ABSTRACT
Across the world, digital technologies are transforming the way in which citizens interact with states, and the development process more broadly. The costly, and sometimes difficult, changes in administrative and delivery mechanisms are motivated by the ultimate objective of making governments more inclusive, efficient and accountable. The success of the reform process, therefore, depends critically on whether the delivery of public goods and services have, or have not, improved along these three dimensions. In this chapter, I use the data from a field survey in Rajasthan to examine how digital tools are being applied to address key developmental challenges. Our results indicate that the use of technology appears to have improved efficiency of service delivery and beneficiaries have a broadly positive perception of the technology-mediated processes. There are lessons for other programs that use technology to deliver public services, subsidies and transfers. More generally, and especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to rethink the role of technology in development more broadly.
