The sacrifices and dedication of the Gen-G generation for the institutional development of transparency and good governance in government machinery have ushered in unprecedented changes in Nepal's political history in a short period of time.

An interim government has been formed under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki. The primary responsibility of this government is to hold the elections to the House of Representatives on time. Along with this, building a solid foundation for fundamental and strategic reforms for Nepal's long-term economic development and the establishment of a service-oriented public administration is another important responsibility. Structural and functional transformation in the service delivery system is necessary to build the foundation of citizen-centered good governance. In the current digital era, e-governance is an effective means to achieve this goal, which can turn good governance, transparency, and accountability into reality.

E-governance is not just the use of technology, but a profound process of redefining the core character of governance. It breaks the traditional structure of power and service and inspires citizens to be established at the center of governance. This technology not only changes the nature of service delivery, but also brings about a transformation in the approach and practice of governance. It can make a unique contribution to the institutional development of the civil service system by solving all the challenges of good governance.

In the context of good governance, e-governance basically has special importance in four major dimensions. First, it brings about qualitative improvement in service delivery by redefining the basic parameters of citizen service delivery. It facilitates making the government service delivery system more efficient, agile, automated, transparent, paperless, cashless, citizen-friendly and accountable to the people. It saves time and labor of the service recipients. In addition, the use of tools such as digital surveillance systems, strong monitoring, regular progress reviews and citizen feedback in service delivery improves the quality of service. Similarly, the use of cutting-edge technologies such as chatbots and virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence can make service delivery automated, streamlined and result-oriented.

Second, e-governance plays a decisive role in maintaining effective transparency in the government work system. Through open-data initiatives, citizens can easily obtain detailed information related to government policies, budgets and plans. This not only increases citizen awareness, but also strengthens public trust in governance. Through this, inequality in access to information in the administrative process is reduced.

Third, e-governance empowers citizens, reduces the distance between the state and citizens, and develops a culture of accountability. It makes the decision-making system simple, easy, and evidence-based. It enables the transformation of civil service with the aspirations of the people and helps restore trust in the governance system. In the long run, it paves the way for building the institutional foundation of good governance.

Fourth, the use of e-governance strengthens and encourages participatory governance. Through digital participatory tools such as electronic surveys and dialogue platforms, citizens can directly express their opinions, feedback, and needs in the public policy-making and implementation process. Such practices not only encourage inclusive development but also increase equity in service delivery by providing opportunities for equitable participation by all sections of society. Consequently, such technology-enabled measures provide a powerful opportunity to significantly reduce corruption and administrative irregularities and sow the seeds of a culture of good governance.

Nepal on the journey of e-governance: Progress and Challenges

Nepal has made remarkable progress in the field of e-governance in recent years. According to the e-Governance Development Index (EGDI) published by the United Nations, Nepal has managed to rise from 153rd position out of 193 countries in 2010 to 119th position in 2024. The ‘Digital Nepal Framework 2019’ is Nepal’s strategic guiding document for e-governance. The framework defines eight key sectors – digital infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, energy, tourism, finance and urban infrastructure – as pillars of national transformation. Based on this vision, the Government of Nepal has ensured strong implementation of e-governance by developing and implementing various digital systems and electronic platforms.

The National Identity Card System is a significant achievement among the major digital systems implemented by the government machinery. Its implementation has ushered in a new era in citizen data management. By bringing qualitative improvements in service delivery through integrated digital identity, it has helped ensure equitable access and economical distribution of resources. So far, biometric details of more than 18.7 million citizens have been collected. More than 60 systems of various government agencies have been integrated with it through live API, which has strengthened data authentication and service delivery. In addition, about eight systems are in the final stages of API integration. It is estimated that the use of this system has increased transparency in service delivery and has significantly reduced managerial distortions such as forged statements, revenue leakage and duplication of services.

The successful implementation of the electronic public procurement system is another important achievement of e-governance. The development of this system has had a positive impact on promoting fairness, competitiveness, transparency, financial discipline and accountability in the public procurement process. In particular, it has significantly helped in controlling distortions such as lack of transparency, procedural delays, ambiguity, corruption, collusion and favoritism prevalent in the traditional procurement system.

Similarly, the digital tax system has been established as the backbone of Nepal's economic governance to promote structural transformation and good governance in revenue administration. The development of features such as e-payment and e-tax has made the revenue collection process fully automated, timely and responsive. Currently, almost 100 percent of taxpayers are using this system. Its implementation is believed to have reduced tax evasion, increased the scope and capacity of revenue collection, and significantly improved public trust, transparency and accountability in revenue administration. Overall, the digital tax system has emerged as the foundation for building a sustainable economy in Nepal.

The rapid development of digital financial services in Nepal is another important pillar of e-governance, which has ushered in a new era in the economy. There has been an increase of about 300 percent in digital payment services in 2025 compared to 2021. In particular, digital transactions worth more than Rs 7.6 trillion have been completed annually through national payment systems such as Connect-IPS. This progress is believed to have played a significant role in increasing transparency in Nepal's economic sector, reducing transaction costs, and accelerating economic activity.

