Kurukshetra Magazine December 2022 - 3 | Monthly Yojana & Kurukshetra Magazine (English) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 35 34
Dr. Amiya Kumar Mohapatra
Dr. Deepankar Chakrabarti 
Bringing individuals, institutions, corporates, and governments together is the key mandate of inclusiveness and sets 
the agenda for e-governance. The collaborative approach of policy-making emphasises more on citizen participation and 
ownership of actions. This will surely reduce socio-economic stress, minimize deprivation, and help overall development. 
Citizen Participation and Rural Well-being
nlargement of people’s choices and 
capabilities is the cornerstone of all kinds 
of governance and a prerequisite for 
a nation’s overall growth and inclusive 
development. India is the world’s largest democracy; 
its democratic freedom and expression lie with 
citizen participation in every sphere of public policy-
making. The building blocks of good governance 
are citizen participation and civic engagement, 
and e-governance is the critical component of 
good governance. Regarding rural development, 
it is essential to focus on sustainable governance, 
considering its contribution to national income 
(nearly 50 percent) and about 70 percent workforce 
residing in rural areas. The rural sector is more 
of an agri-based economy and contributes to 
the rural livelihood; and hence it deserves better 
facilities, including health, education, drinking water, 
sanitation, housing, employment opportunities, and 
an overall better standard of living. 
In this regard, the Government of India has 
taken various initiatives. More recent development 
focuses on governance using digital technology 
and ICT to contribute, catalyse, and energise rural 
development initiatives in meeting the needs of the 
rural development sector. Several digital initiatives 
have been taken, including digital-first and other 
ICT application services, to improve public service 
delivery through improved digital connectivity. The 
importance of ‘good governance’ got a considerable 
impetus due to the growing participation of 
NGOs/private sectors in providing public services, 
information and communications technology (ICT), 
and the internet, which connects people in real-time. 
A paradigm shift in the e-governance process and 
implementation brings much-needed improvements 
in the governance framework. 
e-Governance and Rural Economy
e-Governance is a mechanism through which 
E
public services are made available and accessible 
to the common man at their doorstep at ease, 
through common services delivery outlets. It further 
ensures services’ efficiency, transparency, and 
reliability at affordable prices. e-Governance is ICT-
friendly which establishes connections between 
providers and users of government services. In the 
changing governance landscape and digitalisation, 
the Government of India implemented National 
e-Governance Plan in 2006, especially for the rural 
areas by providing services including birth and 
death certificates, land registration, employment 
opportunities, market-related information, farming, 
and veterinary services, education and matrimonial 
along with a special effort to capture the information 
about the people below the poverty line.
Page 2


Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 35 34
Dr. Amiya Kumar Mohapatra
Dr. Deepankar Chakrabarti 
Bringing individuals, institutions, corporates, and governments together is the key mandate of inclusiveness and sets 
the agenda for e-governance. The collaborative approach of policy-making emphasises more on citizen participation and 
ownership of actions. This will surely reduce socio-economic stress, minimize deprivation, and help overall development. 
Citizen Participation and Rural Well-being
nlargement of people’s choices and 
capabilities is the cornerstone of all kinds 
of governance and a prerequisite for 
a nation’s overall growth and inclusive 
development. India is the world’s largest democracy; 
its democratic freedom and expression lie with 
citizen participation in every sphere of public policy-
making. The building blocks of good governance 
are citizen participation and civic engagement, 
and e-governance is the critical component of 
good governance. Regarding rural development, 
it is essential to focus on sustainable governance, 
considering its contribution to national income 
(nearly 50 percent) and about 70 percent workforce 
residing in rural areas. The rural sector is more 
of an agri-based economy and contributes to 
the rural livelihood; and hence it deserves better 
facilities, including health, education, drinking water, 
sanitation, housing, employment opportunities, and 
an overall better standard of living. 
In this regard, the Government of India has 
taken various initiatives. More recent development 
focuses on governance using digital technology 
and ICT to contribute, catalyse, and energise rural 
development initiatives in meeting the needs of the 
rural development sector. Several digital initiatives 
have been taken, including digital-first and other 
ICT application services, to improve public service 
delivery through improved digital connectivity. The 
importance of ‘good governance’ got a considerable 
impetus due to the growing participation of 
NGOs/private sectors in providing public services, 
information and communications technology (ICT), 
and the internet, which connects people in real-time. 
A paradigm shift in the e-governance process and 
implementation brings much-needed improvements 
in the governance framework. 
e-Governance and Rural Economy
e-Governance is a mechanism through which 
E
public services are made available and accessible 
to the common man at their doorstep at ease, 
through common services delivery outlets. It further 
ensures services’ efficiency, transparency, and 
reliability at affordable prices. e-Governance is ICT-
friendly which establishes connections between 
providers and users of government services. In the 
changing governance landscape and digitalisation, 
the Government of India implemented National 
e-Governance Plan in 2006, especially for the rural 
areas by providing services including birth and 
death certificates, land registration, employment 
opportunities, market-related information, farming, 
and veterinary services, education and matrimonial 
along with a special effort to capture the information 
about the people below the poverty line.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
It represents a paradigm shift in the provision 
of essential public services, moving from a human 
to a technological interface. Some of the popular 
of initiatives include e-Panchayat, e-Gram, and 
Priasoft; furthermore, an initiative like e-District 
added significant value to the governance process. 
