<div>The digital age has empowered citizens, across all ages, to be more aware and expect more from their governments. Connected citizens are expecting their governments to be wired as well, delivering services in the medium of choice of their citizens. Governments, usually, are inherently process driven and usually risk averse, seldom moving as fast as the emerging technologies of the times. However, the new Government that took oath in May last year brought with it the right mindset of treating technology as an enabler and pushed for outcome oriented initiatives leveraging technology. Coal bidding using e-procurement was a prime example of this mindset. But what has taken the nation’s imagination by storm is a unique citizen engagement initiative, named MyGov, a programme for enhanced engagement of citizens – ‘participatory governance’ that brings citizens and governments together and gives citizens a say in governance matters of the country.</div><div> </div><div>MyGov was initiated in July 2014. Once word got around and the user base started climbing up, citizens, used to being controlled now got an opportunity to be in control; the Government opened itself to govern with the citizens instead of governing for citizens. The traditional ‘brokers’ of citizen opinions, such as NGOs, took a back seat because the microphones went straight to the citizens who became active MyGov users.</div><div> </div><div>While it is a long way to go before we call MyGov a truly groundbreaking work, it can safely be celebrated as one of the key quick wins of the new Government and for the country. At least 9 Lac users and 35 ministries can vouch for it!</div><div> </div><div>So far, the 9 Lac users have opined themselves straight to the Government on various policy matters and the Government has duly acted on the suggestions. Needless to say, the platform has brought intellect of our country together for better policy formulation and planning. In a span of one year, MyGov has facilitated significant action items by Government, as few examples below entail:</div><div> </div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>10-15 unique and feasible suggestions from MyGov users were accepted by the Finance and Railway ministries and found themselves incorporated as initiatives in the Finance budget and Railway budget announced February 2015</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The New Education Policy formulation process is being driven on MyGov, with intra-government and citizen deliberations being undertaken on MyGov</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>MyGov gave the country the logo and tagline for one of the flagship initiatives of the new Government ‘Swachh Bharat’</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Campaigns for Skill development, Incredible India, Swachh Bharat, Clean Ganga and Digital India have been held on MyGov</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Parameters for a mobile app for the PMO finalised on MyGov</div><div>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>MyGov Samvaad – a government-citizen consultative group created for Digital India</div><div> </div><div>MyGov is not just a platform on the internet; it is a concept of new Government showcasing behavioural shifts in the way governance can be done. MyGov has a social media presence of its own where it pro-actively keeps citizens engaged and informed with announcements, acknowledgement on their contribution. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister leverages this platform for crowdsourcing ideas and to connect with the citizens through Mann Ki Baat. This platform has also given an opportunity for collaboration with corporates/ industry to exchange knowledge in the interest of the country’s progress. </div><div> </div><div>MyGov’s impact would evolve over time with more and more aware users and intellect of the country joining on-board.</div><div> </div><div>In spite of all the good things going for MyGov, it is yet to make its presence felt across the breadth and depth of the population. The 9 Lac MyGov users represent a largely urban inclination today and I am sure the Government would want it to be more inclusive - from the perspective of different demographic dimensions. It is imperative that a larger part of the population is brought into this fold and their views analysed for key decisions that the Government makes. In future and with a larger base of participants, snap polls could be taken on actions of the government, leveraging the same platform.</div><div> </div><div>While MyGov makes it clear on all forums that it is not a grievance redressal platform, MyGov may be explored to add a mandate as a coordinator or as a landing page for grievances. We can only imagine the large big data opportunities that lay ahead for the Government using MyGov with all such features and user base in place.</div><div>MyGov needs to market / portray / prove a greater correlation between comments posted and the output achieved and help close the loop. Ministries and MyGov need to come together, more now than ever.</div><div> </div><div>Another area of improvement is the response interactivity and user experience. Today, we have discussion forums on MyGov with thousands of citizens posting their comments and waiting for 3-4 weeks before receiving a common feedback on the portal of the actions taken by the Government. Thriving businesses the importance of keeping their customers constantly engaged with information and activity. MyGov can take a leaf out of their books to learn how to keep bringing the traffic back on its portal.</div><div> </div><div>There is no doubt that the Government is innovating and seeking citizen participation in important matters of governance. It is not only seeking citizen feedback on important policy matters, but is also establishing joint government-citizen committees to prepare action plans aimed at improving public service outcomes. This is a welcome change for the country and can be an established form of our everyday lives if all stakeholders push for its cause in the next few months and continue to be relevant for the Government and the citizens it serves.</div><div> </div><div><em>The author, Neel Ratan, is Leader- Government and Public sector, PwC India</em></div><div> </div>
