• Citizens satisfaction score increases substantially over the previous year
• In most states (14) the satisfaction scores of businesses are even higher than that of citizens
• Close to 50% of the participating states have scored between 55 and 58
  (out of hundred) showing a more or less same pace of development
• Delhi, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the Top 5. Laggards:
  Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Gujarat, and Jharkhand, in that order
• Biggest gainers: Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, gaining by more than 25%. The reason being an increase in user satisfaction with the ease of interaction in government services

Kodai Ali Sengol Kudi Ombal Nangum Udaiyanam Vendharkku Oli (generous grants, compassion, righteous rule and succour to the downtrodden are the hallmarks of good governance), was exactly how the Finance Minister P Chidambaram began his recent Budget Speech stressing that these words will guide the UPA government usher in better governance in the country.

This is precisely what the e-governance juggernaut is trying to achieve in the country, says the recent Dataquest-IDC e-Gov Survey 2008. In addition to fostering better governance, it is also keeping alive the traditional Indian ethos of plurality and diversity amidst diverse sections of the society.

In the good old days of Doordarshan, many might remember with fondness Shyam Benegals Bharat Ek Khoj, one of the better programs in those days of electronic state monopoly. This televised version of Nehrus Discovery of India championed the theme of Indias plurality, and through various historical anecdotes established the age-old concept of unity in diversity.

In view of the recent shameful son of the soil campaign and its violent aftermath in Mumbai, the need to reinforce the concept of unity in diversity has assumed even more relevance. Unfortunately, there is a growing resistance amongst most constituencies and segments of society to accept this theme of diversity. While politicians have as usual been the biggest culprits (giving up on all promises about maintaining the countrys plurality at the first opportunity), it is a pleasant irony that its the new-age government administration, more popularly referred to as e-governance, that has proved to be a big draw in bringing about the ethos of unity in diversity.

Do smaller states help in providing better governance? No clear answers are emerging from this years survey. If having Delhi, Goa and Chhattisgarh topping the charts reinforces the claims of smaller states, having Haryana and Jharkhand in the bottom three is a dampener for small state advocates. And what happened to Gujarat? If better governance was Modis election trump card, a penultimate finish in the DQ-IDC e-Gov Survey 2008 comes as a rude shock

Despite the diversity that distinguishes each Indian state from the other, and also separates them, e-governance has, to a certain extent, erased the boundaries between them. It has also managed to create a healthy environment for delivering the most effective and beneficial services to citizens.

E-governance has created a scenario where every state that has started striving for administrative excellence. The fact is while a Tamil Nadu or a Karnataka might be leagues ahead, but even a Bihar or a Tripura has started aspiring to come of age in terms of giving their citizens a better administration.

An inherent competition between states is spurring them on to sing the most elaborate hosannas for further prosperity of e-governance initiatives. However, the euphoria should not lead us to the false notion that everything is a smooth bed of roses on the e-governance front. Even before we start talking about the results of the Dataquest-IDC Survey 2008, one thing which needs to be borne in mind is that there has been no dearth of e-governance initiatives from the states, yet there is a lot by way of consolidation that is still required, as we go forward.

While the total number of active e-governance projects has increased there is still lot of room to ensure that the benefits reach the intended users in the quickest possible way. The degree of innovation, ease of use of these services, the extent of deployment, and the quality of service that they are able to deliver will ultimately decide how fast one achieves the goal. The results this time show how constant and diligent effort is required to keep individuals as well as businesses satisfied with the progress of e-governance initiatives in their state.

While its true that spreading the fruits of technology has not been easy because India is a country inhabited by people coming from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds, it will not be wrong to say that we arrived late. It is also true that governments are treading a difficult path! After all, if one assumes that in large sections of the country either there is widespread female foeticide or women are just treated as sheer objects of carnal desires, or where farmers commit suicides unable to pay debts, talking of any amount of success in e-governance is an achievement by itself. The very fact that each state has now defined its e-gov roadmap indicates that we are not too far from the end of the road.

Clearly the central government has enabled a positive environment which has nurtured e-governance in states. Some of the schemes approved by the government include: the State Data Center Scheme with a total outlay of Rs 1,623 crore; the Capacity Building Schemes with an outlay of Rs 313 crore; the State Wide Area Networks with an outlay of Rs 3,334 crore; and the Common Services Centers Scheme with an outlay of Rs 5,742 crore.

The Finance Minister P Chidambarams recent Budget has added further momentum to this e-governance juggernaut. It includes an increase in allocation to the IT department from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 1,680 crore and the scheme to establish 1,00,000 broadband Internet-enabled Common Service Centers (CSCs), State Wide Area Networks (SWANs) and state data centers. Breaking down individually, the finance minister proposed to provide Rs 75 crore for the CSC, Rs 450 crore for SWAN and Rs 275 crore for the State Data Centre projects that are being implanted under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).

Quantifying the Successes
This year, the Dataquest-IDC e-Governance Satisfaction Study focuses on the citizens satisfaction with e-governance, measured further by satisfaction with the ease of use, and availability and quality of e-governance services meted out by the state governments.

The states were measured for satisfaction of the beneficiaries as well as e-readiness of the governments, and, quite often, the results were disparate. Uttarakhand is an interesting example. The state that came last in business satisfaction and #19 in citizen satisfaction index was, however, ranked third in overall e-readiness. This actually implies that though the state has started leveraging ICT extensively to bolster its social/educational infrastructure, the actual benefits have either not permeated to or are yet to impact common citizens or businesses. Also, as expected, many states are finding it difficult to satisfy both citizens and businesses at the same time; Himachal Pradesh at #2 on the citizen charts drops to #14 on the business list. The business topper Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, is only #10 on the citizen satisfaction score

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