CHAPTER - 1

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The use of Information technology and e-commerce is to provide

access to government information and delivery of public service
to citizens and business partners is the central concept of e-
Governance. It is an efficient and effective way of conducting
government business transactions with citizens, businesses and
within the governments themselves. It is the advent of a new
form of government and the birth of a new marketplace. It
makes government more transparent to citizens and businesses by
providing access to the right information.
Rapid increase in stake holders, government polices and citizen
requirement demanded the immediate services of government
online. The implementation is amalgamated with latest
technological revolutions supported with fourth generation
software. The data mining methods mothered with various
statistical techniques catalyzed the services. The satellite
communication intensified the speed and quality of service and
is at door step with finger touch.

Yet, the swift emergence of technology is mismatching the needs

and wants of public, sprouting to various issues which are to be
addressed and unless a precised methodology is adhered, the
Government, business and citizen will be subjected to lot of
inconvenience. Further, the art of literature examination
confirms the fact that there is no established framework defined
for e-Governance and its diversified applications. Here at this
juncture the author opines the urgent need in establishment of a
precised e-Governance framework, which very fact is probed,
analyzed and presented in the thesis. This senses the author
for problem definition and investigates the solution via novel
framework erection.

1.1.1 GENESIS

The roots of e-Governance are so deeply penetrated in the

society, without which cannot imagine comfortable society. The
genesis way backed to 1950's where the United States regime
processed the citizen's data with tabulating machines and
punched cards. Latter with the technological advancement and
memory augmentations by John Von Neumann, the processing methods
incorporated various peripheral devices and networking came into
picture [61].

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Many non-Internet "electronic government" technologies gained
their service popularity in 1970's includes telephone, fax, PDA,
SMS text messaging, MMS, wireless networks and services,
Bluetooth, CCTV, tracking systems, biometric identification,
road traffic management and regulatory enforcement, identity
cards, smart cards and other applications. Even polling station
technology, TV and radio-based delivery of government services
are quotable[47].

With introduction of internet, the public interaction with

government bodies gained focus. The e-Governance is often
thought as "online government" or "Internet-based government".
In early 1980's internet based email, online community
facilities, newsgroups and electronic mailing lists, online
chat, and instant messaging technologies were introduced. The
society relished the e-Governance and huge demand made the rapid
spread in day to day activities [34] .

1.1.2 PIONEERS

Past, the royal view of the Government used to be as a

'controller' and 'ruler' but present it is of a 'coordinator'
and 'provider' . Government is responsible for providing certain
services to the citizens, just like an organization is
responsible for managing a value chain that leads to output[26].
Building e-Governance for Development of the Society, by Donor
and Richard[23] pioneered the work. The contribution of eminent
personalities Piyush Guptha, R.K.Bagga on compendium of e-
Governance[51], A Vision of Citizen-centric e-Governance for
India of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam[Q4] are inspiring. The concepts
proposed by Gupta.P and SriDevi[51] on e-Governance approach in
India laid payment for smooth functioning of e-Governance. The

3
Challenges and Role of Standards in Building Interoperable e-
Governance Solutions featured by Renu Budhirajaf54], Approach
and Methodology for Project Assessment by CSI Nihilent[09]
felicitated with e-Governance Award in the year 2007.

Network security shadowed e-Governance at every stage with its

authentication, firewall, honey pots, honey nets, encryption,
decryption, security tokens and other concepts. The
contributions of various technocrats and authors referred by 'e-
gov' magazine in connection with establishment of data centers
for e-Governance is colossal. The 'Role-Based Trusted Network
Providing Pervasive Security and Compliance' work of Jayshree
Ullal[36], senior VP of Cisco is incredible. The 'Social
Software development program' work of Julian Fredian[39] and
'Net security' of Simmonds[65] is fabulous.

1.1.3 APPLICATIONS

The Indian government is extending its services to society with

various e-Governance applications. To quote some are
Computerized Dealer Service Centre, e-Governance in Petroleum
and Explosives Safety, VAT Information System. The popular e-
Governance application 'Samadhan Ek Din Me' gained heart of
public which deals with information act. Web-Based 'Rail/Air
Reservation' is servicing the public with internet ticket
reservation. The 'Centralized Allotment Process for the
Professional' is the application deals with the transfer system
of central government employees across the country. RACE -
Revenue Administration through Computerized Energy billing,
SARTHI - Stamps And Registration automation with Technology and
Information, eSeva are few trendy applications[51,26]

4
1.1.4 OBJECTIVES

The department of Information technology has designed the

following objective in regard to e-Governance[19].

