Effective e-Governance

With the unprecedented development in the information and communication technology (ICT), the services provided by the government to the public has become efficient, fast and transparent. This has brought a qualitative improvement in the governance system, giving rise to a new phenomenon - e-governance. Yes, e-governance has become a yardstick in the human development indices these days as informational revolution has shrunk the world into a global village. The industrial society has better competitive edge compared to the developing and poor countries as the former is ahead of later in carrying technological innovation and bringing technical discoveries into practice. With the price of ICT technology, especially the internet, drastically getting affordable, the latecomers are also adopting it to catch up the developed nations.

Nepal has also prioritised e-governance to end cumbersome process in the public service delivery and make it simple, accessible and timely, thereby reducing the cost of goods and services. For the first time, Nepal introduced Information Technology policy in 2057 B.S. Three years later a High Level Information Technology Commission was formed under the then prime minister, facilitating the creation of e-Governance Master Plan 2063, revision of IT policy and introduction of Digital Nepal Framework, which played a vital role in making the public service delivery technology friendly and citizen-centered. Now the government is striving to make service delivery face-less, paper-less and contact-less through the use of digital technology. For this, e-Governance Commission has been constituted.

With the digitalisation of various public offices, the people are not compelled to undergo rigmarole of bureaucratic process. As a result, the government offices are not overcrowded while reducing the cost and saving the time of service seekers. Now the people should no longer stand for hours in serpentine queues to apply for IPO of companies and claim the right shares. Due to the online service, an increasing number of people has been engaged in stock market. Around 6.451 million de-mat (de-materialised) accounts have been opened so far. Similarly, the people should not go to the Company Registrar's Office to register their companies or update their status of their business. Now all processes can be conducted by uploading necessary documents in a computer from home. One needs to visit the Company Registrar Office to only obtain certificates or get an updated certificate. 

Banks and financial institutions have operated mobile banking services. Similarly, QR-based payment has extensively increased cashless transactions. Payments through debit and credit cards has decreased physical cash transactions. One can pay the tariff of drinking water, electricity, telephone, internet, school fees or tax amounts online. Thanks to the digitalisation of services, Nepal has climbed to 119th position in 2024 from 125th in 2022 in e-Government Development Index (EGDI). Although the government is mulling to move from ICT to IoT (Internet of Things), many government offices still rely on paper works. With the implementation of IoT, the government services reach the house of service seekers. It has launched Nagarik App that incorporates all public services, helping people to get their tasks done online.

 Experts suggest that the government should prioritise sectors such as tourism, health, agriculture and industry to make them fully digital. They hold huge potential in terms of revenue generation, and the people are able to get services anytime and from anywhere inside and outside the country. Similarly, there is the need for a detailed framework and implementation plan in order to ensure the sustainable operation of the digital services. There are cases whereby the people visit the digitalised offices but cannot get the service because of the server down or system failure.