e-SAMPARK: The ‘E-mail Only’ Protocol for all Government Offices
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Author | Ravi Kiran Edara |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556119844594 |
| Subject Matter | Notes |
e-SAMPARK: The ‘E-mail
Only’ Protocol for all
Government Offices
Ravi Kiran Edara1
Introduction
E-mail has become one of the most convenient and popular modes of communication
in the government. E-mail policy of Government of India (GOI) and Central
Government Office Procedure Manual recognise the importance of e-mail for
official communications. However, use of e-mail as the default mode of communi-
cation is neither mandatory, nor is there any officially prescribed procedure for
systematic e-mail management in government offices. In the absence of such laid-
down procedures, communications in the government are still largely through
snail mail or fax modes, characterised by delay, cost and haphazardness. On the
other extreme lies the most modern communication model where all the
government offices in the country use integrated, paperless software solutions like
‘e-Office’ and communications can be electronically exchanged between different
offices. For initial costs and other reasons, it takes many more years for all
government offices across the country to get networked on ‘e-office’ or a similar
application. In this scenario, this article (a) underlines the need to mandate e-mail
as the default mode for all official communications, (b) provides a template to lay
down a detailed office procedure for the systematic management of e-mail
communications in government offices and (c) discusses the prerequisites and
challenges involved in implementing such procedures. The implemented scenario
of such an ‘e-mail-only protocol’ by all government offices is called the
‘e-SAMPARK’ paradigm.
Official communication is one of the most important facets of government
administration. Fast, reliable and standardised channels for official communication
go a long way in enhancing office productivity. It is for these reasons that the
effective use of electronic means of communication such as ‘e-mail’ assumes
tremendous significance in the government context. With the spread of Informa-
tion Technology (IT) resources in the government, especially, the availability
Note
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
65(2) 515–524, 2019
© 2019 IIPA
Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/0019556119844594
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1 Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), New Delhi, India.
Corresponding author:
Ravi Kiran Edara, IRS, Vice-President, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), New Delhi, India.
E-mail: ravikiranedara123@gmail.com
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