E Governance and Digital Governance UPSC Notes

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Praja Foundation Case study

One of the major achievements in the e-governance prospectus was the BMC complaint monitoring system, which Praja Foundation has regularly started publishing as a white paper and annual report through a centralised complaint registration system. These reports track the citizen grievance timeline for solution-wise or domain-wise performance in the core domains:

• solid waste
• civils
• drainage
• footpath
• pest control
• street lighting

This resulted in public awareness and complaints. Earlier the focus was on administrative closure. Only now has the focus shifted to citizen grievance. Recently they have opened a civic dashboard and now integrated with the government for real-time progress and tracking.

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IBF Report 2022, Digital Revolution 2030

IBF Report stands for Indian Brand Equity Foundation Report. This report highlighted that there are critical drivers for the Indian digital revolution as India has become the world's second-fastest-growing digital economy. The key drivers towards the rapid rise in India's digital ecosystem include

Growing internet penetration

India has the lowest cost per GB of data consumption globally, at an average of ₹50 per GB. India also has the highest data consumption in the world, with average per-user consumption of 13.1 GB. It is to be noted that according to the World Bank, the country's internet penetration a few years back was only 43%. India's internet user base has grown by 530 million in the last 3 years. It was 830 million by 2022. `

Demographic dividend

India has one of the youngest populations globally, with an average age of 29. More than 68% of Indians are below the age of 40, out of which 70% use the internet. India's middle class is expected to comprise a billion people by 2030, that is, 70% of India's population.

A young population is always an asset for the future not a liability.

Increasing smartphone penetration

According to the study conducted by Deloitte, India is expected to have 1 billion phone users by 2026. India currently has some 50 billion phone users and the country is expected to be the largest manufacturer in the next 5 years.

Robust IT sector

India's IT sector is expected to grow at twice the rate of the economy. That is 15.5% of the economy. The IT sector alone has added 4.5 lakh fresh jobs in 2021-22. This is significantly pushing the digital revolution.

Drive to provide quality internet

The Government of India has made various investments to provide quality internet. These investments include BharatNet fibre and investment in 5G and 6G. We have already launched the 5G ecosystem and it is expected to contribute $ 4.50 billion in the next 15 years.

Reform in digital payment

The Indian government plans to reform the digital ecosystem further. The government has pushed UPI to be made available on feature phones to serve rural India. NPCI International Payment Limited has extended UPI to a global scale, with various nations like the UAE and Nepal, and expanded their UPI ecosystem. Even now Russia has shown interest. This would boost Indian digital transformation and benefit the country or go globally. In the Union Budget India has also expressed their desire for a digital rupee, which is also a further plan for the future.

Push towards data centre

To further assess India's digital revolution, the Indian government has announced the data push for building infrastructure for enlarging their data centre capacity and handling sovereign data. This would increase data centre capacity to 2.13 GW. Currently we are expecting 8 GW by 2030.

ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce)

ONDC is a freely accessible government-backed platform that aims to democratise the e-commerce industry by moving it from a platform-centric model to an open network for the buying and selling of goods and services.

It aims to enable consumers to buy products from all participating e-commerce platforms through a single platform. It is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

A platform-based model that creates value by facilitating exchanges between two or more interdependent groups, usually buyer and seller. Buyer and seller both have to be on the same platform for transactions that happen through the same platform.

How is ONDC different?

ONDC is trying to replicate a UPI movement in the field of e-commerce. It is an initiative where a buyer registered on one e-commerce platform (for example, Amazon or Flipkart) can make a purchase of goods from another seller on another platform. The open network expands beyond retail to any digital commerce domain, ensuring a level playing field and even a win for local MSMEs.

The potential issue is getting a number of e-commerce platforms to sign up. That is the biggest issue.

Citizen Charter

A Citizen Charter is a voluntary and written document that spells out the service provider's effort to focus on their commitment towards fulfilling the needs of citizens. It focuses upon how citizens can redress their grievances, what they can expect from the toll-free number, and which route to take.

It focuses upon preserving the trust: how citizens can address grievances, what they can expect, and which road to take. In short the concept of a citizen charter preserves the trust between the service providers and citizens and the users.

The concept of a citizen charter was initiated by former British Prime Minister John Major in the year 1991. It was started as a national programme intended to improve the quality of service in the year 1998 in the United Kingdom. This concept was renamed as "services first."

After the adoption by the United Kingdom, several other countries adopted different charters under different names and forms. The basic idea was the same, however: to enhance the quality of service offered to the public and accountability in service. The Labour government, lately in Britain, took serious intervention to reform service and implement this wholeheartedly.