1. Identify priority functional areas in every Ministry /

Department to be taken e-Governance applications at the
earliest.

2. Make an inventory of existing applications/packages both

(domestic and international) facilitating e-Governance.

3. Initiate moves to encourage Central and State

Governments to link databases to the public domain.

4. Initiate and develop Data Warehouses in every Ministry &

Department.

5. Leverage resources and activities in the various State

Governments for Data Base building activity.

6. Initiate and develop pilot projects in applications that

are currently not available so as to reap the full
benefit of IT.

7. Develop and integrate suitable models in areas of

Electronic Governance where systems are being developed
independently by Central or State organs.

8. Encourage both Central and State Governments to

prescribe knowledge of computers as an essential
qualification for recruitment/promotion at various
levels.

9. Ensure wide participation of existing staff in computer

literacy programs.

5
10.Develop systems for seamless transfer of information
between offices dealing with public administration both
in the Central as well as the State governments

11.Set up and or facilitate specific communication networks

for the Government sector up and or

12. Assist Central and State Governments in the

identification and implementation of suitable hardware
and software packages for Electronic Governance.

13. Establish links worldwide with institutions engaged in

similar activities so as to optimize the interchange of
ideas & experiences.

14.Initiate amendments in Central and State Acts, Rules and

Regulations under various departments and ministries to
put in place IT and Web enabled Citizen Services.

15. Establish organizations for advising Government

regarding development of strategies for use of
Information Technology by Government so that latest
technologies and best practices are harnessed.

16. Develop special pilot projects on Paperless Government-

On-Line through an extensive use of Electronic Forms and
Data Entry Interfaces enabled by of web and Internet
technology.

17. Build convergence into connected Services Delivery

programs.

18. Develop commercial and governmental systems for issuing

and managing digital signatures/electronic signature
smart cards.

19.Identify measures for suitable protection of data during

compilation and transmission and against alterations by

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 using a combination of security measures.

20.Launch the 25% target of Electronically-delivered

services widely and enable its monitoring

21.Establish Industry Consultative Committees (ICC),

Citizen Consultative Committees (CCC) and Ministries
Consultative Committees (MCC) to provide platform to
various users and implementation groups and
organizations to contribute towards the 25% goal and
beyond.

22.Develop existing Facilitation Centers already

established in various departments for One Stop Shop
(OSS) giving One Click Link (OCL) to all information
required by the citizen through convergent use of
linking and a multiple data entry mechanism.

23.Coordinate activities of Information Technology

Citizen Interface set up by the National Task Force on
Information Technology and Software Development, as also
the High Powered Committee on Improving Efficiency in
Government through use of IT. .

24.Establish Government Information Services (GIS) and

facilitate the setting up of National Information
Infrastructure.

Indian Government anchored the above objectives as standard for

e-Governance implementation.

1.2 e-GOVERNANCE

e-Governance is the use of information technology in general,

to provide citizens and organizations with more convenient
access to government information, providing delivery of

7
public services to citizens, business partners, and those
working in the public sector [51]. Various paybacks are listed.

1.2.1 BENEFITS

The benefits of e-government include efficiency, improved

services, better accessibility of public services, and more
transparency and accountability [42,11].

1.2.1.1 SOCIALIZATION

One of the goals of e-governance is the greater citizen

participation in the nation's capital. Through internet,
people can interact with politicians and make their voice
heard. Interactive surveys will allow politicians to see the
views of the people they represent. The technology created
more transparent government and moves closer to true
democracy. The transparency gives insight to public on
decision making. The degree of public influence amplified
healthier governmental activities.

ECOLOGICAL BONOS

Significant savings in paper saves environment, preventing

deforestation. Online government services would lessen the
need for hard copy forms. Environmentalist, media and public
made government to insight internet services preventing paper
utility.

SWIFT, COMPETENCE AND CONVENIENCE

e-Governance allows citizens to interact online, achieving

objectives, any time from any location, eliminating the
necessity for physical travel to government desks. Improved
accounting and record keeping can be noted through
computerization and information can be easily accessed,
equaling quicker processing time. On the administrative side,
access to files and linked information can be stored in
databases implementing distributed database technology.

