Received wisdom in e-governance is that going digital is not a choice anymore, but is the only option to maintain the quality of life of citizens in the long-term.

UST Global, a leading provider of IT and digital services worldwide, and which has been working on the ‘e-Nagarpalika’ project for the Madhya Pradesh government, could not agree more.

NEEDS UNIQUE MODEL

E-nagarpalika lays the foundation for the state’s digital economy. The e-governance platform here connects 378 urban local bodies -- 16 municipal corporations, 98 municipal councils and 264 nagar panchayats.

An e-governance model that works for India is unique on many counts, say Alexander Varghese, Chief Administrator and Country Head, and Hari Chandrasekaran, VP and Global Head, Public Sector, UST Global.

This has largely to do with the fact that it would upend successful models in countries such as Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria, the UST Global honchos told BusinessLine.

In these countries, e-governance is said to have proved a huge success since it is based on a host of common denominators -- low economic base, low density of population, and an aging demography.

LOW-ECONOMY MODEL

E-governance was a matter of choice in these geographies where banks and financial institutions would not be able to set up branches/ ATMs/ kiosks wherever they liked.

“E-governance will work here exactly for the factors which they don’t in Estonia, Romania or Bulgaria,” said Chandrasekaran.

The ratio of a government official to citizens here is heavily loaded against the latter. The administration cannot simply hope to reach out to all without IT.

The only way it can hope to interface with them is through digital media, especially when the latter are becoming increasingly digital media-savvy.

Varghese concurred saying that the low economy model is not valid in India, given the big opportunity offered by the young population.

“But unless you have the commitment to stick to reforms, going digital could prove a disaster with ramifications for basic services starting from revenue collections.”

CONTENT MAKES DIFFERENCE

The outreach needs to be multi-pronged so as to encompass the digitally divided, wherever it exists.

The content could make the difference here. Besides addressing basic needs, if applications such as surveillance and personal protection can run on the top, it could appeal to all, Chandrasekaran said.

According to Varghese, there is no metro-versus-rural-versus-tribal differentiation here because new age systems do not require digital literacy.

“Going digital does not require somebody to necessarily to go to the terminal and operate.

“For instance, there are voice-activated applications that can get things done for you. That is the evolution that is happening.

“You can actually speak to the device. Remember, we’re not living in a fantasy world any more. These things are already happening. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet-of-Things (IoT) is already around you.”