Digital India Initiative

What is it?  

It has long been Modi’s dream to serve India via e- governance. The Digital India initiative aims to connect rural regions and remote villages ensuring that they too have high-speed Internet services. With this ambitious project, villagers will not have to travel long distances to the concerned departments. 

The Digital India programme is a transformed version of the already running National e-Governance Plan. The project aims to provide thrust to nine pillars identified as growth areas. These pillars include - broadband highways, everywhere mobile connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, e-Governance, e-Kranti (which aims to give electronic delivery of services), information for all, electronics manufacturing, IT for Jobs and early harvest programmes. The project is expected to be completed by 2019. 

Budget  

The Union Cabinet has approved the Digital India project, which has a total overlay of Rs 1 lakh crore. Among the multiple projects that come under the Digital India initiative, the national broadband plan will cost the most with Rs 500 crore allocated for it.  

The national information infrastructure will provide all necessary e-governance services at a cost of Rs.15, 686 crore and be ready by March 2017. The plan will also ensure universal access to mobile phones to 42,311 villages in the country that are still unconnected by June 2015 at a cost of Rs.16, 000 crore.  

The plan also talks of creating five new electronic manufacturing clusters in the next five years. The plan will also create skill development centres to produce a workforce of 400,000 for the electronics sector in the next five years at a cost of Rs.575 core.  

Monitoring: 

The plan will be monitored ensure smooth implementation including the ministers of finance, communications, rural development, human resources development and health as members under Narendra Modi’s chairmanship. 

The new posts of 'Chief Information Officers' (CIO) would be created. Besides, a Digital India Advisory Group (DIAG) would also be created. It will supervise the implementation of the programme and advise the government on policy issues for accelerating the implementation of Digital India Programme.  

Digital India Advisory Group 

Digital India Advisory Group will be formed and will be chaired by the Minister of Communications and IT. There will be an Apex Committee which will be chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) or Committee on Non Plan Expenditure (CNE). 

Advantages: 

Digital India aims to bringing existing initiatives such as the Ebiz project, E-kranti, virtual classroom, e-visas and the National Optical Fibre Network project under a single umbrella. Government is also planning to enhance mobile connectivity in areas affected by left-wing extremism. When implemented Digital India will connect 2.5 lakh villages by broadband and phones, decrease import of telecom imports to zero and create 1.7 crore direct and 8.5 crore indirect jobs.  

Citizens will be able to easily access government services in real time on mobile phones and online, in Indian languages. Department of Telecom is planning to make Wi-Fi hot spots in cities with population of over 10 lakh and in tourist centers under the Digital India program. 

Silicon Valley Players: 

US technology giants are eager to get involved in Digital India and Smart Cities projects. U.S.-based global technology giant IBM expressed keen interest to participate in the initiative. 

After Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg is the third CEO of an internationally known corporation who has visited India. The queue of American technology giants seeking to collaborate in the Digital India drive reflects the growing confidence in investor sentiment in India. Amazon, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and eBay have also shown interest to expand their operations in the e-commerce space and participate in the government’s ‘Digital India’ programme. 

Why digital India? 

As a rapidly modernising India embarks on a drive to move governance online, bridging the so-called digital divide is essential. 

In two years, 150,000 post offices will be transformed into multi-utility centres (providing a range of government services, banking for instance, and not just postal services). Some 250,000 government schools will get broadband and free Wi-Fi and all schoolbooks will have e-versions. 

For the government, the digital push could bring immediate benefits in terms of cost savings in delivery of public services. The digital drive is also integral to the government’s plan to create 100 smart cities. Under the plan, all cities with a population of more than a million will get public Wi-Fi hotspots. All government communication will move to a universal secure email client. 

Conclusion: 

Prime Minister Modi is certainly right in prioritising Internet access and digital infrastructure but running a race without knowing the finishing line is a losing game. The idea of Internet penetration is one to be hailed. This initiative is widely welcomed since the government is working towards it but is this really the need at the moment? Is internet penetration the answer to the million problems that grips this country? These are some questions that need to be answered.