Information Technology Act, 2000
Section 6A IT Act and Electronic Service Delivery Rules 2011 Explained
Section 6 lets government work electronically; s.6A lets someone else run that machinery for it and charge for the service. Inserted in 2008, it is the statutory root of the common service centre and the online government portal, and the Electronic Service Delivery Rules 2011 turn it into a working framework. Topics 43 and 44 built the e-governance sections; this note, as asked, covers s.6A and its rules on their own.
1. Section 6A: Authorised Service Providers
Figure 1: The section and its vehicle
Section 6A, Information Technology Act, 2000 (substance) (1) The appropriate Government may, for the purposes of this Chapter and for efficient delivery of services to the public through electronic means, authorise, by order, any service provider to set up, maintain and upgrade the computerised facilities and perform such other services as it may specify, by notification in the Official Gazette. Explanation. Service provider so authorised includes any individual, private agency, private company, partnership firm, sole proprietor firm or any such other body or agency which has been granted permission by the appropriate Government to offer services through electronic means in accordance with the policy governing such service sector. (2) The appropriate Government may also authorise any service provider authorised under sub-section (1) to collect, retain and appropriate such service charges, as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government for the purpose of providing such services, from the person availing such service. (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the appropriate Government may authorise the service providers to collect, retain and appropriate service charges under this section notwithstanding the fact that there is no express provision under the Act, rule, regulation or notification under which the service is provided to collect, retain and appropriate e-service charges by the service providers. |
- The authorisation. The appropriate Government may authorise any service provider, including a private agency or company, to set up, maintain and upgrade the computerised facilities and perform specified services, so delivery of public services can be outsourced to run electronically at scale.
- The service charges. The provider may collect, retain and appropriate service charges on the Government's notified scale, and sub-section (3) permits this even where the governing law made no express provision for charging, the clause that lets a free statutory service be delivered through a paid electronic channel.
- The safeguard. Charging turns on a notified scale: the provider cannot invent fees, and the money-handling is bounded by the Government's order, the discipline that keeps the convenience from becoming extortion.
2. The Electronic Service Delivery Rules 2011
Figure 2: What the Rules provide
- Notified services. Each department notifies the public services it will deliver electronically, with the forms, fees and timelines, so the citizen knows what is available online and by when.
- The service delivery gateway. A middleware gateway routes applications, payments and responses between the citizen and the department, the interoperability layer that lets a single portal or centre serve many departments.
- The competent authority. A State or Central competent authority oversees electronic service delivery, standards and grievances, the accountable office behind the machinery.
- Authentication and records. Applicants are electronically authenticated, and the service record is maintained electronically with s.7 and s.7A giving it legal and auditable effect (Topics 43, 131)
- The ecosystem. Section 6A and these Rules are the legal footing of the common service centres, State service portals and unified service platforms through which much of Indian e-governance is now delivered.
⚠ Exam trap State s.6A's distinctive feature precisely: it authorises service providers, including private ones, to run the delivery machinery and to collect service charges on a notified scale, and sub-section (3) permits charging even where the underlying law made no provision for it, the point examiners test. Tie it to s.6 as the delivery arm of e-governance, and name the Electronic Service Delivery Rules 2011, with their notified services, gateway, competent authority and electronic authentication, as the operational framework and the basis of common service centres. |
3. Frequently Asked Questions
What does Section 6A of the IT Act allow?
It allows the appropriate Government to authorise any service provider, including a private agency or company, to set up, maintain and upgrade the computerised facilities and deliver public services electronically, and to let that provider collect, retain and appropriate service charges on a scale the Government notifies, even where the law governing the underlying service made no express provision for such charges. The Electronic Service Delivery Rules 2011 operationalise it through notified services, a service delivery gateway, a competent authority and electronic authentication, and it is the statutory basis of common service centres and online government portals.
4. Related Topics
- Topic 44: Electronic Governance. Sections 4 to 10A in full.
- Topic 131: Section 7A. Audit of the electronic service record.