CITIZENS APPROVAL

Citizens' participation in online discussions of political

issues with increasing frequency and number is drawn to e-
voting procedures.

1.2.2 TECHNOLOGICAL CATEGORIES OF e-GOVERNANCE

Technology specific sub-categories of e-governance are

• m-Governance (mobile governance)
• u-Governance (ubiquitous governance)
• g-Governance (GPS applications for e-Governance)

1.2.3 CATEGORIES OF e-GOVERNANCE

The authors core concentration is on categories of e-

Governance and are identified as[51]
A. Government-to-Citizens, (G2C)
B. Government-to-Business, (G2B)
C. Government-to-Government, (G2G)

A. GOVERNMENT TO CITIZENS (G2C)

e-Governance category that includes all the interactions

between government and its citizens is G2C. The basic idea is
to enable citizens to interact with the government from their
convenience. G2C applications enable citizens to impose
questions on government agencies and receive answers, pay
taxes, receive payments and documents and so forth. Example,
citizens can renew driver's Licenses, pay traffic tickets and
make appointments for driving tests. Government can also
disseminate information on the web, conduct training and help
netizens find employment and more.

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B. GOVERNMENT TO BUSINESS (G2B)

G2B category includes interactions between government and

business. The symbiotic activities are Government selling
requirements to business and providing services, business
selling products and serving the government[51].

e-PROCUREMENT

The Government buys large amounts of Maintenance, Repair and

Operation items (MRO) and other materials direct from
suppliers. In many cases, law mandates a request for quotation

10
or tendering system. For years, these tendering were done
manually, the systems are now moving online. The local housing
agencies of HUD (Housing and Urban Development), which
provides housing to low-income residents, are moving to e-
procurement.

GOVERNMENT AUCTIONS

The government auctions surplus or other goods, ranging from

vehicles to foreclosed real estate. Such auctions used to be
done manually, and then were done electronically over private
networks. These auctions are now moving to the Internet.
Governments can auction from a government Web site or they can
use third-party auction sites.

TAX PAYMENTS

Every year millions of individuals file tax reports.

Similarly, hundreds of thousands of businesses do the same.
Businesses in the United States must file quarterly reports.
Electronic filing of taxes is now available in over 100
countries, from Thailand to Finland to the United States. In
addition to personal and income tax, it is also possible to
pay online sales tax and value-added tax.

Screen shot of Government to Business - A Government of India Web site

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C. GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT (G2G)

The government-to-government (G2G) category consists of

electronic communication and commerce activities between units
of government, including those within one governmental body
and those between governments. Examples include intelink - an
online service shares information among numerous intelligence
agencies. The procurement websites apply innovative Web-based
procurement methods to government buying within Government
bodies. The applications designed for department of Health and
Human Services helps state governments locate information
about child support, including data of parents[47].

Screen shot of Government to Government - A Government of India Web site

GOVERNMENT TO EMPLOYEES (G2E)

The further categorization of G2G is G2E. This deals the

activities and services between government units and their
employees[15] .
• Various training programs are given to employees
online.
• The government orders (G.O's) are circulated to
employees timely.

12
 • Present day the leave sanction process is done online
using G2E technology
• The grievance of employees to higher authorities is
done using online G2E technology
• The electronic fund transfer for employees is done
online
• The payment process, pension settlements and other
financial benefits that employee gets from government
is done online.

Screen shot of Government to employee - A government of India web site

1.3 APPLICATIONS

e-Governance applications gained momentum with technological

progress coupled with mathematics and statistical
applications. It makes use of technologies such as Wide Area
Networks (WAN), Internet, World Wide Web and mobile computing
by government agencies to reach out to citizens, business and
other arms of the government to

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 • Improve delivery of services to citizens
• Improve interface with business and industry

• Empower citizens through access to knowledge and

information

• Make the working of the government more efficient and

effective [52]

1.3.1 CATEGORIES

The applications can be discussed under different categories

like
A. Educational applications
B. Business applications
C. Administrative applications
D. Service applications

A. EDUCATIONAL APPLICATIONS

VIDYAVAHINI

The portal provides opportunity for schools, teachers and

students all across the nation, to express and share their
creative and academic potential via the internet. The portal
aims at creating such an environment by providing facilities
for Content Development and collaboration. Shiksha India is a
non- profit organization launched in December 2001 to equip
schools with the 5 Cs: Computers, Connectivity, Coaching
(teacher Training), Content and models of Commercial
sustainability. Its mission is to spread better education,
uniform quality of education across India to develop their
creativity and problem solving skills.

