ICT Driven E-Governance Public Service Delivery Mechanism in Rural Areas: A Case of Rural Digital Services (Nemmadi) Project in Karnataka, India

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are playing a vital role in day-to-day public services. In the realm of machinery of Government, the ICTs application areas are promising to enhance the service delivery and improve the process and management of Governmental functionaries. This paper traces the current round of discussions on the appropriate roles and scales of Government with respect to ICTs driven e-governance application for enhancing service delivery in rural areas. The paper reviews the efficacy of the policy framework in context of service providers and enhancement in delivery of goods and services to the rural society. The main issues related to service delivery are the role and multiplicity of organization, the coverage of services, and actual deliveries of goods and services. This is largely dictated by the preparedness of the service provider and as well as the extent of innovative technology used. Karnataka is one of the pioneering States in India with respect to adopting innovative information technologies. The author has chosen to review on ICT driven e-governance Rural Digital Services (Nemmadi) project in Karnataka. It works at taluk level, covering about 38 citizen-centric services to the rural citizens. The vision of Rural Digital Services (Nemmadi) project is to empower the rural citizens, provide direct access of government services to the citizens and bring government services to the doorstep of the citizens thereby bridging the digital divide in Karnataka.