2011

Goa Institute of Management NIKHIL PACHAURI

Institute Registration Number

1000937

Institute Name
Goa Institute of Management

Theme(s)
Role of Information and Communication Technology, Roles of Policies and Regulations nikhil.pachauri@gmail.com sarika.sinha10@gim.ac.in sheena.pathak10@gim.ac.in

Team Members

Faculty Guide

Nikhil Pachauri Sarika Sinha Sheena Pathak Miss Fernanda

EFFECTIVENSS OF ICT INITATIVES OF GOA GOVERNMENT

[Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.]

Table of Contents
I. Use of ICT (Nath, 2010) ...................................................................................................................... 2 II. Growth of IT in India ......................................................................................................................... 4 III. Increasing application of IT by Central and State government ......................................................... 4 IV Use of IT by Goa Government .......................................................................................................... 5 Unique features of Goa (Census, 2011) .................................................................................................. 6 eSMS services for mobile governance .................................................................................................. 8 Video conferencing for communication among government officials.................................................... 9 Online grievances capturing and addressing mechanism...................................................................... 10 About the Research ............................................................................................................................... 12 About Citizen Surveys .......................................................................................................................... 14 Purpose of the survey methodology ...................................................................................................... 14 Mode of survey ................................................................................................................................. 14 The citizen survey process ................................................................................................................ 14 Results of the survey ............................................................................................................................. 18 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 23

I. Use of ICT (Nath, 2010)

The growing use of information and communication technology (ICT) is catalysing the formation of knowledge societies, and thus providing greater avenues to people to participate in their own development process. The transformations occurring are unique and unprecedented in many ways and have the potential to reach those who hitherto have been marginalised from the decision-making processes.

New modes of communications are faster, efficient and have the ability to reach every individual in the society. The growing use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in different facets of human life is leading to multidimensional and often unpredictable changes. It is changing the way individuals interact with each other and with the society as a whole

The embedding of ICT, in different forms, transforms the traditional mechanism of information exchange within a society in several ways. These are: First, it accelerates the flow of information between different nodes and cuts down the time lag from several days to a few hours or even minutes. Same information can now flow through several communication channelsreducing the probability of information loss and distortion. Second, it widens the domain of information recipients and providers, leading to greater diffusion of information, and also an increase in the amount of information being diffused. In theory, anyone with access to a two-way ICT node can be an information provider and a recipient. Third, they create information exchange interfaces which never existed before. These interface cuts across the traditional and organizational barriers to information flow such as hierarchy and bureaucracy. This becomes possible due to the non-exclusionary, by design, nature of the ICT networks. Emergence of open communication channels to interact and become a part of the larger information sphere is therefore a stepping stone to empowerment of individuals and communities

Figure1:Empowerment process (Nath, 2010)

Figure 2: Knowledge Network ( (Nath, 2010)

II. Growth of IT in India

Liberalisation of the Indian economy has played a major role in the IT industry in India. The IT industry has registered huge growths in recent years from being 150 million US dollars in 1990 to whopping 50 billion USD in 2006-2007; this has been made possible due to the deregulation policies adopted by the government leading to substantial domestic investment and inflow of foreign capital to this industry. 1 Currently with the increased focus on human capital and R&D, Indian IT sector has improved its ranking in the global competitiveness to the 34th spot in two years, Business Software Alliance (BSA) 2011 Global IT Industry Competitiveness Index. Moreover the study demonstrates that Indias IT competitiveness will continue to improve through focused steps which will foster creativity and innovation within the IT industry

However, to continue this rise, India will need a safe and secure digital economy that inspires the trust and confidence of government, business and citizens especially when markets across Asia become more competitive.

III. Increasing application of IT by Central and State government

Despite an increasing emphasis of the private sector, the government remains a crucial player in the context of India. The Indian government has for the past three decades widely acknowledged that the expanded use of Information and communication technology can provide a host of benefits such as improved planning and monitoring mechanisms, cost savings, and more accountable, effective and transparent administration and delivery of public services, thereby reflecting in a better relationship between the citizens and the government. Hence today a wide range of e governance projects are being implemented in different parts of the country, including projects aimed at reaching areas and people that had traditionally not been connected to the outside world.