14
The Ministry of Information Technology in the project Vidya
Vahini and Ministry of Human Resources aims to connect 60.000
schools across the country in next five years. The
beneficiaries are students all over India.

COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER PROJECT

The Community Learning Centre (CLC) is a joint initiative

between the Azim Premji Foundation (APF) and the State
government of Karnataka. The government contributes towards
hardware and other related expenses per CLC and the Foundation
take care of management and the training of Young India
fellows (YIFs} who manage the CLCs. Each CLC is housed in a
separate room in the school and is equipped with five to eight
computers. The CLCs are used to enhance classroom learning
during school hours. The beneficiaries are students of
Karnataka.

B. BUSINESS APPLICATIONS

TARAHAAT

This project, named "TARAhaat" stands for village bazaar,

comprises a commercially viable model for bringing relevant

15
information, products and services via the Internet to the
unserved rural market of India. This gained popularity and
returns are more than expectation. The subsidiary units
include
• TARAdhaba - will provide the villager connectivity and
access to a new world
• TARAbazaar - will provide access to products and
services needed by rural households, farmers, and
industries
• TARAvan - will deliver goods ordered
• TARAdak - will connect the rural families to the
daughter married far off and to the son posted on the
front
• TARAguru - a decentralized university will provide
mentoring and consultancy to village-based mini­
enterprises
• TARAscouts / TARAreporter - will collect relevant
information for the portal
• TARAvendor - will run the store that will cater to
products available at Tarabazaar
• TARAcard - will enable the villager to order goods and
services on credit
The beneficiaries are rural people

e-PROCUREMENT

The government of India calls for tenders from various

business communities for services or purchasing of goods. The
previous manual system is made online and the transparency of
tendering process increased. Because of its easy operation and
reliability, the revenue generation for both government and
business accelerated. The beneficiaries are both business
sector and government[51].

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C. ADMINISTRATIVE APPLICATIONS

CARD

The Computer-aided Administration of Registration Department -

CARD in Andhra Pradesh is designed to eliminate the
administrative problems affecting the conventional
registration system by introducing electronic delivery of all
registration services. The activities of the department are
simplified as it is initiated to meet objectives to demystify
the registration process, bring speed, efficiency, consistency
and reliability, substantially improve the citizen interface
etc. Six months following the launch of the project, about 80%
of all land registrations in AP were carried out
electronically.

AARAKSKI

Aarakshi is an Intranet based system that has been developed

and implemented for Jaipur City Police. This innovative system
enables the city police officers of Rajasthan to carry out on­
line sharing of crime & criminal data bases, carry out
communication and perform monitoring activities. This cut down
the administrative issues of the department. The Software
provides a facility to update & perform queries on database of
FIRs, Latest News of criminals & crimes, Telephone Directory
of Police Officers, Messaging, Instructions of Police Control
Room on Real Time basis, Habitual offenders details along with
photo gallery, Description of criminals, Missing Persons,
Police Personnel, Property Details, Numbered / Unnumbered
property, Vehicle theft / Seizure.

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D. SERVICE APPLICATIONS

eSEVA

Launched on the 25th of August 2001, electronic seva (e-Seva)

is the improved version of the TWINS project launched in 1999,
in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in Andhra
Pradesh. There are currently 36 eSeva centres spread across
the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and Ranga Reddy
district. 70 centers are in operation at different
municipalities covering thirteen districts.

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Screen shot of e-seva web site www.esevaonline.com

eSeva centres offer 118 different services like payment of

utility bills/taxes, registration of births/deaths,
registration of applications for passports , issue of
births/deaths certificates, filing of Sales Tax returns, Trade
licenses of MCH etc. The public services are immense and are
in limelight. The beneficiaries are public of Andhra Pradesh.

