectives should be set focusing on the requirements of the stakeholders. Stage 2: Current State Assessment: The current state assessment would help the government gauge the performance of the existing services they are providing or any such similar services which had succeeded, partially succeeded or failed. At this stage surveys or data collection can be analyzed to measure the outcomes and the satisfaction levels of all the stakeholders.
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Stage 3: Action Plan: A collective action plan is laid out after due consultation with all the important stakeholders. By involving the stakeholders at the planning stage, it sets the expectations from all the stakeholders and establishes credibility and trust for the government amongst the stakeholders. At this stage, the government should have absolute clarity on the funding model, donor and the return on investment (ROI) they can expect by delivering a particular service. It has to be noted that the ROI need not necessary be monetary. Clear ownership of the tasks to be carried out for implementation must be defined. This is the most important stage as it sets the tone for the implementation. Stage 4: Implementation: The owners must takeover and implement the schemes or services. The owners must be empowered to take decisions and should be accountable for the overall service delivery. There should be reporting to the policy makers which will let them know whether implementation is carried out as per the plan. There should be mechanisms to resolve issues grievances from all the stakeholders. Stage 5: Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitoring and evaluation will keep the service providers aligned to the goals and objectives set out for them. There are tools which can be used to monitor and evaluate the public services which will be discussed later on in the paper. Stage 6: Improve: Participatory government is evolving in nature. After monitoring and evaluation of the services, actions must be taken to enhance participation and improve the service delivery. Models Creating models for participatory government which can deliver the services effectively is probably the most difficult aspect in governance as participation is something which is not given. Developed nations talk about web 2.0 and Gov 2.0 when they talk about participatory and engaged government. Is it replicable in India? Does our rural population and the urban poor know about web 2.0, the answer is quite obvious and when there is a large section of the people who cannot be included it doesn't become inclusive any more. So what is required to build models which can ensure participation? We will discuss three important aspects which should be embedded into the models of participatory government. They are innovation, Institutionalization and e-Governance. Let us discuss each one in detail. Innovation The fundamental question that needs to be answered is why we need innovation when the service delivery can be achieved by performing some pre-defined tasks. The answer is it may be less required when participation is not desired, but it is more than essential if stakeholder's participation is desired. If we have to come up with more inclusive approaches involving stakeholders in the decision making process, it will have a definite cost to it (e.g. conducting gram sabhas, building a portal etc.). And the diversity which exists in India it may be very difficult to replicate governance from one geographical location to another geographical location and the language and cultural barriers that exists in our society. Innovation is all the more required to address these challenges and to work around methods which can help improve participation and service delivery. The three types of innovations which can help improve the service delivery are discussed below.
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Innovation New Approaches, processes and methods of service delivery. 1. Conceptual innovation, which focuses on the introduction of new forms of governance (e.g., participatory policymaking, engaged and interactive governance, people's budget reforms). 2. Institutional innovations, which focus on the renewal of established institutions and/or the establishment of new institutions to address emerging governance need and/or for public service revitalization. 3. Process innovation, which focuses on refining existing public administration procedures and introduction of new management techniques and processes in to strengthen performance, based management capacity in governance and to improve the quality of public service delivery including use of service-oriented ICT architecture for both front and back office operations. In the government sector, due consideration of external aspects must be taken into consideration before the innovative ideas can be put into action otherwise they may have counter-productive impact on the overall service delivery and sometimes may negate the good intent. Some of them are discussed below. 1. Indigenous political will is required for governance reforms. Getting the political buy in is quite necessary especially if any innovative ideas are to be implemented 2. Necessary safeguards must be put in place to prevent the elite takeover 3. The management should understand that allocating resources to the implementing agencies is just not enough for effective service delivery, devolutionary components are necessary 4. Bypassing election bodies and elected people may turn out to be dangerous
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Institutionalizing participation
Institutions are the cause of economic development. Institutional innovations are paramount for any ordinary citizens to play an active role in the selection, design, and implementation of local development plans. Institutionalization helps participation become part of the policy and the process. The broad framework which can institutionalize the participation of the people is as below.
Institutionalizing participation - Critical Factors to consider 1. Public participation needs to be a core element embedded in the policy rather than remaining an occasional project, citizen engagement needs to be incorporated in policy development to the same degree that experts, stakeholders and interest groups are currently consulted. 2. Public input to be given substantial weight in policy development processes; it cannot be a token effort, in perception or reality. 3. The commitment to institutionalized public participation is government-wide as opposed to concentrated in certain departments.
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e-Governance The use of information and communications technologies to provide and improve public-sector services, transactions, and interactionshave enabled government organizations to deliver better service and improve effectiveness and efficiency. In many countries, more than 70 percent of taxpayers now file taxes electronically, for example, and many other transactionsranging from renewing drivers' licenses and paying parking tickets to managing government benefitscan be conducted online. However e Governance is not just about using ICT, it also has two critical aspects namely process re-engineering and change management which are far more important than probably the use of ICT. Illustrated below are three critical components of e-Governance:
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Monitoring & Evaluation

