Digital India
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| Image Courtesy - Govt Of India Website |
The Digital
India campaign was launched by the Government of India in 1st July
2015 under the leadership of PM Mr. Narendra Modi. Under the campaign,
government services are to be provided electronically through digital modes. It
thus aims to empower citizens by providing them with fast internet
connectivity. Further, it acts both as an enabler and a beneficiary for the
progress of other schemes like Make in India, Startup India, Bharatmala,
Atma-Nirbhar Bharat etc.
Under this scheme,
250,000 gram panchayats will be connected to the internet. Additionally -
facilities like digital locker, my government website, e-education,
scholarship, pension, ration card, PAN card, Aadhar card, e-insurance, e-health
have been made available so far.
Indeed, the idea is
unique and full of possibilities. With internet connectivity and people going
digital, the world gets smaller. It helps businesses to proliferate and people
can get the maximum benefits out of services. However, before we set such high
expectations, we need to look at the problems and challenges that can act as an
impediment to the process.
Let us take the example
of Education.
The COVID-19
pandemic threw challenges at the whole world. As soon as we realised that the
pandemic might take time to end, we went on to look for alternatives to bring
back life to normal. Where on one hand, offices opened up for the employees, on
the other hand, people feared for their children going to school. Therefore,
our education went completely online. Today, it has been almost 4 months since
children have been taking classes online. However, the shift from offline to online
has not been a cakewalk for the children or their parents.
Infrastructure: Many people could not
afford a smartphone for their children to study. The seriousness of the
situation came forth when stories were reported from around the nation. For
example, Kuldip Kumar, a man from
Himachal Pradesh, was forced to sell his cow, his only source of income, so
that he could buy a smartphone for his children. In another tragic event, a
16-year-old schoolgirl from Kerala committed suicide. This is because she did
not have a cell phone or TV for taking online classes.
Cost and Connectivity: Students suffered in
places where internet connectivity was not good. This includes rural villages
and also regions of Jammu and Kashmir where internet connectivity is still disrupted.
Further, opting for internet facilities is not everyone’s cup of tea. While the
rich and middle-class families can afford high-speed internet, the poor do not
have the privilege of the same.
Therefore,
the problems that our children faced during the pandemic, are a reflection of
the complications that arise at many levels.
According to
a report by The Economic Times, the past 5 years have shown the success of the
Digital India Campaign in the Banking sector. With schemes like Direct Benefit
Transfer (DBT) and Jandhan-Aadhar-Mobile initiative, the positive trajectory of
the sector is quite visible. However, when it comes to other sectors like
Education, Health and Business, we need to look at the problems of
infrastructure, cost and connectivity, to make sure that they can also reap the
maximum benefits for a smooth functioning and a promising future.
Automation and Digital Adoption-A Must for Indian
Organisations
As the world
starts to normalise, businesses will change their focus-from crisis, to recovery,
to growth and resiliency. In the coming months, organisations will re-think and
in many cases, re-invent, the way they run.
Efficiency,
agility, and the ability to innovate are going to be more important than ever
and automation will be central to helping organisations achieve these three
qualities. Automation takes repetitive, manual aspects out of routine finance
and administrative tasks, saving employees time so they can focus on meaningful
work. It also saves time for the finance team by eliminating paperwork and
detecting erroneous or fraudulent claims.
I am
thrilled at how much more effective automation is, at providing visibility and
control and driving compliance. Manual reporting processes are inherently
opaque − the lack of integration between systems makes it impossible to track
spending effectively, to manage regulatory compliance, or to enforce basic
policies.
Modern
automated solutions also come with digital and mobile functionalities, and
broader integration with the world's payment platforms, to boost employee
experience and satisfaction. All in all, Digital India initiative will be vital to
building a finance organisation that can truly support the business in
delivering value to customers, enabling it to become more resilient for the new Digital era.
As we look ahead, let’s change the game, and not have the
game change us.
1. Objectives of Digital India -
Broadband
reach to every village -
The main objective of
Digital India is to provide high-speed internet penetration to every village.
Dhani city in India and with its help to extend the benefits of government
schemes and other services to the people of all rural areas.