1 Source: http://www.economywatch.com/india-it-industry/

IV Use of IT by Goa Government

The Government of Goa has launched e-Services for three departments; Department of Tourism, Directorate of Panchayats and Commercial Taxes Department. The Department of IT along with NIC, GEL, other agencies under ITG and the concerned departments have already hosted more than 50 services on the commencement of the Golden Jubilee Liberation year on December 19, 2010.2 The Government of Goa along with Infotech Corporation of Goa Limited (ITGL) has recently launched the mobile governance programme in the state. In an effort to be more tourist friendly the Goa Tourism has marched on a journey towards ICT thereby enabling tourists to receive information on popular sightseeing spots on their cell phones. The Goa government has been working closely with ITGL on developing the mobile application to aid tourists in providing information within a matter of text either in text or audio formats3 The Panchayat Department launched five services such as Application for issue of Income Certificate, Application for issue of Residence Certificate, Application for issue of copy of Birth Certificate, Application for issue of copy of Death Certificate, search of Birth & Death Registration. The Commercial Taxes Department launched 19 services such as registration under VAT, CST, Entry, Entertainment, Luxury, TDS, and Renewal of Registration under VAT, Entertainment, Luxury, TDS, and Payment of Taxes under VAT, CST, and Filling of Returns under VAT, CST, COT, Luxury, Entertainment, Entry, and TDS.4 The Goa government is launching an e-Tendering initiative, which will enable contractors to bid, compete and be paid for government work projects online. By this method, the government wishes to achieve transparency. The contractors now dont have to visit the office to fill the tender, give the bill and even collect the payment. The Goa State
2 eGov Reach a NASSCOM innitiative 3 http://www.eturbonews.com/23620/new-service-launched-goa-tourists

4 http://www.egovreach.in/mynasscom/social/?q=node/215

Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) will be implementing the e-Governance software whereby any contractor from any part of the world will be able to fill the e-Tender if he is eligible. The contractors will also be able to receive payments directly into their bank accounts. It would be bank to bank transaction.5 The state has already won prestigious CSINIHILENT: Most Progressive e-Governed State Award in 2006-07 (National Informatics Centre, 2011)

Unique features of Goa (Census, 2011)

Goa being a tropical paradise situated on the west coast of India has been particularly chosen for this project due to the its sheer location and size which not only bring in opportunities from within the state but from the metros such as Mumbai and Bangalore which are easily connected to this state. Some unique features of Goa are:1. In terms of its area is the smallest state in India and the fourth smallest by population. 2. Goa has a land area of about 3702 sq. kms and a coastline that stretches close to 104 kms. 3. Goas total population accounts to about 1, 457, 723 (2011 census of India) accounting to 0.12 per cent of the total population of India. 4. The density of population is 1020 per SqMile. 5. It is also seen that Goa has a very high literacy rate of about 87.40 per cent

Goa has is one of Indias richest states with the largest GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole and it also accounts for about the fastest growth rates ( 13 per cent growth rate in the year 2009- 2010) Primary Industry is Tourism and in terms of revenue generation it account to 12 per cent of foreign tourist arrivals to India. Apart from tourism the other prominent industries that flourish in Goa include, Fertilizers, Fisheries, Food canning, shipping and Mining.

