Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style 1 ICTs for fighting corruption Basheerhamad Shadrach, Secretary, Mission 2007 Asia Senior Program Officer, telecentre.org, IDRC

Corruption effects… The poor are the most affected Real loss of revenue for government Petty corruption the large form of corruption in practice Distances people from government and those in authority Increases tolerance to corruption in society Extortion, collusion and systemic corruption are norms of the day

eGovernance effects… The poor and the rich are equal beneficiaries A real income drive for government; many a times saves cost Petty corruption is difficult as discretionary power does not exist Brings government services at the door steps and finger tips, but makes the authority invisible, thus collusion and extortion nearly impossible Increased awareness about rights

Yet the less known facts… The relationship between eGovernance and fighting corruption ICT-enabled mechanisms to fight corruption and improving governance

ICTs for fighting corruption… Some early trends Curtailing large scale petty corruption in ‘Jumping the Queue’ phenomenon – Railway reservation? Bhoomi project? DAVP computerisation? Pro-poor eGov research of TI national chapters? Community monitoring of education? (typical eGov projects) Reducing the 4 billion dollar tuition industry – digital curriculum (an ICT for Development initiative) Withstanding the pesticides lobby – the Kolam Badi project (a program that banks upon the use of ICT in a mainstream pilot) Booking high profile criminals - the ‘YOU’ phenomenon at work (the spin-off benefits of ICTs)

ICTs for fighting corruption… The ‘YOU’ phenomenon Citizens’ journalism/reporting Tehelkha case The Delhi ceilings Haj pilgrims management? Strong bondage between citizens and media; and, demand for ‘Right to information’ Higher level of participation, empathy and solidarity

eGovernance as a disguise… Creating incentives and ; better ecosystem for work Call for a transparent Delhi replicating the Chicago model The “name and shame” drive – teh CVC, CBI sites Public grievances systems a mandatory tool to serve citizens Mission mode projects to help fight corruption

eGovernance (India)… The Plan 26 Mission mode projects 8 support components Rs Cr. ( US5.1 billion )

eGovernance (India)… e-Panchayats 2/26 projects

eGovernance (India)… Agriculture (1/26 projects) Creation of a village level authentic, reliable and updatable database of soil health and the production of user friendly and updatable soil health cards/passbooks for farming lands Creation of a nation-wide information Systems for quality seeds production, preservation and distribution Creating credit and insurance information and advisory systems for the rural poor Creation of land information systems for the nation with cultivating patterns

eGovernance (India)… Common Service Centres 100,000 telecentres in rural areas At least 10,000 centres in urban areas Access by mobile phone, web Capacity building for information entrepreneurs and change agents Access to private services An ally in national focus areas – health, agriculture, education, livelihoods, governance

eGovernance (India)… What is there for citizens Integrated & enhanced access to government services Clearly defined service levels Services at the doorstep with substantial rural outreach Increased efficiency Enhanced transparency Improved reliability Affordable cost

eGovernance (India)… e-governance key to making India corruption free; All government programmes must consider citizens as privileged customers and become accountable for providing all services without interruption and hassles. One of the means to ensure this is by incorporation of a sound e-governance system -The Honourable President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam at the State Anti-corruption Bureaux/Vigilance Bureaux-2006‘ (16 Nov 2006)

eGovernance and anti- corruption…. E-government projects should not make a mention of anti-corruption intent; but achieve it Anti-corruption intent should not avoid making a mention of eGovernance; but labour it

Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style 15 A million citizen-centric knowledge And empowerment centres to revolutionize the world by 2010