eGovernance has been a positive idea that the Government came up with to get most people to go through various registration processes. Their primary purpose was to connect with the masses through a standardised platform across the country. They also used the same one to connect multiple mandatory departments as a one-stop-shop to gather and receive all their information in one place.
They eventually learned that they could create awareness about various processes through the platform, which is when they started advertising the eGovernance platform. Eventually, the platform started getting more people to apply for these documentation processes since they were not open to getting through and coordinating with multiple offices since it was taking a lot of time and was not even a convenient process.
What was the purpose of the eGovernance platform?
The eGovernance website and in some states the eDistrict website had a lot of Government application forms mentioned on their portal. People could use the platform if they were planning on downloading applications like the birth certificate forms, apply for a death certificate, marriage certificate, inheritance certificate and many others.
All the forms and applications relating to the various processes were uploaded on the platform. In some instances, people can provide their information directly, and upload their supporting documentation and certification. There are other processes where they can download the applications, fill them at their convenience, and submit them. Additionally, the website has a lot of information about the various processes, and people can go through the details and understand how they work. They can find out the documents needed and begin gathering the paperwork before beginning.
They can also use the platform if they want to pay their utility bills, which was another major inconvenience. Previously, people paying their bills had to coordinate through multiple offices if they wanted to get it done and in some cases would have to go to specific registered banks to get it done. Moving all these processes to the website made it a lot more convenient for the people since they could now make payment in almost no time.
One of the benefits of using the Government website is that applicants create an account for themselves. They can use the account when coordinating any of the processes with the platform. One of the most popular services handled through the eGovernance platform is registering a birth. Before an individual can apply for a ​birth certificate​, they had to make sure they registered the birth with the Registrar of Births and Deaths. According to the Government rules, the process of registration had to be handled in less than 21 days after the child was born. The number of days is standard across the country, but there are a few exceptions in some states.
Using the eGovernance platform when getting through the birth registration
The ​birth registration​ process is quite simple and usually handled by the medical professionals at the hospital where the child was born. Some people would prefer handling the process themselves, but they would also need to apply for and receive a certificate from the hospital with all the details of the birth. After registering the birth, the parents of the child would receive their birth certificate. There are multiple other processes relating to the birth registration itself, coordinated through the platform, like applying for a duplicate birth certificate if the main one was misplaced, coordinating making changes to the certificate if there were errors with the information initially mentioned.
The Coronavirus pandemic made the process a little tricky since the platform could not process the number of deaths that were taking place throughout the country. Another hiccup was that people had to register all births and deaths within 21 days of the happening which was quite difficult for a country that was dealing with unprecedented numbers, especially when it came to the deaths in the country. On the flip side, however, people should be using the eGovernance platform, if they are looking to gather the information since they should not be leaving their houses and only meeting people if they have to.
When creating the EGovernance platform, they did not cancel using the office to get the information necessary so people who did not want to use the website could still go to the office with their applications. Additionally, the website made the process a lot more convenient that there were fewer people at the office which also made the process faster. Getting a birth registration is a lot more convenient since people can get all the information they want through the website, and they can choose how they want to go ahead with their application.