Transparency and accountability are the key mantras of a
successful government. Today, India is moving towards m-governance after its
foray into e-governance. It's a well known that information and communication
technology (ICT) is very critical for processing, storing, organizing, and
presenting data and information. The new growth driver now is the mobile phone.
It has emerged as an effective tool for good governance in not only facilitating openness and transparency, but also in creating a flow of information between departments, institutions, and various layers of the government.
The reasons for the keen interest in governing through mobile
are not tough to guess. As the Indian telecom subscriber base reaches the
astounding figure of 500 mn, mobile phones have become the most accessible tool
of communication available to such a large population. Thus, making it the best
way for delivery of information at the citizens' doorsteps-that too in a
personalized way.
While e-governance is more effective in the European nations,
this is not the case in Asian countries, mainly because of high teledensity and
low PC penetration. This is especially true for India, where PC and Internet
usage is comparatively low as compared to mobile phones. The government realized
a long time back that mobile is no longer a tool meant only for information and
communication. Instead, it's a medium for empowering the citizens and a powerful
enabler of good governance.
M-governance can be defined as a 'strategy and its
implementation involves the utilization of all kinds of wireless and mobile
technologies, services, applications, and devices. It improves upon the benefits
for those involved in e-governance, including citizens, businesses, and all
government units'.
Worldwide e-government programs, till date, have established
user-friendly approaches to access the enormous amount of content that is now
available for citizens on an online mode. E-government has done the groundwork
for m-government in terms of the fundamental taxonomies.
Equitable Development
On the one hand, m-governance programs have increased the efficiency of
governments and on the other they have bridged the difference between the masses
and the classes. So, how and what has led m-governance to become the method
above the stereotypical government management system? Why is it fast grasping
the minds of administrators?
Divyam Srivastava, special secretary, IT and
electronics,Government of Uttar Pradesh says, "During the past ten years, we
have witnessed how mobile phones and simple functions of voice and text
messaging can empower citizens and effect the way citizens interact with each
other and with the society as a whole."
The last decade has seen a phenomenal growth in the
subscriber base. We have crossed the 500 mn mark with respect to telephone users
and adding nearly 12 mn users every month. In the developing nations like India,
inarguably, it is the best form of communication application. Managing and
buying PCs and laptops is still too expensive for our masses.
Says Anoop Kumar Srivastava, principal secretary, IT,
Government of Meghalaya, "There are still areas in our country where even
newspapers do not have a reach, while the mobile technology is becoming all
pervasive. Moreover, any information sent through mobile is directed to each
individual and appears to be giving a personal touch."
Agrees Ajay Kumar, principal secretary and director, IT,
Government of Kerala, ""M-governance is an amazing technology as it offers
government services on-the-go to its citizens. It extends services from office
premises and regular office hours to an anywhere anytime mode."
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The fact that citizens are already using a mobile phone on a Ajay Kumar, principal secretary and director, IT, |
The growing mobile market of India means the government can Dr A Jayathialak, executive director, rural water |
M-Governance is the easiest and the quickest form of Divyam Srivastava, special secretary, IT & |
The scope of m-governance is tremendous which can bring Anoop Kumar Srivastava, Principal Secretary, IT, |
Growth Drivers
In India m-governance is still at a nascent stage. While many innovative
applications are underway in both private sector as well as government domains,
it may be a little premature to celebrate its success. However, embracing the
possibilities and opportunities that this technology provides will only lead to
an effective and cost-efficient way of exploiting the same.
SR Rao, additional secretary, IT, Government of India, says,
"One of the biggest driver for m-governance is its outreach. One can, now
potentially enhance the outreach to millions of citizens simultaneously at the
touch of a button."
Dr A Jayathialak, executive director, rural water supply and
sanitation project, Kerala, who pioneered innovative projects like Dr SMS
agrees, "Mobile phones travel with citizens, and people have an instant access
to services and information through them while on the move."
When designing m-governance applications, another important
aspect of the architectural framework is to understand and capture the existing
knowledge about processes and workflows. Next step is to map the solutions that
can be translated into applications. Too often a mobile 'solution' is designed
for a problem that never existed in the first place, and there are too many
solutions that are looking for problems. Applications should be developed having
the end users' point of view.
Another factor that has immensely contributed to the upsurge
in m-governance is that the initial investment in acquiring a mobile is less as
compared to PCs and laptops. Other than this, mobile phones make it possible for
real-time, two-way dialog as opposed to traditional modes of communication such
as radio, brochures, posters, public speeches, etc. Thus, making the
implementation and dialog process easy between subscribers and the government.
M-governance Initiatives by Bharti Airtel |
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D Srivastava comments, "Government ministries and agencies
related to m-governance application should be involved in the planning and
implementation phase. This will ultimately lead to a change in attitude towards
provision of services and transform their models of providing public information
to citizens."
