Learner’s Submission: Online Public Service in India

” Yes, my country, India has made online public service in different segments of the society.  Now a days the Government of India takes lot of initiatives itself and jointly with other organizations as well.  Nowadays, lot of collaborative approaches are found in our country for electronic form of public service.  In public distribution system as well, it is found for the common masses of India including the whole world.  At present, we are getting lot of information from different Government Departments in the form of news, reports, bulletin etc. publicly.  As a result, we, the people of India are aware of knowing different information regarding our republic India.

In every year when the budget report is published by the Government for our social development of the nation countrywide, the people may know the information regarding this at the earliest electronically in different Government websites.  There are lot of wings of Government Departments in our independent India and they are publishing the important reports and also updating the information for the masses of India from time to time.  Any kind of information when updated by the concerned officials, it is published rapidly through websites of their concerned Government Departments nowadays.  As a result, the citizens of India are getting updated by information and now I do believe that there can’t be knowledge gap for information from both sides i.e. by the Government as well as the citizens of India.

On the other hand, the electronic form of Government Departments of India has arranged for query resolution system through their websites and these system takes the feedback also from the people of India.  As for example, If any employee of a private company would like to know his balance of Providend Fund (EPF) in any moment of time, he/she can raise a query through the Employees Providend Fund website of India for his query resolution.  Apart from this, he/she may also raise query/grievance for the settlement of his Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) amount if the settlement amount is not refunded properly.

At present, all the Government Departments of India are trying to update their information sharing through electronic formation but sometimes it is getting failed due to some abnormal scenarios like inadequacy of funding, ill-infrastructure of establishments, untrained human resource, insufficiency of workers etc.  But still the Governments (Central and State) are trying to resolve all these problems as much as they can and fixing a target level achievement periodically for the development of electronic form of establishment for the common masses of India.

In this way, we, the people of India is getting facilitated by the electronic form of Governments either Central or State and we are happy nowadays by standing in this present era of civilization and it is really desirable from our Indian Government Departments for electronic formation of all Government Departments at the existing age of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization.” – Tapas Kumar Debnath, West Bengal, India

Learner’s Submission: Land Record Management System in Pakistan

“Public Service relate to all those utilities and services which government tries to provide to the inhabitants of an area within its jurisdiction to facilitate and improve their quality of life. It includes all the mandatory services like provision of Electricity, water, education, fuel, town management, environment protection and management, waste management, libraries and a lot other. Online Public Service an effective mean to enhance the efficiency of government department in timely delivery of services using modern modes of information technology i.e. internet.

Since, it a basic demand which people make and expect that their elected Parliament will strive to provide them best public services but in a developing country like Pakistan, public service delivery is often criticized on account of inefficiency of line departments and various bottlenecks which people face to take proper advantage of public services. It creates a lot frustration in general public who find it hard to get benefit from any public service.

With the passage of time and development in IT sector, new and improved modes of public service are being introduced in Pakistan. In this article various developments in the field of Online Public service delivery will be analyzed.

Pakistan is predominantly an agricultural country but the Land Record Management System is quite out dated and is unable to cope with changing circumstances. The basic and most important actor (Govt. Official) in Land Record Management is called Patwari. And whole system is commonly called “Patwari System”. This Land Record Management is heavily criticized on account of its inefficiency and main flaws in this system are given as:

• Manual Map Making of Lands
• Manual Record Keeping of Lands
• Approximate Measurements of lengths and areas of land
• Payment of heavy bribe to get access to record of Land Holding

Keeping in view the efficiency of this land management system, Government of Punjab has launched “Land Record Management Information System”. The aim of this system is to get rid of centuries old and outdated land management system and to incorporate IT to make system corruption free. According to this system manual paper-based land records are being transformed into computerized data base. Users can see the location and details of their Land Holding online and get further details by paying a minimal fee at the service centers. It is indeed a huge relief for common man who used to pay huge Bribe to get record of his Land Holding. The system is being implemented on priority basis and manual data records of lands are being converted into digital form and online access is being provided to general public. Although this system is currently working on partial basis and land records of few districts have been provided online and will take some time in full functioning. But outcome of this system is getting much praise from general public and good example has been set by government which needs to be adopted in other provinces of Pakistan also.” – Maqsood Amin – AJK, Pakistan

Learner’s Submission: Namibia Online Government A Dream Within Reach

“Introduction

At this point in time The Government of the Republic of Namibia has and offers a very subtle Government Portal whereby Citizens, Businesses and related stakeholders can access Information about the country and also through a singular function of e-service acquire their Grade 10 and 12 examinations results. There are links to other Government Agencies and Departments as well allowing citizens to access Information that relate.