Interactive-Service Model / Government to Citizen to Government Model (G2C2G) (Nath, 2010)

5 http://www.egovreach.in/mynasscom/social/index.php?q=node/722

Based on the analysis of the functioning of the Government and service being offered, we concluded that it is similar to Interactive-Service model in many ways .This model provides opportunity for direct participation of individuals in the governance processes. This model fully captures the potential of ICT and leveraged it for greater participation, efficiency and transparency in functioning of the government as well as savings in time and costs relating to decision-making. The Interactive-Service Model makes possible the various services offered by the Government to be directly accessible to the citizens. It creates an interactive Government to Consumer to Government (G2C2G) channel in various functions such as election of government officials (e-ballots); filing of tax returns, procurement of government services, sharing of concerns and providing expertise; conducting opinion polls on public issues, and grievance redressal. This model is more embedded in developed countries and has often been proposed for replication in developing countries. Such forms of solution-transfers may not be very effective. The model is on the higher end of technology-reliance as compared to the other models. This makes it difficult to replicate in developing countries in absence of individual and secure ICT access.

Figure 3: Service Delivery Model (Nath, 2010) Applications Some of the situations in which the model could be used are:

 Establishing an interactive communication channel with policy-makers such as videoconferencing and online dialoguing. Conducting electronic ballots for the election of government officials and other office bearers. Conducting public debates / opinion polls on issues of wider concern before formulation of policies and legislative frameworks. Filing of grievances, feedback and reports by citizens with the concerned governmental body. Performing governance functions online such as revenue collection, filing of taxes, governmental procurement, payment transfers etc. Carrying out video-conferencing, on-line discussion with policy makers.

eSMS services for mobile governance

Government of Goa has mandate in order to improve the efficiency and productivity of operations of all departments in addition to being citizen centric the Goa government has made a mandate to create a mechanism to deliver public services by leveraging on Goa BroadBands network, state Data centre (SDC) and Common services centres (CSC)/ LokSeva Kendras through several e services/ State Portal (SP) and electronic forums. (channel, 2011) Now from e governance Goa has now stepped into the arena of mobile governance by launching the e SMS Goa Mobile Governance on 2010, an exclusive project of the Info Tech Corporation of Goa Limited. The Goa Government also launched the ITGs IT Knowledge Centres with an objective to take computer literacy initiatives to the rural areas of Goa. Goa has become the pioneer state to adopt m-governance in India by setting up an exclusive e SMS for the use of all the state departments. A stepping stone towards delivery of information for its citizens. Citizens can now look forward to receiving a host of information on their handsets. Moreover although released in a phased manner this system is also being integrated with e-governance and e-service for the benefit of other departments. (channel, 2011)

Video conferencing for communication among government officials

The use of video conferencing by Chief Minister of Goa , Shri Digambar Kamat was introduced in July 2011. This initiative was taken to reach out to the government officials and people of Goa without the physical limitation of geographical distances. The chief minister has decided to have fortnight meetings in each district. Some of the issues which were discussed by Chief Minister in past few video conferences with the local government officials were6:1. Grievances regarding the public distribution system (PDS), pending mutation cases, rejection of online applications in Bicholim, Pernem, Valpoi, Ponda and Bardez. 2. Issue of rise of water in Valvanti river and flood problem in Bicholim area with the Mamlatdar. 3. Issue of electricity, water and roads related problem with PWD engineers in North District Collectorate. The main impact perceived by the government is that videoconferencing will help in improving the e -governance in the state of Goa and will also result in reduced costs of meetings, time saving and faster decision making. The government has also given special incentives for the promotion of video conferencing in the state .A example in this case is Goa Institute of Management, where the progress of construction of new campus at Sanquelim was monitored by means of weekly video conferencing interactions with the VASCON engineers by the local MLA and speaker of the Goa Assembly Shri Pratap Singh Rane.7

6 Source: News paper report dated July 16, 2011,CM interacts online with N Goa SDOs, Mamlatdars http://www.navhindtimes.in/goa-news/cm-interacts-online-n-goa-sdos-mamlatdars 7 Source: Prof. Divya Singhal , Goa Institute of Management

Courtesy : http://www.heraldgoa.in/newsimages

Online grievances capturing and addressing mechanism This is one of the most important initiatives taken up by the government of Goa to reach out to the people of state. This feature forms part of Integrated Information Infrastructural Project, a key initiative of government of Goa to provide online informational and transactional services to citizens and businesses. As a part of integrated mechanism, an online portal, www.goa.gov.in has been developed by the department of information and technology, Goa through which citizens can lodge their grievances against any state government department apart from availing other services too. After clicking the e-services & forms, the visitor is directed towards a drop down menu from where he /she can select the option of filing online grievances. The online form is very simple to fill as indicated by the response from most of the citizens in an online survey. Though the effectiveness of the same is yet to be gauged official, we have tried to capture the perception of the people through citizen survey. A screen shot of the same has been pasted over here.

