Time is ripe for e-governance’


Speakers from the industry advocated the use of e-governance tools to ensure “good governance” at the summit on ‘E-governance and digitisation of government’, organised by the Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology, the industry body representing the interests of hardware manufacturers, in Bangalore on Thursday.

Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj traced the origin of application of IT in governance to the introduction of IT in the legal system in the mid-1980s.

Anurag Srivastava, Vice-President, Wipro Consulting Services, said the prevailing environment “is just right” because while the “motive for transformation is very high within the government, industry shows a willingness to change its business practices in order to address the needs of e-governance”. Mr. Srivastava said e-governance could be an “enabling tool for social inclusion and ensure actual benefits to people”.

S. Sadagopan, Founder Director, Indian Institute of Information Technology, said IT’s significance in the future would be “its invisibility in e-governance”. “Governance should be available everywhere in an unobtrusive way,” he said. “E-governance is not about adding more computers,” he added. He pointed out that India has the largest number of e-governance projects in the world.

M.N. Vidyashankar, Principal secretary, e-Governance Department, said the average annual spend by the Government in each district of the country was about Rs. 950 crore. E-governance practices would help in ensuring governments become “leaner, faster and more agile”.

S.R. Rao, Additional Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Government of India, said e-governance would promote “socio-economic inclusion, digital inclusion in a knowledge society and financial inclusion.”

Mr. Bhardwaj said he “is upset” about the incomplete flyovers, the poor road connectivity and traffic congestion in Bangalore.