4- The Practice of Digital India- The Role of Digital India
The Role of Digital India
Digital India is most dynamic force that is shaping the present and future of India and its population. It is setting up processes and technologies in place for inclusive growth of every citizen. No project to in Indian history was so deep in dream and so real in deed. Not that earlier India did not take up projects or initiative to help its citizens. In fact numerous irrigation projects, power generation projects, road construction or building railway lines have been taken in past.
But all those projects reflect the that nature of technologies available at the time of taking up those projects. Most of the projects were physical in nature. For that reason they were constrained in terms of resources, reach, locality and benefits gained. For example even the biggest irrigation project irrigated lands that looked very large in absolute numbers, but were very small compared to the total area of the country to be irrigated, thousands of miles roads and railway lines were built , still many parts of country were not connected well. Many branches of banks , hospitals, bus stops and numerous infrastructure facilities were built over the years. However citizens were under- served in basic facilities because India was never capable of building infrastructure for such a huge country with limited resources. Added to this was the exponential population growth which made even available infrastructure look meager and population was always undeserved. Catching up with growing infrastructure demands and meeting them physically was not at all possible.
But all those projects reflect the that nature of technologies available at the time of taking up those projects. Most of the projects were physical in nature. For that reason they were constrained in terms of resources, reach, locality and benefits gained. For example even the biggest irrigation project irrigated lands that looked very large in absolute numbers, but were very small compared to the total area of the country to be irrigated, thousands of miles roads and railway lines were built , still many parts of country were not connected well. Many branches of banks , hospitals, bus stops and numerous infrastructure facilities were built over the years. However citizens were under- served in basic facilities because India was never capable of building infrastructure for such a huge country with limited resources. Added to this was the exponential population growth which made even available infrastructure look meager and population was always undeserved. Catching up with growing infrastructure demands and meeting them physically was not at all possible.
Now times have changed. New technologies have come. They have changed the nature of problems and have offered new kind of solutions. For instance the Indian government was never able to produce enough telephones to provide them to every demanding citizen. However mobile phones based on digital technologies have made it possible for most Indian to own a phone. This is an illustration of the power of digital technology offering great a new, cost-effective solution that is affordable by most Indians.
Digital India is all about putting digital infrastructure to serve every citizen. It ensures that all citizen services are delivered electronically and every nook and corner of the country is connected through robust Internet. The resulting digital India will become a new platform for government to offer services efficiently.