Figure 4 & 5: Online grievance portal from Goa Government (Govt, 2011)

About the Research

Since most of the initiatives mentioned in this research paper were launched recently (i.e in 2010 and 2011) , the relevant data was available for past 2 years only. This was one of the major hindrances in preparation of regression model. So we had to change our approach to more convenient form of research i.e. to gauge the perception about effectiveness of ICT through the people of Goa itself i.e Citizen survey and personal interviews to capture the perception of the citizens about the e-governance policies , role of information and technology in transforming the services of the government. The sample size was limited to 350 people and was conducted across North Goa as well as South Goa.

Map1 : Map showing the North Goa District, Source :www.mapsofindia.com

Map2 : Map showing the South Goa District, Source :www.mapsofindia.com

The cities covered in North District were Panjim, Bicholim, Mapusa and Ponda while for the South Goa districts, responses were recorded from Margao, Vasco, Sanguem and Quepem.

About Citizen Surveys

With increasing access to information and the democratization of knowledge, the role of citizens in the process of governance is undergoing a paradigm shift. From being mere recipients of a oneway dialogue (or mostly monologue), citizens now increasingly demand to be consulted and seek to participate in the decisionmaking process, rather than just serve as the `sleeping mass in a representative democracy. In the light of changing aspirations of the citizens, it is incumbent on the State to provide ways and means to enhance the role of citizens in the decisionmaking process and facilitate better StateSociety articulation. Citizens Surveys assume importance in this context.

Purpose of the survey methodology Citizens surveys provide inputs that aid and enable the government to frame policies, evaluate programmes, assess and improve service delivery, map attitudes and preferences, study voting intentions and examine demographic/socioeconomic profiles. By definition, surveys constitute a twoway communication process that enhances the nature and quality of articulation between the government and the citizens. In other words, citizen surveys are `a good in itself and of itself. The purpose of the survey methodology for our study was to gauge the perception about the success of online services being provided by the government of Goa.

Mode of survey

Since the survey was to gauge the effectiveness of information technology in the state, we decided to use a mix of email, web base, telephone interview, and inperson interview. We used the services of online survey site surveymonkey.com and made use of google docs services for the purpose of collection and analysis of data. The citizen survey process

Step 1. Defining the purpose of the survey

The first step was to define the purpose or objective of the survey. A clear statement of purpose was necessary, not only as a justification of the project, but also as a guideline to determine whether future actions in the project are in support of the original purpose. Our aim was to gauge public opinion and evaluate online service delivery model of the government of Goa. It also aimed at assessing the level of public awareness.

Step 2. Developing the hypotheses

The hypothesis is actually an educated guess about the answer to the problem. It ought to be based on prior experience related to the problem, or based on any knowledge one may have of previous research done on the topic. The null hypothesis in this case was more than 75 percent approve that Information and communication technology has played a significant role in enhancing the life of the citizens

Step 3. Defining the population It was important to identify the population or the target group that one is interested in. This was likely to emerge from the purpose of the survey and the hypotheses formulated. Not only is it important to identify the population but one should endeavour to define the target segment as well as possible. For this purpose, we choose many different criteria such as: Geographical (People living in the cities of North and South Goa as well as the villages near by these cities) Demographic (urban/rural, age group 21-50 years, Male and Female, with Graduation as minimum level of education) , Socioeconomic (ex: Annual Income of Rs 1.2 Lakhs and above )

Step 4. Developing the survey plan The purpose of the survey plan was to ensure that the survey results will provide sufficient data to provide an answer (solution) to the problem being investigated. The survey plan comprised the Survey methodology to be followed, the plan for collection of the data, the plan for data reduction and reformatting plan and finally, a clear plan for analyzing the data.

