Knowledge Management and e-government Rajkumar

Transcription

1 Knowledge Management and e-government Rajkumar Prasad The organizational and technical innovations and governance impacts of a unique Government on a Mobile (m-government) project in Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu in India. Launched in December 2007, this project allowed the public, for the first time in the state, to send petitions through SMS using their mobiles to obtain Government services, such as birth, death, income, and community certificates. The project also provided agricultural and veterinary services through mobile phones. People could also send general grievance petitions to the concerned Government departments for various other Government services. Replies are sent to the petitioners through SMS on their mobiles to come and pay the required fees at the Government office and collect the certificate. For the services that are free of charge (such as community certificate), certificates are delivered at their doorstep through post. For sending petitions through SMS, several NGOs and women self help groups (SHGs) in the villages have been trained. SHG members can also send petitions on behalf of other people by charging a small fee. This has considerably enhanced the reach of the new service to those users who do not have their own mobiles. The project has a partnership with BSNL, the leading public sector telecom service provider in India. BSNL developed the software for sending the SMS messages received as s to the district administration. The National Informatics Center (NIC) provided the backend technical support for processing the applications and sending replies to the petitioners. In October 2008, the project has also started allowing the users to also pay the required fees using their mobile phones. The charges are deducted by BSNL from the mobile phone accounts of the users and paid to the district administration. The petitioners need not visit the Government office for paying the fees. Employing both qualitative and quantitative techniques and using primary data, this research shows that the project has made the delivery of services to the people economical, easier, faster, and corruption free. It has saved the petitioners substantial amount of time and money as they need not travel to the Government offices. I also find that it has enhanced the reach of e-government services among the people due to the much higher penetration of mobile phones. The project has introduced several organizational and technical innovations to make it sustainable. Principal among these are strategic partnerships with BSNL and NIC that have ensured technical sustainability. As the entire project was conceived and

2 implemented by the district administration using the already existing technical and networking infrastructure with no extra expenditure, financial sustainability has been ensured. The project also seems institutionally sustainable as the state Government has approved the project and all stakeholders, such as various Government departments, public representatives, NGOs, SHGs, etc. have been involved. Despite its relative success, the project faces several challenges for its long term sustainability. First, the content available currently is very limited and is only in English. Content in the local language is a must for enabling the common people to use the services. Users also face the problem of having to type their messages in English only. Second, the project needs to ensure continuous technical support from BSNL that seems lacking at present. Third, the project faces opposition from the junior and middle level bureaucracy as it has reduced their rent seeking opportunities. This seems to be a big challenge in ensuring the long-term institutional sustainability of the project. Creating awareness among the public and training all the Government staff are other challenges that the project needs to tackle. Project is very simple and innovative, Citizens could send an SMS to the number in given format for obtain birth, native, community,income and death certificate.they could also submit their grievance petitions to the District Administration. The nominal charges prescribed by the Government for these services would be deducted by the Telecom Operator,from the cell phone account of the respective person. The amount so collected would than transfer to the Government account. The citizens could save valuable time and money.the format is very simple,like obtaining Birth Certificate,The citizens should send the an SMS in the format KKM<BC><DOB dd/mm/yyyy><place of birth> <name of the child> <Father name/mother Name> <Present Postal address>. It a very innovative solutions as we, in India, have more mobile phone which is used by almost every person at village level, everywhere we have mobile connectivity.there fore using Knowledge Management in Mobile Environment and mix with e-governance to deliver services to Citizens is its self a innovation. The Leadership and initiation done by Collector of that District who is a civil servants and his name is Dr Rajendra Kumar, IAS a MIT USA Phd holder. This project itself a example a how knowledge can be mix with ICT to deliver Citizens Services. NERGA and ICT for Poverty reduction and rural people employment KM and e-government in Rural Employment in India In India, we have 623 District and then Block level, Years back Government of India started a new Employment scheme for poor who lives below poverty line in Village.