The below mentioned monitoring and evaluation methodologies not only gives the citizen perspective of public service and can serve as a tool to take corrective actions for improvement.
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Critical Success Factors

Mentioned below are some critical success factors of participatory government 1. Political will (Pre-requisite), Ownership of participatory governance lies with the national government 2. Degree of devolution/decentralization 1. adequate power and authority must be devolved 2. adequate resources must be devolved (especially financial, though administrative resources must also be devolved, for example, control over officials working at local level) 3. accountability to local residents must be ensured 3. Careful planning 4. Civil society experience and maturity 5. External funding (depending on the type of service delivery)
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Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators of participatory government 1. Number of beneficiaries (e.g. Percentage of eligible urban children enrolled in pre-schools) 2. Participation levels 3. Number of channels for participation 4. Citizen satisfaction levels on the service 5. Accuracy 6. Service Availability metrics 7. Grievances Barriers The Three-Gap Analysis of Effective Participation While participation has great potential to be instrumentally valuable in promoting efficiency and equity, this potential is not always realized in the real world. Although there are some successful examples of participatory governance in some parts of the world, they are far outnumbered by cases of failed and spurious participation. There are three distinct but inter-related gaps that stand in the way of effective participation. These may be called the capacity or the skill gap, the incentive gap and the power gap. The capacity gap arises from the fact that meaningful participation in the process of governance requires certain skills which common people, least of all the traditionally disadvantaged and marginalized segments of the society, do not typically possess. Some of the tasks such as managing a local resource or delivering a community service may be relatively simple and people may already have some experience in them. But others, more ambitious ones such as budgeting for the local government or planning for local development would often require a level of knowledge and skill that would be beyond sometimes even the educated elite. This capacity gap must be bridged if participation is to be effective. In the real world, this practice typically happens through the intermediation of civil society organizations and social movements, which mobilize common people into groups for various purposes. As for the specific skills required for addressing the participatory enterprise, there is often no substitute for specialized training. What is needed for this purpose is imaginative institutional innovation that enables common people to receive knowledge from technocrats and experts, but without being beholden to them. If in the process of imparting knowledge the technocrats and experts come to acquire a dominant relationship vis--vis common people, the whole purpose of participation would be defeated. The transfer of knowledge must take place in a setting of fundamental equality and mutual respect between the providers and recipients of knowledge.
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The incentive gap stems from the fact that participation in public affairs is not costless and most people would not be keen to participate actively unless they perceive the potential gains to be large enough to outweigh the costs. The costs of participation are of various types. There is first the opportunity cost of the time and effort that people would have to put into participative activities. This cost is especially high for women, who are said to suffer from the =triple burden' of devoting time to the conduct of public affairs in addition to the traditional double burden of engaging in productive as well as reproductive activities. There is also the psychological cost of speaking up in public, especially for those who are low in self-confidence, and the general hassle of having to deal with matters that many people feel officials are being paid to do anyway. Finally, for the subordinate groups living in hierarchical societies, there is the probable cost of retribution from the dominant classes who may not take kindly to the idea that the lower classes should come together to delve into matters that have traditionally been the preserve of social superiors. Underlying this principle is the recognition that participation in the abstract may not be a terribly attractive idea. People would be more inclined to participate if they focus on a problem they can all identify with as being important for their day-to-day lives. Since the solution of a tangible problem will yield tangible benefits, participation is more likely to occur when it has a 'practical orientation'. Of the three gaps mentioned above, the power gap is perhaps the most pernicious of all. It arises from systematic asymmetries of power that is inherent in unequal societies. In a society there exists a wide gulf between the rich and the poor, where entrenched social hierarchies have led to a rigid demarcation between the elite and the commoners, and where age-old norms of discrimination against specific social groups defined in terms of gender, ethnicity, religion, and so on have long been internalized by the oppressors and the oppressed alike, it is very likely that the dominant groups will use participation merely as a ruse to further their own ends. Participation in such unequal societies is likely to be unequal too, with members of dominant groups wielding superior power to further their own narrow interests. The subordinate groups in these societies suffer from a 'power gap' relative to the dominant groups, and one way or the other this gap must be closed or at least narrowed down substantially, if they are to participate on an equal footing. This can only be done by creating some countervailing power in favour of the subordinate groups so as to compensate for the power gap they otherwise face.
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Beyond Participatory Government

