Information Communication Technology, Governance and Service Delivery in India: A Critical Review

Abstract

This article, mainly reviews the experiences of egovemance reforms in improving the quality of governance and service delivery in India. The first section deals with the conceptual framework of e-governance. The second section focuses on e-governance initiatives in .India. The third section reviews the implications of e-governance on service delivery in terms of efficiency, accountability, participation and equity on the basis of the secondary resources. The fourth section deals with the enabling conditions in promoting e-govemance in India. Finally, it comes out with the policy perspectives. I E-GOVERNANCE: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Electronic governanee or e-governance has been defined in a variety of ways. E-governance is about a process of reform in the way governments work, share information, and deliver services to internal and external clients. E-governance refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), such as the Internet, wide area networks, mobile phones, etc. to deliver services to citizens that have the ability to transform relations with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. Christopher Baum defines e-government as the "transformation of public sector's internal and external relationship through net enabled operations, information technology and communications to optimise government service delivery, constituency participation and governance." 1 E-governance is defined as the application 2 Michel Backus, "E-govemance and Developing Countries; Introductions and Examples."

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