CHAPTER I

RESEARCH METHODOLY
- APJ Abdul Kalam

1.1 Introduction:

With the scientific & technological developments it has become
essential for developments in developing nation like India to keep pace with
modern developments. Computer based tools prove to be a realistic
substitute for traditional tools and natural experiences that might otherwise
be impractical, time consuming, costly or even dangerous.
With the onset of information technology revolution, many
developing countries look at Information Technology as a possible new tool
to solve age-old problems of poverty, bad governance, and sluggish
economic growth. While the developed countries have been able to benefit
greatly from the wide use of Information Technology, many developing
countries are still grasping to make sense of how Information Technology
fits into their problems. The trend is also equally applicable in the case of
e-Governance. In India, concept of e-Governance has been talked about a
lot; some government offices have even taken initiative steps towards
certain e-Government projects. Since this is a new concept for government
officials who have been familiar with traditional methods of work, the
growth of e-Governance is met with resistance from officials due to phobia
of the new technology. But the good news is that the government has taken
e-Governance very seriously.
Information Technology has highly enhanced the working efficiency
of the government. This technology very positively affects the quality of the
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performance of an organization. Good governance emphasizes on keeping
adequate balance among resources such as manpower, space, time &
expenditure. The growth of Internet technology is changing the way people
live, communicate and work. The impact of the technology in the
functioning of the government is that government started utilizing the
potential of the technology to deliver online information and services to
citizens. Each citizen can contact to the government through a website
where all forms, legislation, news and other information is made available.
Government can serve its customers-citizens and businesses better and save
the cost by making internal operation more efficient.

1.2 Conceptualization of e-Governance

Before moving on to defining what e-Governance comprises of, it is
very important to realize that what e-Governance is not. If the concept of
e-Governance is not clear, the misconceptions lead to baseless fear and
resistance for implementation of the technology. That is why it is very
important first to realize what the e-Governance is not and what exactly it
is?

1.2.1 What e-Governance is not?
a) It is not about changing government processes, inter-agency or inter-
personal relationships.
b) It is not limited to computerization of government offices.
c) It is not just about managing documentation using computers.
d) It does not put government security and confidentiality at risk.

1.2.2 What is e-Governance?

E-Governance is of composed information technology, people and
government. E-Governance is the application of electronic means to
improve the interaction between government and citizens, and to increase
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the administrative effectiveness and efficiency in the government
operations. It is the application of information technology for efficient and
effective functioning of government processes in order to establish Simple,
Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) government.
[1]

1.2.3 Why to adopt e-Governance?

The e-Governance projects have very high potential of offering
benefits such as cost effective solutions, improved and easy-to-access
services to citizens, and improved processing of transactions both within the
government and between the government and other agencies. The planning,
implementation and monitoring of government programmes, projects and
activities can be significantly strengthen by this application. Rapid growth
of Internet has led governments in both developing and developed countries
to use the technology for an efficient and effective service to the citizens.
Besides fast, convenient, cheap and reliable delivery of the services, Internet
technology enables to bring more transparency in governance and gives
many benefits to the e-Governance community. The government services
can be extended to all geographical segments all over the country round
Oclock and all days in a year very speedily.

1.2.4 e-Governance Model

The three main benefited user groups that can be distinguished in
e-governance concepts are government, citizens and businesses.
e-Governance is the use of information and communication technologies to
support good governance.

The most common interactions in e-governance are Government to
Citizens (G2C), Citizens to Government (C2G), Government to Businesses
(G2B) and Government to Government (G2G). The various interactions in
e- Governance are presented schematically in Figure 1.1

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G2G
Central Govt.






Local Govt.






G2C G2G G2B Business
Citizen (NGOs)

G2G


Figure 1.1 e-Governance Model

1.2.5. Phases of e-Governance
e-Governance has four phases which can be served as a reference for
government to position where a project fits in the overall evaluation of an
e-Governance strategy .Information, interaction, transaction &
transformation are the four phase of e-Governance. Most governments start
by delivering online information, but public demands and internal efficiency
soon require more complex services. In some cases the public demand is the
driving force, in other cases, cost saving aspects for the government are
leading. e-Governance will mature according to the four phases:
Information, Interaction, Transaction, Transformation. The first two phases
concentrate on the information exchange via web-portals; the last two
phases are mainly oriented towards an integrated service
delivery approach.
[2]











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1.3 E-Governance in India:

The Indian Government is using Information Technology to facilitate
governance. The IT industry is helping the government that is the
public-private partnership which helps to enhance the e- Governance
effectiveness. In last few years e-Governance has set its roots in India. IT
enables the delivery of government services as it caters to a large group of
people across different segments and geographical locations. The effective
use of IT services in government administration can greatly enhance
existing efficiencies, drop down communication costs, and increase
transparency in the functioning of various departments. It also gives citizens
easy access to tangible benefits through simple application such as online
form filling, bill sourcing and payments, or complex applications like
distance education and tele-medicine.
[3]


Almost every state has an IT policy in place with the aims of
evolving itself from being an IT aware to an IT-enabled government. State
governments are fast recognizing the benefits of an IT-enabled working
environment.