While there is increasing focus on participatory government in India, developed nations are moving towards open government. The below diagram illustrates the maturity model of the open government and shows the importance on governments becoming more participatory before maturing into an open government.
Figure 4
Indian Scenario In India, states of Kerala and West Bengal seem to be the front runners in achieving effective participation from the people. People's Campaign for Decentralized Planning' or just the Campaign, as it has come to be known launched in the state of Kerala in 1996. As much as 35-40% of the state development budget was devolved to elected local government institutions, conditional on the requirement that they must prepare local development plans based on extensive participation of the citizens. Every year since then, local governments throughout the state of Kerala have formulated and implemented their own development plans prepared through participatory democracy. The establishment of panchaythi raj institutions (PRI) is to take government more close to people and encourage dialogue and participation (e.g. Gram Sabha). It was only when local-level elections were supplemented by the holding of effective village assemblies (gram sabha) in states
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like Kerala and West Bengal that the system began to yield benefits for the poor and for disadvantaged social groups such as women, and scheduled castes and tribes. "Policies were found to be more pro-poor in those villages where grama sabha was regularly held, compared to villages where it was not, which clearly suggests that deliberations in village assemblies empowered marginalized groups to influence decisions in their favour. UN"
Case Study PRI in Maharastra

The State has adopted three tier structure since 1960. There are 33 Zilla Parishads, 320 Panchayat Samitis and 27,700 Gram Panchayats. Election of all these bodies are held regularly by the State Election Commission constituted in 1994 after the 73rd constitution amendment. Most of the rural development programmes have been transferred to PRI except the subjects like public distribution scheme, rural electrification, land reforms and land consolidation, etc. Since October 2, 2000 Government of Maharashtra has transferred 124 subjects to PRIs with a view to strengthen the Gram Panchayat/Gram Sabha and to involve rural people in developmental decision making. Under Mumbai village Panchayat Act, 1958, wide powers have been given to the gram panchayat (GP) and gram sabhas (GS) for preparing village plans for economic development and social justice. GP can execute works up to ` 5 lakhs. As no technical staff is available at GP level, GP have to obtain technical sanction from Block Development Officer (BDO). Rural people are to select, prepare execute and evaluate the development related works undertaken in the village. Funds for the purpose are kept at the disposal of the GP. In order to augment their resources, GP have been authorized to levy and collect a number of taxes and collect its revenue, major source being property tax on buildings and lands. Other taxes include yatra tax, bazar fee, water charges, etc. The findings of the study suggest that, by and large, PRI have not delivered the services to rural people even though they are empowered to prepare plans for economic development and social justice. They have not yet become the real institutions of self governance largely due to (a) lack of people's participation, especially, the women, the poor, and other marginalized groups because of ignorance, poverty and lack of distributive justice; (b) reluctance of the higher tiers of the Government to devolve financial and administrative powers to them as the Line Departments and District Rural Development Agency continue to control the planning and implementation of developmental projects; apathetic attitudes of bureaucrats and politicians; insufficient capacity and resources of the PRIs (and Gram Sabha) in running their activities effectively; and, lack of organic linkages among the three tiers. It was found that, the GS in sampled villages (N=40) are not held regularly. Thus, important decisions that need to be taken at the GS are invariably taken by the GP members or Sarpancha without involving the villagers. It was reported that fake signatures and thumb imprints are obtained on manufactured agenda and minutes for GS meetings simply to fulfill quorum requirements, and the requisite decisions are in fact taken by a few influential members of the GP and the active elements of the village polity. Gram Sevaks (the village level workers) often have more than one village under their jurisdiction which reduces the amount of time and effort that they can devote towards any one village on developmental activities/ convening GS meetings, etc.