IT
employment -
With the Digital India
scheme, the works of government schemes will be online even in rural areas, so
new IT jobs will be created there, which will also provide employment to
students from rural areas. Like, in
Rajasthan, many people have got employment through the service of E-Mitra.
Bringing
awareness -
With internet access to
rural areas, people will be able to keep an eye on the activities going on in
the world, they will be able to read the latest news daily and they will be
able to take information about the subject which they do not know, which will
bring awareness to them and Will not be a victim of confusion and fraud.
To
provide phone facilities to all -
Even today, the
facility of phone has not been available to many backward rural and panchayat areas.
Under Digital India, the facility of calling will be made available to all
those rural areas so that the people there can also connect with the rest of the
world.
Promoting
digital currency -
High speed internet
will get a boost in rural areas as the people there will again use smartphones
and computers so that they will get to know the digital currency and this will
encourage more digital currency.
2. Benefits of Digital India -
Control over Corruption
The people of rural
areas will get the benefit of the phone because people there are often victims
of corruption. After all the work goes online under Digital India, taking
payments and other government functions will also go online, so that no officer
will be able to corruption.
Availability of Banking Services
Even today people from
rural areas have to stand in long queues of banks for depositing and
withdrawing money in banks and for other banking operations. With the access of
the Internet from Digital India to the village, people will also be able to
take advantage of online banking facilities.
Control over Black Marketing
Due to all government
and private work going online, there will be a decrease in bribery and black
marketing because it will pay through digital process, which will not make it
possible to do any kind of Bhojpuri or black market.
Education
to All-
With internet access to
rural areas, students of rural areas will also get to learn computer education
and they will also be able to get information about internet.At the same time,
they will not get to see and hear any education material from the Internet,
which will make their future even more intense. Due to this, rural students
will not have to go to cities and take education, they will also be able to do
higher studies by staying in the village.
Less lines and queue outside Government Offices.
Often work in
government departments is very slow due to which the people of rural areas are
keeping in line, due to this their work is interrupted and their employment is
also disrupted.
After the online
process, all government basic facilities will be required to deposit the bill,
get PAN card, ration card etc., etc., will not have to be put in the line of
government offices.
The growth of Country-
India is a village rich
country, so most of the people here live in rural areas, if there is access to
high speed internet, then the people will also be connected to the cities and
all the work will be faster so that the development of the country will double by
night. .
Villagers will not be victims of fraud -
Often the people of the
village are cheated by telling more of the value of an item, so having internet
access to every village, people will also be able to find out the value and
quality of every item, so that they will not be able to send any cheap and fake
item and They will avoid being a victim of fraud.
3. Key services of Digital India -
To expand the core
services of Digital India, the Government of India has emphasized the process
of linking this scheme with the Aadhaar card, after linking the data of all
Indian citizens with the Aadhaar card, all the benefits of all government and
non-governmental facilities are sitting at home. Will be able to lift
Ration card, PAN card,
election card, life insurance, gas cylinder, driving license can be applied
online for marriage under this scheme. Earlier, to take advantage of all the schemes,
government departments had to travel for months, but now you can do this work
sitting at home.
Under the Digital
India, all government functions have been made easy and accessible, now you can
avail banking facilities from home, anyone can pay online anywhere. Online
website can shop and goods can come from home.
Under Digital India
itself, the government has also provided the facility of DG Locker in which you
can keep all your government documents such as driving license, PAN card,
Aadhaar card, Voter ID etc. to get rid of the hassle of keeping them together
and lose them. There will be no fear of it.
Digital India aims to
provide the much needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas, namely
Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet
Access Programme, e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology,
e-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for All, Electronics
Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programmes. Each of these
areas is a complex programme in itself and cuts across multiple Ministries and
Departments.
4. Conclusion.
Schemes like Digital
India are very much needed for our India country because if the backward
regions are to be uplifted, then it is very important to have access to
education and internet there only then people will be able to become partners
in the development of India.
Digital India has made
basic government facilities accessible to Indian citizens. People from rural
areas will get more benefit from this. This scheme will play an important role
in digitalizing India.
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