The IT ministry will soon send to the Cabinet for approval the Electronic Services Delivery (ESD) Bill, which aims at making public dealing in government departments transparent, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

"Our ministry is going to soon introduce the public services delivery bill which is going to the Cabinet very soon", the minister said at the launch of web based monitoring system of Saakshar Bharat Programme.

"Each state government will have to tell us as to how much time they will take to ensure all public services in the state will be delivered electronically," he added.

Once enacted, the law will mandate every government department to offer some services online or electronically within five years of its enactment.

"That will bring the kind of transparency and accountability that is necessary to deal with some of the elements of discretion which have been exercised by the people of India," Sibal said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot expressed the hope that the bill might be introduced in next session of Parliament. "We will be able to put the Electronic Services (Delivery) Bill in Parliament in the winter session," he said at the Skoch Digital Inclusion event.

He added, "Primary concern for us is the people who have been excluded from basic services like financial, government and other services. There is no reason why a citizen of this country has to struggle for his right and under go the stress and exploitation."

Pilot added that providing government services and certificates to people electronically on their doorstep will save them from exploitation by officials.
"It is patwari or pradhan, the SDMs. The lower level of bureaucracy really has stronghold on what they can sign or not sign. The file goes missing...there is no access," he said.

Pilot added that a farmer, for instance, can never have access to genuine documents required for loan without paying money to corrupt officials. "My ministry is tirelessly working to ensure that these services are delivered to citizens at the doorstep," he said.

Pilot said the government plans to roll out IT infrastructure to boost access to such services through broadband over the next couple of years.