Freedom of citizen’s access to information is seen as an important means to achieve accountable, transparent and participatory government. The major concern is on making administration accountable and citizen friendly, ensuring transparency and right to information, and taking measures to motivate civil services.

Improving Citizen's Access to Information 

        Government of India has selected Jhalawar district as one of the five districts in the country for the implementation of UNDP supported IT project on Improving Citizen’s access to Information named as "JANMITRA" (Friend of People). The project involves identifying some of the major items of information/services sought by citizens from various government offices; developing IT friendly interface where by citizens can access government and services. Now this project is known as "E-MITRA".

          This programme focuses on capacity building of selected public authorities to insure improved access improved access of citizens to information. Developed system will be responsible for assessing the present knowledge base, capacity building of civil servants, enabling systematic management of information for easier access, and strengthening the capacity of citizens to demand information. 

          As per the UNDP guidelines, the project has to be implemented through state owned implementing agency RajCOMP. A composite implementing agency comprises of the officers from District Administration, Department of IT, and RajCOMP. In the initial phase, a comprehensive field survey of information and services needs of citizens of Jhalawar district have to be carried out.

Objectives of E-Mitra

The mission of Janmitra can be seen as:

• To establish a community-owned, innovative and sustainable information technology project in the most poverty-stricken and tribal dominated rural areas.

• To cater to social, economic and developmental needs of the villagers through an innovative G2C (Government-to-Citizen) model.

• To use innovative e-governance, e-commerce and e-education techniques as a tool of social change and development through the wired villages in the district.

• To make governmental processes much simpler, so that time and money of rural people can be saved.  To make them available various application forms online. To provide better communication facilities within the district.

Working of the System

This system will work as an Intranet system, providing its services to rural people at or near their villages. Kiosks (Information Centers) will be established at selected villages where people can access various e-Governance, e-Education, e-Agriculture services from the district server, located at Jhalawar Headquarter.

Rural people can get various Certificates such as Domicile / Caste / Income certificates from the system. They can get the copy of their land records. They can send their grievances to the concerned departments at district headquarter. They can see details of various schemes and plans of government bodies. All of these services will be provided at villages at feasible cost. 

E-Mitra Society

District Administration, Jhalawar has established a registered society named as “Janmitra” to develop, implement, and maintain the project. There are three committees under the Janmitra society:

•     Governing committee

•     Managing Committee

•     Technical Committee

The society is meant to be a non-profit society. The objectives of this society can be enlisted as:

1.To develop an Intranet system through Janmitra project. To enhance Information technology in rural and urban areas through this Intranet.

2. To implement E-Governance, E-Commerce, and E-Education in the rural and urban areas through the latest Information technology.

3. To help farmers, students, unemployed, and rural people through  Information Technology.

4. To serve on various aspects of Agriculture, Health, Commerce, Governance, various plans and schemes and social issues.

5. To collaborate with other governmental/semi-governmental/non-governmental organizations to exchange the latest technology.

 6. To organize various IT-awareness workshops / seminars etc.
  

Society will allot kiosks to the entrepreneurs, enhances the available services provided by the system, and maintains the project.