Citizen Charter in India

In India the concept of a citizen charter was adopted at a conference of CMs of various states and union territories held in May 1997 in the national capital. A major outcome of this conference was the decision to formulate a citizen charter by the centre and state governments, beginning with sectors like railways, public distribution system, etc.

The charter was mandated to include the time that people can accept to serve, a mechanism for redressal of grievances, and a provision for unbiased scrutiny by a citizen group and a customer group. The task of coordination was given to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.

It mandated that all stakeholders are involved as citizens. Although they have a United Kingdom model, they have one additional component: the inclusion of an expectation from the client.

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances has listed more than 500 citizen charters adopted by different government agencies. However the citizen charter is not legally enforceable. They are just guidelines to enhance service delivery. In 2011 the Citizen Charter Bill was introduced but it lapsed in 2014.

Principles of a Citizen Charter

• Quality
  • It improves service quality.
• Choice
  • It provides choice wherever possible.
• Standard
  • Specifically mention what to expect and how to go about it if standards are not met.
• Value for taxpayers' money
• Accountability at the level of the individual and organisation
• Transparency in fundamental rules and procedures

Objective of Citizen Charter

• Quality of public services
• Provide time-bound target deliveries.
• Save time of both customer and service provider.
• Ensure transparency to the services.

Utility of citizen charter

• It boosts accountability.
• Good governance.
• Augment quality of service.
• Professional approach is established.
• Moral of the staff will be boost.

What is a good citizen charter?

• A good citizen charter should include a mission statement and the work of the organisation.
• A good citizen charter should explain who the citizens are and who the service provider is.
• A good citizen charter should contain:
  • a statement of service quality
  • the time in which service delivery should be given
  • a grievance redressal mechanism
  • a commitment, like the amount of compensation in case of service delivery failure
• It must be in simple language.
• It should be periodically reviewed.
• Consistency in performance and service delivery standards

Challenges

• People think it is just a formality document and it can be an overburdened government department.
• Kept only as a draft because the staff has improper training to implement the service standard.
• Not legally enforceable.
• Unilaterally drafted
• No opinion is taken into account.
• Lack of infrastructure as meeting the standard would require infrastructure.
• Already there in pendency of cases, as a result, expectation to fulfil the promises is a challenge.
• Not periodically revise
• Sometimes excessive and complicated rules are made.
• Lack of public awareness
• Willingness to change is another major issue.

Second ARC recommendation

• The charter should specifically mention a remedy or compensation in case of any faults in meeting the standard mentioned in the charter.
• The charter should restrict a few promises and ensure that promises can be kept rather than having a long unfulfilled list.
• Scalar jumping and restructuring should not be allowed.
• No uniform charter duties. One size fits all is not advised. Instead specialized should be made.
• Every stakeholder must sit and then draft the charter according to the requirement.
• The officer should be held accountable if commitments are not fulfilled. It should be revised regularly.
• Charter should follow an integrated approach.

Integrated Approach/ Sevottam Model

This model is a unique model recommended by ARC to achieve excellence in public service delivery and an integrated approach is required. There are three components to it.

• Citizen Charter, that is, opening a channel for citizen input to determine service delivery components, declaring the information to citizens, and entitlements of government, ensuring they are better informed and empowered.
• Public grievance system that is, a well-operating grievance redressal system for ensuring customer satisfaction with complaint response.
• Managing the key ingredients for good service delivery, building on existing capacity for better performance and future.

There are four broad bases in which the Sevottam model can be beneficial.

• As a self-tool for assessment by an organisation already motivated to improve service delivery.
• As a requirement standard.
• As a benchmark assessment process to be established.
• As a rating model to reward and recognise organisations that are doing work in service delivery.

Madhya Pradesh became the first state in India to enact the Service Guarantee Act and Bihar is the second state in 2011.

Recommendation on Citizen Charter by IIPA

IIPA has recommended the following things:

• Need for citizens' charter to be consulted at every stage.
• Orientation of staff about the silent features, goals, and objectives of the charter.
• Need for creation of a database on consumer grievance redressal.
• Need for wider publicity of charter.
• Earmarking of specific budget for awareness campaign and generation.
• Replication of best practises in the field.

These recommendations are more generalised. Same. However for answer writing, reference can be made from both.

Pressure Groups

Pressure group is a group of people who are organised actively for promoting and defending their common interests. It is called so as it attempts to bring change in policy-making by exerting pressure on the government. It acts as a mediator between the government and its members.

Pressure groups are also called interest groups or vested groups. They are different from political parties. Neither do they try to contest the election nor do they try to capture political power. They are concerned with specific programmes and issues and their activities are confined to the protection and interest of their members by influencing the government.

