Did You Know? Another SEO hookup!

Well guys I read that .edu and .gov baclinks are really a step ahead in promoting your SEO..…………Like any religion even SEO has its myths!!!

SO I THOUGHT LETS HARP ON THE SECTOR THAT IS BOOMING THESE DAYS, E-GOVERNANCE.  (will find the time to put in an educational site in my next blog!!!!)

WHAT IS e-GOVERNANCE?

e-Governance is the application of information & communication technology( ICT) to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational and transactional exchanges within government, between government and government agencies of National, State, Municipal and Local Levels, citizen and businesses, and to empower citizens through access and use of information.

A far more comprehensive definition of e-Government proposes changes in government in two related aspects:

1. transformation of the business of governance, that is, reducing costs, improving service delivery and renewing processes.
2. re-examination of the functions and processes of democracy itself.

Most of the governments are keen on changing the way they function, and find it imperative to adopt a market or customer focused approach in their governance.

e-GOVERNANCE IN INDIA

The concept of e-Governance has it origins in India during the seventies with a focus on development of in-house government applications in the areas of defense, economic monitoring, planning and the deployment of IT to manage data intensive functions related to elections, census, tax administration etc.

From the early nineties, IT technologies were supplemented by ICT( Information and Communications Technology) to extend its use for wider sectoral applications with policy emphasis on reaching out to rural areas and taking in greater inputs from NGOs and private sector as well.

Recommendation of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) on e-Governance in India:

1. The present e-Governance efforts are primarily based on computerizing age-old process left behind by British Raj and compounded by a plethora of new layers and silos by Indian bureaucracy, each working within departmental boundaries and pet-priorities. As a result we are computerizing cumbersome processes and hence not commensurately benefiting from it.

NKC feels that there is now a unique opportunity in the history

of India to leave behind the British Raj and re-engineer and modernize

government processes to build a new India of the 21^st century.

1. To make an immediate impact on the citizens it is critical to identify and

simplify important processes and services, say 10 to 20 to begin with. The processes can be simplified and made available as web-based services.

1. Establishment of uniform e-Governance standards over all states and central

ministries and functions.

1. A great deal of work has already been done in various central ministries and

in State Governments. The key is to learn from these and design best practices that are affordable and applicable nationwide to ensure ease of use and interoperability.

1. It is important to provide secure broadband infrastructure and associated

hardware, software and hosting facilities nationwide with easy access at all levels.

1. To enforce standards and to keep the governance uniformly responsive and

transparent, it is recommended that the State Governments use templates created by the Central Government to offer localized data and services in the Indian Languages. In this model, the private sector can invest in creation of access – infrastructure and building relevant business models for user-collection and its showing across all stakeholders.

1. Because of the enormous size and scope of the e-Governance efforts in India

because of the availability of globally recognized software talent of Indians, we must actively encourage open source software implementation and open standards wherever possible.

1. Each State and major Central Government departments must create an

empowered Chief Information Technology Officer, with relevant expertise and skills in the domain subject and IT usage.

1. As government plans to spend hundreds of crores on Bharat Nirman, Rural

Guarantee Scheme, and urban development initiatives, it is recommended that we mandate each of these programs begin with well engineered e-Governance implementation and web-interface.

1. For national e-Governance to succeed, it is critical to create an appropriate

Central Organization with structures, that can operate in a mission mode, with full autonomy and accountability.

The National e-Governance Plan( NeGP) has been formulated by the Department of Information Technology( DIT) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances( DAR&PG). The Union Government approved the National e-Governance Plan, comprising of 27 Mission Mode Projects( MMPs) and 10 components on May 18, 2006.

Challenges before e-Governance in India

1. Lack of IT literacy and awareness regarding benefits of e-Governence.
2. Underutilization of existing ICT infrastructure.
3. Attitude of Government Departments.
4. Lack of co-ordination between Government Departments and Solution developers.
5. Resistance to re-engineering of departmental processes.
6. Lack of infrastructure for sustaining e-Governance projects on national level.

