Re-engineering the Govt

While industry and business have rapidly adjusted to change, and are moving at global speeds. They are slowed down by our old, archaic systems of governance. Today government systems are the biggest brake on our progress. The late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, openly admitted that only 15 paisa for every rupee, that the government spends, reaches the true beneficiaries. We are near the bottom of the Transparency Internationale's index, and near the top in the corruption index. These are a manifestation of poor, or in effective systems. They need an overhaul, if we are to progress, nay, in these days of global terrorism, we need it for the survival of our Nation.

This is a major challenge in re-engineering and change management. Democracy is a big help, as it empowers people and acts as a safety valve in the painful change process. The redeeming grace is that t is structurally easier to transition from the First wave to the Third wave, than from the Second wave to the Third wave. IT has revolutionized the ability to design systems and has matured.Setting up an IT infrastructure, required by the Third wave is MUCH cheaper, and less disruptive than setting up an Industrial infrastructure. It is also less polluting and needs very little energy. These are positives for India.

With our participation in Civil Society, our IT and re-engineering expertise we can help in re-engineering the Govt, and participating in the eGov initiative. This is an URGENT and VERY COMPLEX job. I doubt if any one person has the whole picture or road map.However in bits and pieces this knowledge does exist. It will need to be collated, understood and then adapted/modified/digested to suit India's unique culture, structure, political setup, existing governance and power structure.

A two pronged approach would probably be needed; "Top Down", for policy and administrative structure reform, and defining the Citizens Charter. While "Bottom Up", for training/reforming/empowering each department/unit understanding their existing processes and re-engineering them to bring about increased productivity, effectiveness and accountability to society. For a departmental level re-engineering a modified UdoIT framework could be considered.

To start with we need a Champion for the process, at the top and at each of the departments which attempt the re-engineering. I the corporate world the Champion is the CEO assisted by the Chief Information Officer (CIO), or the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).See CIO for Government for more details. We would need an organization which can execute the task of re-engineering and using IT for effective e Governance.

Civil Society MUST be an active participant in the re-engineering process. Firstly they should question the performance and governance, and demand accountability from our Executive. For a starter RTI's should be sent to all departments. A draft, see RTI For Administrative Reform and Accountability- A Draft for some ideas.

As separate exercise we are developing an eGov development process, using the UdoIT framework, for the active participation of all stakeholders in the conception, design, development and implementation of eGov systems

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