The pressure group influences the policy-making and policy implementation through legal legitimate techniques like electioneering, lobbying, and propagandising. Pressure groups exercise their power in India through democratic vision and rights given to the citizens.

Our democracy rests on the principle of D4 and these pressure groups integrate the concept of checks and balances to pursue the agenda, which is beneficial either for their goal or for the public.

Techniques used by pressure groups

Electioneering

Electioneering refers to activity undertaken by an organisation or group to influence the government. The activities electoral engineering promotes a particular candidate, making him the face of the organisation/movement through various rallies, a convincing door-to-door campaign, public appeal, etc. This leader must have charismatic charm, therefore movement, big or small, is effectively anticipated on his leadership.

Lobbying

Lobbying is the phenomenon of the efforts of individuals to influence government decisions in policymaking. This can be done right from the grassroots level to the higher level, both internally as well as externally, which means finding the right face, the right man, and the right people to influence the particular agenda.

Internal lobbying means finding a close ally or aide of the decision maker, attributing, and getting support from him by establishing a common understanding.

External lobbying means getting the support of noble and right people who are highly influenced, which adds weight to the particular agenda.

Propagandising

This is the technique which is used to influence people's perception of government. Thereby they gain indirect control over the government since the government, in a democracy, is substantially affected by public opinion and ultimately India is a democracy. These perceptions make the government bow down to their demands and perceptions.

Types of Pressure Groups

• Institutional interest groups
  • These groups are formally organised and consist of professionally employed persons. They are part of the government machinery.
  • Example: IAS Association, IPS Association, State Civil Services Association, etc.
• Associational interest group
  • These are organised specialised groups formed for interest articulation but to pursue a limited goal. These include trade unions, organisations of businesses and industrialists, and civic groups.
  • Some examples of associational interest groups in India are:
    • Bangalore Chambers of Commerce and Industry
    • Indian Chambers of Commerce
    • Trade unions such as AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress)
    • Teachers' Association
    • Student associations such as National Student Union of India (NSUI), etc.
• Anomic interest group
  • By anomie pressure groups we mean, more or less, a spontaneous breakthrough into the political system from society, such as riots, demonstrations, assassination, and the like.
• Non-associational interest groups
  • These are the kinship and linkages group, and ethnic, regional status, and class groups that articulate interest on the basis of individual, family, and religious heads. These groups have an informal structure. These include caste groups, language groups, etc.

Function, role, and importance of pressure groups

• They are agents of political socialization and mobilization.
• They play a vital role in the legislative process.
• They form public opinion.
• They keep a check on government policy and the quality of governance.
• Facilitate social progress.
• They increase awareness.
• Improved accountability
• It reinforces the commitment to democratic values.

Challenges of pressure groups

• Narrow selfish interest
  • It is sometimes seen that their vision and wisdom may not align with popular perception and vision for people in general. However, they enjoy ending up influencing the people, and they continue their vengeful agenda, which may not align with popular ideology and interest.
• Misuse of power
  • It is often seen that pressure groups, with regard to different techniques and methods, have bargaining power. They sometimes misuse this power for their personal gains and benefit.
• Instability
  • In a democratic setup, there is a balance between the institutions. This balance often gets upset, creating problems and institutional mismanagement, conflict of interest, and a prevalent scene in the institution, which is no less than a deadlock in governance.
• Propagating extremism
  • In the methods of pursuit of their goals, it is sometimes seen that extremist measures, violent tendency, and propensity are highlighted, creating law and order problems and challenges to administration. These special groups, through their vengeful agenda, pursue a threat to national security.
• Political activism
  • They are the front runners of political parties acting on the vest of these institutions.

Way forward

There are reforms required in the way pressure groups are functioning. Although the pressure groups aim to improve transparency and accountability, they suffer a lot from structural non-vanities, which need to be rectified.

• Transparency and accountability
  • It requires that pressure groups must be governed under a transparent framework. Their funding must be regulated. Donation and membership fees must be regulated in order to reduce the influence of money and western interest.
• Lobbying register
  • Communication is the biggest forum of dialogue. Lobbying registries are official databases maintained by the government and parliamentary body, both to track individuals and organisations attempting to influence people's policy. It focuses upon who they are, who they represent, who they contact, what they want, etc.
• Strong oversight and institutional check
  • Strict norms and places of power and outside bodies must be established to keep a check on their eventual agenda, if any, and to check attempts at radicalization, use, and misuse of democratic means.
• A forum of dialogues
  • A social media platform enhancing democratic participation and engagement with government officials should be done in a very transparent manner.
• Regulatory framework can be implemented
  • Compulsory post facto audit social impact and associated auditing can be done and report must be publicly made available so that they may not pursue their vicious propagation, and the government should have a say.