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

Learner’s Submission: National Portal Framework of Bangladesh

” Portal is an important part of e-government. A government portal allows citizens to access government information easily. Bangladesh government has introduced National web Portal Framework (NPF). The National web Portal Framework (NPF) is the single platform of public information from any government organization to ensure easy accessibility for citizens, easy updating of data by non-technical personnel and sharing of data amongst various organizations. The National web Portal Framework (NPF) is designed and developed by the Access to Information (A2I) Programme of the Prime Minister’s Office .

Including all ministries, all directorates, all semi-government and all autonomous organizations, and all government offices at the division, district, upazila and union levels, there are about 27,000 government offices. Only a few hundred of these offices, mostly in Dhaka, have their own specific websites. NPF ensures that all government organizations have online presence, and the existing officers and staffs of the organizations are able to update the sites without depending on technical personnel. In addition, NPF will allow the government to implement the Right to Information Act through proactive information disclosure. NPF is a joint venture of government stakeholders in different tiers.

The web presence of government organizations in Bangladesh has suffered from a number of problems for a long time – NPF addresses these problems and limitations:

• Only a small fraction of the 27,000 offices have websites. A few hundred offices – mostly in Dhaka and perhaps a few other urban areas of the country – have developed websites for the last 10years.
• Much of the current information on the government websites is not citizen-centric. Most of the information is in English excluding the large majority of the population from benefiting from the information. The information that exists focuses mostly on departmental information (supply-driven) that does not focus on citizens’ needs for information (demand-driven).
• The current websites need significant technical skills to update information. Hence, most government websites suffer from old, sometimes irrelevant and incorrect, information.
• All current websites differ significantly in both structure and design. These differences pose various problems when it comes to accessing, sharing and integration of data across the website.
• The current websites are not RTI-compliant resulting in government’s inability to utilize existing resources to uphold RTI Act for proactive information disclosure.

The web portal framework will focus on the free flow of information from union to ministry level. It creates a gateway for citizens to get access to all government services. At present, this framework contains about 6,00000 contents that are being continuously checked and updated.
This framework will focus on information that are essential to every citizens’ prosperous livelihood- agriculture, health, education, law & human rights, tourism and history, human resources, development & engineering, environment & disaster management etc. It also highlights activities that are in compliance with the RTI Act such as- the name and designation of the information officers, their duties, the laws relating to human rights.

NPF has advanced Bangladesh one step forward to online Bangladesh.” -Khan Md. Hasanuzzaman – Dhaka, Bangladesh

Learner’s Submission: The “Certificate of Non-criminal Record”

“The certificate of non-criminal record is a sensitive document that indicates if its holder has not committed any offenses or crimes involving moral turpitude. Figures now indicate that there is an increasing demand for this document. There are many governmental and private, local and foreign entities that depend on this certificate as a prerequisite for employment screening, to issue driving licenses or visas, for educational matriculation as well as for other similar purposes. The increase in demand for this document has resulted in an increasing pressure on the courts. Figures show that Amman alone issues not less than 500 such certificates daily. By applying the electronic services system, the Ministry expects the citizens to sense direct improvements in terms of time, quality and cost.

I have used this e-government service to get the certificate to complete the requirements of employing, at the commence I goes to the portal of e-government services (www.jordan.gov.jo) through this portal the clients or employees or any resident have national number can use the service of issuing non-criminal certificate where this certificate is used widely in Jordan for variety reasons such employed, married, get a loan, …etc..

The Recipient of the service can access the system and register it and provide application electronically instead of visiting the public service office in court or telephoning the call center to make the request on his behalf. This section explains the role of the recipients of the service and the tasks that can be carried out directly through the system.

When I am going to register in this services I have provide my national number where the system automatically check my record from database of exists on Department of Civil Status and Passports after that I completed the registrations by filling the rest required information such username and password, After registration, system notified me to activate the Service by sending an email.

After login to the system, I have fill the application to get the service where the application will fill automatically after providing the national number then I specify the purpose of issuing the certificate, then I specify the language  of certificate that might be issue in two language for many purposes (Arabic, English), then I confirm my application, the system notifying me be sending an e-mail contain a reference number allowing me to follow my application, then the system transfer me to the payment portal to pay the required fees where anybody can pay the fees online through accredited bank card or by visiting the department to pay the fees physically , then I have wait the department   to send the certificate to closer court or security center to get the certificate where the period is vary from 3-7 days or less, I have go to the court in my city, issuing the reference number and my ID card to confirm my identity then I received the certificate.

It is a good service.

Thank You ” – Mohammad Rabah – Amman, Jordan

Learner’s Submission: Human Resource Capacity Development

“What needs to be done by top Leadership to Align Human Resource Capacity Development with the Development Vision of the Country?

