India's advancement towards e-government to e-governance moving forward to m-governance

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of India's fastest growing sectors. The Government of India and the State Governments are using ICT to better serve citizens and the industry. The government interacts with citizens and other stake holders through ICT-based services called the e-Governance Portals. E-governance facilities are primarily used in urban areas, and are less popular in rural areas due to lack of proper infrastructure, training, and awareness. With the revelation of mobile technology, smart phones are also reaching remote and rural areas. Governments are trying to effectively implement government services for businesses and citizens by combining mobile and Internet technologies. Highly saturated mobile devices, high-speed broadband technologies such as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and wireless networks etc. provide various opportunities to government administration to better serve citizens. E-Governance is already improving the speed of utility services, but with 24/7 reach and availability of mobile services are directly facilitating to all stakeholders, this can be termed as mobile governance (m-governance). This will allow the government to convert more and more e-governance facilities into m-governance facilities. M-governance has also become a tool for servicing to the last person of society and paying attention to his voice. In this paper, we will elaborate on India's progress towards e-government to e-governance and the move forwards m-governance.