8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
1/14
TTTeeeccchhhnnniiicccaaalll SSStttaaannndddaaarrrdddsss
AAAnnnddd
EEE---GGGooovvveeerrrnnnaaannnccceee AAArrrccchhhiiittteeeccctttuuurrreee
---AAApppppprrroooaaaccchhh PPPaaapppeeerrr---
G o v e r n m e n t o f I n d i a
M i n i s t r y o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
D e p a r t m e n t o f I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y
N a t i o n a l I n f o r m a t i c s C e n t r e
http://egovstandards.gov.in
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
2/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 2 - Version 1.0
Technical Standardsand
E-Governance Architecture
Prepared by: Suchitra Pyarelal ,Technical Director
Reviewed by: Deputy Director General NIC
Approved by: Director General
No part of this document shall be reproduced without prior permission of
Director General, National Informatics Centre
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
3/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 3 - Version 1.0
Table of Contents
Amendment Log .........................................................................................................................41. Introduction ......................................................................................................................5
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .............................................................................................. 51.2 PURPOSE AND SCOPE ........................................................................................................ 61.3 NEED FOR STANDARDS AND E-GOVERNANCE ARCHITECTURE............................................ 71.4 OBJECTIVES AND DELIVERABLES ........................................................................................ 71.5 WORKING GROUP MEMBERSHIP ........................................................................................ 8
2 Technical Standards and E-Governance Architecture .................................................92.1 TECHNICAL STANDARDS .................................................................................................... 92.2 E-GOVERNANCE ARCHITECTURE ..................................................................................... 112.2.1 REUSABILITY...................................................................................................................... 112.2.2 MIDDLEWARE AND TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS .................................................................. 122.2.3 SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE(SOA)...................................................................... 12
3. Management of the Standards Working Group ....................................................134. Road Map.........................................................................................................................14References.................................................................................................................................14
Glossary of Terms ...................................................................................................................14
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
4/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 4 - Version 1.0
Amendmen t Log
VersionNo.
Date ChangeNumber
Brief Description SectionsChanged
1.0 22-12-05 NA First Version All
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
5/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 5 - Version 1.0
1. In t roduc t ion
1.1 Back ground In format ion
The strategic importance of E-Governance Standards is now widely recognized
globally. Standards and specifications with well defined formats, help to achieve
interoperability of information and communication systems. To drive both the
integration between specific Government functions (vertical applications) and
shared Government functions (horizontal applications) and data sharing
between applications an overall E-Governance application architecture requires
to be defined .
Recognizing the critical role that well designed standards and architecture play in
the rapid growth of e-Governance, the Department of Information Technology
(DIT), has constituted an Apex Body on Standards in DIT in September 2005,
among other things, to design the broad policy framework for setting as well as
development of standards for the e-Governance initiatives in India.
Following have been identified as the key priority areas for standardization under
the National e-Governance Programme (NeGP):
i. Technical Standards and E-Governance Architecture
ii. Metadata and Data Standards for Application Domains
iii. Localisation and Language Technology Standards
iv. Network and Information Security Standards
v. Quality and Documentation Standards
National Informatics Centre (NIC) that had already taken major initiatives to
evolve an Interoperability Framework for all E-Governance applications
developed, has been entrusted with the responsibilities to:
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
6/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 6 - Version 1.0
?? Originate white papers on all desired standards to serve as
discussion papers for Working Groups to develop standards.
?? Act as a focal point for development of methodologies for
formulation of Standards.
1.2 Purpose and sc ope
The Technical Standards and E-Governance Architecture Working Group, that
will operate under the Apex Body, will be responsible for the definition of the
overall E-Governance architecture that provides for both current and future E-
Governance application needs. It will aim to define the technical standards and
specifications governing electronic information flow across the government sector
that cover interconnectivity, data integration, government electronic services
access and delivery mechanisms and content creation and management.
