Can e-Governance Root Out Corruption?
By Muntazir Abbas
Delhi, Jul 30, 2008

With the applications and solutions, technology has empowered society with innovative tools. When it comes to e-governance, the technically-advanced solutions can take denizens through a faster and cost-effective e-process.

"We can reap the benefits of e-governance through effective implementation of information communication technology", said J. Sathyanarayana, (IAS) CEO, National Institute of Smart Government, India.

The e-governance is the process that empowers human potential to the fullest. Besides transparency and cost-saving applications, the method saves time as the people need not virtually run from pillar to post for small functions.

Basheerhamad Shadrach, senior program officer, International Development Research Center, India said that this is the only method that can eradicate corruption, prevalent at grass root levels. "Our prime minister, Manmohan Singh has rightly said that corruption is a cancer."

Andhra Pradesh has e-recorded 20 million land records so far. With e-procurement and rural broadband service in the state, the state has saved a lot of money annually, which is now being spent for other projects.

It is however learnt that around 35% e-governance initiatives fail due to political apathy and inefficiency. "No reform or strategy can ignore the role of ICT, today. It's not a stand alone agenda but a cross-cutting enabler for all the priorities", said Oleg Petrov, coordinator with e-Development of ICT Department in World Bank.


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