National Informatics Center under Ministry of Communication &
Information Technology, New Delhi, and Government of India was set up
with a long-term objective of setting up a computer-based informatics
culture for supporting in decision making strategies and policies of
Government as well as for providing fast & reliable information for
development through networking & databases management. National
Informatics Center (NIC) is promoting and systemizing the data collection,
organization, processing and make it available for on-line accessibility.
From 1985-86 NIC has extended its informatics support services to state and
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District Administrations and signed Memorandum of understanding with all
the State Government/UTs of the Union of India.

NIC has been made the nodal Science & Technology organization of
the Government of India under the Ministry of Communication &
Information technology to introduce information technology tools for
executive support system (EGS) development and distributed databases
expert system, electronic mail services and 560 Districts administration
through its satellite based information communication network i.e. National
Information Center Network (NICNET).
1.3.1 National e-Governance Plan:
Taking note of the potential of e-Governance to improve the quality
of life of the vast population of the country, the Government of India has
formulated a national program the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).
This plan attempts to cover all the important areas relating to e-Governance
Policy, Infrastructure, Finances, Project Management, Government Process
Reengineering, Capacity Building, Training, Assessment and Awareness
etc. across the Central and State Governments.
[4]


NeGP is a comprehensive Programme of the Government of India
and is designed to leverage capabilities and opportunities presented by ICT
to promote good governance across the country. One of the important thing
is at the core of the NeGP is the emphasis given on implementation of such
projects with clear timeliness and responsibility allocations in a Mission
Mode.
The vision of NeGP is to make all Government services accessible to
the common man in his locality through common service delivery outlets.
Even at the stage of formulation of the NeGP, its vision and proposed
strategy, consultations were held with various stakeholders including state
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governments, ministries/departments, IT industry representatives and civil
society organizations.

1.3.2 E-Governance and Maharashtra State:
Maharashtra is one of the largest state in India encompasses an area
of 307690 km. The state is considered among the most progressive status in
India due to its history of social reforms and economic progress. It is India's
leading industrial state contributing 23% of India's industrial output. In
keeping with this tradition, the Government of Maharashtra was keen on
modernizing its vast administrative infrastructure by ushering it into the
digital age. The mission statement of Government of Maharashtras
(GoMs) IT policy formulation in 1998 is Empowerment through
connectivity and this forward looking mission statement aims to give
citizens, Anytime, Anywhere, Anyhow, access to government services,
while keeping administrative costs low.
The state has witnessed rapid expansion of IT infrastructure and has
become a leading state in the country in terms of internet subscribers and PC
penetration. This is evident from the fact that 32% of the internet
subscribers in the country are based in Maharashtra. The state also accounts
for 35% of PC penetration in the country. The state also adds around
1, 69,000 trained technical personnel to manpower pool every year. There
are 15 Information Technology parks in the state which contribute to around
20% of the software exports in India. With millions of citizens, thousands of
employees across the state including the employees working at the state
headquarter Mantralaya launching e-Governance was a massive task. To
accomplish this task, GoM setup the Directorate of IT to computerize
government departments and offices in Maharashtra.
The computerization encompassed payment procedure, gateways for
services rendered by government organization, computerization of land
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records, government to citizens program that help citizens monitor the
progress of their application for government services e.g. SETU, collection
of sales taxes, vehicle registration, railway &air ticket reservation etc. To
facilitate easier communication among Government departments a web
based workflow system was also planned. NICs has also started state
center in each capital /Union territory. State Informatics Officer (SIO) is
coordinating the implementation activity of various software packages with
respective government department and NIC District Centre Units.

1.3.3 Nashik District & e-Governance:
National Informatics Center (NIC), constituted by the Government at
all levels of its hierarchy such as the Central Government, State Government
and District Administrations, has set up a nationwide satellite based
computer communication network called NICNET. NICNET in its
present configuration connects all Central Government Departments/State
Government Secretariats, District Administration Headquarters and some
public sector organizations in a single integrated network. In parallel with
setting up infrastructure, NIC has developed a large number of informatics
services for almost all sectors of the Government such as economy,
industry, etc. Many of this service make extensive use of NICNET
resulting in timely, efficient and reliable flow of information at different
levels in the Government hierarchy.
The NIC, District Centre, Nashik is setup in 1988 located in the
premises of Collectorate, Nashik for providing technical support and
guidance in implementation of computerization. Also to provide the
NICNET services for data transmission from District to Mantralaya,
Mumbai and vice versa.

