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M-Governance: The New Mantra For Better Administration
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With increased reach, mobile technology has become a tool of effective public service delivery that can enhance communication between the government and people.
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Thursday, July 12, 2012:
Mobile Governance or M-Governance is the latest progress in E-governance with the increasing popularity of advanced mobile technology such as mobile phones, internet-enabled devices, laptops, palm tops, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and wireless networks. This growth has taken India by storm with such developed technology reaching millions of homes, not only in urban areas but also rural hamlets in far-flung regions. Mobile devices are not so costly, easy to use, widely available, and can be carried anywhere and used any time. To utilize this medium for good governance in a country with more than a billion people spread over cities, towns and villages is a valid step towards development. Delivering timely and accurate information to citizens and an established system of two-way communication between the government and people is one of the keys to strengthening democracy by facilitating enhanced utilization of public services, participation and empowerment of citizens. Time is ripe for India to take a step forward from E-Governance to M-Governance in a big way. Still at a very nascent stage, the possibilities and opportunities the concept provides can be explored in various areas such as electoral processes, banking, health, education and various services.
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Among the Indian states, Kerala is moving ahead with its M-Governance initiatives with the Kerala State IT Mission taking advantage of the high percentage of tele density. Services such as complaint registration, entrance exam results, file tracking and health services have led to the state become a role model in this space. The latest M-service allows people to check their Voter ID details and polling station by sending an SMS. Kerala has been recognized in the 2012 edition of the World Bank’s publication for its M-Governance activities. The ‘M-Governance in Kerala’ project covers more than 60 government departments to utilise mobile technology to improve public service delivery, strengthen programme efficiency, and have better transparency and accountability. The other states can take the Kerala government’s initiatives as an example for their projects.
With greater penetration and reach, mobile phones have now become a necessity. Mobile information and communication technology is the need of the hour for information dissemination to the masses. Public services offered via mobile phones reach many more people than those offered through the Internet. Mobile phones are fast becoming a tool for service delivery. M-government applications can be used for various purposes such as improving public health services, education systems and public transport. M-health services can help in educating the masses with respect to diseases, their symptoms, causes, diagnosis, prevention and cure. Timely access to healthcare and information is a huge area of concern that India needs to concentrate on. M-education is another area where mobile technology facilitates communication between parents and teachers to aid the overall development of the child. With working mothers becoming the norm, parents find this largely essential to keep a track on their children. The rural sector, especially agriculture, can benefit the most with M-Governance. Services such as ‘Behtar Zindagi’ being offered by Handygo empower the rural masses with information such as weather forecast and prices of fertilizers, among other things, on their hand-held devices. Mobile Banking allows people to make transactions from mobile devices, manage bank accounts and even transfer funds. The Indian government is also now focusing on mobile telephony services in the rural areas. Under the draft revised National Telecom Policy 2012, rural teledensity is proposed to be increased from around 38 percent to 70 percent by 2017, and to 100 by 2020.
Apart from the developed world, many developing countries such as Turkey, Philippines, Czech Republic, Bangladesh and Estonia have been successful in generating mobile services and solutions for M-Governance. A shining example is that of Turkey which has made a lot of efforts in this area. An application named Mobese project aims to enhance efficiency of the law enforcement units such as the police and traffic police. It facilitates effective communication between the central command unit and the mobile units for better law enforcement. A similar traffic information system, TBS, is in place for better traffic management. With Mobile Donations, mobile phone users can send specially-priced SMSes for charity. Earthquake Monitoring and Information System and Municipal applications work on a local level. Examples of successful M-Governance services in other countries include bulk SMSes for healthcare, medication reminders, agricultural alerts and advice, exam results by SMS, parent communication, SMS for emergency, humanitarian relief and tax service. India can definitely take M-Governance to a new level with development of mobile communication infrastructure and content.
There will be roadblocks for taking up such governance in a big way in the Indian context. But this is true for any change as any new concept demands certain systems to be in place for its development and success. Additional costs to the government are one such concern but they will be there only till such a time when M-Governance will be able to substitute other delivery channels. As messages and content are the prime source of information, illiterate people may be left out from this revolution. But Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-based solutions can be made available. Security of information also needs to be kept in mind at the government level as data can be accessed by unscrupulous means. Then there is the digital divide. Such services should be additional to other avenues of government service as there are many who do not use mobile technology. People’s ignorance and unwillingness to use such services will have to be countered with awareness campaigns.
Global trends have amply illustrated the increasing usability of mobile technology in public service delivery. Targeted messaging services are being used the world over for various purposes. Mobile communications have also brought about marked improvement and efficiency in government works wherever it has been used. It has also led to development in the social and economic sectors by making people aware of recent trends and opportunities. NGOs have also started using mobile technology for widespread use to direct social change.
The future of M-Governance is bright provided the right direction is taken; right methodologies used; and concerted efforts made by the government, citizens and all stakeholders involved. Promotion of mobile web services is the need of the hour and market momentum studied at regular intervals to understand the pulse of the people. Increasing use of SMS services in the health and education sectors will go a long way in growth in these vital areas. Developed nations are widely benefitting from their advanced systems of communications and developing countries are also not far in realizing the potential of emerging technologies. India should evolve a strategy to develop such applications for use at the time of emergencies, involving citizens in government activities and make mobile devices serve specific purposes such as payment of taxes and bills. Active involvement of both the government and the people; and increased accessibility and availability can make M-Governance successful in India.
- Praveen Rajpal, CEO, Handygo Technologies Pvt Ltd
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