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Tech Building Blocks

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

In order to understand what the various technology building blocks for e-governance projects are, think of the Indian government as a very large enterprise. It has hundreds of departments located across different states for servicing its customers, ie, the Indian citizens. And then think of all the technologies it would require for automating the basic functioning of these departments so that they are more efficient in dealing with their customers. That's in effect what e-governance is all about. Unless these departments are computerized, they'll continue to serve their huge customer base at the same sluggish pace. 

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Keeping this in mind, there are four basic pillars of technology needed to implement e-governance, according to us. These are a sound communications infrastructure, a security infrastructure, localization, and standardization. Any e-governance project would require the right mix of these five technology elements in order to be successful. Let's look at each in more detail. 

Communications infrastructure



This is a basic requirement for any e-governance project. The way of implementing it depends upon the nature of the e-governance project. If it is a government department, then basic networking has to be implemented using structured cabling and/or wireless technologies. If it's a rural area, then other means of communications such as VSATs, corDECT technology, or VHF/UHF narrowband solutions have to be used. corDECT is a wireless WLL (Wireless Local Loop) technology, which provides low-cost simultaneous voice and data connectivity. Once the network is in place, the next step is to link the various networks together using various WAN technologies. The choice of front-ends also varies in the infrastructure, as the PC isn't suitable for every implementation. Take the Simputer for instance-the tiny handheld computer that can read out Web pages. It's a boon for those Indians living in rural areas, who don't know how to read. 

Four technology blocks for e-governance

- Solid communications infrastructure for enabling faster inter and intra-govt. department transactions



- Security infrastructure to enable secure government-to-government and citizen-to-government transactions 


- Localization of all software deployments in the regional languages


- Standardization of all solutions so they can be replicated across other e-governance projects and enable seamless information sharing

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Security infrastructure



This is a must for departments dealing directly with the public or businesses, and we're already seeing a lot of action in this space. A proper security infrastructure is a must for e-commerce to succeed in India. What does this have to do with the Indian government you might ask. Well, businesses have to transact with the Indian government for various tasks, such as filing taxes, submitting tenders, getting permissions and licenses of various kinds. In fact, all Indian citizens also need to transact with the government over various things, such as applying for a driving license, getting a new passport, filing taxes, and much more. If the Indian government were to e-enable these various processes, then the government will need to have some way to clearly identify whom it's dealing with. To take an example, the DGFT or the Directorate General of Foreign Trade gives a 50 percent discount on digital filing of all applications electronically by Indian exporters. For this, the Indian exporters must first buy a package from Safescrypt, a Certification Authority authorized by the Indian government. This package would give each exporter a digital identity, authorized by the Indian government. This identity can then be used to file applications with DGFT. Similarly, if every Indian citizen is also given a digital identity, then the same can be used to do any kind of transaction with the government. There wouldn't be multiple identities of each citizen flying around with different government departments. The government has already given a license to seven certifying authorities in India. These licenses are digitally signed by another entity called the Root Certifying Authority of India

(RCAI). 

Opinion: Do before you preach
KS Lakshminarayanan:

Chief Technical Adviser and General  Manager (ITP & D) Elcot

IT vendors, barring a few, do not have e-governance systems to govern their own processes. How can they help governments e-enable themselves. They need to first practice what they preach.

With this basic infrastructure in place, what's now required is for the Indian government to use it appropriately for its various e-governance initiatives.

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Localization



There are around 22 different languages recognized by the Indian constitution, and none of these by the way, is English. So in order for IT to really be effective in the country, all software being deployed in e-governance projects has to be in one of these local languages. The other problem India faces is that of low literacy levels. Therefore, even the localization has to be done keeping this in mind. The front-ends that will allow citizens to interact with the government have to be made simple enough to understand. Already, there are lots of e-governance projects that have been localized. Most of the websites of various Indian states are also in their respective local languages. 