It is further supported by other initiatives which 
are contributing significantly in the e-governance 
process: e-Choupal, e-Shakti, TARA haat, e-Health, 
e-Education, e-Sanjeevani, e-Hospital, e-Pathshala, 
e-RaktKosh, Bhoomi, Gyandoot, e-Suvidha, e-NAM, 
e-Sewa, etc.
The government of India has already launched 
an innovative platform, ‘MyGov’, to ensure citizens’ 
engagement in the decision-making process; citizens 
can share their views/opinions directly with the 
Prime Minister of India. The primary focus of these 
initiatives is to contribute to ‘ Surajya’ and encourage 
citizens to ‘ discuss and do’. It includes various 
projects: Clean Ganga, Green India, Job Creation, 
Girl Child Education, Skill Deployment, Digital India, 
and Swachh Bharat, through which it is expected to 
bring qualitative changes in policy-making through 
people’s participation.
Despite all such efforts and initiatives, the 
success was not up to the expectations, sometimes, 
it failed to meet the needs and expectations of rural 
citizens, and it was found-out that a few of the ICT-based 
initiatives are not only unsuccessful but have undesirable 
outcomes. It is found that many projects are facing 
difficulties at the time of implementation. Although 
India has achieved phenomenal growth in the last two 
decades in implementing e-governance initiatives/
projects, its success depends upon citizen participation 
and their involvement during the formulation and 
implementation of public policy. e-Governance and its 
success rest on improving the quality of public services 
and delivery and that needs to be more inclusive in 
terms of citizen participation and engagement.
Dimensions of Rural e-Governance
Rural e-governance is the core of the socio-
economic development of the rural economy and 
so also the Indian economy. The effectiveness and 
impact of rural e-governance is measured through 
various dimensions. The various dimensions 
of e-governance in the rural sector are: ICT 
infrastructure, access to e-government services, 
mobile first, e-literacy, usage behaviour, localised 
content, employment and productivity, participatory 
governance, grievance redressal, and inclusion. 
Precisely speaking, the role and importance of 
‘participatory governance and citizen participation’ 
played a vital role in the e-governance dimensions 
mapping process. Over all, these dimensions are 
required to be strengthened and rebooted to get 
the best outcome and optimisation of public policy, 
designed for developing the rural economy.
Source: National Informatics Centre, GoI.
e-Governance and Citizen Participation
The success of any governance is based 
on citizen participation and engagement. India 
is a country of diversity in language, culture, 
employment opportunities, and livelihood patterns 
which vary from region to region and state to state. 
So, designing any program should be able to address 
all the issues/needs and expectations of people 
in those areas. Further, to enhance e-governance 
projects’ efficiency, understanding of social-cultural 
factors is essential, along with people’s expectations. 
To design a suitable governance initiative in rural 
areas, diverse needs and people’s capabilities should 
be considered during the policy formulation. Hence, 
there is a need to design customised e-governance 
initiatives which are the need of the hour. Factors that 
affect customised e-governance are: the needs and 
expectations of people, socio-economic dynamics, 
contextual reality, ease and simplified design and 
structure of the policy, feedback mechanism, 
outcome analysis, etc.
Page 3


Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 35 34
Dr. Amiya Kumar Mohapatra
Dr. Deepankar Chakrabarti 
Bringing individuals, institutions, corporates, and governments together is the key mandate of inclusiveness and sets 
the agenda for e-governance. The collaborative approach of policy-making emphasises more on citizen participation and 
ownership of actions. This will surely reduce socio-economic stress, minimize deprivation, and help overall development. 
Citizen Participation and Rural Well-being
nlargement of people’s choices and 
capabilities is the cornerstone of all kinds 
of governance and a prerequisite for 
a nation’s overall growth and inclusive 
development. India is the world’s largest democracy; 
its democratic freedom and expression lie with 
citizen participation in every sphere of public policy-
making. The building blocks of good governance 
are citizen participation and civic engagement, 
and e-governance is the critical component of 
good governance. Regarding rural development, 
it is essential to focus on sustainable governance, 
considering its contribution to national income 
(nearly 50 percent) and about 70 percent workforce 
residing in rural areas. The rural sector is more 
of an agri-based economy and contributes to 
the rural livelihood; and hence it deserves better 
facilities, including health, education, drinking water, 
sanitation, housing, employment opportunities, and 
an overall better standard of living. 
In this regard, the Government of India has 
taken various initiatives. More recent development 
focuses on governance using digital technology 
and ICT to contribute, catalyse, and energise rural 
development initiatives in meeting the needs of the 
rural development sector. Several digital initiatives 
have been taken, including digital-first and other 
ICT application services, to improve public service 
delivery through improved digital connectivity. The 
importance of ‘good governance’ got a considerable 
impetus due to the growing participation of 
NGOs/private sectors in providing public services, 
information and communications technology (ICT), 
and the internet, which connects people in real-time. 