 

• Capacity Development refers to the process of unleashing, strengthening and maintaining capacity.
• For any country to fast track its development there is a need to invest in its most important resource i.e. people. HRCD has become vital if governments must achieve their development objectives.
• Off necessity are accurate HRM Strategies that seeks out individuals with the right knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities required to drive any nation to its lofty development goals.
• HRM Strategies must be reviewed, adjusted and sometimes completely changed to provide an efficient and effective service delivery to citizens.  This is achieved by placing the right people at the right place at the right time with the right skills.
• The development vision of every country must also be first straightened out. This means that for any vision to succeed it cannot be developed by government alone. The people for whom the vision is meant must be carried along.
• Government only lays the vision-template which points the direction of development but the final vision-document, must be generated through the involvement and participation of all sectors of the state i.e. citizens, private sector and civil society.
• This format ensures that the missions of the State will be understood and agreed by all actors. This creates an open society where each governance actor knows what others are doing and encourages collaboration and networking among them.
• The end product of this collective effort provides a document of reference for which government focuses on what it can and must do to move in the direction of its development vision.
• The next step will be to restructure the country’s public service. Public service is the human resource capital that is structured to provide public services according to people’s expectations, based on daily needs, challenges and peculiarities.
• The public service must be reoriented towards the community. It must become responsive to citizens.
• To achieve an efficient and effective public service institution, the government must develop a clear policy framework that will guide this drive.
• Policy refers to priorities, guidelines, and orientations deemed necessary to achieve common agreed objectives. It is developed and adopted to address major problems and vested interests of people including stakeholders who live or work in the same area, field, community, development sector, environment or country. Policy is governing actions to be undertaken in its sphere of influence.
• The sphere of influence here is the civil service, which is a key tool by which government can achieve its objectives.
• The policy must identify and develop the required human resources in the public sector for addressing the current and future challenges posed by the imperatives of development.
• These policy guidelines must be coherent and comprehensive and aimed at providing effective and efficient public service delivery. It must state the commitment of government playing the central role in ensuring the transformation and development of the country.” – Vincent Hope – Wudil, Nigeria

Learner’s Submission: Online Public Services in India

“Public Service means any service provided by the specific government either directly or through any service provider, which includes, inter alia, the receipt of forms and applications, issue or grant of any license, permits, certification, sanction and approval and the receipt or payment of money by whether name called in a particular manner.

Electronic/Internet Service Delivery means the delivery of services through electronic mode including inter alia, the receipt of forms and applications, issue or grant of any license, permits, certification, sanction and approval and the receipt or payment of money.

The government of India provided several public services to Citizens, Business Community and also to the government body. India is developing its infrastructure for e-governance in several departments of Central Government as well as State Government by providing online services. Few of them, Services which I used are as follows:

• Indian Railways Online Services: Indian Railways is the most important public transport department. Which provide many online service among them I always used online reservation service. Indian railway provides their services mainly through 2 websites, http//:www.indianrail.gov.in/ and http//:www.irctc.co.in/. Through these websites we can get information’s about Trains between Stations, PNR Status, Seat Availability, and Fare Inquiry by using internet.

http//:www.indianrail.gov.in/ is mainly provides information’s to make a travel plan. It proved beneficial to common public.

Before the introduction of these websites online services, getting information’s was very difficult for public, public have to wait for long hours to get information’s from limited information centers. And today, it can be done by few mouse clicks.

 

Online Reservation can be done by http//:www.irctc.co.in/. Services offered in the websites are booking of E-Ticket/Season Ticket/ I-Ticket; and Cancelling E-Ticket/I-Ticket, Compatible browser, and Tatkal Reservation can be done through it. It is very helpful; we can book ticket from home, internet café, and mobile SMS through Register with http//:www.irctc.co.in and paid money online by using credit card, debit card or net banking and new innovation of services by Indian Railway is SMS service for taking the Reservation. Before the introduction of these services, Booking or Cancellation of Ticket was very difficult. People were compelled to stand in lines at reservation counter for several hours. Lack of information used to make situations worst. And nowadays these services are very productive and are proved very effective and helpful to common people.

•  Right to Information (RTI):

The Government of India, has Passed a Act in Parliament for Government department, any common people can ask information under Right to Information Act. Through online http//:www.rtionline.gov.in/.  It is really a great step towards Right to Information for a common people. This service, I always used for taking the information’s.

•  Income Tax Return e-Filling:

Today Income Tax Return can be filled online by using http//:incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/. This facility is really beneficial for citizen who wants to file their income tax return; this website gives opportunity to fill income tax return from any where you are you can use it.

