LIMITATIONS OF E-GOVERNANCE

Shivangi Yadav1 , Dr. Pooja Rastogi2

1
Student of Institute of Management Studies, University Courses Campus, Ghaziabad
2
Assistant Professor Institute of Management Studies, University Courses Campus, Ghaziabad
ABSTRACT
E-Governance a step towards Digital India.The introduction of E-Governance is considered to be a necessity in
a country like “Developing India” that is expected to face some challenges while its implementation.The focus
of the paper would lie upon the types of government interaction in E-Governance, recent initiatives undertaken
by the government, challenges to be faced, and the basic reasons to introduce E-Governance in India.This paper
discusses various challenges that are to be faced by the government in order to smoothly implement it through
the veins of the country in terms of Cost, Demography, Psychological factors, Resistance to change and
Political environments.
The research is Exploratory in nature. It uses primary data collected with the help of online questionnaire for a
sample of 500, Convenience method is used. Conclusion, recommendations and future work are stated at the
end that would promote useful insight in implementation of E-Governance.
Keywords: E-Governance, Implementation, Challenges, Developing India.

I. INTRODUCTION
E-Governance is a stepping stone to a more civilized and organized nation. The use of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) are acting as the backbone for the implementation of E-Governance. E-
governance is expected to play a significant role in reducing red-tapism and give way for a better bureaucracy in
India, with a promise to reduce corruption and bring transparency. India is a country with a population of 1.2
billion people, where it becomes challenging to uproot corruption from the roots of the country; so E-
Governance will help to keep a check on it.
According to a report by the World Bank, “India is not a developing, but a „Lower-Middle-Income‟ economy.”
This paper will identify the factors that are obstructing India to become a developed nation and are also acting as
a hindrance in the implementation of E-Governance. These factors are Literacy Rate in India, Demographic
factors of the population, Inequalities of income of the population, Psychological factors, Corruption and
Resistance to accept changes in the economy. After the identification of these challenges, this paper also
discusses the important steps that can be taken to implement these changes throughout the country without much
delay and inconvenience to the citizens of the country.

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II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Prior studies have identified many benefits and challenges of E-governance in developing India. The past
studies done are on the meaning of E-governance, advantages and disadvantages along with the opportunities
and challenges that it arises.
[Brown and Brudney (2001, p.1)] define e-governance as the use of technology, especially web-based
applications to enhance access to and efficiently deliver government information and services. [UN & ASPA
(2002, p.1)] defines E-governance as “utilizing the internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government
information and services to citizens. Information and communications technologies (ICTs) were recognized to
have tremendous administrative “potential”(for a discussion of limitations and failures of ICT in helping
government in information and service delivery).
[Heeks, 1999 a & Heeks, 2001a]
[Bozeman & Bretschneider(1986)] wrote a seminal article in the Public Administration Review , in which they
argued that technology is transforming the government and more academics attention should be given to that
area.
One had to wait for the wide spread use of internet and web for the emergence of a full-fledged E-government
concept. Since technology and environment were perceive to be the two basic sources of uncertainty that
challenge rationality in organizational decision making [Thompson, (1967, p.1)]. In addition, since information
technology (IT) was used for the automation of backroom operations and improvement of the efficiency of
clerical activities (Zuboff, 1988), government IT professionals were isolated from functional and executive
oversight (Holden, 2003 p.56). [Perrow (1967)] differed as he argued that technology is an important
determinant of the structure and the strategy of the organization that use it.
III. TYPES OF GOVERNMENT INTERACTION IN E-GOVERNANCE
3.1 GOVERNMENT TO CITIZEN (G2C)
3.1.1 Computerization of land records: In collaboration with NIC. Ensuring that land owners get
computerized copies of ownership, crop and tenancy and updated copies of Records of Rights (RORs)
on demand.
3.1.2 Bhoomi Project: Online delivery of Land Records. Self-sustainable E-governance project for the
computerized delivery of 20 million rural land records to6.7 million famers through 177 government
owned kiosks in the State of Karnataka.
3.1.3 Gyandoot Project: It was initiated in Madhya Pradesh with twin objective of providing relevant
information to the rural population and acting as an interface between the district administration and
the people.
3.1.4 Lokvani Project:It is a public private partnership project initiated by UP Government, to provide
a single window, self-sustainable e- governance solution with regard to handling grievances, land
record maintenance and providing a mixture of essential services.

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 3.1.5 FRIENDS Project:Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for the Disbursement of services, is a
project undertaken by Kerala government. It is a single window facility providing citizens the means
to pay taxes and other financial dues.
3.1.6 E-Mitra (Rajasthan): It is anintegrated project to facilitate the urban and rural masses with
maximum possible services related to different state government departments through Lokmitra -
Janmitra centers.
3.1.7 E – Seva(Andhra Pradesh): This project works on delivering services online to customers by
connecting them to the respective government departments and providing online information at the
point of service delivery.
3.1.8 Common Entrance Test (CET): With the rapid growth in the demand as well as supply of
professional education, the process of admission to these institutions became a major challenge in the
early 1990‟s. The government decided to conduct a common entrance test based on which admission to
different colleges and disciplined was made.