A paradigm shift in the e-governance process and 
implementation brings much-needed improvements 
in the governance framework. 
e-Governance and Rural Economy
e-Governance is a mechanism through which 
E
public services are made available and accessible 
to the common man at their doorstep at ease, 
through common services delivery outlets. It further 
ensures services’ efficiency, transparency, and 
reliability at affordable prices. e-Governance is ICT-
friendly which establishes connections between 
providers and users of government services. In the 
changing governance landscape and digitalisation, 
the Government of India implemented National 
e-Governance Plan in 2006, especially for the rural 
areas by providing services including birth and 
death certificates, land registration, employment 
opportunities, market-related information, farming, 
and veterinary services, education and matrimonial 
along with a special effort to capture the information 
about the people below the poverty line.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
It represents a paradigm shift in the provision 
of essential public services, moving from a human 
to a technological interface. Some of the popular 
of initiatives include e-Panchayat, e-Gram, and 
Priasoft; furthermore, an initiative like e-District 
added significant value to the governance process. 
It is further supported by other initiatives which 
are contributing significantly in the e-governance 
process: e-Choupal, e-Shakti, TARA haat, e-Health, 
e-Education, e-Sanjeevani, e-Hospital, e-Pathshala, 
e-RaktKosh, Bhoomi, Gyandoot, e-Suvidha, e-NAM, 
e-Sewa, etc.
The government of India has already launched 
an innovative platform, ‘MyGov’, to ensure citizens’ 
engagement in the decision-making process; citizens 
can share their views/opinions directly with the 
Prime Minister of India. The primary focus of these 
initiatives is to contribute to ‘ Surajya’ and encourage 
citizens to ‘ discuss and do’. It includes various 
projects: Clean Ganga, Green India, Job Creation, 
Girl Child Education, Skill Deployment, Digital India, 
and Swachh Bharat, through which it is expected to 
bring qualitative changes in policy-making through 
people’s participation.
Despite all such efforts and initiatives, the 
success was not up to the expectations, sometimes, 
it failed to meet the needs and expectations of rural 
citizens, and it was found-out that a few of the ICT-based 
initiatives are not only unsuccessful but have undesirable 
outcomes. It is found that many projects are facing 
difficulties at the time of implementation. Although 
India has achieved phenomenal growth in the last two 
decades in implementing e-governance initiatives/
projects, its success depends upon citizen participation 
and their involvement during the formulation and 
implementation of public policy. e-Governance and its 
success rest on improving the quality of public services 
and delivery and that needs to be more inclusive in 
terms of citizen participation and engagement.
Dimensions of Rural e-Governance
Rural e-governance is the core of the socio-
economic development of the rural economy and 
so also the Indian economy. The effectiveness and 
impact of rural e-governance is measured through 
various dimensions. The various dimensions 
of e-governance in the rural sector are: ICT 
infrastructure, access to e-government services, 
mobile first, e-literacy, usage behaviour, localised 
content, employment and productivity, participatory 
governance, grievance redressal, and inclusion. 
Precisely speaking, the role and importance of 
‘participatory governance and citizen participation’ 
played a vital role in the e-governance dimensions 
mapping process. Over all, these dimensions are 
required to be strengthened and rebooted to get 
the best outcome and optimisation of public policy, 
designed for developing the rural economy.
Source: National Informatics Centre, GoI.
e-Governance and Citizen Participation
The success of any governance is based 
on citizen participation and engagement. India 
is a country of diversity in language, culture, 
employment opportunities, and livelihood patterns 
which vary from region to region and state to state. 
So, designing any program should be able to address 
all the issues/needs and expectations of people 
in those areas. Further, to enhance e-governance 
projects’ efficiency, understanding of social-cultural 
factors is essential, along with people’s expectations. 
To design a suitable governance initiative in rural 
areas, diverse needs and people’s capabilities should 
be considered during the policy formulation. Hence, 
there is a need to design customised e-governance 
initiatives which are the need of the hour. Factors that 
affect customised e-governance are: the needs and 
expectations of people, socio-economic dynamics, 
contextual reality, ease and simplified design and 
structure of the policy, feedback mechanism, 
outcome analysis, etc.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
In the process of reform and formulation of 
governance, citizen involvement and their feedback 
are essential. The spirit of ‘ we the people of India’ 
embedded in the Preamble, Fundamental Rights and 
Duties, and the Directive Principles of State Policy 
envisages empowering democratic participation 
and ownership of citizens. The ultimate process is 
to empower people by making them part of citizen 
governance; to translate the mandate of sovereignty 
into reality and to make it part of the people and their 
life. Citizen governance and civic engagement are 
two important pillars in strengthening valued-citizen 
participation. Citizen governance is a valued-based 
proposition, helps in removing gaps and differences 
between governments and citizens. On the other 
hand, civic engagement processes in which active 
participation and collaboration among individuals, 
institutions, communities, and governments are 
essential and helps in shaping public policy. It opens-
up the windows for citizens to participate and take an 
interest in public affairs and public policy meetings.