This is a step in the right direction to ‘’online Government’’ however online government can only be successful when it comprises of all necessary e-services ,functions that makes it worthy of the term  online government which suggests that all those requisite Information and services are implemented and functioning for the benefit of the citizens Online Government as defined by UNPAN to be “the extension of internal government information systems in the internet age in order to reach government customers , including businesses and citizens” without a minimum set of mature internal government information systems it will be difficult to achieve substantive outcomes from government online , without information systems that can support outward business , the best way would be to have online information services linked to government websites with their own information systems.

At this point in time the government portal of the republic of Namibia has one particular e-service but the rest are links to Information pages /Agencies with information on where to get certain information and government services.

The government of the Republic of Namibia has initiated a strategic action plan for e-government to be completed and implemented by the year 2018.

If this is successful we as citizens businesses and stakeholders will benefit from the change from traditional ways of government to an online one

Main Body

If the republic of Namibia at some point on time comes to enjoy online government I would like to see the following functions.

Citizen and Resident Portal

Online Enquiries

As a function it can allow users to request for information or enquire on other services provided by government/Agencies/Department thus reducing Queues and travel costs for citizens because administrators of systems will just be able to reply with messages and steps to follow for their needs to be satisfied.

Online Blog

A platform for citizens to interact with each other regarding certain fields of interest e.g. economic stability, healthcare or education Herein Government can also on a first hand basis .

Access to Government Knowledge Base

A central warehouse of information that allows users to on demand access data/Information on areas identified by government as being most significant to know , this will contribute to a more knowledgeable society in my country.`

Electronic Payment Systems

Here by choice citizens can electronically settle accounts, pay debts and services of government online ,Through other web links Agencies and government departments can also Pay employees, refund and conduct other monetary transactions.

Typical Information

Typical Information needed by citizens on a day to day basis regarding and understanding government this could be:

• Directories of services & organizations
• Information to facilitate their understanding of Entitlements
• Legislative Information
• Annual Reports and Strategic Plans

Here /there will be e-services for your average citizen and resident ranging from ranging from an examinations results page to obtaining national Identity card, a user can for example scan certified documents necessary and upload them to the database of the agency. Department in charge administrators could then  receive this application , process it and when it is ready the citizen can be notified on where to go pick it up.

Business Sub portal  

Hereby Individuals will be able to register their businesses online and also submit yearly Business Tax documents in addition to these e-services .there will be related Information and regulations for businesses.

Conclusion

For informatization and public services online to be effective the Government will need to actively participate with citizens in all public affairs & make substantive inputs in policy decisions, this is now made possible by government websites  and email.

This dream lies in the decisions our leaders make and in the ICT literacy of the Country also for Government Online to be realized in Namibia there needs to be Sufficient IT infrastructure to back it up as well as constant Innovation of modern technology to make the experiences of us Citizens more effective and Government Services More efficient.” – Simeon Aupokolo – Windhoek, Namibia

Learner’s Submission: Online Public Service in Lithuania

“I live in Lithuania. Lithuania is small country in Eastern Europe, although it is small, but online public services are widespread.

One of the most used public online services is tax declaration. Online tax declaration portal is online for a couple of years now. When I was using it for the first time it was really a challenge.

First of all I had to download some free software to be able to fill various needed forms.