Similarly, the 'Citizen App', developed to provide citizens with easy access to administrative services, has developed into not only a technology-based medium but also an important bridge between people-oriented governance and sustainable service delivery. By providing services of various government agencies through a single gateway through this integrated platform, citizens have been relieved of the hassle of having to visit each office and the use of services has become more convenient, faster, and timely. By 2025, about eight lakh users are active on this app and the services of more than 30 government agencies are available in an integrated manner. The major services included in this system include basic services such as citizenship verification, police character certificate, voter ID card, driving license, tax payment certificate, educational certificate verification, and distribution of social security scheme benefits.

Although the contribution of these systems to improving citizen services is significant, Nepal's e-governance system is still in its early stages, both institutionally and technologically, compared to neighboring countries or leading digital governance countries like Estonia. Nepal's digital divide remains a major challenge in institutionalizing e-governance. According to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (2024), fixed broadband access is limited to 42 percent, which clearly shows the inequality in access to technology between urban and rural areas. Due to geographical remoteness, poor infrastructure, and low digital literacy, remote citizens are still deprived of modern technology and services, which has increased inequality in education, health, and economic opportunities.

Nepal's weak state of cybersecurity in terms of technology is another serious challenge. The International Telecommunication Organization (ITU, 2024) evaluates the cybersecurity status of countries by classifying them into five levels through the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI). According to the index, Nepal is currently classified in the ‘establishment or basic’ (tier three) category, while our neighboring countries India and Bangladesh are in the ‘developed’ (tier five) category.

Among the five main pillars of the index, Nepal has scored 19.21 out of 20 in legal measures, 16.02 in organizational measures, 13.11 in capacity development, 11.09 in technical measures, and 9.62 in international cooperation. These figures show that although the legal, policy, and institutional framework for e-governance in Nepal appears to be formally strong, structural and institutional challenges in its practical implementation are still acute.

The existing institutional structures are fragmented, inconsistent, and developed without an integrated thinking, so the entire system looks like a broken mirror. Where there is technology but no dialogue. There is a system but no coordination. The root causes of this are slow implementation, unclear responsibilities and accountability, lack of coordination, and a limited view of seeing technology only as a tool. As a result, the digital divide is deepening. There are serious obstacles to data sharing, interoperability, and service integration among government agencies.

Similarly, there is a clear need for greater investment and long-term commitment in the critical areas of technical infrastructure, skilled human resources, and private sector and international collaboration required to effectively implement e-governance.

As a result of the challenges mentioned, Nepal has not been able to achieve the expected transformational achievements through e-governance. These challenges have increased risks to government data security, made citizens' privacy sensitive, and gradually weakened public trust in digital services. Now is the time to view e-governance not as a program of general technology reform, but as a transformative journey towards citizen-centric governance.

To ensure the success of this journey, structural transformation, strong use of cutting-edge technology, and strong political will need to be established as essential prerequisites in Nepal's e-governance system.

Paths to reform

First, for the long-term success of e-governance, an integrated digital governance structure and strong institutional mechanisms are indispensable. Its first priority is to set clear legal and technical standards to end the inconsistency between policies, technology and services so that data-based decision-making becomes institutionalized in the government system. In addition, it is essential to develop an interoperability and interoperable platform that can seamlessly exchange digital data between various ministries and agencies.

Similarly, the development of a strong cybersecurity and data protection system is mandatory for the privacy and security of citizens' sensitive data. Otherwise, digital transformation will be limited to just technical exercises. To strengthen all these initiatives in a regulatory way, it is necessary to establish an autonomous and effective e-Governance Authority under the Prime Minister's Office, which will act as the digital soul of the governance system and translate the resolution of 'Digital Nepal' into practice.

Second, the effective implementation of e-governance depends on the proper use and combination of new technologies. Cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data analysis, 'blockchain' and 'Internet of Things' are the main drivers for making the governance system quality, transparent and result-oriented. यी प्रविधिहरूको रणनीतिक प्रयोगबिना ई–गभर्नेन्स प्रणालीमा अपेक्षित रूपान्तरण सम्भव छैन ।

भारतको ‘आधार’ र सिंगापुरको ‘सिंगपास’ जस्ता प्रणालीहरूले देखाएझैं शक्तिशाली डिजिटल परिचय प्रणालीले नागरिक सेवाहरू स्वचालित, विश्वासिलो र सुगम बनाउँदै जनकेन्द्रित शासनको नयाँ प्रतिमान स्थापना गर्न सक्छ । नेपालले पनि यस्तै एकीकृत डिजिटल परिचय प्रणालीको संस्थागत विकासलाई उच्च प्राथमिकतामा राख्नुपर्छ ।

तेस्रो, प्रविधि मात्र पर्याप्त छैन । डिजिटल रूपान्तरण अन्ततः शासनदर्शन र राजनीतिक संस्कारको महत्त्वपूर्ण विषय हो । स्थायी सुधारको मूल आधार रणनीतिक नेतृत्वको प्रतिबद्धता र अटल राजनीतिक इच्छाशक्ति नै हो । एस्टोनियाको उदाहरणले देखाउँछ कि जब राजनीतिक दृढ संकल्प प्रविधिसँग जोडिन्छ, तब मात्र एक दशकभित्रै सम्पूर्ण राज्य सेवा प्रणालीलाई डिजिटल माध्यमबाट रूपान्तरण गर्न सकिन्छ ।