With the growth of information and communication technology, India has been quite successful in serving different parts of the country, especially in villages where people are mostly devoid of any significant development. In the past two decades, the Indian government took some major steps in improving their services towards the people. One such initiative is e-governance or electronic governance. It is the application of information and communication technology for delivering government services and to exchange information. Through e-governance, the government has tried to set up a strong connection with the citizens of India through a two-way communication process. The aim of the government is to make sure that the people are getting access to the services properly. The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) has been formulated by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
The digitization of India and e-learning has been a major step by the government to carry out e-governance. Almost 72% of the total population in India comprises of villages. The use of broadband has helped in connecting people across the country, especially from remote areas and led to faster dissemination of information. It is a convenient method of learning which has helped in connecting the management, teaching faculty and students easily at very low cost and has provided transparency in learning. Equal opportunity to use to information is also provided regardless of distance barriers. Thus e-governance is playing a vital role in rural development. Providing computer and internet facilities to every houses will help in further development and increase literacy rate by giving access to information and communication technology to everybody. The government also strives to provide better livelihood opportunities, providing basic amenities, development of healthcare facilities apart from educating people.
In the past two decades, the government has taken up many schemes to improve the standard of living in villages. Schemes like “Bharat Nirman” was developed to provide adequate water supply, housing facility, telecommunication and information technology, proper roads and electrification. In future, the government can promote sustainable development through e-governace by encouraging use of solar and wind and hydropower energy to produce electricity and using information and communication tools through them. This will save electricity and cut the high cost which in turn can be put to the development of the country. “Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna” is another step to improve the agricultural process and increase the yield. The e-governance provides services to stock owners and farmers by providing them information on crop selection, disaster management etc through centralized agricultural portal, kisan centres and mobiles. The project stresses on using information technology in all stages of agricultural development. E-governance in next few years will connect farmers globally and give them the exposure to international markets. The introduction of e-dhara project for total computerization of land records has been very successful. The government has also tried to establish a public-private partnership wherever feasible. Services like banking, ticket booking through IRCTC online, use of e-post office services, checking status of PAN application and online application of passport and visa has helped in fast transactions and promoted paperless documentation. Aadhaar authentication and e- KYC (Know You Customer) has made the verification process much easier and helped people immensely.
Our Prime Minister, Shree Narendra Modi believes in development of India using latest technologies and believes in the mantra of empowering India digitally. His project on digital India solely focuses on e-governance as a tool for development and education of the masses. To develop India, utilization of information and technology is necessary. To take his vision and mission further, Intel is committed to take forward the digital India mission and bridge the gap between rural and urban India.
This post is a part of Digital India contest by Indiblogger in association with Intel