Creating Awareness
Today, mobile devices are being used to disseminate a wide variety of
messages across a varied spectrum of services. Rao says, "In the delivery of
messages related to activation of a particular service or for a public awareness
campaign, m-governance can provide a speedy and cost-effective solution."
The idea is supported by Kumar who says, "Due to the high
levels of mobile phone penetration (like in Kerala where it is over 70%, source:
Trai), and the PC and mobile ratio at 1:4, informational and promotional
services intended to create awareness to a large number of citizens can be
pushed within no time."
Nivedan Sahani, VP, government and PSU enterprise services,
Bharti Airtel, says, "Mobile services have helped in developing citizen centric
services. It is acting as a catalyst in empowering the masses and creating
awareness at the grassroots."
BK Agarwal, principal secretary, IT, Government of Himachal
Pradesh has also unleashed a number of m-governance programs in the state
pertaining to driving license, arms license, and vehicle registrations on their
cellphones.
Transformational Initiatives
Someone has rightly claimed that no plan is a good plan until it is followed
by action. M-governance has come to be seen as a successful phenomenon with some
key deployments that have helped the government and the bureaucracy.
Bharti Airtel setup the telecom infrastructure linking 13,716
village panchayats and common service centers (CSCs) located in the remotest
corners of Gujarat to ensure high quality and cost-effective video, voice, and
data services in the areas of agriculture, e-governance, health, education, etc.
The connectivity will also facilitate point to point and point to multi-point
videoconferencing services, VoIP services and both intranet and Internet
services from these village panchayats and CSCs.
Kerala is poised for a huge success in m-governance as it
would be one of the first states in India to complete 100% literacy and 100%
financial inclusion. It is heading towards 100% e-literacy and 100% teledensity
too. The state has used this advantage to its fullest by deploying various
services on mobiles.
In Uttar Pradesh, m-governance initiatives are at a nascent
stage. A few companies and banks are using messaging services to communicate
with both employees and consumers. In a few citizen-centric services, an IVRS
interface is being added in G2C services at the state level.
In Meghalaya, efforts are being taken to integrate the
services that are being provided in the CSCs in a manner that is deliverable
through mobile phones as well.
Limitations to Overcome
To facilitate the deployment of m-governance services at the doorsteps of
citizens, it is essential to critically examine the challenges that have
traditionally being the 'entry barriers'.
Rao examines, "Some of the challenges in m-governance include
low levels of literacy, lack of knowledge of English language, computer
illiteracy, cost of computing, and inadequate power supply."
Even though in India the cost of mobile devices as well as
cost of calls are perhaps the lowest in the world, in order to effectively
deliver government services on mobile devices, a lot more simple text messages
are required. For example, if a person has to put details in a form, etc, he/she
cannot do so as such facilities are not available in the current devices.
Therefore, the immediate option is to look at mobile devices that combine
computing with mobility and are affordable. Another challenge is to develop
applications that can be offered in local languages.
AK Srivastava says, "The main challenges of m-governance are
typically the same as those of e-governance, such as low levels of
computerization of government operations at the back-end, lack of digitized data
or content, change management, etc."
Another set of hurdles that is obstructing better governance
is, as Jayathialk says, "A lack of clear cut agenda about: who should pay for
these services? Who should produce and update content? Can this also be done by
ordinary citizens? These factors are hampering m-governance. Generally, people
tend to be consumers of available services and applications, rather than provide
and create content themselves."
Prospects
Mobile and wireless network tech-nologies are now the main channels of
communication for hundreds and mil-lions of users worldwide. Agendas for better
performance of local authori-ties should prioritize the creation of mobile
extensions to well-established programs of e-government. D Srivas-tava says,
"Sustained enhancements to the functionality of mobile devices and the growing
deployment of wire-less broadband networks is a major factor in expanding the
scope of m-government." The pursuit of seamless interoperability across the
range of mobile and wireless network systems is a priority across the industry.
For commercial service providers, it prom-ises high-speed broadband downloads of
data-heavy audio-visual content. In m-government, seamless broadband
interoperability will allow marked enrichment of online resources and heightened
levels of user interaction. Given the extent of global interest in utilizing
mobile and wireless technolo-gies for local government, the business
opportunities that arise in the markets for devices, systems hardware and
software, and outsourced services, and staffing are considerable.Jayathilak
observes, "The use of mobile technology in the government sector not only
provides an alternative channel of communication and public service delivery,
but more importantly, it can transcend the traditional gov-ernment service
delivery model." The road ahead for m-governance is a challenging one, but it
has a sure shot opportunity to enhance delivery of government services. M-Gover-nance
will surely steer the govern-ment to a 'service oriented' mindset and make it
more agile, responsive, accountable, and action-oriented.
Archana Singh
archanasi@cybermedia.co.in