3.2 GOVERNMENT TO BUSINESS (G2B)

3.2.1 E-Procurement Project: To reduce the time and cost of doing business for both vendors and
government.
3.2.2 MCA 21: This project aims at providing easy and secure online access to all registry related
services provided by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to corporate and other stakeholders at
any time and in a manner that best suit them.

3.3 GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT (G2G)

3.3.1 Khajane (Karnataka): It is a comprehensive online treasury computerization report, initiated by the
Government of Karnataka. The report has resulted in the computerization of entire treasury related activities of
the State Government.
3.3.2 Smart Government (Andhra Pradesh): It has been developed to streamline operations, enhance
efficiency through workflow automation and knowledge management for implementation in Andhra Pradesh
secretariat.
IV. .INITIATIVES OF GOVERNMENT
The recent Government of India is working very carefully and with a full-fledged plan so that their no
much problem while converting this red taped economy into a digitalized one. The recent initiatives
undertaken by the Government are:-
4.1 Direct Cash transfer: To facilitate disbursements of government entitlements like NREGA, Social
security pension, handicapped Old Age Pension, etc. of any Central or State government bodies,
using Aadhaar and authentication thereof as supported by UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority
of India).
4.2 Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS): AEPS is a bank led model which allows online
interoperable financial inclusion transaction through business correspondent of any bank using the
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 Aadhaar Authentication. This has helped in financial inclusion. The four Aadhaar enabled basic
types of banking transactions are as follows:-
Balance enquiry
Cash deposit
Cash Withdrawal
Aadhaar to Aadhaar Fund Transfer
4.3 Digital India Program: This program had been envisaged by Department of Electronics and
Information Technology (DEITY). The vision of Digital India aims to transform the country into a
digitally empowered economy. The program will be implementing in phases from the current year
till 2008. It will also being in public accountability through mandated delivery of government‟s
services electronically, a unique ID and e-Pramaan based on authentic and standard based
interoperable and integrated government applications and data basis. The overall of this is, “to
prepare India for a knowledge future”, “to make technology central to enabling change”, and “to
become an umbrella program covering many departments”.
4.4 MyGov citizen portal: Prime Minister launched an online platform mygov.nic.in to engage citizens in
the task of “good governance”. It is a technology driven platform that would provide people with the
opportunity to contribute towards good governance.
4.5 E-Kranti Scheme: This project aims at linking the internet with remote village in the country. The
fundamental feature of this scheme will be making the records handy to the government with ease. It
will also boost the use of mobile phones and computers in rural areas. It will also expand the use of
IT in agriculture and retail trade too.

4.6 E-Biz: Its vision is to “transform the business environment in the country by providing efficient,
convenient, transparent and integrated electronic services to investors, industries and business throughout
the business life cycle”.
4.7 E-Courts: It aims to re-engineer processes and enhance judicial productivity both quantitatively and
qualitatively to make the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, cost effective, transparent and
accountable.
V. CHALLENGES
5.1 Lack of Literacy and Knowledge: Literacy in India is a key for social-economic progress, and the literacy
rate is currently 74.04%. This rate is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and of all nations,
India currently has the largest illiterate population. This literacy rate is the reason that acts as a challenging
task for the government to implement e-governance in the country.
5.2 It becomes very difficult to explain the technical things to someone who is illiterate in a layman‟s language.
Lack of knowledge is another problem that exists in the country. The ignorance that persists should be
abolished and awareness needs to spread among people in order to raise the level of knowledge and
increase the rate of literacy.

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5.3 Inequality of Income: Inequality of Income plays an important role in proving as a challenge of e-
governance. Out of the total population of India 21.9% are below poverty line and half of rural India is
under poverty line. This means that the people who spent less than Rs.27.2 per day in villages and
Rs.33.33 in urban areas were poor. India is the second most unequal country in the world with the top 1%
of the population owing nearly 60% of the total wealth. This imbalance of income will act as a major
challenge for the government because there is still a very large part of the whole population that cannot
even afford to spend money on satisfying their hunger;‟ then how can we expect them to go digital.
5.4 Corruption: Corruption is the root cause for the need of e-governance in India. High level of corrupt
practices in some public services in India, the staff will believe the newly implemented services would
help alleviate or even put an end to their illicit and bureaucratic conducts. The implementation of e-
governance will abolish the need for middlemen in government proceedings. The root of corruption in the
system will act as a major challenge for the government to tackle. No government officer would want to
finish the manual procedures as it is the way the act of bribery is carried on.
5.5 Resistance to Change: The Indian population is a bunch of diversified cultures and emotions that do not
always goes in the same direction. There are some scenarios where each and every part of the population
does agree to a single opinion. There are people in the country who will welcome the implementation of e-
governance, while on the other hand some would like to continue in the way the system had been working.
It is the human psychology that they do not want to accept change easily. So, this may play a part as a
hindrance while implementing e-governance.
5.6 Reliability of web: To build up trust on something that is virtual will come up as challenge. The
vulnerability to cyber crimes will raise the question of privacy issues in the mind of the public. There have
been incidents in the past where the data collected got completely lost because of the unpredictable
problems of the system. Such incidents can erode trust and user confidence in government systems.
5.7 Higher Investments: According to the data collected, India is spending about 3% of GDP to bring this
information of web-based system. India is not considered a very sound economy, where most of the
population is below poverty line. To introduce something that involves high cost is one of the prohibiting
factors that come across e-governance. Also, the fruit that this high investment cost will bear in future
seems far off.
5.8 Lack of matured technicians: India is working hard towards creating better technicians day by day. But
still, there is lack of matured technicians in the country who can advice the government on technical
grounds. Matured technicians will help the government to take a better decision while opting for most
efficient system for implementing e-governance. A good technician will not only help the government to
reduce the cost of installation, but will also be able to handle the technical problems easily.
5.9 Lack of qualified administrators: India is not a very tech-savvy country and so is the administration. So,
there is a lack of qualified administrators in the country, who are not very techno-friendly. The
government will have to work towards the training sessions, so that the day to day working of the
administration is not kept on hold.

