Tech Building Blocks

Four pillars of technology required to build a good, stable egovernance project

Thursday, February 10, 2005

In order to understand what the various technology building blocks for e-governance projects are, think of the Indian government as a very large enterprise. It has hundreds of departments located across different states for servicing its customers, ie, the Indian citizens. And then think of all the technologies it would require for automating the basic functioning of these departments so that they are more efficient in dealing with their customers. That's in effect what e-governance is all about. Unless these departments are computerized, they'll continue to serve their huge customer base at the same sluggish pace. 

Keeping this in mind, there are four basic pillars of technology needed to implement e-governance, according to us. These are a sound communications infrastructure, a security infrastructure, localization, and standardization. Any e-governance project would require the right mix of these five technology elements in order to be successful. Let's look at each in more detail. 

Communications infrastructure
This is a basic requirement for any e-governance project. The way of implementing it depends upon the nature of the e-governance project. If it is a government department, then basic networking has to be implemented using structured cabling and/or wireless technologies. If it's a rural area, then other means of communications such as VSATs, corDECT technology, or VHF/UHF narrowband solutions have to be used. corDECT is a wireless WLL (Wireless Local Loop) technology, which provides low-cost simultaneous voice and data connectivity. Once the network is in place, the next step is to link the various networks together using various WAN technologies. The choice of front-ends also varies in the infrastructure, as the PC isn't suitable for every implementation. Take the Simputer for instance-the tiny handheld computer that can read out Web pages. It's a boon for those Indians living in rural areas, who don't know how to read. 

Security infrastructure
This is a must for departments dealing directly with the public or businesses, and we're already seeing a lot of action in this space. A proper security infrastructure is a must for e-commerce to succeed in India. What does this have to do with the Indian government you might ask. Well, businesses have to transact with the Indian government for various tasks, such as filing taxes, submitting tenders, getting permissions and licenses of various kinds. In fact, all Indian citizens also need to transact with the government over various things, such as applying for a driving license, getting a new passport, filing taxes, and much more. If the Indian government were to e-enable these various processes, then the government will need to have some way to clearly identify whom it's dealing with. To take an example, the DGFT or the Directorate General of Foreign Trade gives a 50 percent discount on digital filing of all applications electronically by Indian exporters. For this, the Indian exporters must first buy a package from Safescrypt, a Certification Authority authorized by the Indian government. This package would give each exporter a digital identity, authorized by the Indian government. This identity can then be used to file applications with DGFT. Similarly, if every Indian citizen is also given a digital identity, then the same can be used to do any kind of transaction with the government. There wouldn't be multiple identities of each citizen flying around with different government departments. The government has already given a license to seven certifying authorities in India. These licenses are digitally signed by another entity called the Root Certifying Authority of India (RCAI). 

With this basic infrastructure in place, what's now required is for the Indian government to use it appropriately for its various e-governance initiatives.

Localization
There are around 22 different languages recognized by the Indian constitution, and none of these by the way, is English. So in order for IT to really be effective in the country, all software being deployed in e-governance projects has to be in one of these local languages. The other problem India faces is that of low literacy levels. Therefore, even the localization has to be done keeping this in mind. The front-ends that will allow citizens to interact with the government have to be made simple enough to understand. Already, there are lots of e-governance projects that have been localized. Most of the websites of various Indian states are also in their respective local languages. 

Standardization
This is the last brick of the technology framework, and I'd like to explain this with an example. I once asked the CIO of a multinational company about how he made his IT purchase decisions. The answer to my surprise was that he had no control over which products and technologies to use. They were all determined by the company's headquarters. He just had to contact the local vendors and ensure that the implementation was done. Actually, most multinational companies follow this pattern. All their technology related decisions are done centrally, an implementation roadmap is chalked out and then passed on to all their offices across the globe. 

So if the parent company is using MS Exchange as the messaging solution, then there's no way that the Indian counterpart can use anything else. They also have to use MS Exchange, and adhere to strict guidelines provided by HO on how to deploy it. What does this have to do with e-governance you might ask. There's only one word to answer this-standardization. With hundreds of departments located across the country, there must be some form of standardization followed while implementing e-governance projects. 

Till now, most e-governance projects that have been implemented have been customized to meet the project's requirements. If the same were to be replicated across another e-governance project, a lot of redundant effort would be required. So to avoid reinventing the wheel, it's better to standardize the basic process. This is what happens in any industry. A majority of the processes are similar across different companies, while only a minor portion is specific to each. Take car manufacturing for instance. All cars have an engine, a body, glassware, steering and suspension, etc regardless of whether they are Maruti Zens or a Hyundai Accents. Due to this, the basic process for assembling these parts remains the same.

Anil Chopra

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