BSc CSIT (TU) Science E-Governance (BSc CSIT, CSC366) Question Paper 2077 Nepal

Comparative Analysis Model and Mobilization & Lobbying Model

These are two of the five interaction models of e-governance proposed by Bedi, Singh and Srivastava, which describe how ICT can change the relationship between citizens, civil society and the government.

1. Comparative Analysis Model

Concept: This model uses ICT to gather, store and compare information, decisions, laws, policies and best practices from one place/government with those of another. The information already available in the public domain is assimilated and used to argue for or against a decision, to influence opinion, and to push the government to learn from better-performing systems.

Working:

• Past data, similar cases and successful policies (from other states or countries) are collected and put into the public domain.
• Citizens and civil society compare their government's actions against these benchmarks.
• The comparison becomes a powerful tool to pressurise the government, strengthen human-rights cases and demand better governance.

Example: A civil-society group compares the public-distribution / subsidy system of one state with a better-performing neighbouring state and uses the difference to lobby for reform. Citizens comparing the e-services of Singapore or Estonia with Nepal's services to demand similar facilities is another example.

2. Mobilization and Lobbying Model

Concept: This is one of the most frequently used models. It builds opinion and perspective at a global level and forms a strong, virtual network of like-minded people. ICT is used to mobilize public support and to lobby/pressurise decision-makers on a particular issue.

Working:

• An issue is taken up by an individual or group; supporting information is shared through websites, e-mail, social media and online petitions.
• Geographically dispersed individuals are connected into a single virtual community, transcending national boundaries.
• Collective opinion is channelled (through e-petitions, online campaigns, discussion forums) to lobby the government.

Example: Online petition campaigns (e.g., signature campaigns against a proposed bill), environmental movements organised through social media, or global NGO campaigns coordinated over the Internet that pressurise governments to change a policy.

Comparison

Conclusion: Both models empower citizens and civil society to participate in governance — one through evidence and benchmarking, the other through networking and collective action.

Framework and Key Issues for Implementing E-Governance in Nepal

Framework for Implementation

A workable e-governance framework for a developing country like Nepal is built on the following layers:

1. Vision & Policy Layer – A clear national vision (e.g., Nepal's e-Government Master Plan and Digital Nepal Framework), supported by ICT policy, cyber law and the Right to Information Act.
2. Legal & Institutional Layer – Laws (Electronic Transaction Act 2063), a nodal agency (e.g., the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology / Department of IT), and the National Information Technology Center (NITC) to coordinate projects.
3. Infrastructure Layer – National data centre, Government Integrated Data Centre, fibre/broadband backbone, government intranet (GIDC), and reliable electricity.
4. Application/Service Layer – G2C, G2B, G2E and G2G services (online registration, e-payment, license renewal, national ID).
5. Access Layer – Citizen access through portals, mobile apps, service centres and kiosks, with security (PKI, digital signature) and a payment gateway.
6. Human-Resource Layer – Trained government staff and digitally literate citizens.

Key Issues / Challenges

• Infrastructure gaps: Unreliable electricity, limited broadband/Internet penetration especially in rural and mountainous areas.
• Digital divide: Wide gap between urban and rural, rich and poor, literate and illiterate populations.
• Low e-literacy & language barrier: Many citizens are not computer-literate; most services are in English while Nepali/local-language content is limited.
• Financial constraints: High initial investment and dependence on donor funding for ICT projects.
• Human resources: Shortage of skilled IT manpower and resistance to change within the bureaucracy.
• Legal & security issues: Weak enforcement of cyber law, lack of strong data-protection law, privacy and cyber-security threats.
• Political instability & poor coordination: Frequent policy changes and weak inter-agency coordination delay projects.
• Sustainability & maintenance: Many projects stall after donor funding ends.

Conclusion

Successful e-governance in Nepal requires a phased, citizen-centric approach: building reliable infrastructure, enacting and enforcing strong laws, bridging the digital divide, training human resources, and ensuring political commitment and financial sustainability.

Cyber Law and Legal & Ethical Issues in E-Governance

Cyber Law

Cyber law is the body of law that governs the use of computers, the Internet, networks, software, data and electronic commerce. It defines legal recognition of electronic records and digital signatures, and prescribes punishment for cyber-crimes. In Nepal, the principal cyber law is the Electronic Transaction Act, 2063 (2008).

Provisions of Cyber Law (Electronic Transaction Act)

• Legal recognition of electronic records and digital signatures – electronic documents are given the same legal validity as paper documents.
• Digital signature & certification – provision for a Controller of Certifying Authorities and licensing of Certifying Authorities (PKI).
• Cyber offences and penalties – unauthorized access (hacking), damage to computer source code, publication of illegal/obscene material, piracy, and computer fraud are defined as offences with fines and imprisonment.
• Confidentiality and privacy – protection of data and punishment for breach of confidentiality.
• Cyber tribunal / appellate tribunal – special judicial bodies to settle computer-related disputes.
• Regulation of e-commerce and e-governance transactions.