Citizen Participation and Governance
Citizen participation is essential in all public 
policy-making, especially in e-governance, designed 
for rural areas. Citizen participation has a significant 
role in shaping and transforming ‘governance into 
good governance’, which is the 
need of the hour.
a) Citiz en as a customer: Citizen 
is considered as a valued 
customer as public services 
are meant for public use and 
consumption. Hence as a 
consumer, citizen participation 
and their feedback is very 
essential in designing public 
services and ensuring 
quality service delivery at an 
affordable cost.
b) Citiz en as an owner: In a 
democratic set-up, citizens 
are the real owners of public 
services and even they are 
considered as investors 
in public services as they 
contribute through taxes, 
etc. As an owner, citizen 
involvement is essential, and 
he/she must seek information about public 
services and delivery.
c) Citiz en as a co-producer: Citizens are often 
asked to play the role of co-producer in 
providing public services. Citizens are expected 
to act as a partner; hence their involvement 
and participation will improve the quality and 
timely delivery of services.
d) Citiz en as a quality evaluator: Being the co-
producer and consumer, the citizen can become 
the evaluator of the public services quality and 
their delivery effectiveness. Thereby he/she 
can contribute the government in designing 
better e-governance facilities and suitable 
public policy.
Citizen Participation and Framework
A customised framework should be carefully 
thought-out and planned to ensure meaningful 
engagement with citizens. All stakeholders must 
be able to voice their contributions and concerns, 
and a suitable feedback mechanism must be in 
place to close the deficiencies and leakages. The 
key components needed to enable successful and 
meaningful citizen involvement in e-governance 
projects are: ‘need analysis, degree of engagement, 
Page 4


Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 35 34
Dr. Amiya Kumar Mohapatra
Dr. Deepankar Chakrabarti 
Bringing individuals, institutions, corporates, and governments together is the key mandate of inclusiveness and sets 
the agenda for e-governance. The collaborative approach of policy-making emphasises more on citizen participation and 
ownership of actions. This will surely reduce socio-economic stress, minimize deprivation, and help overall development. 
Citizen Participation and Rural Well-being
nlargement of people’s choices and 
capabilities is the cornerstone of all kinds 
of governance and a prerequisite for 
a nation’s overall growth and inclusive 
development. India is the world’s largest democracy; 
its democratic freedom and expression lie with 
citizen participation in every sphere of public policy-
making. The building blocks of good governance 
are citizen participation and civic engagement, 
and e-governance is the critical component of 
good governance. Regarding rural development, 
it is essential to focus on sustainable governance, 
considering its contribution to national income 
(nearly 50 percent) and about 70 percent workforce 
residing in rural areas. The rural sector is more 
of an agri-based economy and contributes to 
the rural livelihood; and hence it deserves better 
facilities, including health, education, drinking water, 
sanitation, housing, employment opportunities, and 
an overall better standard of living. 
In this regard, the Government of India has 
taken various initiatives. More recent development 
focuses on governance using digital technology 
and ICT to contribute, catalyse, and energise rural 
development initiatives in meeting the needs of the 
rural development sector. Several digital initiatives 
have been taken, including digital-first and other 
ICT application services, to improve public service 
delivery through improved digital connectivity. The 
importance of ‘good governance’ got a considerable 
impetus due to the growing participation of 
NGOs/private sectors in providing public services, 
information and communications technology (ICT), 
and the internet, which connects people in real-time. 
A paradigm shift in the e-governance process and 
implementation brings much-needed improvements 
in the governance framework. 
e-Governance and Rural Economy
e-Governance is a mechanism through which 
E
public services are made available and accessible 
to the common man at their doorstep at ease, 
through common services delivery outlets. It further 
ensures services’ efficiency, transparency, and 
reliability at affordable prices. e-Governance is ICT-
friendly which establishes connections between 
providers and users of government services. In the 
changing governance landscape and digitalisation, 
the Government of India implemented National 
e-Governance Plan in 2006, especially for the rural 
areas by providing services including birth and 
death certificates, land registration, employment 
opportunities, market-related information, farming, 
and veterinary services, education and matrimonial 
along with a special effort to capture the information 
about the people below the poverty line.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
It represents a paradigm shift in the provision 
of essential public services, moving from a human 
to a technological interface. Some of the popular 
of initiatives include e-Panchayat, e-Gram, and 
Priasoft; furthermore, an initiative like e-District 
added significant value to the governance process. 
It is further supported by other initiatives which 
are contributing significantly in the e-governance 
process: e-Choupal, e-Shakti, TARA haat, e-Health, 
e-Education, e-Sanjeevani, e-Hospital, e-Pathshala, 
e-RaktKosh, Bhoomi, Gyandoot, e-Suvidha, e-NAM, 
e-Sewa, etc.
The government of India has already launched 
an innovative platform, ‘MyGov’, to ensure citizens’ 
engagement in the decision-making process; citizens 
can share their views/opinions directly with the 
Prime Minister of India. The primary focus of these 
initiatives is to contribute to ‘ Surajya’ and encourage 
citizens to ‘ discuss and do’. It includes various 
projects: Clean Ganga, Green India, Job Creation, 
Girl Child Education, Skill Deployment, Digital India, 
and Swachh Bharat, through which it is expected to 
bring qualitative changes in policy-making through 
people’s participation.
Despite all such efforts and initiatives, the 
success was not up to the expectations, sometimes, 
it failed to meet the needs and expectations of rural 
citizens, and it was found-out that a few of the ICT-based 
initiatives are not only unsuccessful but have undesirable 
outcomes. It is found that many projects are facing 
difficulties at the time of implementation. Although 
India has achieved phenomenal growth in the last two 
decades in implementing e-governance initiatives/
projects, its success depends upon citizen participation 
and their involvement during the formulation and 
implementation of public policy. e-Governance and its 
success rest on improving the quality of public services 
and delivery and that needs to be more inclusive in 
terms of citizen participation and engagement.