Step 5. Determining the sampling frame and sampling methodology When undertaking any survey, it is essential to obtain data from people that are as representative as possible of the group that one is interested in. The sample was identified on

the basis of literature review through news article from magazines like Business Goa , My Goa and newspaper reports. The main logic behind the identification of the sample was to have a mix of people who had availed the facilities of one or more of the online initiatives of the Goa government. It was also observed that some of the respondents had tried online services more than once due to the benefits they received during their earlier transactions. The sample size was in total of 350 people on the basis of segregation on criteria mentioned in step 3. The method of sampling chosen was convenient sampling.

Step 6. Designing a Questionnaire

The questionnaire was designed to capture the perception about information and communication technology in Goa by means of:(1) Open ended questions- To capture top of the mind response expressed by the respondents. These opinions also indicate the emotions attached with the response and best reflector of a persons perception about the service. (2) Opinions- These questions tried to capture the opinion of the service users on the basis of their direct or indirect experience. Question used in the survey: (a) Do you think that online grievance service has resulted in improved functioning of government departments? (b) Do you think that recent introduction of video conferencing by state government will improve efficiency of the government department? Examples of scales to be used with these questions: Level of agreement: strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree

(3) Attitudes. Attitudes are defined here as evaluations and in contrast to opinions they include some emotional aspect. The objects of attitudes can be people, institutions, things or abstract notions. The origin of attitudes can be of three types (cognitive, emotional, own experience) or their combination. An important element of attitude measurement is having more than one question to measure attitudes toward an object. Some of the questions used in survey: (a) How do you rate the services of Emitra centre in your locality?

(b) How do you evaluate performance of municipality after introduction of information technology in the state? The scales which were used with these questions were:5 point Likert Scale : 1 : Very Poor ,3:Ok , 5:Excellent

(4) Knowledge. The main elements of knowledge are cognitive structures and the main emphasis is placed on recalling from memory information that was stored earlier. In contrast to opinions, it matters here what people remember and not what is their position against some issue. Examples of questions: (a) How many times have you visited local Emitra centre in your area in last 12 months? (b) How often do you visit www.goa.gov.in? Scales used with these questions: (a) 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, more than 8 times (b) once a week once a month once a year less than once a year

Step 7. Undertaking fieldwork and gathering data Key activities at this stage included: 1. Operational planning: Incorporates resource planning in order to align manpower to the survey design and time constraints; Regions were divided among the volunteers on the basis of their convenience. 2. Training of investigators: important for investigators, who undertake the work of interviewing respondents, to clearly understand the purpose of the survey and the target respondent; the volunteers were taught about the various interviewing techniques and importance of accuracy of data collected. 3. Monitoring and supervision: Mechanisms were kept in place to adequately monitor and supervise the fieldwork operations. This had a bearing on both the time and quality of the survey. Weekly follow up with the volunteer was done in order to keep a track on the project movement.

Step 8. Quality control/data reduction

The data collected was processed through SPSS software and the was subjected to Factor analysis technique to reduce the number of responses to a few.

Step 9. Analysis and interpretation of survey data

The data so collected was analysed on the basis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects.

Results of the survey

Age wise distribution of respondents

Age Group 21-30 30-40 40-50

26% 47% 27%

Figure 6: Agewise Distribution of respondents Out of 350 respondents, 165 were from age group of 21-30 years that contributes to 47% of the responses. How will you rate the information and services provided by Goa Government's Site?
150 112 100 56 50 0 Excellent Very good Good Fair Poor 35 7 140

Figure 7: Results for perception for information and services.

The above results show that most of the respondents were satisfied with the layout and the information provided by the Goa governments site. This is a good indication for the acceptability of the site.