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The Government of Maharashtra and NIC developed e-Governance
for Nashik District are as,
i. SETU (Computerization of Citizen Facilitation Centers)
ii. Land Record System
iii. Land Management Information System (LMIS)
iv. Property Cards Information System (PCIS)
v. Web Based Employment Guarantee Scheme
vi. Octroi Management System (OMS) etc.

1.4. Aspects of e-Governance:

Economics around the world is becoming knowledge oriented that is
enhanced by use of technology. India, which is one of the largest country in
the world in terms of population, geographical size, as well as pluralistic
nature with different types of cultures and belief systems, any initiative
which is person to person based has to be very elaborative thus exhausting
the resources in basic functioning of the system. This leaves hardly any
scope for incremental improvements and innovation in the system in the
place. e-Governance may be good answer to this issue.
The implementation of e-Governance systems has many aspects.
For ex. normally e-Governance services are non-profit making services and
most of the time their payback period is very high which makes them capital
intensive. Further connectivity is an issue to make the service accessible to a
major section of the society.
[5]


1.5 Need of Research on e-Governance:

Government of Maharashtra projects is vast in scale and
implementation. Issues of cost, project scalability, support and security are
paramount in such cases. GoM officers estimate that over a million people
will access its citizen-centric services offered through various e-Governance
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projects. These services will be accessed across 250,000 locations through
browser-based interface.
Researcher has selected this topic to know the facilities presently
available & planning for implementation of e-Governance in Government
organizations in the Nashik District. As the era of digital economy is
evolving the concept of e-governance is assumed to be significant
importance. The questions often raised in this context are:

i) How government can become more responsive and accessible?
ii) How cans government enhances its role as a catalyst of economic
growth?
iii) How can one provide better government services and
iv) How can government use advanced technologies for transferring
benefits of technology to the citizens in offering speedy services such
as educational development, implementation of government schemes,
information about government services and policies.

These questions are now adequately answered through the adoption
of e-Governance. The e-Governance has consequently become an accepted
methodology involving the use of IT in

Improving transparency
Government started to deliver online information about schemes,
services and facilities that made available for the citizens. By
keeping the information open, majority of the citizen can get the
benefits of the government schemes. So the facilities can easily
peculate to villagers.
Providing information speedily to all citizens
Each citizen can contact to the government through a internet
where all forms, legislation, news, projects, activities and other
information is available. The information transfer time is made
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absolutely small which enhances the speed of implementation &
execution of schemes.
Improving administration efficiency
With the help on line communication, database management
through efficient electronic device, the information technology
improves the interaction between government & citizens that
enhances administrative effectiveness & efficiency in the internal
operations.

The study is aimed at collecting the information related with
e-Governance in the Nashik District. This Research will help to know about
the Progress, Development and Strategy of e-Governance in the
Government Organizations & Municipal Corporation Services. Also it will
help to know the planning, concepts and interaction in e-governance groups
(government, citizens and businesses) to support good governance using
information & communication technology.

1.6 Objectives of the Study:

i. To explain the concept of e-Governance & its progress in
Maharashtra State.
ii. To take review of the developments of e-Governance & its different
aspects & scope.
iii. To study the need for e-Governance for better administration &
development plan of Government of Maharashtra State.
iv. To criticize the state governments policies & progress of
e-Governance in Government organizations.
v. To know the problem regarding implementation of e-Governance in
Government Organizations.
vi. To suggest proper remedies to renew such problem for better
development of e-Governance in Maharashtra state.
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1.7 Hypotheses:

H
1
: Maharashtra state is a progressive state in India. The progress,
development & strategy for e-Governance in Government
organizations are being implemented by the government to
improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
H
2
: Government organizations are facing various problems while
implementing e-Governance policy and same can be solved.

1.8 Data Source & Data Collection:

The design is adopted primarily of descriptive type with support from
exploration of literature, websites, case studies and opinions through
questionnaires filled by Officers & employees of Government organizations
and Citizens.
The data has collected with the help of following two sources,
1.8.1 Primary Data: Primary data is collected by following methods

a) Questionnaire: The questionnaire was prepared for government
officers, employees & citizens. The questionnaire included the
questions regarding to government policies, implementation
methodology, the effect of e-governance on the efficiency, speed
& expenses of government services.
b) Interview: The interview was especially taken to understand the
views of officers, employees and citizens in details.
c) Observation: Through on site visits observation was done for
actual working of e-governance system, the participation of the
officers, employee and citizen in effective implementation of the
system. The practical advantages and disadvantages of the system
were observed.