3 Then, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, passed the Act in Parliament called National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme Act(NREGA) and enacted on 2nd February In this scheme rural poor people (men and women) can get guaranteed 100 days employment. Initial without ICT, there was big problem in terms of wage distribution, Identification card (Employment card),records etc. As most of the people are illiterate, then there was chance for middle man,who paid low wages to poor people and enforced them to signed on actual wages. So ICT not only helping the government but also people who get wages through various IT enable tools and it also bring transparency, credibility and accountability in effective manner. Initial it was started in 200 districts but now it is extended to almost all districts. Here the ICT need was felt by Government and pilot ICT project was started like GIS, MIS and single toll free number for NEREGA households ( Means a family member who got the job under this scheme )other projects. NREGA soft is software which was developed by Department In view of enormous size of the NREGA programme it is required to make best use of latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This will not only help in ensuring successful implementation and proper management of the Programme but will also bring transparency and thereby credibility. Since it is a right based programme, Smart Cards / Hand held devices can be used as IT tool to ensure rights and entitlements. Smart Cards have the potential to capture details of the Workers, Work and Wages (WWW) including the muster rolls and the job cards. Many states have started use of smart cards and hand held devices for the wage disbursement like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, UP, Kerala, etc. To extend the current use of smart cards and hand held devices from wage disbursement to make it operate like a Job card so that all transactions of NREGA programme be captured, like registration, Job card, demand for work, issue of dated receipt, allotment of work, entry into muster roll like attendance from the field through hand held devices which will be able to record latitude and longitude of the area, ensuring presence of worker at the worksite and payment either through branchless

4 banking by adopting the Business Correspondent Model and using biometric based technology or through low cost ATMs. Smart card and hand held devices will have additional advantage of capturing delays. All transactions will be updated instantly in the MIS and accessible to the beneficiaries as well as the public. It will also enhance the management and monitoring of the Programme. The pilot project is initiated in States like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. Low cost ATM for Wage Disbursement with finger print authentication and local language interface ICTs can be fruitfully deployed to ensure that the Scheme is implemented in a transparent manner. The Ministry of Rural Development and UNDP are supporting any IT based applications to assist in the effective implementation of the NREGA. I. SUCCESS STORY Bio Metric ATM for NREGS workers Basic Bank accounts are something that most of the rural people take for granted. Majority of the rural households do not have bank account mainly because of less family earnings. This results in an economic disadvantage. To reach the rural masses and to boost micro financing initiatives, Bio-Metric ATMs with secure finger print readers are hitting the rural villages in Cuddalore District. Now a pilot programme is set in 5 villages and successfully installed in Periyakanganankuppam village and is made functional. Advantages This Bio-Metric ATM is equipped with Bio Metric sensor which has finger print authentications as a standard feature and it is possible for the illiterate or semi literate folks to use just thumb impression on a touch screen which will allow the beneficiaries to withdraw their week s wages. The ATM accepts finger prints as the means of authentication instead of PIN numbers only as used by other ATMs. This ensures that the Bio metric ATM is very easy to use. It rules out the possibility of leakages in the payment as the entire wages are disbursed through the bank. This project will demonstrate the significant reduction of cash delivery time, prevention of leakages and pilferages and promotion of transparency in the system.

5 In case of payment through the bank branches the workers are to be in long queues. They are not properly attended by the bank staff. Besides most of the bank branches are running short of staff. There these workers are perceived by the banking system as additional burden to them and the workers are ill-treated in many cases. It will encourage more savings as the amount goes directly to the bank and the workers can withdraw a minimum amount of US$1 (Rs.50)/- or whatever they require rather than the entire amount. II. Success Story PEOPLE S VOICE I am Lakshmi. I belong to Periyakankanankuppam village at Cuddalore Block in Cuddalore District. I am very poor and illiterate. I did not have any bank account before entering in to NREGS work. I am ignorant of banking procedures and moreover my paltry earning is insufficient to make both ends meet. After joining the NREG Scheme, I have been motivated and now I have opened a bank account with ATM card. It is very useful for the poor illiterates like me to draw money easily for my needs. It helps me to save money after spending for my needs. Projects are going on and there is always a latest ICT need and people are accepting it for their convenience and benefits. So I believe this NEREGA project also meeting the MDGs goal. UNDP India helping in ICT pilot project in India. There are many projects which is running successful by using Knowledge and ICT innovation to deliver citizens services at grass root level. It is also a good example knows KM and e-government can meet MDGs Goal by 2015 by using ICT as tool for transformation, as tool for innovation in Public Services deliver not only in India but in other countries. Whenever innovation come with KM, it is most important that leadership must be supportive and keep continue with the project than it give real fruit and result to citizens. Therefore Change Management with performance Management is most important tool in today digital world to deliver the Best. Rajkumar Prasad- rajkumar@electronicgovindia.net Dr Rajendra Kumar IAS - kumarr@alum.mit.edu

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