|
|
|
|
Thursday, February 23, 2012 07:06
Punjab e-Gateway
Overview
The Punjab e-Gateway project aims to promote IT based good governance in the province by providing improved citizen services, and developing efficiency and transparency in government “back-office” processes. The project also aims at developing the capacity of the local IT industry by outsourcing key components to local IT firms, utilizing partnerships and collaborative arrangements with leading local and global players . The Punjab e-Gateway project is thus a flagship project, central to PITB’s vision to develop Punjab as a regional hub of IT activity and innovation, and falling within PITB’s mandate which includes “taking all measures as it deems necessary for the administration, promotion, development and use of Information Technology” in the province . The project has been designed after a careful study of related initiatives in India, Egypt, Korea and other developing countries, as documented in international reports such as UN E-Government Survey 2008, Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010: ICT for Sustainability (World Economic Forum and INSEAD, 2010), Information Economy Report 2009 (UNCTAD, United Nations, 2009), Korea’s e-Government (2003), and Egypt’s Information Society: ICT Strategy 2007-2010 (Ministry of Communication and IT, Arab Republic of Egypt, 2007).
The Punjab e-Gateway project is consistent with efforts by forward-looking nations around the world to improve government practices and services, and the realization that e-government will play a key role in furthering national competitiveness. It is with this goal in mind that the U.S. president signed the ‘E-Government Act’, U.K. created the ‘UK Online’, and Singapore implemented the ‘e-Citizen’ initiative.
E-Government Framework
The essential architecture of the e-Gateway consists of a set of web-based applications for citizen services and back office systems, together with centralized shared infrastructure including data center, province-wide connectivity, licensed software, and e-mail. The e-Gateway Citizen Contact Center provides convenient access to citizens utilizing call centres, kiosks, web-portal, and mobile phones.
The Punjab e-Gateway implementation plan is based on a multi-pronged and phased approach, with initiatives for development of:
a. Shared infrastructure and services,
b. Web presence and related citizen services,
c. Back office systems and integration of legacy systems,
d. Human resources,
e. Necessary regulatory and legal framework.
The multi-pronged and phased approach is consistent with e-government strategies adopted by countries with highly successful e-government programs such as Korea (ranked number 6 on UN e-Government readiness), Singapore (number 23), and Egypt (moved from 140 to 79 between 2005 to 2008). Egypt’s ICT Strategy over 2003-2010 was multi-pronged with three main pillars including R&D and education, Internet access, and appropriate Regulatory environment. India’s Andhra Pradesh strategy included four key components (BEST): Bandwidth, Education, Smart Government, and Twinning with the Private Sector.
The Korean strategy was multi-phased with the first ten years (1987-96) spent in setting up the basic connectivity infrastructure and setting up the data bases on citizen registration papers, property titles, and vehicle registration. In the second phase (1997-2000) connectivity was upgraded to interconnect 144 districts, websites were set up, systems were developed for government procurement and financial management, and the necessary legislative framework was established. Korea attributes the remarkable success of the e-Government effort to the President who personally monitored the project through weekly briefings. The e-Government IT unit provided a facilitating role; while the beneficiary department ensured that the new systems were implemented and utilized.
The UN E-Government Readiness Index provides a similar multi-phased framework for developing an e-government strategy. The framework (and resulting index ) measures four key components, including Telecommunications infrastructure, Web presence, Human capital, and Citizen e-participation.