The Specific Terms of Reference of the Working Group is as follows:
i. Advise on development of required White Papers for discussion in
the Working Group to evolve standards;
ii. Evolve Standards;
iii. Manage interaction with similar initiatives and standards bodies
elsewhere in the world;iv. Nominate members on various International standards committees
and continuously strive towards key roles for India in such
international forums;
v. Define the scope of any deliverables, expected milestones, and the
process for the group participants to approve the release of these
deliverables (including publishing intermediate results);
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
7/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 7 - Version 1.0
vi. Determine any dependencies of other entities on the deliverables of
this group;
vii. Define the expected level of involvement by the members of the
Team (e.g., to track developments, write and edit technical reports,
etc);
viii. Must also include an estimate of the expected time commitment
from participants;
ix. Requirements that a quorum of group participants support any
formal decision of the group;
x. Change control of the Draft standard document and VersionManagement.
xi. Create a supporting framework for implementation and testing
xii. Setting timeline for the release of initial set of standards to the Apex
Body of Standards of DIT.
The Working Group will work in close cooperation with the other Standards
Working Groups.
1.3 Need for St andards and E-Governance Arch i t ec t ure
Present mode of systems development is largely based on proprietary standardsthat provide limited scope for information exchange and integration with othersystems.
Legacy systems need to be integrated with the present technologies withoutcompromising the information and data.
Technological advances makes it necessary to migrate to new systems andplatform, in which case locked in to a particular technology or platform happensmost often.
1.4 Objec t ives and de l iverab les
The main objectives within the scope of the Technical Standards and E-
Governance Architecture Working Group are:
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
8/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 8 - Version 1.0
i. To establish an agreed set of technical policies and standards for
achieving interoperability and coherence of ICT systems across E-
Governance applications.
ii. To evolve Standards and E-Governance architectures in conjunction with
other Working Groups that will take into account legacy applications.
iii. To ensure re-use across applications and services enablers.
iv. A single point reference to locate the required architecture and
specifications that should be followed for a specific project designed &
developed .It shall adhere to the approved specifications laid down.
v. By adopting the standards system designers can ensure interoperability
between systems while at the same time have the flexibility to select
different hardware, and systems and application software to implement
solutions.
The charter of the TSAEGA Group will be reviewed and updated annually or as
required by the Apex body.
1.5 Working Group Mem bership
One of the major steps in the approach towards ensuring interoperability is to
have partnership with the ICT industry. This will help to quickly adopt standards,
take advantage of emerging technologies and continued support. The
Architecture Group will have members from the academia, industry, solution
providers and the Government.
1.6 Work ing Group Meet ings
In addition to the TSAEGA Working Group face-to-face (F2F) meetings , it is
proposed to have interactions through video conferencing and conference calls.
These will be arranged between the regular meetings when needed.
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
9/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 9 - Version 1.0
A E-Governance Standards Portal will be developed for posting all the relevant
work of the Working Groups.
1.7 Standards Evo lu t ion
The Technical Standards and Architecture Group assures, through review, theadherence and consistency of standardization work. To achieve these goals, theTSAEGA Architecture Group may charter a number of sub-groups and organiseworkshops as required.
1.8 Requi rements
A E-Governance Standards Secretariat will be set up for arranging meetings,preparing meeting minutes and providing members.
The Group is a coordination and information-sharing group by nature.Participation is encouraged by all members and is required from the architecturesub-group chairperson(s) and the speakers of established task forces.
2 Techn ica l Standards and E-Governance
Arch i tec tu re
2.1 Tech nica l S tandards
While implementing the Interoperability Framework, the emphasis should
obviously be on interoperability. Standardization in technology and coordination
with Government decisions/legislations can achieve this. In general, adherence
to some prescribed guidelines and principles should result in a more efficient
Interoperability Framework.
The following guidelines and recommendations are considered appropriate to
use while selecting Standards:
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
10/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 10 - Version 1.0
General Requirements:
?? The cost should be low for usage.
?? It should be adopted on the basis of open decision-making process
?? No obstacle to use any version of the standard
?? Use of extensions of any adopted standards should not be allowed
Industry Standards: The specifications adopted should be either globally
recognized standards or existing de- facto industry-standards.
Open Standards: To the extent possible, select widely adopted open standards
in place of their propriety alternatives. Adoption of open standards cannot only
significantly contribute in achieving interoperability but can allow flexibility in the
selection of technology and solutions. It does not bind the user to a particular
vendor or technology. Compatibility with open standards should be one of the
major criterions for selection of software.
Vendor Neutral Products: The specifications adopted should be vendor neutral
as far as possible.