Dimensions of Rural e-Governance
Rural e-governance is the core of the socio-
economic development of the rural economy and 
so also the Indian economy. The effectiveness and 
impact of rural e-governance is measured through 
various dimensions. The various dimensions 
of e-governance in the rural sector are: ICT 
infrastructure, access to e-government services, 
mobile first, e-literacy, usage behaviour, localised 
content, employment and productivity, participatory 
governance, grievance redressal, and inclusion. 
Precisely speaking, the role and importance of 
‘participatory governance and citizen participation’ 
played a vital role in the e-governance dimensions 
mapping process. Over all, these dimensions are 
required to be strengthened and rebooted to get 
the best outcome and optimisation of public policy, 
designed for developing the rural economy.
Source: National Informatics Centre, GoI.
e-Governance and Citizen Participation
The success of any governance is based 
on citizen participation and engagement. India 
is a country of diversity in language, culture, 
employment opportunities, and livelihood patterns 
which vary from region to region and state to state. 
So, designing any program should be able to address 
all the issues/needs and expectations of people 
in those areas. Further, to enhance e-governance 
projects’ efficiency, understanding of social-cultural 
factors is essential, along with people’s expectations. 
To design a suitable governance initiative in rural 
areas, diverse needs and people’s capabilities should 
be considered during the policy formulation. Hence, 
there is a need to design customised e-governance 
initiatives which are the need of the hour. Factors that 
affect customised e-governance are: the needs and 
expectations of people, socio-economic dynamics, 
contextual reality, ease and simplified design and 
structure of the policy, feedback mechanism, 
outcome analysis, etc.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
In the process of reform and formulation of 
governance, citizen involvement and their feedback 
are essential. The spirit of ‘ we the people of India’ 
embedded in the Preamble, Fundamental Rights and 
Duties, and the Directive Principles of State Policy 
envisages empowering democratic participation 
and ownership of citizens. The ultimate process is 
to empower people by making them part of citizen 
governance; to translate the mandate of sovereignty 
into reality and to make it part of the people and their 
life. Citizen governance and civic engagement are 
two important pillars in strengthening valued-citizen 
participation. Citizen governance is a valued-based 
proposition, helps in removing gaps and differences 
between governments and citizens. On the other 
hand, civic engagement processes in which active 
participation and collaboration among individuals, 
institutions, communities, and governments are 
essential and helps in shaping public policy. It opens-
up the windows for citizens to participate and take an 
interest in public affairs and public policy meetings.
Citizen Participation and Governance
Citizen participation is essential in all public 
policy-making, especially in e-governance, designed 
for rural areas. Citizen participation has a significant 
role in shaping and transforming ‘governance into 
good governance’, which is the 
need of the hour.
a) Citiz en as a customer: Citizen 
is considered as a valued 
customer as public services 
are meant for public use and 
consumption. Hence as a 
consumer, citizen participation 
and their feedback is very 
essential in designing public 
services and ensuring 
quality service delivery at an 
affordable cost.
b) Citiz en as an owner: In a 
democratic set-up, citizens 
are the real owners of public 
services and even they are 
considered as investors 
in public services as they 
contribute through taxes, 
etc. As an owner, citizen 
involvement is essential, and 
he/she must seek information about public 
services and delivery.
c) Citiz en as a co-producer: Citizens are often 
asked to play the role of co-producer in 
providing public services. Citizens are expected 
to act as a partner; hence their involvement 
and participation will improve the quality and 
timely delivery of services.
d) Citiz en as a quality evaluator: Being the co-
producer and consumer, the citizen can become 
the evaluator of the public services quality and 
their delivery effectiveness. Thereby he/she 
can contribute the government in designing 
better e-governance facilities and suitable 
public policy.
Citizen Participation and Framework
A customised framework should be carefully 
thought-out and planned to ensure meaningful 
engagement with citizens. All stakeholders must 
be able to voice their contributions and concerns, 
and a suitable feedback mechanism must be in 
place to close the deficiencies and leakages. The 
key components needed to enable successful and 
meaningful citizen involvement in e-governance 
projects are: ‘need analysis, degree of engagement, 
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 39 38
creation of engagement team, engagement 
activities, analysis of outcome, feedback analysis 
and institutionalisation of engagement’.
Besides, citizen participation can be viewed 
from three different perspectives; firstly, at what 
stages there is a need for participation; secondly, at 
what levels and thirdly, what are the tools through 
which participation can become more meaningful 
and effective (Table 1).
Table 1: Nature of Citizen Participation & Engagement
Stages Levels Tools
Issue/Problem 
Identification
Resistance Citizen Panels
Analysis of 
Problem
Opposition Community 
Participation
Policy Formulation Information Forums
Policy Design Consultation Public Hearings
Implementation Consensus-
building
Community 
Outreach
Evaluation Partnership Citizen 
Committees
Feedback and 
Follow-up
Self-
management
Joint Projects
Source: Compiled by authors, from Docs of Centre for Good 
Governance.
To appreciate the value and nature of 
participation in the governance process, 
understanding the ‘propose and techniques’ of 
people’s participation is vital. Table 2 presents a 
quick overview of the public participation spectrum.