Legal Issues in E-Governance

• Authentication & non-repudiation – ensuring identity of parties (digital signatures, PKI).
• Validity of electronic records – legal acceptance of online forms, e-contracts and e-payment.
• Data protection & privacy law – safeguarding personal data held by government.
• Jurisdiction – which court/law applies for cross-border electronic transactions.
• Intellectual property rights & copyright of government content.

Ethical Issues in E-Governance

• Privacy – misuse or unauthorized disclosure of citizens' personal data.
• Security & trust – protecting systems from hacking, fraud and identity theft.
• Accessibility & equity – ensuring services reach all citizens (digital divide), avoiding exclusion of the poor and disabled.
• Transparency & accountability – fair, unbiased and corruption-free delivery of services.
• Surveillance – balancing security with citizens' freedom; avoiding misuse of monitoring.
• Digital ethics / professional conduct of officials handling data.

Conclusion

Cyber law provides the legal backbone that makes electronic governance trustworthy, while ethical practices ensure that e-governance remains fair, private, secure and inclusive. Both must work together for citizens to trust and adopt online government services.

Benefits of E-Governance

• Better service delivery: Citizens get faster, 24x7 access to government services online (G2C) without visiting offices repeatedly.
• Transparency: Information, rules and procedures are published online, reducing arbitrariness and exposing decisions to public scrutiny.
• Reduced corruption: Fewer face-to-face interactions and middlemen reduce bribery and rent-seeking.
• Cost & time saving: Automation reduces paperwork, manpower and operational cost for both government and citizens.
• Improved efficiency & accuracy: Digital records and workflows reduce errors and speed up processing.
• Citizen participation & empowerment: E-petitions, feedback and online consultation let citizens take part in decision-making.
• Accountability: Audit trails and online tracking make officials answerable.
• Wider reach / inclusiveness: Services can reach remote areas through the Internet and mobile.
• Economic development: Promotes e-commerce, attracts investment and improves the business environment (G2B).

Online Service Delivery

Online service delivery means providing government services to citizens, businesses and other agencies through the Internet/web and other electronic channels, instead of requiring physical visits to government offices. It is the most visible outcome of e-governance, enabling anytime, anywhere access to services.

Characteristics: single-window access through a government portal, online forms and applications, electronic payment, real-time status tracking, and electronic delivery of certificates/documents.

Examples:

• Online tax filing and e-payment (e.g., Inland Revenue Department online VAT/income-tax filing).
• Online passport/visa application and appointment booking.
• Online registration of companies, vehicles, or land records.
• e-Citizen / national ID services and online certificate (birth, citizenship) requests.
• Online bill payment for electricity, water and telephone.
• Public Service Commission (Lok Sewa) online application and result publication.

Benefits: convenience, time and cost saving, transparency, reduced corruption, and improved citizen satisfaction.

Achieving Good Governance through E-Governance Models

Good governance is characterised by transparency, accountability, participation, rule of law, responsiveness, efficiency and equity. E-governance models (the broadcasting, critical-flow, comparative-analysis, mobilization-&-lobbying, and interactive-service models) help achieve these attributes:

• Transparency & openness: The Broadcasting Model puts government information, laws and decisions in the public domain, so citizens know their rights and procedures.
• Accountability: The Critical Flow Model channels sensitive/critical information (e.g., corruption data, performance reports) to targeted audiences and media, making officials answerable.
• Informed decision-making: The Comparative Analysis Model lets citizens benchmark their government against best practices and demand improvement.
• Participation: The Mobilization & Lobbying Model enables citizens to organise, petition and influence policy, strengthening democratic participation.
• Responsiveness & efficiency: The Interactive-Service Model provides two-way, online services (grievance redress, e-services), making government responsive and efficient.

Conclusion: By using these models, ICT increases transparency, reduces corruption, promotes citizen participation and improves service delivery — the core elements of good governance.

E-Readiness and Human Infrastructure Preparedness

E-Readiness

E-readiness is the degree to which a country, organisation or community is prepared, willing and able to obtain benefits from information and communication technologies (ICT). For e-governance, it measures whether the necessary infrastructure, policy, legal framework, and human resources are in place to adopt and use ICT-based government services. It is commonly assessed across dimensions such as network/infrastructure readiness, policy & legal readiness, economic readiness, and human/social readiness.

Human Infrastructure Preparedness

Human infrastructure preparedness refers to the readiness of people — both government employees and citizens — to use ICT for governance. It includes:

• ICT literacy & skills: Citizens able to use computers, the Internet and online services; basic digital literacy.
• Skilled IT manpower: Availability of trained technical staff (developers, administrators, support) to build and maintain systems.
• Trained government employees: Officials capable of operating e-governance applications and willing to adopt new processes (change management).
• Education & awareness: Awareness programmes and training to build trust and demand for online services.
• Language & accessibility: Content in local language and provision for less-literate or disabled users.

Importance: Even with good technical infrastructure, e-governance fails if people lack the skills or willingness to use it. Therefore human-infrastructure preparedness — through training, awareness and capacity building — is essential for successful e-governance.

Difference between E-Government and E-Governance

E-government is the use of ICT (especially the Internet) by government agencies to deliver information and services to citizens, businesses and other agencies. It focuses on the automation and delivery of services.

