What is Digital India Concept?
Table of Contents
Digital India Programme
The Digital India programme is a flagship programme of the Government of India with a vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
About India:
India
Country in South Asia
India is a vast South Asian country with diverse terrain – from Himalayan peaks to Indian Ocean coastline – and history reaching back 5 millennia. In the north, Mughal Empire landmarks include Delhi’s Red Fort complex, massive Jama Masjid mosque and Agra’s iconic Taj Mahal mausoleum. Pilgrims bathe in the Ganges in Varanasi, and Rishikesh is a yoga center and base for Himalayan trekking.
Related statistics
Population elsewhere
|
Current Population of India in 2015 | 1,288,641,866 (1.28 billion) As of Oct 28, 2015 |
Total Male Population in India | 665,454,659 (665 million) |
Total Female Population in India | 623,187,206 (623 million) |
Sex Ratio | 943 females per 1,000 males |
Age structure | |
0 to 25 years | 50% of India’s current population |
Currently, there are about 51 births in India in a minute. |
Here is what the government of India aims to achieve through Digital India initiative.
What is Digital India Concept?
1. Infrastructure: The Digital India initiative has a vision to provide high speed internet services to its citizens in all gram panchayats. Bank accounts will be given priority at individual level. People will be provided with safe and secure cyber space in the country.
2. Governance and services: Government services will be available online where citizens will be ensured easy access to it. Transactions will be made easy through electronic medium.
3. Digital empowerment of citizens: This is one of the most important factor of the Digital India initiative to provide universal digital literacy and make digital sources easily accessible. The services are also provided in Indian languages for active participation.
9 major projects under the initiative:
1. Manufacturing of electronics: The government is focusing on zero imports of electronics. In order to achieve this, the government aims to put up smart energy meters, micro ATMs, mobile, consumer and medical electronics.
2. Provide public access to internet: The government aims to provide internet services to 2.5 lakh villages which comprises of one in every panchayat by March 2017 and 1.5 lakh post offices in the next two years. These post offices will become Multi-Service centres for the people.
3. Highways to have broadband services: Government aims to lay national optical fibre network in all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats. Broadband for the rural will be laid by December 2016 and broadband for all urban will mandate communication infrastructure in new urban development and buildings. By March 2017, the government aims to provide nationwide information infrastructure.
4. Easy access to mobile connectivity: The government is taking steps to ensure that by 2018 all villages are covered through mobile connectivity. The aim is to increase network penetration and cover gaps in all 44,000 villages.
5. e-Governance: The government aims to improve processes and delivery of services through e-Governance with UIDAI, payment gateway, EDI and mobile platforms. School certificates, voter ID cards will be provided online. This aims for a faster examination of data.
6. IT Training for Jobs: The government aims to train around 1 crore students from small towns and villages for IT sector by 2020. Setting up of BPO sectors in North eastern states is also part of the agenda.
7. e-Kranti: This service aims to deliver electronic services to people which deals with health, education, farmers, justice, security and financial inclusion.
8. Global Information: Hosting data online and engaging social media platforms for governance is the aim of the government. Information is also easily available for the citizens. MyGov: A Platform for Citizen Engagement towards Good Governance in India is a website launched by the government for a 2-way communication between citizens and the government. People can send in their suggestions and comment on various issues raised by the government, like net neutrality.
9. Early harvest programs: Government plans to set up Wi-fi facilities in all universities across the country. Email will be made the primary mode of communication. Aadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System will be deployed in all central government offices where recording of attendance will be made online.
Digital India will be vast in scale, and ambitious in its aims in true Modi style. India’s top businessmen committed Rs 4.5 lakh crore to build various parts of the program, expected to generate 18 lakh jobs. Modi hopes to reduce corruption in government services by making most of that available online.
So what exactly will Digital India do with such colossal investments? Here are seven things you need to know about it:
1. Broadband Highways: Modi has said that India is suffering from digital divide – meaning there are millions of people who do no have access to broadband and the opportunities it presents – and that needs to be bridged. Broadband highways will be routes through which internet connectivity will reach 2,50,000 gram panchayats by December 2016. Reliance Jio’s 4G plans will also figure in this ambitious programme, which will make for a National Fibre Optic Network by 2016.
2. Digital Locker: This online locker will be able to store all documents issued to you by the government, and will require an Aadhar card as identification for the first time. After that you will be able to set your own password and even link it with a Google or Facebook account. Services such as passport applications might become fully online when the relevant authorities are able to access your verified documents online. You won’t be required to go to a government office with a folder full of documents.
3. Mobile connectivity: Over 42,000 villages will have seamless mobile connectivity by 2018. This will require Rs 20,000 crore worth of investment, and companies such as Airtel, Idea and Reliance will all play a role along with state-owned BSNL and MTNL.
4. e-Kranti: This is perhaps the biggest program within Digital India, and focusses on a mobile-first approach. That means integrating public programmes on single portals, and using technology for their implementation and for public grievance system when they don’t work well. The government will also fast track approvals using IT, and mandate standards and protocols for software and hardware. A National Cyber Security Co-ordination Centre will be set up to combat cyber attacks, which have the potential to disrupt large parts of Digital India. Major IT companies such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys are expected to work on projects to make this possible.
5. Jobs: Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centres will be set up in states that have lagged in development, such as the North-Eastern states and rural areas. One crore students will be trained in smaller towns and cities in five years, to develop a skilled workforce for such BPOs and the IT sector. Telecom service providers have agreed to train 5 lakh people in smaller towns to work in their projects.
6. Manufacturing: Digital India seeks to spur electronics manufacturing to the extent that there would be net zero imports — that is exports will equal imports — by 2020.
7. MyGov: This website crowdsources ideas from the public for design of programmes such as better traffic management, using big data for making cities smarter, and even for the PMO’s mobile app among many others. The idea is to start new programmes in consultation with informed citizens for better implementation.
Global investors like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Elon Musk have supported Modi’s Digital India initiative.
Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella intends to become India’s partner in the Digital India program. He said that his company will set up low cost broadband technology services to 5 lakh villages across the country.
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google said that India will play a big part in driving technology forward in future which will improve people’s lives in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed keen interest and wanted to use Tesla Motors’ power wall technology which will store electricity in a battery for a long term.