Solutions to the Challenges before e-Governance

1. e-Governance framework across the nation with enough bandwidth to service a population of one billion.
2. Connectivity framework for making the services reach rural areas of the country or development of alternative means of services such as e-Governance kiosks in regional languages.
3. National Citizen database which is the primary unit of data for all governance vertical and horizontal applications the State and Central governments.
4. e-Governance and interoperatibility standards for the exchange of secure information with non-repudiation, across the state and central government departments seamlessly.
5. A secure delivery framework by means of virtual private network connecting across the state and central governments departments.
6. Datacenters in centre and states to handle the departmental workflow automation, collaboration, interaction, exchange of information within authentication.
7. Create literacy and commitment to e-Governance at high level.

e-Governance is a journey and not a destination. The focus of UGi e-GOV is to understand the e-Government not only in terms of technical or analytical dimensions but also in terms of behavioral and organizational dimensions.

Organizational Issues for Change

1. No clear understanding of the scope of the project
2. Fear of the unknown
3. Reluctance to make the effort involved
4. Upsetting a well established routine
5. Fear of failure
6. Lack of confidence
7. Lack of proper communication
8. Fear of worse consequences after the change

UGi e-GOV is involved in the development of simple software solutions for complex government processes. Its objective is re-inventing and re-modelling the Government sector and making it a SMART GOVERNMENT in the real sense. UGi e-GOV is developing solutions in all categories:

1. Government to Citizens( G2C)
2. Government to Business( G2B)
3. Government to Government( G2G)

Some of the endeavors of UGi e-GOV are as follows:

1. Enterprise solution for Finance Office of Educational Institutions. This solution is successfully working at the Finance Office of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), one of the renowned Central University of India. The following modules are there:

Put the name of the modules as given in the proposal of R.C Office

1. 2. e-OFFICE – ERP solution for all government offices (one of the 27 Mission Mode Projects of National e-Governance Plan). This solution is under development and has the following modules:

Put the names of the modules

The objective of e-OFFICE is to make paperless office and speed-up the official processes.

1. 3. e-SANJEEVANI – Complete enterprise solution for Government hospitals. The solution is under development stage and has the following modules:

put the names of the modules

1. 4. Disaster Management Information System (DMIS) – DMIS will bring a complete revolution in the management, capacity building, mobilization and response of the Disaster Management Departments of the State Governments. The product has the following modules:

a) Master Database

b) Vulnerability Assessment and Reporting

c) Capacity Building and Training

d) Fund Management System

e) Flood Management System

f) Cyclone Management System

Tsunami Management System

g) Drought Management System

h) Chemical Disaster Management

i) Internal Communication

Links with Central Govts and Scientific Institutions etc.

UGi e-GOV RESOURCES

UGi e-GOV RESOURCES is the consulting and research arm of UGi e-GOV. Its objectives comprised identifying applications for developing ‘Proof-of-Concept’ prototypes, and disseminating knowledge and skills for successful implementation of e-governance solutions. The focus is on knowledge dissemination activities and developing its resources as a knowledge resource on e-Governance in India. It is powered by best ICT administrative experts. The UGi e-GOV RESOURCES is conducting research for development of solutions in the following sectors of governance:

1. 1. General Administration
2. 2. Government Accounts and Finance
3. 3. Urban-Local Governance
4. 4. Taxation & Revenue
5. 5. Education
6. 6. Healthcare
7. 7. Fund Management
8. 8. Rural Change
9. 9. Disaster Management
10. 10. Language Computing

The on-going extensive research is going on are as follows:

1. 1. Research on development of solution on Examination Reforms and Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE).
2. 2. Research on development of solutions for the State Governments of India regarding the complete management solution for Goods and Services Tax( GST) which is proposed to be implemented on April, 2010.
3. 3. Development of Language Computing solutions. This research is going on with global perspective mainly focusing on the Asian and African languages.
4. 4. Development of finance solutions for Government Departments and Organization which are transforming from single entry to double entry system. The focus of this research is also to evaluate and analyze the existing software solutions and develop more improvised versions.