N. Vittal (Central Vigilance Commissioner, India) The Government of India has declared the year 2001 as the year of e-governance. E-governance means the application of information technology in various government activities to provide better services to the citizens. With the focus on 2001 as the year of e-governance, many State governments have taken up this challenge very seriously and there is a healthy competition today among them.
India has always had a chronological divide. India is like a snake whose head is in the 21st century and the tail in the 17th century. It has always been a multi-speed India. Thanks to the information technology, there is an opportunity in this century to make India a single speed modern country in tune with the 21st century.
Information technology is ultimately coming together of computers and communications. Therefore, telecommunications is vital for e-governance. That is why the government policies are now designed to encourage making e-governance an operational reality. Six Cs are important to achieve better e-governance. These six Cs are - Computer density, Connectivity, Content, Cyber laws, Cost and Common sense.
As for computer density, the Government of India accepted the first report of the National Task Force on Information Technology and initiatives have now been taken to make computers more easily affordable. The second important aspect is connectivity and that is where telecommunication comes in. The telecom policies of the Government by encouraging the private sector provide an opportunity by which companies in the private sector as well as government organisations like Railways, Power Grid and Electricity Boards can provide the bandwidth needed in the form of optic fibre networks. Connectivity would take a quantum jump in the current year. The third aspect is content and it is here that the Government can use imaginatively the unemployed youth to put in computer readable form of all government orders, regulations and forms so that the access to information and also transactions become easier for the citizen through the computer. The fourth C is cyber laws. The Government of India must be congratulated for being the second government in Asia and twelfth in the world to have a separate Information Technology Act. This goes a long way in ensuring that the shift from paper based governance to e-governance is not stymied because of the lack of legal framework. The fourth C is cost. In the last two budgets, the Finance Minister paid special attention to the needs of the information technology industry and practically all the incentives which the industry had demanded have been given by the Government. Hence, so far as the cost aspect was concerned, Government has taken action to see that IT based solutions become affordable.
The beginning of the 21st century has been so much dominated by information technology (IT) that the joke is that in the dictionary all words will now start with the letter "e". Perhaps existence itself will now become e-existence. It is, therefore, not surprising that everybody is talking about e-governance. A little reflection, however, will show that there is a lot common between information technology and governance. Governance involves processing a lot of information and also ensuring that decisions taken are fair and objective. It is the need to ensure objectivity that results in red tape because the Government has to keep records and accessing of records become a problem. If the system is based on paper, as most of the systems now are, the time taken to access information is very high. It is possible to reduce the time taken by using intelligent systems but still so long as precedents have to be traced and access to information is based on files, there is bound to be delay.
On the other hand, IT, particularly computers and communication are designed for speedy processing, and that too, speedy processing of massive data. Information retrieval also becomes almost instantaneous. As in governance, there is a very old function and in information technology, a very new technology, which seems to answer some of the perennial problems and complaints about the government.
Andhra Pradesh has championed the concept of smart government. The smart government stands for Small, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent government. The question before us is can the application of IT in government functions lead to not only e-governance but also smart governance? There is no doubt that a smart government can be had through intelligent application of IT.
A healthy development is seen in some government departments. The computerisation of railway reservation system is a case in point. With the same staff, nearly double the work is now handled. Thus, the objective of small government can be achieved by intelligent use of IT.
A moral government is one, which is less corrupt. IT can help in checking corruption. Today, corruption has become a national menace. The Transparency International in its Report of 2000 mentions that so far as Corruption Perception Index is concerned India ranks 69 out of 90 countries. The Human Development Report 1999 published by Mahbub ul Haq Centre, Islamabad says that if corruption level in India can be brought down to that of Scandinavian countries, the foreign direct investment will go up by 12 per cent and GDP growth rate will go up by 1.5 per cent.
Corruption is flourishing in the country because of - scarcity of goods and services; lack of transparency; complicated rules and red tape which encourage corruption through speed money; legal cushions of safety created for the corrupt people under the very healthy assumption that everybody is innocent till proved guilty, and tribalism or biradari between the corrupt. We talk about people being thick as thief not thick as honest people.
It is therefore logical to see that if each of these five causes of corruption can be tackled by IT, then to certain extent one must be able to check corruption.
It is a known fact that delay in procedures and lack of speed in decision making is breeding grounds of corruption. This immediately leads to the conclusion that with a wise use of information technology, one must be able to speed up the processes and to that extent reduce corruption. Imagine the velocity of business going up all over our government systems by using IT extensively. Automatically, the present temptations for corruption and the scope that exists for speed money will be greatly reduced.
The information technology can help in checking corruption by reproducing deliberately missing documents from the memory of the computers to prove a casein a court of law. Of course, this will also mean enacting cyber laws. Again there is a happy development that Government has already enacted the Information Technology Act 2000. So, even in effective punishment of corrupt, IT can bring a valuable input to bring the guilty to book.
