Professor Sadagopan’s Weblog

e-Governance in India has both positive and negative elements.

First the positive ones

• India has the largest number of “award winning” eGovernance projects (Bhoomi in Karnataka, Dhrishti in Rajasthan and e-Sewa in Andhra Pradesh, for example)
• Indian projects have seen many innovations
• There are projects like MCA21 (where half a million companies file their quarterly returns online), Courts computerization (judgements becoming available on the Net within 24 hours) etc.
• Under National e-Governance Project (NeGP) Government of India has committed more than Rs 20,000 Crores
• Under NeGP there is a proposal to set up 100,000 kiosks under Public Private Partnership

The negative ones

• There is more emphasis on spending money than on creating value
• The emphasis is on “e” (computerization) and NOT on governance
• Too many “pilots” (what Prof Keniston of MIT terms as “graveyard of failed projects”)

(Keynote address in e-Governance Conference, Dayanand Sagar Institutions, Bangalore, November 27, 2008)