As mobile telephony has already reached most parts of the country, mGovernance will not face the problem of last mile access.
By Anoop Verma
According to the new telecom subscription data released by TRAI, the number of mobile telephone subscriptions in the country is 918.72 million, but the number of broadband connections is only 70.81 million. While mobiles are ubiquitous, broadband is lagging behind and mostly restricted to the urban areas. Also, the average broadband speed is quite low.
Until high-speed broadband and computers become available in all parts of the country, our only hope for providing e-services to the people is mGovernance. As mobile telephony has already reached most parts of the country, mGovernance will not face the problem of last mile access.
The government has recently announced that during the next five years it will spend Rs. 20,000 crore to provide mobile connectivity in 55,000 villages, which are still untouched by wireless telephony. The money will come from the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF), according to the telecom ministry. The close to a billion mobile connections that the country will soon have can be leveraged to not only disseminate information and public services, but also for developing initiatives in financial inclusion and eCommerce.
The framework for Mobile Governance was notified by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) in 2012. The Mobile Governance Portal and the m-App Store can be accessed at http://mgov.gov.in. Recently DeitY acknowledged that mobile handsets will be the preferred mode for delivering eGovernance services. There is now a clear emphasis on mGovernance.
Accessing information and services through mobile phones is not a new concept. Private sector and certain government organisations have been leveraging mobile phones for providing several services in the areas of banking, media, airlines, railways, sports, etc. Smartphones connected to 3G or 2G networks are leading to a world where “always on” citizens, government services and online communities can constantly exchange information.
The success of mGovernance initiatives will ultimately depend on the level of participation that the government can get from the private sector – telecom companies, VAS providers, IT companies, app developers, banks, etc. As the majority of citizens will have entry level phones, mGovernance programmes must aim to provide services through SMS, IVRS and USSD integration. To enable secure financial transactions through mobile phones, the telecom service providers will have to be integrated with NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India) gateway. Also, websites of all the government departments will have to be mobile compliant.
The transformation required for delivery of services through mobile telephones is challenging and far reaching, but through innovation the myriad challenge can be met. mGovernance can be a game-changer for improving the quality of governance in the country. It can prepare the ground for increased collaboration between citizens, government and businesses, by unlocking the potential of e-services for millions of citizens.
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