What we need, today, is a greater display of imagination in locating causes for corruption and seeing how, in each, IT can help.
Using IT can enhance accessibility of government and in turn lead to greater accountability. Combined with a Freedom of Information Act, it is possible to use IT, as probably Andhra Government is doing, to put all government orders on the web-site and also have information kiosks where government offices can be easily accessed. Not only this, services to public also can be enhanced by access to public.
Responsiveness of the Government automatically increases because greater accessibility and accountability goes with a greater sense of responsibility. Transparency in the Government also helps a lot. For greater access to information, the web site experience of CVC helps in ensuring that the public at large can know what the Government is doing and how it is doing its job. SMART government is, therefore, possible through e-governance.
In an environment when the economic environment of countries are getting closely knit thanks to IT, there is a need for a common understanding of what constitutes crime. In the world of brick and mortar, only now the need for laws like money laundering is being realised and this is taking place at a slow pace. Fortunately for the IT sector, United National Conference on Information Technology Laws (UNCITRAL) has helped in creating at least a basic framework of certain definition of what constitutes for example digital signature and cyber crimes. The Indian IT Act is based on the UNCITRAL.
The increasing application of information technology in practically every aspect of the economy including banking was encouraged because of the ease of the increased velocity of business and consequently increased customer satisfaction as well as new opportunities for doing business.
One important feature of the Information Technology Act is that it recognises offences that could be committed in the era of information technology and has provided for penalties. For instance, Chapter XI identifies the crimes which are relevant so far as the banking sector is concerned. These are - Tampering with computer source documents (Section 65); Breach of confidentiality and privacy (Section 72); Publishing false digital signature certificate (Section 73) and Publication of digital signature for fraudulent purposes (Section 74) An interesting and important feature of the I.T. Act 2000 is that it recognises the borderless nature of the world of the new knowledge economy Section 75 provides that the Act will apply for offences or contraventions committed outside India also. This is an interesting provision and at least from a legal point of view seems to give protection to the banking industry or for anybody connected with the e-commerce. How this provision will be reconciled with the concept of sovereignty of nations is a matter which probably needs to be clarified.
The various initiatives taken by the Government on the policy front of information technology and the interests shown by the various State governments are indeed commendable. This year 2001 will see e-governance become an operational reality in India laying the foundations for a better future for the country.
THE EMERGING INDIAN TELECOM SCENE N. Vittal (Central Vigilance Commissioner, India) The significance of telecommunication in the economy is being increasingly felt in recent times because of the enormous impact of this technology across the entire economic spectrum . Information technology is nothing but the synthesis of computers and communications. There is no activity involving manufacturing or services where one cannot apply information technology and not get the benefits in terms of productivity, competitive advantage, profitability or quality of service. In fact, Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Chairman observed some years back that the inflation rate in the United States will be one per cent higher but for the extensive use of information technology.
Telecommunication is very much a part of information technology. It is well known that a one per cent increase in telephone density leads to a 3 per cent increase in the GDP. With another important development taking place, namely, convergence, the impact of telecommunication is bound to be enhanced even more. That brings to the fore another important aspect of the global telecom scene namely the phenomenon of convergence. The convergence can be taken to mean the convergence of audio/video and text technologies or the businesses of information technology, communication and entertainment (ICE). This is thanks to the enormous power of digital technology. So far as electronics is concerned, there is Moore’s Law which says that every 18 months the number crunching capacity of the computers doubles and the price comes by half. This tendency of the computers being almost anti-inflationary had helped in the increasing use of computers. Combining computers and telecommunication, the concept of a computer network was born. This network is being driven by another law called the Metcalfe Law which says that the power of a network is equal to the square of the number of computers in the network.
The explosive growth of the network is demonstrated by the impact of the Internet which is a network of networks. In the age of the Internet, perhaps the most critical element is the bandwidth. Copper wire is being increasingly replaced now by the optic fibre which has enormous bandwidth. In fact, so great is the growth of the bandwidth that there is a third law called the Guilder’s Law which says that the bandwidth will triple every year and do so for the next 25 years. The enormous impact of the technological realities of convergence and its impact on the economy can be well appreciated. It is necessary that the government has the requisite legal framework so that the technology can be properly harnessed.
The liberalisation process started in India after 1991 when the earlier approach was replaced by an approach to the economy where the market dynamics prevailed. This meant that there had to be more than one player in the market and a healthy competition. This concept has an impact so far as the infrastructure is concerned. Earlier the approach to financing infrastructure was that infrastructure required very up-front lumpy heavy investment and these resources were not available in the private sector. Further, the return on investment may not be attractive and there is a long gestation period.
