The idea for this book developed long before the coining of the term ‘e- governance for development’. Indeed, it all started about twenty years ago when I first started my research on the role of ICT for development planning and administration in India. At that time, I was confronted by many important issues regarding the process of managing development programmes and providing welfare. In particular, I noted at that time how the management of development programmes involved a complex process of interaction between the implementing agency and the community involving numerous administrative, social, legal (regulatory) and political issues. These issues are as relevant now as they were then. However, many of the issues have been consistently sidelined over the years while a growing policy focus among the international development community and country governments towards new technological and managerial solutions to problems of development dominated discussion and policy formulation. My more recent field visits to India made me decide that the time was right for a book which unpacked the notion of e-governance from a developmental perspective given the lack of scholarly material in this area. This book addresses critical issues related to development and governance which are fundamental when implementing e-governance projects in rural India. While a lot of scholarly effort has accumulated regarding how to study he cost and service improvement impact of e-governance projects on citizens and implementing agencies, my approach has been different. I have purposefully decided to adopt an approach that is more grounded in the conditions faced by different rural poor groups. In this way, my study approach emulates the way in which both early and more contemporary sociology of development scholars favour ‘depth’ of analysis over time. Indeed, there are times when colleagues ask me whether I am ‘still’ carrying out research in rural India. To that, my reply has been that even a lifetime of research may not be enough to understand how societies develop and the role played by ICT in that process.