Use of IT in governance has various advantages such as
- Transparency
- Increased participation of people
- Check on corruption
- Quality service in time
- better feed back and grievance redressal apparatus
- reduced administrative expenditure
Thus realizing its many-fold importance, government had launched an National e- governance Plan (NeGP) with 27 mission mode projects (Now it has 31 MMP). All central and state ministries are being digitalized with all information available on their websites in different languages.
- Land titles are being digitalized.
- Direct Benefit Transfer is being implemented in phased wise manner; PaHaL scheme on LPG subsidy is an example
- UIDAI is undertaking a project to ensure unique identification for all residents through biometric data further increasing efficiency of welfare schemes.
- Scholarship, enrollment, filing application for exams or jobs, application for clearances and passport, filing income tax return, RTI etc. are being done online.
- Apart from this services like e-seva, meghdoot, e-police etc. are implemented as pilot projects in several states.
But the government aims further to leverage its total capacity in IT by ensuring internet as a basic need according to our national policy on IT. Following this it has an ambitious plan of spreadingoptical fiber to every panchayat by 2016 under National Optical Fiber Network plan.
Addressing the issues of Cybercrime, privacy, safety and security of data, strengthening infrastructure nationwide etc. will really transform governance in the coming decade.
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Pragati
Write a note on important citizen-centric e-governance initiatives of the Union government. Also suggest how latest internet technologies can be used to make it easy for citizens to access government services. (200 Words)