Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Bill, 2011

http://mit.gov.in/content/draft-electronic-delivery-services-bill-2011

1)     Introduction

To speed up the process of delivery of public services to the citizens through electronic mode it is proposed to enact the Electronic Delivery of Services (EDS) Act.

2)     Salient Features of the EDS Bill

a)   The Electronic Delivery of Services Act will mandate provisioning of all public services of all Central and State Government departments compulsorily through electronic means within 5 years from enactment.  

b)   Within 180 days of enactment of the EDS Act, all Departments of Central and State Government will need to identify the list of all public services to be delivered by it through electronic mode.

c)     The Departments will also need to provide details regarding the manner of delivery (how) of these electronic services and their service levels.

d)     It will be ensured that in addition to electronic mode of delivery of services, assisted access to electronic services will also be provided to the citizens.

e)     Departments will create a Grievance Redressal Mechanism for handling complaints regarding non availability of Electronic services or deficiency in delivery of electronic services.

f)    Electronic Service Delivery Commissions will be established at both the Central and State level to oversee the implementation and monitoring of the Act.

g)     The Act provides for penal provisions in case of contravention of the provisions of the EDS Act

3)     Current Status

a)     There has been extensive consultation process over the past 8 months on the EDS Bill, with all Stakeholders including all Central Government Departments, State Governments, Industry, Industry Association, Academia and Civil society.

b)     The EDS Bill was uploaded in the DIT website on 9th February 2011. All subsequent revisions have also been uploaded on the DIT website.

c)     The various suggestions and feedback of the stakeholders have been considered and accordingly the EDS bill has been revised to incorporate these suggestions.

d)     Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India has approved the draft Bill.

e)     It is proposed to introduce the EDS Bill during the winter session of the Parliament

4)     Benefits

The EDS Act Bill will bring about improvement in service delivery and Governance by ensuring legal mandate for delivery of services in electronic mode.

The EDS Bill is hosted at http://mit.gov.in/content/draft-electronic-delivery-services-bill-2011

Delivering services the Kalyan-Dombivli way – Isher Judge Ahluwalia

Below is an article published by Mrs. Isher Judge Ahluwalia on the e-Governance Project in the Kalyan  Dombivali Municipal Corporation.  Some of the factors which impressed her were

a)  Aesthetically designed Citizen Facilitation Centres

b) Ease of service delivery / reduction in time in delivery of services like issue of Birth Certificate, Payment of property taxes, reduction in time for property assesment

c) Integration of different service delivery modules / back end integration

d) Strong bureaucratic leadership

e) Financial sustainability of the Project

Delivering services the Kalyan-Dombivli way – Isher Judge Ahluwalia
For over a decade now, we have taken pride in the great performance of India’s IT sector in the global market for software development and also in the Indian corporate space. But the benefit IT can bring in delivering a variety of public services, what is often called e-governance, has been less in focus in India. The potential from this activity is enormous and it is only just beginning to be realised.
An outstanding example of what IT can do to deliver public services in Indian cities is provided by the e-governance project of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in Thane district in Maharashtra. The project was conceived in 1999, started implementation in 2002, and is now being replicated across the 231 urban local bodies of Maharashtra. Its lessons are also being incorporated in the mission mode projects of the National e-Governance Action Plan which was launched in 2003.

Principal Secretary e-Governance Shri MN Vidyashankar's interview by egovreach.com

The original link is here egovreach.in

Karnataka has been leading the way in terms of IT software and hardware exports. It has taken a huge leap in e-governance initiatives also and  M. N. Vidyashankar, Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka elaborates on the efforts that the state has put in.

Q: Karnataka is one among the few states which has shown proper reciprocation to e-governance call. How would you rate the state’s response to e-governance?

Answer

Karnataka ranked as the “Leader in e-Readiness in the country” by the Department of Information Technology, Government of India. We have several successful e-governance projects which have potential to be replicated in other states. Namely:

Bhoomi : Bhoomi (meaning land) is the project of on-line delivery and management of land records in Karnataka. It provides transparency in land records management with better citizen services and takes discretion away from civil servants at operational levels.

BHOOMI has been operationalised throughout the state. Under BHOOMI 20 million records of land ownership of 6.7 million farmers are computerized in the state.

BHOOMI has reduced the discretion of public officials by introducing provisions for recording a mutation request online. Farmers can now access the database and are empowered to follow up. Now, mutation requests are being handled strictly on a first-come-first-served basis eliminating preferential treatment and discretionary powers of the civil servants.

Shri Ajay Sawhney President and CEO, NeGD presenting on the EDS Bill

Shri Ajay Sawhney, President and CEO NeGD was asked to deliver a presentation on the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011 as part of the valedictory session on the International Seminar on e-Governance organised by the Industry body ASSOCHAM

See the full gallery on Posterous