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Most of us at some point in time have faced the daunting task of dealing with the local Municipal office either to get hold of a birth or death certificate or any other official document. Long ques, red-tapism and corruption are the only things we all associate with government offices. But all that is set to change with new initiatives coming into Governance of countries in the form in Electronic Governance. E-Governance is the new mantra for governments across the globe and India is one of the countries where this trend seems to be catching on. Governments across the globe have realized the importance of I.T. in day-to-day functioning of governments. Government and its numerous agencies being the largest service providers in the country feel the need to make extensive use of I.T. for its major services both at national and local level. E-Governanace is one such crucial I.T. driven initiative that will allow the government to make information easily available, transparent and in an interactive form. E-Governance will help in eliminating duplication of work in various departments and will help improve exchange of information between them and hence improve overall efficiency of government services. The Ministry for Information and Technology, India defines E governance as application of Information technology to the process of government functioning to bring about SMART governance that is
Simple
Moral
Accountable
Responsive
Transparent Governance
Why E Governance and what can it do for us.
o E-governance helps governments move towards paperless organizations. No more bulky dusty files. Information can be made available at a click of a button thus making governments more responsive and accessible.
o It not only can help improving communication between Top-level leadership and local ministers but also help in improving their communication with local people by using tools like video conferencing. Using online grievance channel or complaint cell to reply to people's grievances.
o Easy dissemination of information to public and keeping people updated on government initiatives in all spheres of governance.
o More participation of common people in policymaking and governance.
o Providing economic and socio-demographic information and other useful information to businesses and acting as a catalyst of economic growth.
o Improving delivery systems for health care and education.