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1.8.2 Secondary Data: Secondary data is collected with the help of
following sources:
a) Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia was used to know the details of the
terminology used in e- governance.
b) Reference Books: The researcher has referred various regarding
related to e-governance, electronic communication, the use of
e-governance in developing nation, project, initiative, technical
problems in implementation of e- governance etc.
c) Journals & Newspapers: Various research papers and journals
were referred
d) World Wide Web: World Wide Web were viewed for
understanding the government policies for implementation of
e- governance, the scope for use of electronic communication for
the effective launching of the government schemes & to
understand pros and cons of use of electronic technology in
governing the country.
e) Government Diaries & Reports - Government Diaries & Reports
were observed for understanding the government strategies for
implementation of e- governance.

1.9 Sampling:
This is an empirical study. It requires extensive and free use of
various sources. The main purpose of the study is to know the problems,
policies and status of e-Governance in Government Organizations.
In Nashik District 57 Government Organizations located at various
parts. Out of these 18 organizations were selected as representative random
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sample. These organizations were selected by simple random sampling
method. Random numbers were picked up from the government
organizations.
o Sampling Unit - Government Organization
o Sampling Frame - Government Organizations Located in
the Nashik District
o Sampling Procedure - Simple Random Sampling method
The researcher has developed questionnaire method for data
collection. The structure of questionnaire prepared specifically by
considering the research problem, aims and objectives of the research.
1.10 Analysis & Interpretation:
The analysis and interpretation of the data was made with reference
to the research problem and objectives of the study and the statement of the
hypothesis to be tested for analysis and interpretation of data. The researcher
used statistical tools such percentage, graphs and diagrams wherever
necessary, for these purpose relevant subject experts guidance and opinions
are also sought to analyze the data wherever required.
1.11 Scope & Limitations:
The scope of this research is limited to study of e-Governance & its
implementation in Nashik District, the role played by electronic
communication in this modern era, the role & effect of e-governance on the
lifestyle of the citizens and the use of technology for facilitating the life of
the citizens. So the different aspects regarding e-Governance has been
studied in the present research. As per the limitations of this research
concern, it is based on the information which is collected through primary
sources and same information is properly and systematically analyzed
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according to the techniques and methods of statistics. The conclusions &
findings are based on analysis of the information procured.
1.12 Chapter Scheme:
The research work has been divided into following chapters
Chapter 1.Research Methodology
This chapter gives the review of the study regarding to need of
e-Governance, details of research design, sources of data, scope and
limitations of the facts observed and studied in present research. It also
focuses on the objectives and hypothesis of the study associated with this
research.

Chapter 2. Literature Survey
This chapter deals with a review of the literature on the
development of e-Governance project.
Chapter 3. History & Development of e-Governance
This chapter gives an introduction of technology, development of
technology, use of information & communication technology in
government organization, Government schemes, e-Governance model
and transparency of the information in the government organizations and
development and implementation of e-Governance projects using ICT.
Chapter 4. Policy, Planning & Status of e-Governance in
Maharashtra State
This chapter provides the information regarding the development &
implementation of e-governance projects in different countries around
the world. This section also covers, in brief, the e-Governance initiatives
being taken by various governments and government of India. This
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chapter gives information about the Maharashtra Governments policies
about e-Governance. This chapter also throws light on details regarding
implementation of e-Governance in various government offices and
implementation of IT Policy act, improving transparency in Maharashtra.
Various project implemented by the government for the citizens are
being discussed.
Chapter 5. Profile of Nashik District
This chapter gives the profile of the Nashik District which includes
geographical status, historical development of Nashik, Educational
system, administrative Offices and Government Organizations.
Chapter 6. Implementation & development Strategies of
e-Governance in Nashik District
This chapter provides the information regarding the progress of
various e-Governance projects which are being implemented in
government organizations. It also focuses on development phases of
e-Governance & Strategies used in the Government organizations &
Municipal offices for implementation of e-Governance.
Chapter 7. Analysis & Interpretation of Data

This chapter gives the analysis of data. Analysis is used to find the
solutions of the problems observed in the research. The data are
presented in tabular form for facilitating the analysis.
Chapter 8. Conclusions, Problems & Suggestions
This chapter gives the findings of the study & explains details about
the conclusion of the research study.



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References
i. Abramsom A.M. and Means E.G.(2001), e-Government, Price
Waterhouse coopers endowment for the Business of Government,
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
ii. Vivek Gupta (2003) e-Government: The New Revolution, The
ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad, India
iii. Bachus Michiel (2001), e-Government and Development
Countries: Introduction and Examples, Research Report, No.3
iv. Harris Blake,(2000), e-Governance, http://www.iadb.org
v. Ndou Valentine (2004), e-Government for Developing countries:
Opportunities and Challenges, The Electronic J ournal on
Information Systems in Developing Countries, Vol.18, No.1.