Coping with Digital Divide in Governance: A Nepalese Perspective of Civil Service Reform

Abstract

There is a growing trend for governments across the world, in order to improve the efficiency of their services to offer to their constituents to implement digital devices in the process of the governance process. The so-called ‘e-services’ include a number of essential measures for civil service institutions to create and manage information, technology, and communication. Current work discusses the effectiveness of e-services as well as challenges implementing said services and suggests ways to overcome the possibility of creating a digital divide via such services. The case study relied on content analysis and a survey approach to generate data. This study proposed that the omnipresent nature of the internet, as well as the dynamic use of digital devices, has the potential to mobilize the public service and aid digital beginners in its considerable capacity to access government services. The general conclusion of this study is that e-government services are crucial for managing future problems as well as appropriately reacting to present and past instances to be able to lessen the digital divide. With regard to the reduction of current and future inefficiencies, the cases of effectiveness, and the costs associated with potential outcomes fully support our findings. We propose that certain issues in relation to e-services can be regulatory, legal, technical as well as certain procedural measures. Another aspect is the civil service personnel's education in relation to said technology, as well as capacity building and continuous upgrading of the digital internet technology available to government officers and the general public. Additionally, civil service reform in Nepal with the possibility of the digitization of documents and capacity building is of great concern.