Empowering Citizens Digitally: The Role of the National Portal of India

Policy Update
Gauri Khanna

Introduction 

The National Portal of India is a core part of the National E-Governance Plan, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). This is the official portal of the Government of India, developed and hosted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), a premier ICT organisation of the Government of India under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. The main aim is to provide a single-window facility for government information and services, including the central government, state governments, district administrations, and panchayats.

The portal is created for citizens, industry, and Overseas Indians, offering a complete source of information on India and the government. The portal gives information on many topics, categorised into sections and linked together to offer users detailed information. The initial portal was launched on November 10, 2005, by Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, who was the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology at that time.

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Source: https://v2.india.gov.in/

Vision

  • To act as a unified digital portal, making governance transparent, accessible, and citizen-centric.
  • One-stop access to government services, everything from obtaining a passport to agricultural support.
  • It promotes transparency and accountability through real-time information and documents.
  • Citizen engagement through feedback, grievance redressal, and participatory platforms.
  • Ensures inclusivity with regional language support, disability-friendly design, and mobile accessibility.

Phases and Evolution 

Phase I (2005): The initial portal was introduced, presenting government information in a more accessible manner.

Phase II: In this phase, the infrastructure was improved by including a Hindi version, including basic personalisation, and deploying the Central Monitoring System (CMS).

Phase III: The third phase entailed continuous improvement of CMS workflow maturity, more personalisation, and multi-language content.

Phase IV: This phase involved working on universal accessibility, complete CMS integration, and integration with departmental service portals.

Ensuring Inclusive Access and Promoting Data-Driven Governance through the National Portal of India

The National Portal of India has been designed with inclusive access to achieve the goals of the Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan). It complies with all accessibility guidelines, including features such as support for screen readers, text zooming features, and keyboard navigation. The portal provides effective accessibility for differently abled people   using state-of-the-art technology.

It is also in alignment with prominent Digital India initiatives, including Mobile Seva, UMANG, DigiLocker, MyGov, e-Hospital, and e-NAM, providing comprehensive e-governance services to the citizens. In attempting to find and popularise digital innovation in governance, the portal provides the Web Ratna Awards, which identify best practices of e-governance initiatives by government departments.

Reach and Impact

The National Portal of India has experienced a swift increase in reach and impact over the years:

The portal is used by millions of users per year, with a lot of traffic coming from rural and urban India, as well as Indians abroad. According to the website, it attracts more than 800,000 monthly users, and about 28% of the traffic comes from outside the country.

All-India Reach

The portal provides information and services of all Indian states and union territories and covers 6,700+ government portals through its integrated iGOD (Integrated Government Online Directory). Through this, all citizens from all districts and local bodies can get access to suitable governance content

Large User Base

The portal actively cultivates national identity through theme-based microsites for Republic Day, Independence Day, and Digital India Week, in partnership with the KnowIndia platform. These platforms emphasise India’s diversity, development achievements, and citizen pride.

Challenges of the National Portal of India

The National Portal of India is one of the most important Mission Mode Projects under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), with the vision of offering citizens single-window access to government services and information. Although it has achieved much in enabling transparency, digital access, and delivery of services, the portal faces multiple challenges that have been identified by government audits, policy analysis, and internal reviews.

One of the key problems is maintaining the accuracy and timely updating of content. The portal is dependent on specific National Portal Coordinators (NPCs) from 66 Central Ministries and State/Union territory governments for the updating of content. Many times, there have been instances of delay in updating scheme information, nonfunctional links, and announcements. This reduces the credibility of the portal. 

Another major issue is digital inclusion. Even though the portal has the facility of a screen reader, in areas that are socially and economically backward , there are multiple barriers, like a lack of internet connectivity and a lack of digital literacy. Thus, the portal is not fully utilised in rural areas in spite of its national-level planning. 

User interface (UI) and searchability problems are most commonly reported. The organisation of the site may look complicated, particularly for a novice, and surfing for scores of schemes, documents, and forms tends to be bewildering. A simpler layout and AI-based personalisation are required. Interdepartmental coordination often faces challenges with integration delays. Synchronising the entire government departments in real time using standard service forms and data synchronisation remains a significant technical and administrative barrier.

An emerging challenge is that cybersecurity and data protection pose a great threat. With the portal bringing in more services, the secure management of sensitive data, as well as alignment with upcoming data protection regulations, becomes important. Addressing these challenges is essential to strengthen the National Portal’s role in citizen-centric, transparent, and inclusive e-governance. 

Conclusion

The National Portal of India is not merely a digital entity; it is representative of India’s changing governance ethos in the era of technology. It plays a crucial role in bringing information, citizens’ services, public participation mechanisms, and openness in real-time data together in one place; it connects the government with the governed. Its well-defined,  inclusive form makes it possible for millions of people, regardless of region, capability, or background, to engage with their government more effectively.

However, the true potential of the portal goes beyond the mere delivery of services to empowering informed citizens, promoting digital inclusion, and facilitating accountability at various administrative levels. While India progresses towards a tech-savvy future, the portal needs to integrate AI-powered customisation and grassroots-level integration to make sure no citizen remains in the lurch in the digital revolution. The National Portal of India is not only a great step towards achieving the goals of the digital revolution but also encourages participatory governance and is a milestone towards a more networked, open, and inclusive democracy.

References 

About the contributor: Gauri Khanna is a research intern at IMPRI. 

Acknowledgement: The author sincerely thanks Aasthaba Jadeja and IMPRI fellows for their valuable contribution.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.

Read more at IMPRI:
Impacting, Research, Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT), 2015
Strengthening India’s Seismic Resilience: A Policy Analysis of Seismology and Geosciences (SAGE), 2017

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