E-governance is broader — it is the use of ICT to transform the entire process of governance, including the relationships and interactions between government, citizens, businesses and other stakeholders, to make governance transparent, participatory and accountable. It focuses on decision-making, participation and the governing process itself.

In short: E-government is a part of e-governance — e-government is about "doing government work electronically," while e-governance is about "transforming governance electronically."

Digital Divide and its Impact on E-Governance

Concept of Digital Divide

The digital divide is the gap between individuals, communities, regions or countries that have access to and the ability to use ICT (computers, Internet, mobile) and those that do not. It exists along several lines:

• Geographic: urban vs. rural / remote areas.
• Economic: rich vs. poor (ability to afford devices and connectivity).
• Educational/literacy: ICT-literate vs. illiterate.
• Demographic: age, gender and disability differences.
• Language: availability of content in the local language.

Impact on E-Governance

• Unequal access to services: Citizens without Internet or skills cannot use online services, defeating the goal of inclusive governance.
• Exclusion & inequality: The poor, rural, elderly, disabled and less-educated are left out, widening social inequality.
• Reduced adoption & effectiveness: Low usage reduces the impact and return on government ICT investment.
• Need for alternative channels: Government must still maintain manual/assisted channels, increasing cost.
• Trust gap: Sections of society may distrust or feel alienated from digital services.

Bridging the Divide

Provide affordable connectivity, public service centres/kiosks, digital-literacy programmes, local-language and accessible interfaces, and mobile-based services so e-governance reaches all citizens.

Data Centre and its Importance for E-Governance

What is a Data Centre?

A data centre is a centralized facility that houses an organisation's computing infrastructure — servers, storage systems, networking equipment, databases and applications — together with the supporting environment (power supply, cooling, fire protection, physical and network security). In e-governance, a Government Data Centre (GDC) consolidates the IT resources of various government agencies into one secure, managed facility (e.g., Nepal's Government Integrated Data Centre).

Why is it Important for E-Governance?

• Centralized hosting: Hosts government applications, portals and databases in one reliable, secure place, enabling integrated G2C/G2B/G2G services.
• Data security & integrity: Provides controlled physical access, firewalls and encryption to protect sensitive citizen data.
• High availability & reliability: Redundant power, cooling and network ensure services run 24x7 with minimal downtime.
• Disaster recovery & backup: Maintains backups and (with a DR site) ensures continuity of services after failures or disasters.
• Scalability & resource sharing: Agencies share infrastructure, reducing duplication and cost; capacity can grow with demand.
• Standardization & easier management: Centralized administration, monitoring and uniform security policies.
• Data integration & interoperability: Enables shared databases and seamless exchange of information between departments.

Conclusion: The data centre is the backbone of e-governance — without a secure, reliable, scalable data centre, integrated and continuous online government services cannot be delivered.

Interactive-Service Model of E-Governance

Concept: The Interactive-Service Model is one of the e-governance models that provides direct, two-way (interactive) communication between the government and citizens through a single integrated platform. Unlike the broadcasting or critical-flow models (which are mostly one-way), this model brings together all the features of the other models and allows citizens to actively interact with government services online.

Working / Features:

• A common gateway/portal where citizens, businesses and government interact directly.
• Two-way flow of information – citizens can request services, submit applications and get responses.
• Provision for online discussion, feedback, grievance redress and consultation.
• Government services (registration, payment, certificates) are delivered interactively in real time.
• Citizens can participate in decision-making (e-voting, opinion polls, public consultations).

Applications/Examples:

• Online grievance-redress and complaint systems with status tracking.
• e-Participation portals, online polls and public feedback on draft policies.
• Interactive service portals for tax filing, license renewal and e-payment.

Advantages: It is the most citizen-centric and complete model — it improves responsiveness, transparency, participation and the overall quality of governance because it engages citizens directly in the governing process.

Components of E-Governance Infrastructure

E-governance infrastructure is the combination of physical, technical, human and policy resources required to deliver government services electronically. Its main components are:

• Network / Connectivity infrastructure: Telecom backbone, broadband/fibre, Internet, government intranet/WAN connecting offices.
• Data Centre & Hardware: Servers, storage, government data centre (and disaster-recovery site), client computers and kiosks.
• Software / Application infrastructure: Government portals, web applications, databases, middleware and operating systems that deliver G2C/G2B/G2G services.
• Security infrastructure: Firewalls, antivirus, encryption, PKI/digital signature, Certifying Authority, authentication and access control to protect data.
• Payment gateway: Electronic payment systems for online fees, taxes and bills.
• Human infrastructure: Skilled IT manpower, trained government staff and digitally literate citizens.
• Policy, legal & institutional infrastructure: ICT policy, cyber law (Electronic Transaction Act), standards, and a nodal agency to coordinate and regulate.
• Power & physical infrastructure: Reliable electricity, backup power, cooling and physical facilities.

Conclusion: Successful e-governance requires all these components — network, hardware/data centre, software, security, human resources and supporting policy/legal framework — to work together.