Table 2: Citizen Participation & Engagement Spectrum
No. Purposes Tools & Techniques
1 Inform Mass Media, Print, TV, Radio, 
Citizen Charters, Bulletins Boards, 
Newsletters, Social Media, 
Websites & Portals, and Face-to-
Face Meetings
2 Consult Focus Groups, Surveys, Expert 
Panels, Delphi Methods, Open 
Meetings, Debate & Discussion
3 Involve Citizen Outreach, Workshops, 
Qualitative Interview
4 Collaborate Social Networking, Crowd 
Sourcing, Participatory Planning
5 Empower Stakeholder’s Dialogue, 
Participatory Learning & Actions, 
Matrix Scoring Ranking
Source: Compiled by authors, from IAP 2 (2007).
Citizen participation in public policy will 
surely improve the quality of services and delivery 
mechanism and will help in maximising the 
governance outcome. It is evident from various 
studies and extant literature on public policy 
that citizen participation and engagement foster 
maximum governance. Citizen participation ranges 
from just information receiving/sharing to being 
highly responsible in managing the process with 
accountability. The higher is the citizen participation, 
the better is the governance and its effect on the 
socio-economic outcome and well-being.
Benefits of Citizen Participation
e-Governance is the need of the hour and that 
helps in providing the basic facilities to the rural 
sector at low-cost and with least time. The benefits 
of e-governance can be reached to the last mile 
with the help of people’s participation and rural 
empowerment. Overall awareness, accountability 
and ownership of actions, and a sense of voluntarism 
among the citizens will strengthen the public policy 
process and will set the ground for good governance. 
Active participation in policy-making will open-up 
array of benefits:
• Citiz en participation helps in the smooth 
formulation and implementation of public 
policy. It helps in transparency and makes 
citizens more accountable and responsible.
• Citiz en participation in e-governance will 
enhance the projects’ efficiency and efficacy. 
• It develops a sense of belongingness and 
upholds ownership. Engaging the public in 
creating policy directly impact them is one 
method to assure accountability.
• Participation and contribution of various 
stakeholders, individuals, communities, 
political parties, and government agencies will 
reduce the conflicts and confusion and make it 
more coherent. Thereby, it will become more 
people-driven, participatory, and meaningful.
• It will lessen the political will-based 
e-governance and help in bringing more 
inclusiveness and positive outcomes. 
• It will help in improving the political positioning 
of marginalised and vulnerable groups, 
those are often neglected or not taken into 
consideration.
Page 5


Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 35 34
Dr. Amiya Kumar Mohapatra
Dr. Deepankar Chakrabarti 
Bringing individuals, institutions, corporates, and governments together is the key mandate of inclusiveness and sets 
the agenda for e-governance. The collaborative approach of policy-making emphasises more on citizen participation and 
ownership of actions. This will surely reduce socio-economic stress, minimize deprivation, and help overall development. 
Citizen Participation and Rural Well-being
nlargement of people’s choices and 
capabilities is the cornerstone of all kinds 
of governance and a prerequisite for 
a nation’s overall growth and inclusive 
development. India is the world’s largest democracy; 
its democratic freedom and expression lie with 
citizen participation in every sphere of public policy-
making. The building blocks of good governance 
are citizen participation and civic engagement, 
and e-governance is the critical component of 
good governance. Regarding rural development, 
it is essential to focus on sustainable governance, 
considering its contribution to national income 
(nearly 50 percent) and about 70 percent workforce 
residing in rural areas. The rural sector is more 
of an agri-based economy and contributes to 
the rural livelihood; and hence it deserves better 
facilities, including health, education, drinking water, 
sanitation, housing, employment opportunities, and 
an overall better standard of living. 
In this regard, the Government of India has 
taken various initiatives. More recent development 
focuses on governance using digital technology 
and ICT to contribute, catalyse, and energise rural 
development initiatives in meeting the needs of the 
rural development sector. Several digital initiatives 
have been taken, including digital-first and other 
ICT application services, to improve public service 
delivery through improved digital connectivity. The 
importance of ‘good governance’ got a considerable 
impetus due to the growing participation of 
NGOs/private sectors in providing public services, 
information and communications technology (ICT), 
and the internet, which connects people in real-time. 
A paradigm shift in the e-governance process and 
implementation brings much-needed improvements 
in the governance framework. 
e-Governance and Rural Economy
e-Governance is a mechanism through which 
E
public services are made available and accessible 
to the common man at their doorstep at ease, 
through common services delivery outlets. It further 
ensures services’ efficiency, transparency, and 
reliability at affordable prices. e-Governance is ICT-
friendly which establishes connections between 
providers and users of government services. In the 
changing governance landscape and digitalisation, 
the Government of India implemented National 
e-Governance Plan in 2006, especially for the rural 
areas by providing services including birth and 
death certificates, land registration, employment 
opportunities, market-related information, farming, 
and veterinary services, education and matrimonial 
along with a special effort to capture the information 
about the people below the poverty line.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
It represents a paradigm shift in the provision 
of essential public services, moving from a human 
to a technological interface. Some of the popular 
of initiatives include e-Panchayat, e-Gram, and 
Priasoft; furthermore, an initiative like e-District 
added significant value to the governance process. 
