People Perception Towards e-Services in Hilly Area: A Case Study of e-Districts in Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

India is the largest democracy in the world. The revolution of the Internet has brought a new agenda for the government. With the help of information and communication technology, it is possible that we can provide facilities to people sitting away without much physical effort. E-services have been operating for better efficiency and transparency proving to be digital innovation for the hilly areas. This study makes an effort to understand the citizens’ perception to welcome e-district practices in online service delivery. It is based on the field survey of 30 Common Service Centres of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. The results of this study show that Common Service Centres practice are a popular medium in service delivery in rural and hilly areas, but there is still a lack of proper infrastructure and Internet connectivity. The study finds that eliminating the digital divide in the system is necessary in a developing nation like India to implement e-governance services properly.