Secondly I had to find out online what forms do I had to fill and download them one by one to my personal computer. After that the filling began. I do not remember exactly how long did it take, but it was quite a long operation. Since that time the portal has evolved, now the user to fill the tax declaration form has to do the following steps:

• Connect to the online tax declaration portal (one can do that through online banking system, digital certification center or from another government portal called “Valdžios vartai” (Government gates). Connection through bank a few years ago was the only option to ensure authentication of the user.).
• The tax declaration is easily found on the main page, it is even filled will all necessary information, user has only to check if it is right.
• After checking the information a single mouse click and the tax declaration is submitted. If there would be any errors or some information has to be clarified the user will receive an e-mail into the mailbox provided in portal.

In the same portal one can submit also other different documents. Personally I am just submitting tax declaration and request to transfer 2% of the income tax to public organization. Also there is different area for juridical persons.

It is really nice to see that online service are not just made and left as it is, but they are being improved over time and more and more features that are nice to have are becoming reality”.  Dmitrijus Chocenka- Vilnius, Lithanua

Learner’s Submission: Electronic Filling in E-Tax (Uganda)

“A taxpayer registered with Uganda revenue authority (URA) can submit a return for the tax period defined by the tax law using electronic filling.

 

The taxpayer obtains a return from the web portal (http://ura.go.ug), saves a template on any storage device, takes time to fill in the return and validate the return before it is finally uploaded onto the web portal. If the upload is successful, the taxpayer will receive an auto generated e-acknowledgement receipt which is evidence of submission. In case of any problems in filling in the respective returns, they send an email about the challenge to URA or call a toll free line.

 

Some of the benefits accruing from the e filling are that the return process has been clearly separated from the payment process, thereby ensuring confidentiality of the taxpayer’s data. The process has been streamlined and the taxpayer can fill and submit the return at his or her convenient time but.

The process:

 

1. On the URA homepage, after logging in, the tax payer goes to e-Services for individual/non-individual on the Left Menu, select e-Returns for individual/Non-Individual and select the type of return that you wish to file.

 

2. Downloads the template for the return to file, from the list provided under e-Returns for individual/non-individual e.g. Monthly VAT Return Form and selects save.

 

3. Saves the template to preferred location on computer. One does not have to be connected to the internet in order to fill out the template.

 

4. Before filling out the template, one enables macros by following the instructions provided on the sheet labeled help, on the return form downloaded. After enabling macros, saves the changes, closes the return and opens it again. Upon opening it, sees a message saying “Please DO NOT Cut and Paste any values in this sheet”. That shows that macros have been enabled.

 

5. After enabling Macros, fills in all the required information, after which validates the form by clicking the VALIDATE button located at the bottom.

 

6. Upon validation, is notified whether the form has errors or not. In case of errors, corrects them and saves the file before validating again.

 

7. If no errors are found on the template, generate an Uploads file by clicking YES on the pop up window. This generates a compressed file that will take less of payer’s time to upload.
8. Opens the URA Web Portal, logins into account if you had logged out (disconnected) to fill the template.

 

9. Goes to e-Services on the left menu, Select e-Returns to individual/Non individual and selects the type of return that you wish to upload (file). Disables the pop-up blocker before uploading your return. (Pop-up blocker is located within the Tools menu).

 

1. Enters the period for which the return is being field and click check.

 

1. In case a return has already been submitted for that particular period, the payer will be notified. Otherwise, enters the text image provided, clicks on Browse and locates the upload created and saved.

 

14.       Clicks on Upload to upload return.

 

15.       If the upload is successful, clicks Submit to submit the return

 

16.       Due to absence of laws governing electronic transactions, the payer receives a pop up message requesting to submit a printed and signed copy of tax return within 10 days to tax office, confirming fulfillment of filing obligation.

 

17.       An e-Acknowledgement receipt is generated and a copy sent to the payers registered email address. This acknowledgement receipt has a PRINT and PRINT FORM button that can be used to print the acknowledgement receipt and Return form respectively for submission to the tax office within 10 days.

 

18.       If the tax payer does not wish to print the Return immediately, he can print it later using the procedure below;

• Logins to account on the URA web portal. After logging in, on the left hand side of the screen, clicks on the Return History Link, this will open up a new page with fields where one can specify the period whose return he/she wants to view or print.

 

• Enters the “Period from” and “Period To” using the Date Selector, and select the type of Return that he wants to view e.g. Monthly VAT Return.

