Fostering e-Governance to fight Corruption

Much has been said and written about corruption the world over. Various strategies and mechanisms to cope with this basic issue have been adopted, but with less success. Corruption became systemic in India, especially, when the licence-permit quota raj was a preferred option. Globalization, in fact, spawned a new wave of corruption, albeit going by the name of corporate lobbying. This phenomenon is not entirely new, either for the country or its people. It`s not that we are confronting the problem of corruption alone. We have to think of its other variants ? crony capitalism, corporate favors, doling out land, water and energy and topping it up with tax holidays. These variants are subtle and their dynamics are hard to be understood by the common man and society. Also, these have taken a form of public policy that drives the national economy. In this context, this paper tries to put into perspective the possibility of tackling corruption, at least partially, by adopting the process of e-governance and the structures of e-government. Egovernance offers a partial solution to the multifaceted problem of corruption. It reduces discretion, thereby curbing some opportunities for arbitrary action. It increases chances of exposure by maintaining detailed data on transactions, making it possible to track and link the corrupt with their wrongful acts. By making rules simpler and transparent, e-government emboldens citizens to question illogical procedures and their arbitrary application.