It is further supported by other initiatives which 
are contributing significantly in the e-governance 
process: e-Choupal, e-Shakti, TARA haat, e-Health, 
e-Education, e-Sanjeevani, e-Hospital, e-Pathshala, 
e-RaktKosh, Bhoomi, Gyandoot, e-Suvidha, e-NAM, 
e-Sewa, etc.
The government of India has already launched 
an innovative platform, ‘MyGov’, to ensure citizens’ 
engagement in the decision-making process; citizens 
can share their views/opinions directly with the 
Prime Minister of India. The primary focus of these 
initiatives is to contribute to ‘ Surajya’ and encourage 
citizens to ‘ discuss and do’. It includes various 
projects: Clean Ganga, Green India, Job Creation, 
Girl Child Education, Skill Deployment, Digital India, 
and Swachh Bharat, through which it is expected to 
bring qualitative changes in policy-making through 
people’s participation.
Despite all such efforts and initiatives, the 
success was not up to the expectations, sometimes, 
it failed to meet the needs and expectations of rural 
citizens, and it was found-out that a few of the ICT-based 
initiatives are not only unsuccessful but have undesirable 
outcomes. It is found that many projects are facing 
difficulties at the time of implementation. Although 
India has achieved phenomenal growth in the last two 
decades in implementing e-governance initiatives/
projects, its success depends upon citizen participation 
and their involvement during the formulation and 
implementation of public policy. e-Governance and its 
success rest on improving the quality of public services 
and delivery and that needs to be more inclusive in 
terms of citizen participation and engagement.
Dimensions of Rural e-Governance
Rural e-governance is the core of the socio-
economic development of the rural economy and 
so also the Indian economy. The effectiveness and 
impact of rural e-governance is measured through 
various dimensions. The various dimensions 
of e-governance in the rural sector are: ICT 
infrastructure, access to e-government services, 
mobile first, e-literacy, usage behaviour, localised 
content, employment and productivity, participatory 
governance, grievance redressal, and inclusion. 
Precisely speaking, the role and importance of 
‘participatory governance and citizen participation’ 
played a vital role in the e-governance dimensions 
mapping process. Over all, these dimensions are 
required to be strengthened and rebooted to get 
the best outcome and optimisation of public policy, 
designed for developing the rural economy.
Source: National Informatics Centre, GoI.
e-Governance and Citizen Participation
The success of any governance is based 
on citizen participation and engagement. India 
is a country of diversity in language, culture, 
employment opportunities, and livelihood patterns 
which vary from region to region and state to state. 
So, designing any program should be able to address 
all the issues/needs and expectations of people 
in those areas. Further, to enhance e-governance 
projects’ efficiency, understanding of social-cultural 
factors is essential, along with people’s expectations. 
To design a suitable governance initiative in rural 
areas, diverse needs and people’s capabilities should 
be considered during the policy formulation. Hence, 
there is a need to design customised e-governance 
initiatives which are the need of the hour. Factors that 
affect customised e-governance are: the needs and 
expectations of people, socio-economic dynamics, 
contextual reality, ease and simplified design and 
structure of the policy, feedback mechanism, 
outcome analysis, etc.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 37 36
In the process of reform and formulation of 
governance, citizen involvement and their feedback 
are essential. The spirit of ‘ we the people of India’ 
embedded in the Preamble, Fundamental Rights and 
Duties, and the Directive Principles of State Policy 
envisages empowering democratic participation 
and ownership of citizens. The ultimate process is 
to empower people by making them part of citizen 
governance; to translate the mandate of sovereignty 
into reality and to make it part of the people and their 
life. Citizen governance and civic engagement are 
two important pillars in strengthening valued-citizen 
participation. Citizen governance is a valued-based 
proposition, helps in removing gaps and differences 
between governments and citizens. On the other 
hand, civic engagement processes in which active 
participation and collaboration among individuals, 
institutions, communities, and governments are 
essential and helps in shaping public policy. It opens-
up the windows for citizens to participate and take an 
interest in public affairs and public policy meetings.
Citizen Participation and Governance
Citizen participation is essential in all public 
policy-making, especially in e-governance, designed 
for rural areas. Citizen participation has a significant 
role in shaping and transforming ‘governance into 
good governance’, which is the 
need of the hour.
a) Citiz en as a customer: Citizen 
is considered as a valued 
customer as public services 
are meant for public use and 
consumption. Hence as a 
consumer, citizen participation 
and their feedback is very 
essential in designing public 
services and ensuring 
quality service delivery at an 
affordable cost.
b) Citiz en as an owner: In a 
democratic set-up, citizens 
are the real owners of public 
services and even they are 
considered as investors 
in public services as they 
contribute through taxes, 
etc. As an owner, citizen 
involvement is essential, and 
he/she must seek information about public 
services and delivery.
c) Citiz en as a co-producer: Citizens are often 
asked to play the role of co-producer in 
providing public services. Citizens are expected 
to act as a partner; hence their involvement 
and participation will improve the quality and 
timely delivery of services.
d) Citiz en as a quality evaluator: Being the co-
producer and consumer, the citizen can become 
the evaluator of the public services quality and 
their delivery effectiveness. Thereby he/she 
can contribute the government in designing 
better e-governance facilities and suitable 
public policy.
