For the first time, India has made it to the top 100 in the United Nations (UN) survey that evaluates countries on various parameters of e-governance. Out of the 193 member countries that were assessed for the United Nations E-Government Survey 2018, India claimed 96th position in the E-Government Development Index. In 2016, India was ranked 107.

The UN releases these ratings every two years. In 2010, India ranked 119. While the expanding range of online services worked in India's favour, poor telecommunication infrastructure and people participation were identified as major pain points.

The survey assessed countries on three criteria: the quality of services provided; literacy rate, level of education; and access to internet and phone. Countries were assigned scores in each category, with one being the maximum score. India was awarded 0.95 for the quality of online services. In the literacy-related index, it scored 0.54 whereas in the infrastructure index, it managed a mere 0.20 out of 1. India's grand total stood at 0.56 out of 1.

India’s digital strides

In fiscal years 2014-15 and 2015-16, the number of online transactions across India’s Union ministries stood at 5.8 billion. In fiscal years 2016-17 and 2017-18, the number increased more than eightfold to 41 billion.

This rise came in the backdrop of Digital India initiative, a central government initiative launched in mid-2015 to improve the country’s online infrastructure. The Union budget for 2018-19 saw allocation for the initiative increase twofold, to Rs3,073 crore (~USD 427.6 million).

India’s state governments too have been taking a host of their services online, from utility bill payments to issuing birth/death certificates, land records to approving building construction plans. Further, the central government’s Smart City Mission incentivises the 100 shortlisted cities, which are being developed as smart cities, to launch official apps where people can post complaints and suggestions about civic issues.

Then there’s Unique Identification Authority of India, the central government wing that oversees implementation of a unique 12-digit code--the Aadhaar number--for every Indian citizen. The government has linked many of its welfare initiatives with Aadhaar, which is the Hindi word for foundation. Be it subsidy for cooking gas or food grain distribution to the poor, Aadhaar has indeed become the foundation of the government’s public distribution system.

Troubles galore

While these plans look good on paper, their execution brings misery to people at times.

After verification of Aadhaar-linked biometrics (fingerprints or iris scan) became compulsory for availing of subsidised food grains from government’s fair-price shops, reports started pouring in from across the country about how network failure and issues with fingerprint verification were leaving many a poor family high and dry. In a village in north India, people needed to climb up the roof of the ration store on a shaky bamboo ladder for biometric verification otherwise the device wouldn’t receive the patchy signal.

A major factor that led to India’s poor ranking in the UN survey is limited digital penetration. This June, Pew Research Center released a report, which found internet penetration in India is similar to that of Sub-Saharan Africa; both the regions have about 25% people using the internet or owning a smartphone.

As per data released by government body Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, India's internet subscriber base is 38.02%. It revealed that while 84.7% urban Indians use internet, only 16.4 rural Indians have ever been on the world wide web.

Founder-director of Digital Empowerment Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in digital governance, Osama Manzar, pointed out how the Indian government's initiative that aimed to connect 625,000 villages with 100 MBPS broadband flattered to deceive. He said many village clusters that have been marked as service ready do not have functional internet connectivity.

Functional issues

Apparently, access to internet isn't the only issue. Gayatri Doctor, an urban management expert and an academic, said low awareness is another dampener. She said even the educated, urban populace is largely unaware of many e-governance facilities. Further, she highlighted that many government websites aren't user-friendly. Non-responsive websites, slow servers, outdated/incomplete information are some of the common issues.

Amit Prakash, associate professor at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, (a government institute offering post-graduate and doctoral-level programmes), said lack of support for regional languages is another critical problem.

However, he noted that the scope of e-governance shouldn't be restricted to services offered via websites and apps alone. He said many cities and even village headquarters in India have well-equipped common service centres where internet-based activities are handled. Doctor too mentioned the appreciable role of these centres in promoting online service delivery. (The UN survey's methodology document did not mention if such centres were factored in while awarding marks.)

Neighbours’ ranking

India's neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh were ranked 148 and 115 respectively in the survey. The much smaller neighbour Sri Lanka secured the 94th position. In Asia, Republic of Korea (rank three), Singapore (rank seven) and Japan (rank 10) were among the best performers. Denmark bagged the top spot, its small population and high literacy rate boosting its score.

China, with a population similar to India's, was placed 65th in the list. While it scored better than India on the parameters of infrastructure and human capital, the quality and range of services it offers online was found to be inferior than its South Asian neighbour’s. However, its internet penetration rate of 71% dwarfs India's.

Experts and academics share the opinion that while Indian administration has invested much resources in digitisation of services and made many a right move, a lot more needs to be done to eliminate the hassles involved.

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