JAN MITRA

Jan Mitra is an Integrated e-platform through which rural

population of Rajasthan can get desired information and avail
services related to various government departments at kiosks

18
near their doorsteps. To achieve this end, a system has been
integrated using IT tools. This project has been successfully
implemented on pilot basis in Jhalawar, Rajasthan. Jhalawar is
the first district among five project location districts in
India, where the project has been implemented ahead of
schedule.

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Services provided are

• e-Governance Services - Public Grievance Redressal
System, Online Submission of Application forms and Land
& Revenue Records.
• Public Information Services - Ongoing Development
Works, Public Distribution System, BPL List,
Electricity Priority Connection List, Drinking Water
Resources, Village Schemes, Citizen Charters and
Immovable Property rates
• Public Awareness Services - Health, Agriculture,
Education and Animal Husbandry Information, Agriculture
Mandi Rates, Daily Mandi rates and Weekly / Monthly
Mandi rates etc.

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The beneficiaries are rural People of Rajasthan[108]

The above are few successful applications and the concern of

the author is on the unsuccessful activities for which the
research is probed.

1.4 DATA AND INFORMATION

e-Governance applications are meant for data processing and

servicing the needy stack holders. Providing information and
satisfying the needs can be done by only data maintenance and
manipulation. Data is fact, gathering characters, numerals or
combination of both which is raw in nature. The data itself
cannot give any meaning and by gathering related data,
constructs database from which information is obtained from
which the plan of action is decided.

The various forms of data representations are Binary, Octal,

Decimal, Duo Decimal, Hexa Decimal form etc[69].

Binary form: The data represented with base two number system,
contains only two digits ones and zeroes. Any higher number is
formed with combination of ones and zeros. This system is
widely used in electronics for signal processing. Zero
represents low voltage and one represents high voltage.

Octal form: The numeric data is represented with base eight

number system, contains numbers from zero to seven. This form
is widely used in communication sector.

Decimal form: This is the regular numeric data representation.

The number system with base 10, with digits from zero to nine.
The weight of each digit of a decimal number depends on its
relative position within the number.

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Duo Decimal form: The number system with 12 count. For example
dozen apples, time in 12 digit form, calendar with 12 months,
measuring unit with 12 inches as one feet etc.

Hexa Decimal form: This is the data representation with base

16. The characters used are from 0 to 9 and A to F. This is
extensively used in computer industry.

1.4.1 DATA FORMATS

Different systems make use of different data formats to process

data. Computers processes data using different codification
systems like ASCII code, EBCDIC, Gray Code, BCD (Binary Coded
Decimal forms), UNICODE (Universal Codification system) etc.

ASCII: It stands for American Standard Code for Information

Interchange. It is developed by ANSI (American Nation Standard
Institution) .This code is used to represent the data in small
computers, peripherals, instruments and communication devices.
It supports 8 bit code with which totally 256 characters can be
represented.

EBCDIC: It stands for Extended Binary Code Decimal Interchange

Code. This is the standard character code for large computers.
It is 8 bit code. It supports 256 characters. The data can be
represented as positive or negative or unsigned.

Gray Code: The data of gray code is represented as binary code.

These are generally used in shaft encoder and other electronic
equipment. The binary bits are arranged in such a way that
only one binary bit changes at a time when we make a change
from any number to the next. Its usage reduces the error. The
largest possible error will be one least significant digit.
This is also called as Mirror reflecting code.

21
BCD: It stands for Binary Coded Decimal. This is binary
representation of numbers. The each digit of the decimal number
is represented in four bit binary form. This is mostly used in
electronic equipment. For example, the decimal number 53 is
represent ted as binary number of 5 as 0101 and the binary
number of 3 as 0011. So the BCD of 53 is 0101 0011.

UNICODE: It stands for universal codification system. The

ASCII code supports 256 characters. The problem with ASCII is
it supports only English characters. Then what about other
international standardized language characters? The solution is
given by UNICODE. It supports rich set of 65535 characters,
which accommodates all international language characters. It
even provides space for new characters which may be developed
in future[53].

1.4.2 DECISION MAKING

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Decision making is the crucial activity in any organization.
Depending on which the escalation depends. The colossal data
leads to information through which abundant knowledge enhances
the intelligence. This leads to decision making, the ultimate
activity for any organization to flourish. Decision making
gained importance in the modern activities. The concept of
information system evolved for better decision making
process[76].