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5.10 Connectivity to backward areas: A very large part of India is far away from the basic necessities of life.
Some parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orrisa, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and many parts of the eastern states echo an association with poverty, starvation and
deprivation. The connectivity of e-governance to these areas will be challenging task for the government.
5.11 Frequent changes in technology: The technology is the most dynamic field that keeps on changing every
minute. The e-governance is all best on technology, so it will be a challenge for the government to keep
pace with every changing technology. There may be chances of the system to fail, if the technology is not
updated. The government will have to keep a check on the upcoming trends, so that the system does not
get outdated.
5.12 Political affairs:Politics have now turned to a blame game instead of making good decisions for the
community. The opposition parties instead of supporting the decision of e-governance will always oppose
it for the purpose of showing the negative side of the ruling party.
5.13 Fear of meeting up the expectations: Though the government may try to give its best to the public, there
are chances that the government may not meet up the expectations of the public.

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
As new technologies will continue to develop at a rapid pace and we must be flexible enough by showing quick
response to the technology explosion. Here are some recommendations for the government for a better E-
future:-
6.1 Government should adopt various other effective projects and initiatives to eradicate ICT
illiteracy and emphasize on the need of digitalization.
6.2 An initiation towards setting up of number of computer centers and kiosks is needed and also
training to people by setting up IT training centers in various parts of cities and villages is
appreciated. This will help in building an information based society.
6.3 The government should launch various awareness programs, which will help people to know
the benefits of E-governance and will motivate them to accept the change.
6.4 Government should encourage technology rich countriesand companies to invest in the Indian
economy.
6.5 Infrastructure is a crucial part of any country‟s development. So, the government should work
on improving ICT infrastructure by providing Electricity and good Internet connection.
6.6 According to the study, illiteracy counts for the main reason for poor support towards E-
governance. Therefore, government needs to encourage education at all levels.
6.7 A strategic framework for implementation of E-governance. Lack of proper governance may
lead to disastrous results as was seen in the recent case of demonetization in India. The decision
of demonetization was praiseworthy, but the problem faced was because oflack of good
governance that led to a loss of life of so many people.
6.8 It is important for the government to create a trust factor among the citizens by being
consistent in taking feedback and undertaking corrective actions for the deviations.
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 6.9 Another important suggestion for the government is to hire highly professional technicians
who can easily curb any technical issue and keep the system updated.
6.10 A support from the other political parties is also required to infuse E-governance in the
system.

VII. FUTURE WORK

With the rapid explosion of internet technology in the world in the last few years there is need to think where we
will be and we want to be in the future. As future work, the researcher‟s next step involves conducting a large
scale survey which will explore E-government adoption barriers from the end users‟ perspective. Furthermore,
the researcher plans to investigate and conduct more studies on E-government initiative, E-government strategy
and E-governmentreadiness within the Indian context. To make the futurist vision work, there is a need for
collaboration among E-governance virtual communities.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The paper starts with the interaction of government with various other sectors of the society which includes
citizens, government and business. Theseinteractions talk about how the E-governanace is helping
citizens,businessmen and other state governments to connect directly to the public. The introduction of various
digitalised projects and schemes are proving to be beneficial to the public. After discussing the government
interactions, the paper counts on the initiatives of the government undertaken pre-implementation of full fledged
E-governanace. These initiatives by the government are helping the public to gradually accept the changes going
on around in the economy and mould themselves according to the need of the changing world. Later, the
challenges to the successful implementation of E-governanace are explored in the study. Most of the challenges
discussed in the paper go hand in glove, so an equal amount of importance needs to be paid to the challenges, so
that all the challenges can be easily overcome.
Since internet technology has evolved rapidly in the last few years, there is a need to think strategically about
where we want to be in the future. As new technologieswillcontinue to develop at a rapid pace and we must be
flexible enough by showing quick response to the technology expansion.
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