DailyPost 605
ESTONIA – AN E-GOVERNANCE MODEL
Wired magazine has named Estonian as the most advanced digital society in the world. e-Gov strategy is around decentralisation, interconnectivity, openness & Cybersecurity. Estonia believes in creating future-proof infrastructure to accommodate the new. It’s the same story of the internet cables being replicated. All residents access information & services online & use digital identity to conduct business & update govt. records. Estonia introduced keyless signature infrastructure neatly integrated with Blockchain.
Central to this model is digital identity, in 2012, 90% of Estonians were using it. It is an electronic ID card to access Govt. services & travel within EU. The embedded chip holds cardholders basic information&two certificates; one to authenticate identity & another to provide digital signature, also contains his personal identification number, PIN. It is used for voting, edit automated tax forms online, for social security benefits, access banking services & public transportation. Same can be done by mobile ID on their phones. In 2013, 95% of taxes were electronically & 98% banking transactions were online.
Estonia’s e-School helps track assignments, curriculum, grades & collaborates with teachers. Since 2005, i-voting has bee used in national elections. 2014 European Parliament elections votes were cast from 98 different countries. Paperless legislation efforts have brought down the time of Cabinet meetings from five hours to less than ninety minutes. Under its e-Residency program it has launched ”transnational digital identity.” An entrepreneur can from anywhere register his company online in twenty minutes& operate online.
Integrity is the number one problem of the cyberspace, Estonia derives it from keyless signature infrastructure, KSI. Electronic activity is mathematically verified on Blockchain. No need of any cryptographers, system admins. or govt. staff ensuring total transparency & accountability.
STATE OF THE ART eGOV DELIVERS BOTH EASE OF BUSINESS & LIVING.
Sanjay Sahay