Citizen Participation and Framework
A customised framework should be carefully 
thought-out and planned to ensure meaningful 
engagement with citizens. All stakeholders must 
be able to voice their contributions and concerns, 
and a suitable feedback mechanism must be in 
place to close the deficiencies and leakages. The 
key components needed to enable successful and 
meaningful citizen involvement in e-governance 
projects are: ‘need analysis, degree of engagement, 
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 39 38
creation of engagement team, engagement 
activities, analysis of outcome, feedback analysis 
and institutionalisation of engagement’.
Besides, citizen participation can be viewed 
from three different perspectives; firstly, at what 
stages there is a need for participation; secondly, at 
what levels and thirdly, what are the tools through 
which participation can become more meaningful 
and effective (Table 1).
Table 1: Nature of Citizen Participation & Engagement
Stages Levels Tools
Issue/Problem 
Identification
Resistance Citizen Panels
Analysis of 
Problem
Opposition Community 
Participation
Policy Formulation Information Forums
Policy Design Consultation Public Hearings
Implementation Consensus-
building
Community 
Outreach
Evaluation Partnership Citizen 
Committees
Feedback and 
Follow-up
Self-
management
Joint Projects
Source: Compiled by authors, from Docs of Centre for Good 
Governance.
To appreciate the value and nature of 
participation in the governance process, 
understanding the ‘propose and techniques’ of 
people’s participation is vital. Table 2 presents a 
quick overview of the public participation spectrum.
Table 2: Citizen Participation & Engagement Spectrum
No. Purposes Tools & Techniques
1 Inform Mass Media, Print, TV, Radio, 
Citizen Charters, Bulletins Boards, 
Newsletters, Social Media, 
Websites & Portals, and Face-to-
Face Meetings
2 Consult Focus Groups, Surveys, Expert 
Panels, Delphi Methods, Open 
Meetings, Debate & Discussion
3 Involve Citizen Outreach, Workshops, 
Qualitative Interview
4 Collaborate Social Networking, Crowd 
Sourcing, Participatory Planning
5 Empower Stakeholder’s Dialogue, 
Participatory Learning & Actions, 
Matrix Scoring Ranking
Source: Compiled by authors, from IAP 2 (2007).
Citizen participation in public policy will 
surely improve the quality of services and delivery 
mechanism and will help in maximising the 
governance outcome. It is evident from various 
studies and extant literature on public policy 
that citizen participation and engagement foster 
maximum governance. Citizen participation ranges 
from just information receiving/sharing to being 
highly responsible in managing the process with 
accountability. The higher is the citizen participation, 
the better is the governance and its effect on the 
socio-economic outcome and well-being.
Benefits of Citizen Participation
e-Governance is the need of the hour and that 
helps in providing the basic facilities to the rural 
sector at low-cost and with least time. The benefits 
of e-governance can be reached to the last mile 
with the help of people’s participation and rural 
empowerment. Overall awareness, accountability 
and ownership of actions, and a sense of voluntarism 
among the citizens will strengthen the public policy 
process and will set the ground for good governance. 
Active participation in policy-making will open-up 
array of benefits:
• Citiz en participation helps in the smooth 
formulation and implementation of public 
policy. It helps in transparency and makes 
citizens more accountable and responsible.
• Citiz en participation in e-governance will 
enhance the projects’ efficiency and efficacy. 
• It develops a sense of belongingness and 
upholds ownership. Engaging the public in 
creating policy directly impact them is one 
method to assure accountability.
• Participation and contribution of various 
stakeholders, individuals, communities, 
political parties, and government agencies will 
reduce the conflicts and confusion and make it 
more coherent. Thereby, it will become more 
people-driven, participatory, and meaningful.
• It will lessen the political will-based 
e-governance and help in bringing more 
inclusiveness and positive outcomes. 
• It will help in improving the political positioning 
of marginalised and vulnerable groups, 
those are often neglected or not taken into 
consideration.
Kurukshetra       December  2022 Kurukshetra       December  2022 39 38
• It will help in developing long-term sustainable 
e-governance and outcome-focused initiatives.
• It will help in community empowerment, 
leading to better awareness and superior 
monitoring.
Way Forward
e-Governance initiatives have been recognised 
to have a transformational effect on the digital 
landscape in providing public services. Their deliveries 
to the masses are especially effective in rural India. 
It remains the key enabler in the realisation of 
government mandate. Thereby helping ease the life 
and living standard of people and bridging the digital 
divide. It is expected that outcome of e-governance 
will be optimised through active citizen participation. 
The vision to transform India into a digitally 
empowered society and knowledge economy can 
be accomplished only through citizen participation 
and engagement. Citizen participation includes the 
participation of all types, including political, policy, and 
social participation. Bringing individuals, institutions, 
corporates, and governments together is the key 
mandate of inclusiveness and sets the agenda for 
e-governance. The collaborative approach of policy- 
making emphasises more on citizen participation 
and ownership of actions. This will surely reduce 
socio-economic stress, minimise deprivation, and 
help overall development. A variety of services 
can be delivered in rural areas with collaborations 
with all the stakeholders, with maximum citizen 
participation.
(The authors are Professor; and Director at 
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Indore. Views 
expressed are personal. Email: amiyacademics@
gmail.com)