 

• Clicks on the Search button, this will prompt the system to show all the returns for the selected return period and return type that has been submitted. Clicks on the Reference number (on the right hand side) in the search results table to open and print out a copy or to view more details about the return.

 

• To track the status of the return, one can use the Track Your Status function; under You do not need to log in to menu on the Home Page of the Web Portal. The Search Code and Reference Number that was sent to your e-mail address will be required at this point”   Charles Baguma- Uganda, Africa

Learner’s Submission: E-Stamp Duty in Uganda

“From anywhere across the globe, the tax payer goes to the URA web portal, http://ura.go.ug and selects the link; Declaration of Instrument for Stamp Duty and then selects individual or non-individual before entering particulars of the declarant of the instrument. The declarant then selects the instrument for which he/she wants an e-Stamp certificate issued from the drop down menu.

 

It is noted that where the applicant has multiple instruments, the instruments should be selected one at a time a separate declarations, and only bulk declarants (declarants designated to use bulk declaration form) are able to declare multiple instruments at once showing both instruments that attract the fixed and ad valorem rates.

Next declarant does the following;

 

1. Enters particulars of the other party involved in execution of the instrument that is the other party of the instrument e.g. witness, seller, borrower, commissioner of oath et cetera.

 

2. Completes the bank payment details to obtain a bank payment slip so as to complete the payment in ANY of our partner banks.

 

3. Prints the payment registration slips (PRS) and takes note (either by writing the number own or by printing the acknowledgment receipt) of the acknowledgment number for declarations it will be needed for further processing in any Uganda Revenue Authority Domestic Service office of your choice.
4. Submits the PRS to selected bank, complete the payment and proceed with the acknowledgment number mentioned in 7 above to the nearest Uganda Revenue Authority Domestic Service office to have your instrument issued an e-Stamp certificate.

 

5. For instruments that attract and valorem stamp duty rate, after declaration on the web portal proceeds with the acknowledgement number mentioned in 7 above to the nearest Uganda Revenue Authority Domestic Service office to obtain in a PRS. Submits this PRS to the bank and on completing the payment, proceeds to nearest Uganda Revenue Authority Domestic Service Centre to have instrument issued an e-Stamp certificate.

 

10.       The instrument declared is vetted by an authorized Uganda Revenue Authority staff at the Service centre and if no adjustments are required, instrument is issued an e-Stamp Certificate printed on a Stamp duty paper bearing;

        i.            Stamp Certificate paper number

       ii.            A notice number

       iii.            Stamp Certificate instrument number

       iv.            Instrument declarant’s name

       v.            Declared instrument detail

       vi.            Details of the issuing authority

 

On the bank confirmation of payment on PRS printed above, one can obtain e-Stamp certificate on the same day of declaration especially if declared instrument does not involve other government agencies.

 

When one declares instrument involving other government department, in this case, instrument of land transfers, the government department is Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. The declaration process for instruments of land transfer is as follows:

 

On signing the transfer agreement between the tax payer and the transferee and the transferor; one does the following;

  vii.            Accesses the web portal

1. Selects from the drop down menu of instrument name to declare instrument for transfer of land.

    ix.            Completes particulars of the other party involved in the transfer agreement – in this case the seller (transferor).

    x.            Fills the box for Acquisition value of the land as entered in the transfer agreement i.e. Transfer Consideration value.

    xi.            Completes the bank details

   xii.            Prints the acknowledgement receipt

1. Proceeds to Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development with the acknowledgment receipt and fills the Consent Form for government valuer to assess and assign the government value.
2. Submits the Consent Form and the Acknowledgment Receipt to the government valuer to complete the government valuation.

   xv.            After government valuer has completed their process so as to be issued with an e-Stamp certificate for transfer of land as evidence for stamp duty paid”  Charles Baguma-Uganda, Africa

Learner’s Submission: Principles of E-Government in India

“I live in Rajasthan, a state known for its heritage and culture in India. Rajasthan is a progressive state and offers many online public services. The main portal of the Government of Rajasthan is – http://rajasthan.gov.in

The state government website portal provides all the information regarding the state like – state profile, district profile, departments under the state government with website links (if separate from the original). The following online services are offered here –

1.)    Rajasthan Sampark service: – A grievance/feedback/complaint registration service where the grievances/complaints/feedback regarding any department under the Government of Rajasthan is taken & acted upon.

