Governance2.Org

With the Orissa government deciding to launch 8,558 common service centres — Biju Seva Kendra — at least one in each block to provide government-to-citizen, business-to-consumer and business-to-business services to citizens at their doorsteps, villagers would no longer have to run to the capital, district headquarters or towns to get copies of official documents or avail e-services such as Internet or get a railway ticket done.
IT minister Surya Narayan Patro said the common service centres, to function as front-end delivery points for all villagers closer home, were expected to be operational within six months.
Under the government-to-citizen services, providing land record, certificates, details of government schemes and utility bill payment would be delivered. Forms could be downloaded and submitted at the Biju Seva Kendra.
Similarly, services such as typing, photography, Internet surfing, agro-information, railway and air ticketing, astrology and matrimony, mobile coupon, exam results, online education services and distant learning courses and life and general insurance packages would be available under business-to business service. Market research, surveys, rural BPO services, advertising, branding and promotions would be provided under business-to-business package.
Each centre would have a furnished room at panchayat level equipped with a computer, printer, digital and web cameras, scanner, UPS and Internet connectivity.
Set up under a public-private partnership, the private players would set up the common service centres on build, own and operate basis, with the government providing revenue support for the first four years to make the scheme sustainable. [Via]

According to a new study by TCS, India, the world’s IT services backyard, figures quite low in a global e-governance ranking with a per capita IT spend of just $1.29. Compare this with $199 in New Zealand and $153 in Singapore.
According to the WEF Global Information Technology Report, India ranks 44 out of the 122 countries analysed even behind countries like Barbados, Latvia, Tunisia, Thailand and the Slovak Republic.
The White Paper is an attempt by TCS to use its experience in e-Governance projects to define a road-map for India and highlight current impediments like a silo-based approach that is limiting the benefits of technology use. [Via]

Introduced two years ago, India’s largest e-governance project, and the second biggest of its kind in the world, the MCA-21, which enables e-filing of corporate information with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is set to be revamped shortly.
The ministry is now looking to launch the second generation of e-filing process, and has tied up with TCS for the same.
Once the revamped system is in place, companies would find it still simpler and convenient to file corporate information with the ministry while public and professionals would get easy access to relevant records and effective grievances redressal.
The move will also help in effective compliance of relevant laws and improve corporate governance, according to the Institute of Company Secretaries. [Via]

Turkmenistan has begun allowing private citizens to connect to the Internet, the latest sign that the reclusive Central Asian nation is opening up.
The country’s only Internet provider, Turkmentelekom, said Thursday that it has been connecting up to 20 homes daily since the start of the week, mainly in the capital Ashgabat. It said it has a waiting list of 2,000 people.
“As of this week we have begun connecting customers, regardless of their professional status,” a Turkmentelekom statement said.
Last year, president Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov allowed the country’s first Internet cafe. Until then, Internet use had been restricted solely to government employees, diplomatic posts and offices for major international companies. [Via]

This workshop at the 10th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2008) explores new approaches to bring about real environmental change by looking at the success of empowering technologies that enable grassroots activism and bottom up community participation. Ubiquitous computing is transforming from being mostly about professional communication and social interaction to a sensor rich personal measurement platform that can empower individuals and groups to gain an awareness of their surroundings, engage in grassroots activism to promote environmental change, and enable a new social paradigm – citizen science. This workshop brings together fresh ideas and approaches to help elevate individuals to have a powerful voice in society, to act as citizen scientists, and collectively learn and lobby for change worldwide.

More details: http://www.urban-atmospheres.net/Ubicomp2008/
Submission deadline: 27 June, 2008
Notification for position papers: 25 July, 2008
Day of workshop: 21 September, 2008
Workshop venue: Seoul, South Korea