1.5 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

1.5.1 INTRODUCTION

The e-Governance applications are meant for data processing

and servicing the needy stack holders. Many a times, the
information we have, is not what we want - the information we
want, is not what we need - the information we need, is not
available. Managing and providing the right information in
right time as per the requirement of end users is the striking
feature of e-Governance which needs Management Information
System(MIS).

MIS can be defined as the systematic way of providing

informational support to the managerial function of an
organization. The system utilizes computer hardware, software,
manual procedures, models for analysis, planning, control and
decision-making and databases. MIS is an automated system
which presents information both internal and external to the
government body that aids in making a specific set of routine
decisions. The key purpose of the MIS is to aid decision
making and not to automate the decision-making process itself.

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1.5.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF MIS

The author in the due course of establishing the relation

between e-Governance and MIS, the required characters of MIS
are elevated and discussed. The data collection and data
analysis is the prime character of MIS through which the
citizen data is gathered to serve them better. This leads in
providing the valuable information to the managers in decision
making process. The decisions are the outcome of report
analysis, where the reports can be in detailed form or in
aggregated form. For easy understanding and analyzing the
graphical reports with bar graphs, pie graphs, drill down
graphs etc are generated timely with regular interval
frequency. It is necessary to generate event triggered reports
to tackle special events. The decision support reports are to
be generated whenever required. Distributing the reports to
right ward is a crucial activity in MIS.

1.5.3 INFORMATION LAYERS

The information required by the citizens, public servants

differ in the development and implementation of e-Governance
applications. MIS takes responsibility of providing
information to managers at various levels, changing from level
to level depending on their needs. The low level management is
responsible for gathering data and the required information is
submitted to middle level management. They intern filter,
concise the information and its summary is submitted to top
level management who are responsible for decision making.[25]

24
 Summarized information

Information at different levels in Organization

(Courtesy: Information system Management, R.G. Murdick, J.E.Ross and J.R.Ciagget)

1.5.4 VIEWS OF MIS

The functioning of MIS in respect of e-Governance can be seen

in three different dimensions. The first view focuses on
incorporating the MIS functions in e-Governance applications
which includes strategic planning, management control,
operational control and transaction processing. The second
view combines the first view with different functions of e-
Governance applications together with a database management
system (DBMS). The third view identifies the different levels
of activities and then looks at the type of information
required at the different levels and identifies the
characteristics of the information. The three views combine to
provide clarity for system developers in creating an MIS that
meets the needs all of the users of e-Governance applications.

25
 First View of MiS

1.5.5 NEED FOR MIS

The planning and execution of MIS with respect to e-Governance

is increasing day by day because of the complex business
environment with factors like increased government regulation,
globalization and liberalization policies, wider variety of
products and services offered by government, increased citizen
expectations leading to the very dynamic environment. In this
scenario, the decision making process must be accelerated with
MIS techniques which provides sophisticated and timely
information.

1.6 QUALITY, SECURITY AND RELIABILITY

The wide spread of e-Governance in society made its eye strong

on its quality, security and reliability. The governmental
activities should pave path its easy, comfortable operations
and stand as model for its stakeholders[57].

26
1.6.1 QUALITY

Quality is not a property of something but a judgment relative

to some purpose. e-Governance generally have many
stakeholders, who have quite different views on quality.
Government wants a system that delivers a maximum benefit at
minimum cost, where benefit is defined in terms of the
operational effectiveness and functionality. End users want
e-Governance system that delivers a maximum benefit at minimum
cost, but benefit is defined in terms of satisfaction. The
engineers who build and maintain the system see the government
and end user quality judgments as objective functions on which
to make design tradeoffs.

The important quality characters of e-Governance information

system are its functionality, reliability, usability,
effectiveness, maintainability and portability.

Functionality: The information provided should always cater the

need of its user. The required information should be available
at required time.

Reliability: Extent to which the information provided is

genuine is dealt by reliability factor. The accuracy,
presentation and clarity are the important factors of
reliability.

Usability: Level of effort needed for users to exploit the

information in their daily activity is called usability. Ease
of usability increases quality of information system.

Efficiency: Level of resources consumed in order to generate

the information is called efficiency. If the system consumes
fewer resources and gives more effective information, it is
considered the efficient information system.

