‘i-Governance’- the ‘DRISTI’ way
Decentralisation aims at associating people with the government to the maximum possible extent. In India, the Panchayati Raj system enables people to participate in democracy in a more effective way and provides an opportunity for rural people to plan and administer their own affairs. The introduction of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in 1959 is considered to be an instrument of social revolution in India, the idea of which is based on the philosophy of decentralisation. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (for rural local bodies (panchayats) and urban local bodies (municipalities)) in 1992 widened the democratic base of the Indian polity. Within a year most of the states passed their own acts in conformity with the amended constitutional provisions. As a result India has moved towards what has been described as ‘multi-level federalism’.
Need for ICT interventions in empowering local bodies
Good Governance is a part of the development process and the emergence of new ICTs has all the attributes of enabling this process. e-Governance is the ICT-enabled route to achieving Good Governance. It may be called as ‘i-Governance’