Opinion: Integration
Vivek Kulkarni:

Chairman and CEO, B2K Corporation and former Secretary, IT, Government of Karnataka

Integration of e-governance systems is not happening because of decentralization, and vendors make it harder because they want to sell more and not less. Vendors sell to individual officers, and all of them may not be thinking of the citizen. That is the biggest dilemma in e-governance.

Standardization



This is the last brick of the technology framework, and I'd like to explain this with an example. I once asked the CIO of a multinational company about how he made his IT purchase decisions. The answer to my surprise was that he had no control over which products and technologies to use. They were all determined by the company's headquarters. He just had to contact the local vendors and ensure that the implementation was done. Actually, most multinational companies follow this pattern. All their technology related decisions are done centrally, an implementation roadmap is chalked out and then passed on to all their offices across the globe. 

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So if the parent company is using MS Exchange as the messaging solution, then there's no way that the Indian counterpart can use anything else. They also have to use MS Exchange, and adhere to strict guidelines provided by HO on how to deploy it. What does this have to do with e-governance you might ask. There's only one word to answer this-standardization. With hundreds of departments located across the country, there must be some form of standardization followed while implementing e-governance projects. 

Opinion: e-advantage
Amitabh Pandey:

Group General Manager, IRCTC

If your service has a value, it does not matter whether the delivery is real or virtual. Users have to be the focus. In fact, virtual delivery could beat brick and mortar delivery in terms of convenience, infrastructure required and direct access for the user.

Till now, most e-governance projects that have been implemented have been customized to meet the project's requirements. If the same were to be replicated across another e-governance project, a lot of redundant effort would be required. So to avoid reinventing the wheel, it's better to standardize the basic process. This is what happens in any industry. A majority of the processes are similar across different companies, while only a minor portion is specific to each. Take car manufacturing for instance. All cars have an engine, a body, glassware, steering and suspension, etc regardless of whether they are Maruti Zens or a Hyundai Accents. Due to this, the basic process for assembling these parts remains the same.

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Anil Chopra

Q&A: Architecture

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Ashish Khushu: General Manager, Strategic Bussiness,  Sun Microsystems

Technology changes fast, and having changed, changes yet again. Governance, and governments will not be able to afford to change their implementations with every change in technology. So, how do you ensure sustenance of an e-governance project from the technology point of view? Ashish Khushu, General Manager, Strategic Bussiness at Sun Microsystems provides a few guide lines. 

What is required to be done to ensure the long term sustenance of an e-governance initiative?



To ensure the long term sustenance of an e-governance project there are a couple of imperatives that should be considered at the stage of conceptualising of the project. The design and architecture of the application should ensure that the e-governance initiative allows integration of various services, built by different agencies to be integratable and interoperable over time. A modular approach is a must since it allows flexibility for reuse, replication and changes to functionalities. Integration, additions and modifications of services being offered should not be technology dependent or limited by the technologies used. Given the rapid changes in technologies, the deployment infrastructure should not be hostage to these changes in order to minimize investment and disruption.

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Given that a governance structure has to sustain over many years,and that technology and tech platforms change every couple of years, how would you recommend that an e-governance implementer attempt to create a sustainable initiative?



Most of the government worldwide have taken steps to address some of these issues. The fact that services being offered outlast by years the technology used and that investment in upgradation of the delivery infrastructure is more a function of technology changes than actual requirement has resulted in government looking at this aspect.

So there are learnings in the experience of some of these countries like focusing on Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and not on products. A lot more attention is now being given to the technologies being used for application development rather than the platform on which it will be deployed, and also in ensuring that the services being built are inclusive of all technologies for access and independent of the stress on deployment.

SLAs and access through multiple channels drive the deployment strategy.



This approach is evolutionary and not a one time policy decision. A good starting point is to lay down some of these key criteria as a minimum criterion for any government funded project and then leave the choice of the appropriate products to the implementer.

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