E-Government systems in developing countries: issues and concerns; discussion

Abstract

Developing countries, and India prominently among them, are investing heavily in e-governance and e-government systems, driven by the promise of efficiency and transparency in governance, and of using ICT to leapfrog the slow progress of development. Over the last decade hundreds of e-government systems have been deployed in India. However, according to World Bank estimates almost eighty five percent of the systems fail, indicating a loss of thousands of crores of rupees. The IIMB Management Review Round Table Discussion on E-Government Systems in Developing Countries brought together a panel of stakeholder representatives, policy makers and academics in an attempt to understand the issues that are central to the success of e-government systems in developing countries. After establishing the difference between ‘egovernance’ – using electronic means to exercise discretionary powers within the public space of governance, and ‘e-governments’ – systems built within government departments to do the work of governance, and which vary from country to country depending on its level of ‘development’, the panellists focused on such issues as the Indian e-government policy and its implications; the government-citizen interface, the government-citizenbusiness interface; the role and impact of service providers in this space; and the need to carry all the stakeholders involved to make e-governance projects a success.