E-governance in rural West Bengal (India): Impact and implications

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore the impact of Information Technology (IT) as an enabling force in its efforts to meet the present and emerging challenges of a digital age upon the rural people in West Bengal (a constituent state in India). In West Bengal, Burdwan (Bardhaman) district has been selected for implementing the country's first rural e-governance pilot project. This paper wants to argue that introduction of rural e-governance in Burdwan is likely to generate development gains only when it is closely adapted to the needs and capacities of the Panchayats. Methodologically, the primary focus of this study was on the executive authorities responsible for implementing e-governance at the rural level. The researcher went to 30 below the poverty line people of three villages with a structured questionnaire that provided ample opportunity to measure the socio-economic needs of the local people and to correlate that needs with the gains of e-governance. The sample size is relatively small. Replication of this study with additional Blocks and Gram Panchayats in the sample will allow stronger validation of the main argument. © 2008, Inderscience Publishers.