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From utilising ICT for elections, census, computerising all the government offices, to digital lockers e-Transportation, e-Health, e-Education and e-Taxation, the new India has paved its way in the realm of e-Governance.

India can create up to $1 trillion of economic value from the digital economy in 2025, up from around $200 billion 2 currently. Improving the trust between governments and citizens is fundamental to good governance and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is progressively becoming an essential tool for promoting accountability, convenience and transparent governance. Governments around the nation are pushing hard to deploy information and technology in their operations.

The Government’s Digital India initiative is bringing broadband internet access to 250,000-gram panchayats, or self-governing village councils, to make it easier for millions to connect online. With a strong foundation of digital infrastructure and expanded digital access through Digital India Programme of the Government, India is now poised for the next phase of growth creation of tremendous economic value and empowerment for citizens as new digital applications permeate sector after sector.

According to a recent report by McKinsey, an average Indian mobile data user currently consumes more than 8 GB of data per month, which exceeds the average in more digitally advanced countries such as China and South Korea. It is expected that India will witness an increase in the number of internet users to 800 million 1 by 2023 driven by the increasing availability and decreasing cost of high-speed connectivity and smartphones.

e-Governance has moved beyond government departments. It is about transforming the way governments work and reinvent people’s participation in the democratic process. e-Governance provides a platform to integrate solutions and services between Government-to-Citizens (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Government-to-Government (G2G), empowering both the government and the citizen like never before.

E-Ticketing
Railway commuters will benefit greatly from the Indian railways’ introduction of the ability to book reservation tickets for all classes via email. This is available for a little fee. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) application is a widely used government website for this service.

E-Banking
The Automate Tailor-Made Machine technology has already gained popularity for cash withdrawals using ATM cards by bank account holders of several banks. Different banks run a variety of ATM counters in various towns and locations.

The initiative’s key goals are to:

Redefine NeGP through transformational and result-oriented e-Government initiatives.
Increase the number of citizen-centric services in the portfolio.
Ensure that essential Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is used to its full potential (ICT).
Encourage the replication and integration of e-Government applications as quickly as possible.
Make use of new technologies.
Use a more flexible implementation model.

e-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services
The Digital India plan relies heavily on e-Kranti. The government has approved the approach and essential components of e-Kranti, citing the vital need for e-Governance, mobile governance, and good governance in the country.

The e-Kranti framework targets the electronic delivery of services through a portfolio of mission mode initiatives across various government agencies.

The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) gives a comprehensive overview of e-Governance activities throughout the country. A major countrywide infrastructure, stretching down to the most remote villages, is being built around this concept, and large-scale record digitization is going to be undertaken to provide easy dependable internet access.