Prabir K Das
WBEIDC
Mobility, New access devices & Quad-Play
 Advent of new technologies
 3G/4G wireless networks
 Smart-phones, TABs,
PDAs
 These technologies have
truly enabled availability of
voice, data and video
services to mobile devices
over wireless networks
 Come to be known as Quadplay services
New-age mobile devices
1997
2000
2005
2009
2012
m-governance: e-governance through mobility
 e-Governance is the use of information technology , WAN, and
Internet by Government agencies to make G2C services
available at Citizen’s doorstep.
 m-Governance is not a replacement for e-Governance, rather
it complements e-Governance.
 m-Governance, on the other hand, is the use of mobile or
wireless technologies like cellular phones, laptops, Tablets and
PDAs with wireless Internet connections to improve Govt.
services and strengthen peoples reach “anytime, anywhere”.
m-Governance Adoption: Mobile/Wireless
Applications in e-Governance
 m-Communication (G2C2G)
 m-Services (Transactions and Payments)
 m-Administration
 m-Democracy
m-Communication (G2C2G)
 Mobile devices provide an important access channel for
governments to reach citizens (G2C)
 Citizens can subscribe to SMS/e-mail alerts for various eservices
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renewal of road tax,
passport renewal notifications
court sitting/hearing deferrals
license-renewal
exam results
Security threat alerts
Emergency broadcasts
 SMS is an effective channel for citizens to communicate with
government (C2G).Citizens can text their representatives to
comment and complain about government officials and
services
m-Administration
 Health
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Monitoring Progress – NRHM
Telemedicine
 Irrigation / Water Resources
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Capturing Reservoir Storages
Monitoring Releases of water through Sluices
Monitoring Minors and sub minors area under a given Canal
 • Electricity Board/ Urban Local Bodies
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Citizen Grievances
Bill Collections
 • Public Works Monitoring
m-Services & m-Democracy
 m-Services (Transactions and Payments)
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SMS and other mobile devices enable government-to-citizen
transactions.
Owing to security issues , Transactions and payments have not
taken off in India yet.
In other countries m-tickets can be used in public transport
 m-Democracy
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Use of SMS and mobile devices for citizen input to political
decision-making is an m-governance application with tremendous
potential to enhance democratic participation.
Owing to security & secrecy issues, this is still experimental
From DeitY app store, an RTI application can be downloaded
using which citizens can seek information from the government.
DeitY initiatives to promote m-governance
 National Rollout of Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG) to ensure easy
availability of Government services to common man by making them
accessible through mobile devices
 Target outcomes by Dec 2013
 Development of MSDG platform for all delivery channels (http://mgov.gov.in)
 Mobile App Store with 75 live Apps
 Mobile Payment Gateway and Mobile Wallet
 Transactions: 1.0 crore transactions per month (TPM)
 The app store (http://apps.mgov.gov.in) was launched in last week of May
with popular apps like RTI and Adhaar card.
 The government is setting up a new fund to provide financial support to
mobile start-ups that are developing e-governance applications
Some mobile applications in e-governance
 Food & Civil Supplies
 Tracking Lorry Movements and stocks at warehouses
 Information on availability of Ration at FP Shops
 Irrigation / Water Resources
 Reservoir Levels monitoring
 Urban Local Bodies
 Grievance Redress
 Garbage dump removals
 Water Supply
 SMS a water tanker
 • Railways
 Ticket Booking
 Examination Results and Mark Lists
 Agriculture
 Weather Reports, Market prices, seed availability etc.
M-Government: Pros and Cons
 Integrates Data, Voice & Video communication-modes
that are typically used by Government to communicate
 Cost of ownership and operations are relatively small and
affordable
 Improved convenience-anytime, anywhere
 Penetration is much higher than normal wireline Internet
 Personalized information can be targeted to a specific
user
 Requires less training to operate than a PC
m-Government: Pros and Cons
 Can be operated with erratic power supply and without
fixed line telecom access
 Can connect with a number of devices such a biometric
identifiers, smart cards, small printers in a wireless mode
 Can easily communicate with back end servers and
integrate with existing ICT applications
 Can be scaled up quickly because of less stringent
requirements of power and training.
 Handle small amounts of data on screen and for transfer.
Role of Mobiles in Government Service Delivery
Nature of government services
Role of internet kiosk
Role of mobile
Document issue
Issue of certificates/ licenses (Birth and death
certificate, ration card, electoral card etc.)
Suitable
Not Suitable
Bill/Tax payments
Issue of demand notice (electricity, phone
and water bills, notice for property tax, land
revenue)
Not Suitable
Suitable
Receiving payments against bills/notices
Suitable
Not Suitable
Information Exchange
Push messages (alerts during emergencies
like riots, natural calamities and disasters,
traffic updates etc.)
C2G enquiries (on employment opportunities,
agricultural product prices, filing crime
reports, filing complaints/ grievances)
Not Suitable
Suitable
Suitable
Not Suitable
Challenges in Promoting m-Government
 Moderate penetration, given the low purchasing power. Only
low cost mobiles specially designed for the needs of the poor
can enhance penetration.
 The basic service is affordable but is limited by the restriction on
size of SMS (no longer than 160 characters) and a small screen.
 Other value-added services and features such as MMS, packetswitched connection (GPRS), Voice-enabled services (voice SMS),
data transfer cards (3G devices), bigger screens etc require
expensive phones and services.
 Ability of mobiles to handle many local languages.
 Protecting privacy and providing security for data
Challenges in Promoting m-Government
 Delivery of Government services through mobiles is not a
part of the NeGP in its current design.
 Awareness/preparedness of govt. agencies to alter
traditional ways of serving customers and adopt mgovernment
 High illiteracy prevents self use by citizens. The main
challenge is to educate the rural poor on the usage of a
phone
 Enabling legislation-law does not recognize mobile
documents and transactions
Innovative E-Governance Practices in
West Bengal
• SMS based disaster alarm system
• E-district pilots rolled-out in Bankura and
Jalpaiguri. Roll-out in other districts will start
shortly.
• State data centre is successfully operational
• Centralized Web based Document
Management system for DM office Darjeeling