Updating eGovernance platform to solve larger issues on birth registration and passports

Updating eGovernance platform to solve larger issues on birth registration and passports

The process of eGovernance is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) at various levels of Government to provide the citizens with services digitally to make the coordination process between Government bodies and offices a lot faster, easier, and smoother. The same interactions can also be between business enterprises. The primary focus of the process is the transparent exchange between various stakeholders. There are four versions of eGovernance, and they are:

- G2G (Government to Government)

- G2C (Government to citizens)

- G2B (Government to business)

- G2E (Government to employees)

While the eGovernance platform has multiple uses and works on all mandatory Government documentation processes, their primary purpose focusing on registering for births since it was the first step needed for a child if they were to apply for a certificate when they were older.

Children and their parents need birth certificates for all the processes they coordinate, making the entire process a lot tricker.

Additionally, birth registrations are the first step when it comes to applying for a birth certificate. After registering the birth through the Registrar of Births and Deaths, they can apply for a birth certificate at any point that they need one. The information would be saved with the central Government, while applicants can access it at any point in time. There are many benefits to registering a birth, including providing the Government with accurate statistics to understand the happenings in that state. The information gathered allows the Government to learn the infant mortality rates, which is the number of child deaths under one year of age per 1,000 births, which can only be as accurate as of the information they receive. According to a 2019 report, the infant mortality rate was 28.3 deaths per 1,000 live births. The information gathered showed a positive response since it was a decrease from previous years. Additionally, the same details provide a detailed understanding of diseases affecting the people of the same age or the issues affecting the young in different parts of the country. Without birth certificates, gathering information would be quite challenging.

When it comes to registering a birth, all the Indian states have state-run websites to assist people. Furthermore, the medical institution where the child was born in the first place insists that they register the birth. The staff and medical practitioners usually assist with the birth registration and are open to providing all the paperwork needed to get through the process. However, parents can take up to 21 days if they want to register the birth themselves. Additionally, if they are looking to register the birth later, they would have to provide additional paperwork, which might even need some police documentation, to get through the process.

If parents are getting through the process online, they can use the state-run websites or the eGovernance platform and create an account for themselves. Other benefits of using the platform include getting through the process without trouble since the same eGovernance account works for all other Government documentation and paperwork mentioned on the website. When it comes to birth registration processes, along with other Government related tasks, like voter identification or multiple schemes, the website works on them all. Other than registering the birth, they can apply for documents to make changes to their birth certificates or apply for a duplicate, if they lost the original. Rural India has a large group of people who prefer not getting through the process, but the reasons were likely that they were not having their births at medical centres but in houses. Furthermore, many people were uneducated, found the process quite challenging, and gave up halfway through.

Passports through eGovernance platforms

Across India, 28 eGovernance websites were coordinating various processes with the people. While the central Government coordinates most of the documents, the State Government was responsible for implementing these processes. There were slight variations in the rules with minor changes, but they work toward the same goal. Various passport processes can be accessed and coordinated through the eGovernment website. Other than applying for a passport, people also work on their passport renewal, make changes to the travel document if needed and coordinate with the passport office through simple steps.

After introducing the eGovernance platform and TCS handling the passport process in half the time, there was a significant increase in the number of people getting through the application process. According to a recent poll, the number of people applying for passports now significantly increased by more than three times as compared to the past, after implementing the online changes.

While all the forms for a passport renewal are available online, they can also coordinate with the office without much trouble. Uploading the information needed, and getting through the forms ideally takes 30 minutes if done through the website. They can log in to their accounts, download the necessary documents, fill them out, and submit them. The same account provides updates on processing and other information.

With the new eGovernance platform, there was a significant increase in the number of people applying for a passport. While the process would take a lot of time in the past, it was now a lot more convenient and allowed people to get through the process in a lot less time. They could handle renewals in minutes with people filling out the forms and sending their passports to the office through the postal service.