When two people come together, the third uninvited guest is – culture!
To maintain harmonious justice, these cultures gave rise to administrative bodies that govern the land and its people. This evolution from the animal kingdom to our modern democratic societies was as complex as life and nature, where managing land and its people means managing everything that happens within the geographical landscape’s boundaries. A long time back it might have just started with securing a citizen’s crop plantation or helping them distribute their produce for trade, and as lands expanded in history, villages merged to become towns and towns became cities and cities collaborated to become nations. Today, there are approximately 200 independent national governments around the globe to manage their respective land and its people. That collaboration of a few humans who took the responsibility of becoming helping hands for others became governments that enable the smooth functioning of life and an entire nation.
When I was little, I remember accompanying my grandma twice or thrice to the bank every month to check if the sanctioned funds were deposited into her account and collected to meet the monthly expenses. Some days the money would’ve been deposited sooner; others, we were asked to come after a specific date to collect. The story is not the same anymore with the advent of technology that eased such processes for people like my grandma. Right now, one does not have to follow up or go to government offices or banks to avail of some services. This transition from on-ground or in-person to online began in 1976, with the establishment of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) which drastically started evolving in 2006 when the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) commenced. The Digital India initiative launched in 2015 further accelerated this transformation focusing on three key areas: infrastructure, services, and literacy. One of the most crucial turning points in setting up the digital infrastructure was the digital documentation of government records. A citizen now doesn’t have to wait for a file to be found from the pile, but can just enter the file number in the system to retrieve their information. At times of distress, we do not go to the police station anymore, instead with the help of technology, we call, email and can even ask for help using WhatsApp. Now, most government formalities are digitised and correspond automatically.
The transformation is also witnessing the emergence of a cashless economy with the development of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in 2016 which empowered citizens and the market to function at ease. 2016 also marked the passing of the Aadhaar Act under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. If we go digging up the history of Aadhaar, it goes back to the 1999 Kargil War when national security was an issue to be solved through identity. And the linkage of Aadhaar helps citizens to receive services in the comfort of their homes. From the time of birth till their demise, a citizen doesn’t have to wait in vain anymore but can get updates on their phone. Another major milestone during this transformation was the creation of the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) app which provides a single platform for accessing over 1,200 government services in 23 Indian languages. It allows citizens to apply for services, track applications, and make payments, enhancing convenience and efficiency. Since the digitisation of government public services, individuals can now conveniently connect directly with their local body representatives if their grievances are not addressed. These options make it easier for technologically advanced societies to be more involved in governments’ schemes and services. In a country so young as India, the social developments toward a digital nation are enormous with almost all government records or processes tracked online. When businesses and markets promise next-day delivery, how can the largest organization called the government lag behind time?
A citizen of a state also means an asset of the state, which means the government has a role in that citizen’s well-being from birth till death ensuring a stress-free social life. We are still coming out of a state of survival where we were unaware of our date of birth, marriage, death and at times even education qualifications. Thus accountable government departments are crucial for a nation to progress as an equitable society giving every citizen a space to thrive. Taking governance and public service delivery online will only smoothen the mechanism. Digital transformation in public service delivery is just the beginning of new-age governance for India to achieve sustainable development goals. From a land governed by kings, monarchs, and foreign armies, we have progressed to this era of digital governance. This will not only strengthen the administration of a country resulting in a higher quality of life, but also enable us for a global digital transformation. This shift from keeping records on books and papers to cloud storage will guarantee a more satisfied life since it is a shift of power from people to authorities to kingdoms to governments and eventually back to people’s hands.
This great handover of power
of the people,
by the people,
is for the people,
from people to people.
ego feels..! 