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Maintainability: Level of effort needed to maintain the
information obtained is maintainability. Lesser the effort,
greater the quality of information leads to effective
maintainability. Low effort with good quality of information
will always lead to fewer budgets and hence leads to low cost
resulting in precised maintainability.

Portability: Extent to which the information can be transferred

from one area of work to another area of work is called
portability. The information gathered for one department can
be used for the same department as well as other departments.
Even the information can be used by different branch offices
which are located geographically at distant locations through
networks. More portability of information leads to increased
quality of information system.

1.6.2 SECURITY

The e-Governance information system introduces new dimensions

to security problems. The information should be confidential
and secure with free from hacking problems. e-Governance in
application monitors, large number of computing systems must
be free from proliferation problems and every care has to be
exercised by security principles not to create iota of
security problems in implementations[31][46].

Physical security protects the physical information systems

assets like personnel, hardware, facilities, supplies and
documentation where as the Logical security protects
data/information and software.

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 Information System Security Classification

Security administrators, the specially trained and experienced

persons take care of physical and logical securities to peruse
the controls over information system assets. They design the
Security program which is a series of ongoing, regular,
periodic reviews conducted to ensure that assets associated
with e-Governance applications safeguarded adequately.

1.6.3 RELIABILITY

The information provided by e-Governance applications should

be reliable, trust worthy and accurate. The features of
reliability of are availability, Correctness, Clarity,
Rapidity[24].

Availability: The data processing department should provide

required reports to the stakeholders and the government when
needed avoiding delay factor. The availability of information
is the critical factor of reliability.

Correctness: Accuracy is obtained by cleansing the data

before converting the data into information. The datum from
various sources is gathered, ordered and the unwanted
incomplete data is removed.

Clarity: The reliability factor solely depends on accuracy and

also on the clarity of data projections. Though the data is
accurate, if it lacks clarity of reporting, it leads to

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confusion in decision making. The reliability factor of
information is directly proportionate to the clarity of
presenting the data.

Rapidity: The quantum of time in which the required report is

available plays on important role in deciding the reliability
factor. Rapidity below 99.9 percent of expected speed is
usually unacceptable.

Keeping in view of the very important facts mentioned, a

through probe is undertaken during the course of this study in
presenting precised security and reliability aspects in
designing the proposed framework for e-Governance
applications.

1.7 INFORMATION SYSTEM AUDIT FOR e-GOVERNANCE

Audit is a studious process for e-Governance applications.

Transparency of governmental activities in terms of work, work
environment, managerial hierarchy, abstract and non abstract
assets, investments is mandatory. Government is accountable
and answerable to public for any means of e-Governance
activity [57].

1.7.1 INFORMATION SYSTEM AUDIT

Information systems audit is the process of collecting and

evaluating evidence to determine whether a computer system
safeguards assets, maintains data integrity, allows e-
Governance goals to be achieved effectively and uses resources
efficiently.

Asset Safeguarding: The information system assets of e-

Governance include hardware, software, facilities, people
(knowledge), data files, system documentation, and supplies.

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Like all assets, they must be protected by a system of
internal control.

Data Integrity: This is the fundamental concept in information

systems auditing. Attributes of data are completeness,
soundness, purity, veracity.

Functions of information system audit frame work

System Effectiveness: To evaluate whether a system reports

information in a way that facilitates decision making by its
users, auditors must know the characteristics of users and the
decision-making environment.

System Efficiency: An efficient e-Governance uses minimum

resources to achieve its required objectives. It consumes
various resources like machine time, peripherals, system
software, labor and network.

1.7.2 PILLARS OF e-GOVERNANCE AUDIT

Many of the principles that underlie the practice of e-

Governance auditing have their roots in other disciplines,

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such' as traditional auditing, computer science, management and
behavioral science

Information System Audit

* Traditional • Computer j Information ■ Behavioral

management
l
*
auditing 3
[ Science Science

Foundation of information system auditing

Traditional Auditing: The knowledge and experience with

internal control techniques of traditional auditing had an
impact on the design of both the manual and machine components
of an e-Governance audit. Perhaps most important, traditional
auditing brings to e-Governance auditing a control philosophy.

Computer Science: Computer scientists also have been concerned

with how asset safeguarding, data integrity, system
effectiveness, and system efficiency objectives might be
better achieved.