2.)    RSRTC Online booking: – A service which is used to book bus tickets for travel. RSRTC is Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation. I have used this feature some time back. This has also has the ability for us to book bus tickets with seat preference(window seat/ double seat/triple seat, etc)

3.)    E-mitra is fully online platform which enables us to pay various government fees/payments of bills to government companies (telephone/electricity etc.)

The land registration department offers by online – under the name Apna Khata provides authenticated information about the ownership details by entering details. I have used them to get information to guide my relative in purchasing land by confirming details online. The website of Stamps department shows the DLC rates of the land in various places which is a guide in getting an idea of the actual costs of the property before buying.

The contact details of officers, head of departments etc are given which serves the purpose of an updated online telephone/e-mail directory accessible from any computer.

As India is a country where agriculture contributes in GDP and development, so there is an online service to access the present Agricultural Market prices, so that the small farmers can know the exact/approx. Prices of Agricultural products in the market with the help of this service

In addition to this, Government of India also provides a variety of centrally powered online services to states including Rajasthan. These are:

• IRCTC– The name stands for Indian Railway Catering Corporation. This website is the single largest online platform to book train tickets. I have used it multiple times till now. It can be accessed at: http://www.irctc.co.in
• Income Tax efilling– To file Income tax returns online with the Income Tax Department of Government of India.
• MCA portal (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) – For incorporation of company*/LLP* online – *Digital signature is needed for the same.
• Intellectual Property Office – For registration of intellectual property rights application relating to Trademarks, Patents or Geographical designs etc.
• Copyright office – For registration of Copyrights online.

In addition to the above, mostly all government agencies also offer the facility for online application for examinations conducted for the recruitment to various posts in various departments of the government.

A variety of online services are offered by the Government of India. These online services are offered either with a Public Private model or the concerned department’s IT cell. Many of them are used by me and in case of need; the others explained can also be used when required” Ankit Singh Gehlot-Rajasthan, India

 

Learner’s Submission: My Use of Online Public Services of Tamilnadu State, India

“Tamilnadu is a progressive state of India. The e-governance is offered at the Sub National level in the state besides the National level e-governance.

I have experience the online public services at http://www.tn.gov.in recently and wish to explain about it.

The state website offers the downloadable formats for application for issue of birth certificates, income certificates, community certificates, land ownership certificate etc from government authorities. I have downloaded them and used them for applying at various circumstances recently. It has saved time for getting them in proper format from vendors and government offices.

The land registration department offers by online – an authenticated information about guideline values for registration of purchased land, the ownership details of survey number of villages and encumbrance on land ownership. This is useful to have this transparent information and save time for getting them. I have used them to guide my relatives while purchasing a residential land.

The Government Orders and Acts of Public Interest are posted in government website. I have down loaded them in various circumstances and used them to know the  information and procedures to be followed.

The Chief Ministers Grievance Redressal is online and I have posted the requests online and have followed the status online.

The Minister and the Officers Contact Details of state and district level is available in the website of the state government and is useful in getting them through internet for various communications. The maps up to block level are available in the sub national website in a downloadable form which is useful for thematic presentation in my job.

The schemes implemented by the department for socio economic development is available in the state website. I have understood the schemes through the website. The electoral role updating is available through online application. The Election authorities receive application online and verify it through regular verification and update the electoral role. Recently I got my National Identity Card (Aadhar) available with details online. My Iris and Finger prints were captured along with Photograph. Thus online public services offered are experienced by me at various instances giving a good feel about e-governance.” – Samuel Inbadurai – Tamilnadu, India

Learner’s Submission: Open Data Portal – Edo State Government, Nigeria

“The online public service that I have made use of in my home country is the Edo State Open Data Portal which is the only online state public service in Nigeria and first sub-national portal in the continent of Africa.

It is a new initiative by the Edo State Government to make information more readily available to those who need it, enhance transparency in government and encourage investors. It is an online platform which makes it easy for the citizenry to access and reuse data from the Edo State Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies free of charge.