• Passport Seva: 

http//:passportindia.gov.in/ through this passport seva portal we can apply online application for Passport. Ministry of External Affairs is trying to make passport application process is easier for common citizens of India. However there are many things should be workout to make this process perfectly online.” – Mukesh Kumar – Jharkhand, India

Learner’s Submission: An Online Public Service I Used in Botswana, and How it Works

“1.0. INTRODUCTION

I have used an online public service in Botswana, my home country. The online public service I used is referred to as the Integrated Procurement Management System (IPMS). The Integrated Procurement Management System (IPMS) is an initiative of the Botswana Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board, a Parastatal body here in Botswana. The primary objective of the IPMS is to improve the public procurement process by automating procurement system. The automation of the procurement system of the PPADB also envisages improving service delivery of the PPADB.

IPMS is a web-based application on the Microsoft Platform with MW SQC as data base and accessible through the internet through web browser. The production servers are hosted at the Main Site at PPADB and Disaster Recovery Servers which are hosted by the Department of Information Technology.

2.0. WHAT I USED

I once used the Contractor registration Module of the Integrated Procurement Management System. The Contactor registration module is a Web-based platform where all contractors intending to do business with the Procurement Entities of the Republic of Botswana are required to use. This module helps in facilitating online registration of Contractors on IPMS.

3.0.HOW IT WORKS

3.1. The Contractor Registration Module.

All contactors intending to do business with the Procurement Entities of the Republic of Botswana are required to register with PPADB. This Module facilitates online registration of contractors on the IPMS.

3.2. Accessing CRM

Remember that IPMS is Web-based PCs on a network. To access IPMS, you open a web browser and in the address bar of the browser, enter the portal web address or IP address of the server where application is deployed to create a space for IPMS login screen to appear.

4.0. CRATING A LOGIN

Here the contractor enters the login details. If you are new, it is mandatory to provide the following login details, Field name, User ID, Password, Confirm password, Security question, Answers.

4.1. Login.

After contractor fills and save the new User Registration page, system sends an E-Mail to the primary contact E-Mail address mentioning his/her login information. Using those credentials he/she can login into IPMS.

4.2. Filling up Basic Profile.

The contractor will, after login, click on Basic profile. The basic profile form opens on the screen, where the contractor will follow the screen commands.

4.3. Selection of Division (Works/Service/Supplies).

Once the basic registration is completed, then the user can start contractor registration process for specific category and division. The contractor then clicks the Add New Application button to create new application. This screen also displays the list of registration application created by the user with the current status. The system displays the page to select the Division. The registration process page will display list of the Division/Discipline under the Process Selection. User has to enter the registration reference number and select the Division/Discipline and Click on the Proceed button to initiate the process.

4.3.1.      Selection of Business Type.

This form displays selection of Business Type. Based on the selection of the option on this page, the relevant form appears to the user in the next screen to fill. From there the user selects the option from the drop down box and clicks on the save button. Then click on the Proceed to next Task button to proceed to filling up relevant forms.

4.4. COMPANY REGISTRATION FORM.

If the contractor has selected the type of business as Company then he/she has to fill the company registration form as it appears on the screen. After filling the form, the contractor clicks on save/update to proceed.

4.5. REGISRATION OF TRADE FORM.

If the contractor selects business type as trade then he/she has to fill the Trade registration form as it appears on the screen. After filling the form on the screen, click save/update to proceed.

5.0. FILLING DIVISION/DISCIPLENE SPECIFIC FORMS.

5.1. Filling Division Specific Forms.

If the user selects contractor at the time of filling basic profile then he/she will get the forms for contractor in line with Division/Discipline selection. The contractor then fills the details as instructed by the form appearing on the screen.

6.0. CONCLUSION

After going through the necessary steps of registering online, the user has to click on the button “Submit Contractor Registration Application” to complete the registration process. The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board will then assess the application and accordingly respond online. ” – Mpho Kasoka – Ghanzi, Botswana

Learners’ Submission: E-Governance in India

“E-governance has been considered as the best way for good governance. Communication and internet Technology has brought world near and has great impact on the life styles of people. The mode of obtaining services and its delivery has undergone tremendous changes with the improvement of technology that covered almost all types of services whether banking, insurance, other financial services or services from local corporations and government bodies. The relationship of service provider to that of service taker has also changed and has brought changes in quality of the service and its timely delivery.