Information Systems Management: Improper management leads to

some spectacular disasters and leads to failure to achieve
their stated objectives. As a result, for many years
researchers have been concerned with identifying better ways
of managing the development and implementation of e-Governance
systems.
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Behavioral Science: Technology most of the times fail because
their designers do not appreciate the difficult human issues
of e-Governance that are often associated with the development
and implementation of a system. Auditors must understand the
conditions that can lead to behavioral problems and system
failure.

1.7.3 NEED FOR AUDIT FRAMEWORK

e-Governance has become instrumental in every walk of life and

uncontrolled use of computers can have negative impact on
society. Government must control and audit computer based
information systems because the cost of errors and
irregularities that arise in these systems are high. The
ability to survive can be severely undermined through
corruption or destruction of its database, decision making
errors, computer abuse, hardware, software and personnel
losses, the high costs of computer errors, failure to maintain
the privacy of individual persons.

The information systems audit framework has been established

to safeguard assets, to maintain data integrity, to achieve
system effectiveness and to achieve system efficiency.
Evaluating the reliability of controls in computer system is
often more complex and to set right it, a framework is highly
demanded.

1.7.4 DEMANDING FACTORS FOR e-GOVERNANCE AUDIT

Cost of data loss: Critical resource for an e-Governance for

its regular activity is data. If this is accurate, the
applications increase their abilities to adapt and survive in
a changing environment otherwise governance can incur
substantial losses.

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Cost of incorrect decision making: High-quality decisions
depend on the quality of the data and the quality of the
decision rules that exist within e-Governance information
systems. The types of decisions involve detection,
investigation, and correction of out-of-control processes.

Cost of Computer Abuse: Computer abuse is any incident

associated with computer technology in which a victim suffered
or could have suffered loss. Some major types of computer
abuse that an e-Governance might encounter include Hacking,
Viruses, Illegal physical access, Abuse of privileges.
Computer abuse can lead to consequences like Damage of assets,
Stealing of assets like Hardware, software, data,
documentation etc, Alteration of assets, Privacy violations,
Disruption of operations, Physical harm to personnel.

Costs of Computer Error: Computers automatically perform many

critical functions within our society. For example, they
monitor the condition of patients during surgery, direct the
flight of a missile, control a nuclear reactor, and steer a
ship on its course. Consequently, the costs of a computer
error in terms of loss of life, deprivation of liberty, or
damage to the environment can be high. The costs of computer
error in financial terms can also be high.

The above problems demanded for the immediate introduction of

information system audit frame work and government implemented
it in ambitious way for smooth functioning of e-Governance.

1.7.5 ©-GOVERNANCE AUDITORS

e-Governance auditors are the persons who are responsible for

collecting and evaluating evidence to determine whether the
system safeguards assets, maintains data integrity, allows the

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goals to be achieved effectively and uses resources
efficiently. The information system auditors possess
traditional auditing skill as well as computer skills with
networking flavor[31].

AUDITOR ABILITIES

Auditors should process various inherent cognitive strengths

and limitations. The cognitive abilities affect the quality
of the judgments. Representative heuristics makes in building
strong teams and relations. Adjustment heuristics makes to
tune the fundamental stage of problem to reach the final stage
of e-Governance implementation. The Availability heuristic
makes the availability of past experiences to implement for
the present e-Governance applications. The factors that
influence auditors are the experience and training they
received.

TYPE OF AUDITORS

The two categories of auditors are internal auditors and

external auditors. The Internal Auditors participate in the
development of e-Governance applications and in post
implementation reviews. The External Auditors undertake
general audits rather than concurrent or post implementation
audits of the systems development process.

AUDIT APPROACHES

The three types of audits of the systems development process

are Concurrent, Post implementation and General audit.
The concurrent auditors are members of the systems development
team. They assist the team in improving the quality of systems
development for the specific system they are building and
implementing. The Post implementation auditors share their

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experiences in the development of a specific e-Governance
system. The General auditors evaluate systems development
controls overall. They reduce the extent of substantive
testing needed to form an audit opinion about management's
assertions relating to the financial statements or systems
effectiveness and efficiency.

For any e-Governance activity, the audit process is mandatory

to keep things straight and make smooth functioning of
applications. The author discusses the audit procedures in
detail in chapter 4, with the elements identified for e-
Governance framework are discussed in chapter 5 for successful
functioning.

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