The Edo State Open Data Portal which is powered by the Edo State Information and Communications Technology Agency (ICTA) is aimed at improving Government and nipping the embarrassing phenomenon of ghost workers, wastages and misuse of public information and other forms of resource misuse in the bud, empower citizens and ultimately reduce government expenditure, and also effectively break away from the bureaucratic bottle-necks usually experienced while soliciting for information that should normally be made available to the public on request as well as the slow pace of Government officials when speed is of utmost importance.

All that anybody who is in need of information has to do is to have access to the internet and log on to data.edostate.gov.ng where the visitor can randomly search for any information of her/his choice, provided it is in relation to the state and within the purview of its concerns. One could also click on individual hyper links which the reader can directly follow, depending on what is desired by the visitor or available for view.
Being the first online public service in the state, it will take a thorough and extended effort to make Edo State Government data truly useful. Stakeholders expect to have improved data quality. Agencies will have to begin improving the quality of their data simply to avoid public embarrassment.

Up to now, the government’s release of open data has largely been a one-way affair: Agencies publish datasets that they hope will be useful without consulting the organizations and companies that want to use it. The government is therefore expected to build feedback loops from data users to government data providers.

Open data is also of value for government itself as it can increase government efficiency. For example, if the Edo State Ministry of Education can publish all of their education-related data online for re-use, the number of questions they receive will obviously drop, reducing work-load and costs, and the remaining questions will also be easier for civil servants to answer, because it is clear where the relevant data can be found.

Open government data can also help citizens make better decisions in life and make them more active in society. People can easily re-use cadastral information from government data as well as local registers to publish information which helps them find public utilities such as public toilets, public libraries, public parks, hotels, etc.
New combinations of data can create new knowledge and insights, which can lead to whole new fields of application. This potential can be unleashed if government data is really open, i.e. if there needed information are actually available and there are no restrictions (legal, financial or technological) to its re-use by others. Every restriction will exclude people from re-using the public data, and make it harder to find valuable ways of doing so.” – Uhunwa Benard Otamere – Edo State, Nigeria

Learner’s Submission: Online Public Services in India

“Internet as a social network evoked the world with its vast input database and knowledge sharing system. Today in the modern world, the share of public services information online has become a major important aspect.  The online service is a huge network source which provides a space for information to public, private and other resources activities.

In India, Online public services in term of availability of online data is accessible in various service providing sectors related to public, private, organational, educational, consulting, banking and others. It is important to have identity of information availability relating to the particular activities in each sector. Another important aspect about the online data is the security and worm mail threats. Every online services provider has to provide with domain to login-in to be utilized to be safer side of the site. In India after the 90s a revolution of inter user came to utilize the online resources for the online services providers on various sectors.

In India the web is now established as a mass market media channel for the wealthy. Email has become a mass market media channel for office workers and professional classes. The main changes in internet access have happened in the last five years and the internet has become an essential part of office life, and plays a key role in many homes. The number of people with access continues to rise, but so too does the time they spend online. Broadband access is growing fast, but the number of home connections lags behind comparable markets; however although the number of connections is low, a large number of people in high-end demographics have access. Significant infrastructure problems remain, creating a high cost for access compared to average wage rates.

Social Media has now become part of everyday life for a majority of online Indians, with two-thirds of the country’s web users accessing social media daily, according to new research.

Today social networking, blog and web relating sources are competition the user with fast provision of data relevant to weather, network, locality, features and other possibilities. Online data can provide knowledge sharing and also some kind of misuses the network resources. Scientists describe the internet as a prime example of large scale highly engineered yet highly complex system and is heterogeneous for instance of data transfer and physical characteristics of connections.

If the resources is utilized in a proper manner to develop the aspect, it reflect the achieving the growth of sustainable goals to take forwarding the nation to a developed world.  Security threats has to be resolve for safety and security of the web resources providers.

The internet is a gateway to world knowledge as well as a massive platform for national media and documentation. Once people start using the internet their behavior changes permanently and already in India over two thirds of people with access use it several times a week or more. Work audiences account for significant amounts of the online total population.” – Kishore Kumar Neelam – Andhra Pradesh, India