Digital Governance in Odisha: An Analytical Study

Digital governance has been acknowledged as a key factor in the transformational enhancement of the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of governance. With the aim of introducing more openness and elevated accountability, an information and communication technology-driven governance strategy must be created and implemented. Successful leveraging of e-governance opportunities, however, involves many factors which include human capital, financial resources, well-directed initiatives, leadership intent, administrative structural changes and citizen awareness. Digital Governance, popularly known as e-governance, is a distinct dimension of New Public Management (NPM) which has gained considerable momentum since the early 1990s. The term ‘e-Governance’ is often used to describe the networking paradigm and its decentralizing and communicatory implications. The present study seeks to analyse the impact of digital governance on various sectors within the administrative network of Odisha Government. The study is based on secondary sources of data. Recently, e-governance has emerged as a critical tool for lubricating the wheels of development and service delivery in Odisha. Digital governance is projected to pave the path for progress towards the widely acknowledged social goals of equity and justice by bringing together concerns about an open and accountable government. Designing efficient governance structures and institutionalizing them in a manner that is in line with local demands and requirements is therefore the problem facing the policy maker. As a result, digital governance is a framework that indirectly challenges policymaking through feedback on the way services are delivered. Normally, digital governance enabled development impacts in at least three key ways. First, they enhance access to and creation and sharing of knowledge. Second, digital governance effectively speed up the production process and facilitate financial transactions throughout the economy while reducing costs. Third, digital governance connect individuals, groups, enterprises, communities and governments faster and more cost-effectively. Thus, technologies have always influenced the evolution of society and as a consequence, the nature of government. In other words to express, one way technology has aimed at providing a seamless and transparent infrastructure to the citizens. Technologies used in governance throughout history have changed the way in which attention is allocated. Hence, digital governance programmes were initially introduced to improve and revolutionize service delivery system in governance. This article attempts to investigate how technological advancements can strengthen the governance structure and result in positive effects on service delivery and administrative processes.