After the concept of liberalisation, this entire approach underwent a sea change mainly because the government did not have the resources needed for the increasing demands of the infrastructure. It became an operational necessity to attract investment from outside from the private sector both within the country and abroad. The liberalisation policy measures taken by the government after 1991 has an important aspect of opening up what was considered traditional infrastructure areas which were reserved for the government to the private sector. The infrastructure sector covers telecommunication, road, ports, power and, even education. After all, in the knowledge age of the knowledge economy, education should be considered as an infrastructure.
Among all the infrastructure sectors, perhaps the most dramatic changes and developments have taken place in the telecommunication sector. The reform process started in the 80s with the separation of the posts and telecommunication and then setting up the Telecom Commission in 1986. Earlier the entire spectrum of telecom was covered by the Government starting with the equipment manufacture, transmission and customer premises equipment.The first wave started in the 80s when the equipment manufacture was thrown open initially to the state public sector enterprises and then the private sector. The second wave of change started with the opening up of value added services in the form of paging and cellular services from 1992 onwards. A major breakthrough was the clear enunciation of the government’s intention of liberalising the telecom sector in the National Telecom Policy resolution of 13th May 1994. Simultaneously the government also kept track of the international developments taking note of the impact of the Internet. 1998 saw announcing of the Internet Telecom Service Providers’ Policy. Then came in 1999 the New Telecom Policy where the focus was on convergence. Right now a group of ministers is looking into this issue of convergence and a law for convergence is on the anvil. It will be very soon published for eliciting comments and hopefully, in the ensuing budget session will be introduced in Parliament for enactment of the law.
The policy developments on the telecom front have also resulted in organisational changes. The Department of Telecom has now been corporatised from 1st October 2000 as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. Earlier in the 80s, MTNL and VSNL were formed by hiving of the functions which were earlier done departmentally by the Department of Telecommunication. Corporatisation of the entire telecom sector represents a major step in the telecom reform process. Having an appropriate regulatory authority is a sin qua non for the liberalisation process. 1997 saw the setting up of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which was further modified in the year 2000 to avoid anomalies. There is also a separate appellate authority on telecom regulation. The enactment of the Convergence Bill may see further changes in the form of the authority that will probably regulate all aspects of the telecom sector.
The challenges that lie ahead in the year 2001 so far as telecom sector is concerned. , of course, will be the enactment of the Convergence Bill which may see institutional changes also so far as licensing and regulation of telecom sector is concerned. At the operational level, perhaps the most important issue is the issue of the rural telecommunication. The various policy measures taken by the government, it is hoped, would make investment in the rural telecommunication an attractive opportunity. The rural telecommunication may not follow the same route as was done in the past. Today with the availability of the Internet, satellite communication, digital technology, a whole lot of alternative image of reaching the remote areas can be thought out. Perhaps in the Indian context where computers are hardly four million and cable TV is reaching 35 million houses, the TV may become the mode of accessing the Internet. With the Internet telephony becoming increasingly a reality, the Government will also have to review the policy about permitting Internet telephony which will be much cheaper than the normal telephony.
Therefore, to reach out to the two lakh villages that still do not have telephones out of six lakh villages of India, , perhaps the better would be using these alternative technologies that are emerging. There are various Government organisations like Railways, Power Grid etc. which have the capability of providing bandwidth in the form of fibre optic networks. Private sector companies like Reliance are also coming up with massive programmes for providing bandwidth in states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. With the combination of the efforts of both the private sector and the government, one can expect in the current year a massive launch of the bandwidth. The possibilities of the national information infrastructure emerging in the form of fibre optic networks covering states, easy access to internet and government initiatives like cyber dhabas for rural connectivity may see in the next few years a totally different telecom scene. The telecom scene in the last decade has been a very dynamic one. Poised at the beginning of the third millennium, India is perhaps going to witness even greater changes and greater progress on this exciting front, thanks to the policy initiatives of the Government of India and the investment opportunities these policy initiatives open up for the private sector.
TOWARDS A NEW DEALDr. Satyanarayan Jatiya ( Union Labour Minister, India) The world has already become a global village in terms of Information Technology and is moving towards one economic global unit. In India’s neighbourhood , this process started somewhere in the late 70s. China is one such example where this process started in 1978 and was given major impetus during 1990s. India also realised during the 80s that there is a need to integrate its economy with the change world over if the country was to utilise benefits of economy and technological developments elsewhere.
In other words, the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam in the context of each individual nation realising its full economic potential becomes relevant. The United Nations Organisation (UNO) is closely involved in striving for this goal. There is, however, a need to strive for the world as One United Nation to achieve the object of each nation complementing the other for overall welfare of humanity. Effort in Europe to introduce Euro Dollar (Single Currency) is a move in that direction. However, there is still a lot to be done for the benefits of globalisation to be distributed equitably amongst the nations and to ensure that some of the nations do not benefit at the cost of others. It is in this context that there is an emergent need to modify our laws, economic, industrial and labour policies in such a manner as to enable us to compete with the best in the international arena.