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Recommendations
After discussing the participatory government in the Indian context and deliberating upon developmental aspect of governance and participation w.r.t to the public service delivery. The following recommendations are made which can help government and stakeholders move towards participatory government. 1. Instead of serving simply as a conduit of delivering services on behalf of state and national level governments, local governments should function as fully-fledged governing institutions with functional, financial and administrative autonomy. 2. A great deal of effort was put into social mobilization and institutional innovations so that ordinary citizens could play an active role in the selection, design, and implementation of local development plans. 3. Institutional capacity in the form of empowering institutions to make their rules independently. "[T]he success of participatory institutions depends on a dual process of commitment-building. Unless both state actors (ranging from politicians to bureaucrats) and ordinary people are motivated to support, take part in, and respect [Empowered Participatory Governance] experiments, those policies are unlikely to become either empowered or participatory." (Abers, 2003).
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References
1. United Nations - Participatory Governance and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2. UN reports on participatory governance 3. Institutionalizing civic engagement for building trust UN 4. Handbook on citizen engagement: Beyond consultation Amanda Sheedy 5. Mckinsey e-Government 2.0 6. Gartner's Open Government maturity model 7. Participatory Rural Governance in India: A myth or reality Prof. Ratna Naik Murdia 8. Civicus 9. At the dawn of e-Government - Deloitte 10. Governance Process Innovation for Improved Public Service Delivery Naimur Rahman
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Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances Government of India

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15th National Conference on e-Governance Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

9th - 10th February, 2012

15 National Conference on e-Governance Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Plenary Session - III

Towards Effective Electronic Service Delivery

Electronic Service Delivery

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

State of e-Service Delivery in India

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Fron t-end Challenges

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Imperatives for Successful e-Service Delivery

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Benefits of Democratisation of Information

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Challenges to Democratisation of Information

India China Brazil United States

10,00,00,000 48,50,00,000 7,59,43,600 5,14,42,100

Dec 2010 June 2011 June 2010 June 2010

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Pitfalls of Democratisation of Information

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Focus on removing barriers to information flow. Ensure convenience to users.

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Appendix B - Right to Information Act

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Background paper on Social Audit

What does Social Audit mean?

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

The basic need for social audit

Figure 1- The basic need for social audit

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

CAG Audits and Social Audits

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Objectives of social audit

Figure 2- Objectives of Social Audit

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Types of social audit

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Key requirements for social audit

Example taken from http://www.indiatogether.org/2010/jan/pov-audit.htm (Ashish Ranjan and Purushottam Kumar)

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

Implementation of social audit

15th National Conference on e-Governance - Background Papers

How does social audit benefit the people?