86% Indians hope to access most govt services online in 5 yrs: Deloitte

With the internet becoming ubiquitous by the day, the use of digital platforms to access government services is set to rise. According to a study, 86 per cent of Indian respondents expect most government services to be available online over the next five years.

The research, ‘Digital Smart: Advancing digital government for citizens in the Asia-Pacific’, conducted by Deloitte and unveiled by enterprise software provider VMware, found that 86 per cent in India agree that the government needs to invest more in technology to better prepare for the future.

With 900 million new internet users expected to be added to the region (Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Japan, and South Korea) by 2025, the need for investment in digital services by governments continues to grow.

The study found that the use of in-person government services halved across APAC nations in the last two years, and 77 per cent of citizens now primarily use a digital platform to access government services.

Moreover, 67 per cent of respondents expected the quality of government services to be on par with those offered by the private sector, with 41 per cent struggling to access digital services on their own, due to a lack of basic digital skills and shortfall in digital infrastructure.

Pradeep Nair, Vice President & Managing Director at VMware India, said, “According to the Deloitte study, 81 per cent of Indian respondents agree that government services have become easier to use, and 78 per cent indicate the quality of services has improved. The study calls out raised expectations too – easier access, greater transparency and increased data security are specific areas to focus.”

Sylvain Cazard, senior vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, VMware, said, “It’s clear from the Deloitte research that citizens expect the same level of services – and quality – as those delivered by private companies or organisations. Service delivery in terms of multi-cloud infrastructure as well as modern containerised applications and services are the way forward, so governments also need to align thinking and resourcing along these major trends to meet their citizens’ needs.”

Deloitte India partner Swati Agarwal said, “Integrated digital government services are redefining the citizen-government engagement and delivery models. The focus on citizen experience through digital, human-centric, real time and personalized delivery of services is leading to an improved perception of trust and responsiveness while improving access, operational efficiency, and agility.”

Governments’ readiness to embrace digitization going forward varies widely between emerging and developing economies. For instance, respondents in India are the most likely to say that a positive experience using online government services will improve their trust in government and currently, 89 per cent are more willing to learn new digital skills or use a new platform.

In Singapore, 84 per cent of the respondents expect to access government services the same or more frequently in the next five years and 76 per cent agree or strongly agree that the government needs to invest more in technology to better prepare for the future.

On the other hand, 90 per cent of Korean respondents expect to access government services more frequently within the next five years. The report finds that South Korea is ranked first globally on the World Bank GTMI and is recognized as a GovTech world leader with a score of 98 out of 100.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor