India does not have a cohesive policy document on e-government. The closest contender for a policy document on e-government is the National IT Policy 2012, which sets itself the ambitious goal of enabling the “application of technology-enabled approaches to overcome monumental developmental challenges in education, health, skill development, financial inclusion, employment generation, governance etc. to greatly enhance efficiency across the board in the economy”. As a result of its attempt to chalk out a multi-pronged strategic approach for transforming India into a knowledge economy, the policy is able to devote only very little space to discuss the e-government agenda.99
Some of the key priorities for e-government outlined in this policy are: implementation of the National e-Governance Plan, mandatory provision of all Government Services through electronic mode within a fixed time frame by enactment of the Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Bill,100 establishment of common service delivery platforms by leveraging technologies like cloud computing, evolving standards for seamless interoperability of data and applications, promoting open standards and open technologies, enhancing institutional framework for capacity building/ training across all levels of government, citizen-engagement frameworks, and promotion of PPPs.
The policy document thus leaves a lot to be desired in terms of re-shaping e-government priorities, merely reinforcing the existing logic of e-government programming initiated under NeGP 1.0. It has not fulfilled the purpose of a policy framework. Not only is it silent on the question of an inclusive and accountable e-governance system, but it also completely ignores the idea of gender equality.
- Department of Electronics and Information Technology (2012), National Policy on Information Technology, http://deity.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/National_20IT_20Policyt%20_20%281%29.pdf, Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- Drafted in 2011, the Bill seeks to provide a legal framework to promote “efficient electronic delivery of government services” by mandating the digitalization of all public services, except those that cannot be digitalized, within 5 years of its enactment. Its blanket approach to digitalization and inadequate attention to the fine print of ensuring citizen accessibility in the transition to e-services, has been critiqued by civil society. At present, the debate on the Bill is in a limbo in Parliament.