Indian government has planned for e-Governance and initiated actions to improve delivery of Government services to citizens and businesses with the vision to make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man. Government of India decided to promote e-Governance through a centralized initiative to ensure citizen-centric orientation with decentralized implementation model. It will help realize the objective of inter-operability of various e-Governance applications and ensure optimal utilization of ICT infrastructure and resources. It also aims at identifying successful projects and replicating them with required customization wherever needed.

Accordingly the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) has been formulated by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The Union Government approved the NeGP, comprising of 31 (originally 27) Mission Mode Projects (MMPs). Various Indian Union Ministries/Departments and State Governments are involved in Implementation of the e-Governance plan and the need for overall aggregation and integration at the national level was important.

NeGP comprises 31 mission mode projects (MMPs), which are further classified as state, central or integrated projects. Each state government can also define five MMPs specific to its individual needs.

e-Governance in India has steadily evolved from computerization of Government Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. The projects are expected to reduce number of trips of service users to service provider as also the waiting period apart from reducing the corruption and providing quality service.

I am describing the e-Governance in Urban Local Bodies:

“e-Governance in Urban Local Bodies” is a unique initiative of the Government of India conceptualized under the umbrella of the overall National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) aimed at improving operational efficiencies within Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

It has been observed that

• Presently there is very limited or no computerization across ULBs in different States.
• There is very limited or non-existent staff with IT know-how
• There is lack of standardization of processes; and
• The processes are primarily operated in a manual mode

There are following services which should be provided under this MMP:

I. Citizen Services (G2C)

1. Birth & Death Registration – Information, Application download, online application, payment and printing of certificates with Digital signature
2. Trade Licensing –Accreditation of vendors, Licensed shop owners and technical/professional, online submission and receipts (including renewal etc.) of licenses and printing with digital signature
3. Building Plan – Single window based – Online submission through accredited/licensed Architects, online check and permission, Field check through Handheld device (GPRS & GPS based photos and measurement device) and authentication. NOC from Various dept. would be obtained through SLA based Input screen and secured VPN links.
4. Tax and Fees & Fine/Penalty Payment – Enquiry – GIS based system – Self calculation, payment through secured payment gateway, Printing of secured digital receipts
5. RTI – Online application, application status tracking, pendency tracking
6. Grievance /Service request/Feedback – Online application, application status tracking, pendency tracking.
7. Helpdesk – ULB –wide – single helpline no

II. Employee Service:

1. HRMS with Employee Self-service incl. leave, Personal HR (PIS) , parks and Payroll linked
2. Smartcard/ Biometric based access system linked with HRMS

III. Shared Service /Backend Departmental Services:

1. Double Entry Accrual based Accounting System
2. E-Tendering
3. HRMS with Payroll integrated with attendance system, Recruitment , Training, Assessment/Performance Management Module
4. Inventory/Asset Management including vehicles
5. Project Management with Field Monitoring support and Field service support
6. Enterprise GIS  with Property Tax, Solid Waste Management  Vehicle /Fleet Management
7. GPS/GPRS based Fleet Management
8. Backend Intra and Inter departmental workflow, with communication, document Management, K-Bank and Portal and Information/Content Management
9. Operational & Tactical/Mayors Dashboard” – Sachin Murari Patrikar – Maharashtra, India

Learner’s Submission: Media Channels in Ethiopia

“There are different Medias in Ethiopia, which helps to provide different information’s about different issues. There are an e- government that helps the public sector organization to access information for the society. Thus, e-government can be used to provide access to government information and delivery of public services to citizens, and all other business partners and stakeholders including private sectors. E-government is citizen-centric.

According to the Institute for development Policy and Management (2008), “e-government is the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve the activities of public sector organizations”. Heeks (2008) explains that e-government covers the following three main areas:

• Improving government process / e-Administration by making processes time and cost effective, managing process performance, making strategic connections in government, and creating empowerment;
•  Connecting citizens (e-Citizens and e-Services) by providing citizens with public sector activities details, increasing citizen input into government decisions and actions and improving public services;
• Building external interactions by creating an e-Society, that involves improved relationships between public agencies and other public and private companies, interaction between government and business (Heeks, 2008). E-government requires internet-based technologies to provide facilitated access to government information and services, and citizens and enterprises engagement through e-government portals as a collective vision of all government activities.

In our country, Ethiopia, there are a lot of government web sites that access data for various users. And there are rules and regulations in accessing these government portals. They are all subject to the different terms and conditions. For example, they may require our agreement to access and use the site only for lawful purpose.

And during my working and education life I used different government portals for research and general knowledge purpose. And as a legal user of the website, I accept and agree the terms and conditions of the site. As the same time I compelled my self to comment the real situations, which I believe contribute for the development of the country. And I respect an international copyright law.” – Hiwotie Walelign Alemu – Amhara Management Institute, Ethiopia