Limited Number of Specifications: For any Interoperability Domain, the
number of allowable specifications should be limited, as far as practicable and
without compromising the overall objective of interoperability, in order to minimize
the cost and complexity to support these specifications.
Alignment with Internet: The specifications should be aligned with Internet
standards as the Internet is a primary channel for delivering E-Government
services.
Global Initiatives: The specifications adopted should take due notice of similar
global initiatives, demonstrating good practices.
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
11/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 11 - Version 1.0
New versions: Versions of standards may need to be revised as new
functionality is introduced. Special attention should be paid to ensure backward
compatibility to minimize the impact of transition to a new version of a
specification, thereby facilitating continued interoperability.
Version Selection: The selected version by the user need not be the latest
available version; this is because the selected version may meet the functional
requirements.
2.2 e-Governance Arch i t ec t ure
2.2.1 Reusabi l i t y
A large number of E-Governance applications developed in isolation, resulted in
self-contained islands of information. Every application followed its own
standards with the main objective of delivering process-centric results
irrespective of other applications. Hence, at the outset there is a need for an
architecture that is aimed at reuse and customization.
Software reuse must become a key part in the software architecture. The
continuing need for speeding up the software development life cycle and
reducing the cost of development to manageable proportions exists in all large
software projects. Component ware Architecture enables efficient reuse of
existing application assets, faster deployment of new applications, and improved
responsiveness to changing business needs. Reusable software components are
the building blocks that make a system able to respond quickly to change.
Systematic techniques for reuse adoption must therefore be enabled. Planning
for reuse must begin at the architecture stage itself. In short it delivers the much
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
12/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 12 - Version 1.0
needed openness and flexibility. A central repository of reusable components
provides foundation to this concept.
2.2 .2 Midd leware and tec hno logy s tandards
There is a need to introduce the concept of middleware and technology
standards as a tool to develop integrable, scalable and robust E-Governance
solutions, while employing multiple solution providers. The middleware should
support processes involving multi-department and multi-agency workflows. For
this purpose, it is necessary that the different department offices and also
external agencies are interconnected and share the same underlying back-end
databases and applications. The middleware also should be able to facilitate
integration with legacy systems.
Middleware needs to provide services such as identification, authentication,
authorization, directories, and security to all applications. By promoting
standardization and interoperability, middleware will make advanced network
applications much easier to use. The key middleware components are (a) Web
Application Server, (b) Inter-application communication and messaging and
collaboration software (c) Language and data interchange standards.
2.2.3 Serv ice-Or ient ed Arc hi t ec t ure(SOA)
Service-Oriented Solutions: Applications must be developed as independent sets
of interacting services offering well-defined interfaces to their potential users.
Similarly, supporting technology must be available to allow application
developers to browse collections of services, select those of interest, and
assemble them to create the desired functionality.
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
13/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 13 - Version 1.0
A service is generally implemented as a coarse-grained, discoverable software
entity that exists as a single instance and interacts with applications and other
services through a loosely coupled (often asynchronous), message-based
communication model.
3. Management o f t he Standards Work ing Group
Management implies continuous monitoring of the development and
maintenance of Standards so that it responds to the change in technology or
other environment. The management process or mechanism involves:
?? Periodical review and update of the set of specifications that constitute the
Standards Tracking technology changes and makes appropriate changes in
the specifications.
?? Obtain feedback from the Government agencies and the end users in
respect of changing requirements and co-ordinate with the technology teams
working on the revision of specifications.
?? Advising on the development of policies, guidelines and procedures to
support the development and management of XML schemas for E-
Government.
Adherences to standards are central to the success of implementation and
adaptation of the framework and good E-Governance practices. Where
appropriate, adherence should be made mandatory for all Government
businesses and infrastructure development.
8/6/2019 Standards Technical App
14/14
NIC-WG5-EGOVSTDS-TSAEGA - 14 - Version 1.0
4. Road Map
All E-Government applications developed will have to have conformity with the
TSAEGA.
Institutioal Mechanisms to be evolved to enforce adherence to TSAEGA.
References
Interoperability Framework for E-Governance Technical Standards Version 1.0
brought out by NIC in 2004
SAGA Version 2.0
Glossary o f Term s
ICT Information and Communication Technology
NeGP National E-Governance Programme
SOA Services Oriented Architecture
TSAEGA Technical Standards and E-Governance
Architecture