The Economic reforms have come to stay, as there is a political consensus on them. This is amply demonstrated by the fact that all the governments since 1991 have followed the same path of economic liberalisation despite differing ideologies. The reform process promises to unleash a plethora of opportunities for rapid economic development, but at the same time it has thrown open new challenges as far as employment and labour issues are concerned. How these are met will need foresight,sagacity, pro-active policies and cooperation of all social partners.
The economic reforms are not only about finance and economics. They are the sum total of trade, fiscal and banking and labour reforms. They deeply influence social policy, labour rights and functioning of labour institutions. In India, however, there is a fairly sound tripartite mechanism which can mitigate the sufferings of the people. But the question is how far it is representative.
It is largely confined to organised sector, which accounts for less than ten percent of our total labour force. The need , therefore, is to strengthen the tripartite mechanism by creating strong social partners who are not only independent but also widely representative. Secondly, participation of trade unions and employer’s organisations in the social dialogue has to be enhanced from floor level to policymaking level. In this connection the Government has to meet the challenge of enlarging the social dialogue and has also to ensure that the agenda for social dialogue should have convergence so that not only the industry and workers but also other shareholders of the society benefit.The promotion of social dialogue largely depends upon strength and effectiveness of tripartite institutions. Experience has shown that the countries with strong tripartite mechanisms have effectively dealt with problems arising out of structural adjustment of economy. In India, only 9-10 per cent of workforce is organised. Therefore, it is imperative to organise the social benefits for the rest of 90 per cent workforce. It is important that we make special efforts in this direction. The Second National Commission on Labour is already seized of the issue of formulating Umbrella Legislation for unorganised labour. With reforms, the nature of work, the need for skilled people and their number has changed while the employment level has by and large remained the same over the last decade. This is , however, a transitional phase and with new and emerging areas of work, it is expected that the employment situation is sure to improve in the coming years.
To have productive labour, adequate investment in skill formation, skill upgradation or skill training is must. It is one of the best measures to ensure social security. In India, it assumes all the more importance as the 2.5 per cent rate of growth of labour force exceeds the population growth. The financial resources under the National Renewal Fund have to be augmented for skill upgradation. While voluntary retirement scheme may be necessary in some cases, it would be of utmost importance to train our people in the relevant skills so that the benefits of economical development world over do not bypass them. It would not be fair and reasonable to expect the Government alone to meet this gigantic task. This challenge can be met only by joint efforts of the government and the employers with active involvement of trade unions.
Today, a strong need to affirm the social security of unprotected labour is felt at all levels. They include a vast section of rural labour in general and agricultural labour in particular. Living below poverty level, they are afflicted by low levels of literacy and widespread underemployment.The plight of unprotected labour needs the immediate attention of both the Centre and the State governments in institutionalising welfare measures for them.
The contract labour also poses challenges. The trade unions have been demanding abolition of contract labour. At the same time, the employers are demanding greater labour market flexibility to achieve international competitiveness. But the labour market flexibility has to be in consonance with the security of livelihood of workers. Moreover, workers must get equal wages and attendant benefits for similar nature of work. It is also necessary to strengthen the existing labour market institutions and develop new ones such as active employment exchanges and labour market information systems.
Another important area that needs to be immediately addressed is the gaps or omissions in our labour laws which is said to be responsible for rigidities in the labour market. It is a fact that many of the labour laws enacted in the pre-Independence period have lost their relevance. Moreover, many of the labour laws are based on traditional employer-employee relationship, which is now changing especially with the new forms of employment in the fast growing service sector. The Second National Commission on Labour has been asked to suggest necessary changes and improvements in labour laws for both the organised and unorganised sectors through social consensus, as the country is deeply committed to tripartism.
The economic growth has to be employment friendly. It is in this respect that the role of the State in a market economy becomes more significant. The Government will have to strengthen institutions to ensure that the benefit of economic reforms percolates to all levels. Social dialogue has to be strengthened and enlarged to devise labour policies to attract investment, enhance productivity, promote the concept of decent work as also ensure dignity of labour, better quality of life of workers and industrial and social progress. For social dialogue to be successful, the trade unions and employers’ organisations will have to be more pro-active and shift their focus from protecting their respective interests to the wider issues of social and national concern.
In the new millennium our efforts should be to provide adequate safety net for agricultural labour, construction workers as well as others in the unorganised sector and emigrant labour. Specific campaign for awareness generation in the society must be taken up to eliminate child labour. While it is understood that with economic progress there would be changes in the work environment, we are confident that the Ministry of Labour would be in a position to play its role adequately and effectively in order to protect the interests of labour, industry and the nation.