Government websites and apps that fail when people need them

What we know

The new income tax e-filing portal, built by Infosys, launched in June 2021 with problems logging in, receiving OTPs and viewing past returns. In August it was unavailable for two days, and the Finance Ministry summoned Infosys's chief executive to explain why the problems were still unfixed after two and a half months. The government had paid ₹164.5 crore for the portal by then.

The Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW 3.0, 2023) set rules on usability and on access for people with disabilities, in line with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

In Common Cause v Union of India (May 2015), the Supreme Court barred photos of political leaders in government advertisements, except those of the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice. In March 2016 it allowed photos of governors, chief ministers and ministers as well. Governments of every party now place their leaders' photos on official portals, apps and certificates.

Open questions

1. Which government portal do you use most, when does it fail, and what happens when you miss a deadline because of it?
2. How many steps does a common task, such as a certificate or a ration-card change, take on a phone?
3. Does your state's main portal work with a screen reader, and has anyone audited it independently?
4. Who built the portal, what did it cost, and does it publish its uptime?
5. How much of the home page goes to photos and slogans, and how much to services?
6. GOV.UK puts British government services on one site with no ministers on its home page. What would an Indian equivalent need?

Sources

• Moneylife: Finance Minister summons Infosys CEO over tax portal glitches
• The Week: Infosys CEO summoned over the e-filing portal (August 2021)
• CIS: accessibility of government websites in India
• Factly: Supreme Court limits politicians' photos in government ads (2015)
• Scroll: Supreme Court allows photos of chief ministers and ministers (2016)