How would you like to rate the effectiveness of online greviances mechanism
Excellent Very good Good Poor Very poor

9% 14% 8%

39% 30%

Figure 8: Results for effectiveness of online grievances mechanism.

The above pie chart shows that though the online grievance mechanism is not serving its purpose well. Though the site provides users with ways to share in the complaints in details, the effectiveness is still being perceived as poor (39% of the respondents i.e. 137 respondents out of 350 have rated this as poor). This also indicates that though the online mechanism is able to capture the grievances but their rectification in real world is still not up to the mark. This may be the cause of poor ratings for the effectiveness of the service from the users.

Are you aware of the recent intiatives taken by State Governement of Goa to promote ICT in State?

Yes 46% No 54%

Figure 8: Results for initiatives taken by State Government of Goa. The above results show that more than 50 % of the respondents are not aware of the recent initiatives being taken up by the state government .This is a cause of concern as this shows that there is some lag in the communication channels being used by the state government to create awareness about its new initiatives. The government may have to look into ways of improving its promotional campaign to reach out to the citizens else its efforts for improving e governance will fail in the long run.

Do you think that recent introduction of video conferencing by state government will improve efficiency of the government department?
9% 15% 24% 7% Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 46%

Figure 9: Results for perception regarding video conferencing.

The responses for the above question are much inclined towards the Neither agree nor disagree .Even the combined result of Disagree and Strongly Disagree comes out to be

24% as compared to combined result of 31% for Agree and Strongly Agree. This shows that the citizens are apprehensive about the success of this initiative. This outlook actually confirms with the newspaper reports indicating that videoconferencing is yet to take off in an effective way in the state. However, since its a recent initiative of the state government (launched in June 2011), its success cannot be predicted in the short time period and it will require observations for few more months before arriving at a concrete opinion.

How many times have you visited "Emitra" center in last 12 months?
45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 40%

24% 14% 13% 6% 3% More than 8 times Never

1-2

3-4

5-6

7-8

Figure 10: Results regarding Lok Seva Kendra.

As mentioned earlier, Lok SevaKendra or E mitra is another initiative from the state government to reach out to the citizens of Goa using ICT . E mitra provides plethora of services at a single point to the citizens thereby saving their time of commuting and hassle of running around different government departments. Here also we can see that the majority of the respondents (40%) have never been to any local Emitra centre. This again indicates a disconnect between the communication strategy of the government to promote these services. Although government is advertising heavily in newspaper, it should also look upon some other source of promotions like use of buses for Kadamba Transport Service for advertising benefits of Emitra centres . It can also go for awareness campaign in schools and colleges to promote usage of Emitra services.

Do you think e-tender and online tax collection services have introduced transparency into the system
40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 24% 17% 11% 13% 34%

Figure 11: Results for perception regarding e tender and online tax collection. The e-tender and online tax collection services have received a very strong positive response from the respondents which indicates that this service has been accepted cordially by the respondents. This can be due to the positive externalities generated by the policy of transparent governance by the state government of Goa. This feature as it appears is a true feather in cap for the state government and may have succeed due to unity of industrial associations in Goa for accepting e-tender and online tax collection services.

Limitations The sample size was limited to 350 people , more wider sample with increased diversity in background could have given a completely different picture. Random sampling could have been more effective instead of convenient sampling used over here. The unavailability of the data from the government sources due to recently introduced services was also a major hindrance. Use of regression analysis could have provided a better picture of the analysis.

Works Cited
Census. (2011). Census 2011. Retrieved from http://www.census2011.co.in/. channel, d. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.developmentchannel.org/government/states/1512goa-launches-e-sms-mobile-governance-technology. Govt, G. (2011). Online greviance portal. Retrieved from www.goa.gov.in. Nath, V. (2010). Digital Governance Models: moving towards good governance in developing countries. National Informatics Centre. (2011, April). Goa: Making a Difference through e governance.