Digital India: The Building Blocks for a Better India

Over the weekend I saw the proceedings of Network 18’s Rising India Summit on TV.  The very title of the Summit intrigued me; what does Rising India mean? Is it in terms of GDP, literacy rate, the Make in India initiative, gender equality, transitioning toward a Digital India, or a combination of all these? I wondered. I listened to the debates and discussions by newsmakers, global statesmen and analysts to understand the title in the context of the India growth story. It was like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, in which a population of 1.3 billion people at different socio-economic levels are involved, and the government is trying to write the script for a better India.  

At the inaugural address, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rising India means “moving from darkness to light” – from where we were to a better future; it is the rise of the country’s self-respect and its united willpower to forge ahead. Under the new dispensation, the common people lead and the government follows. He cited the Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India) and digital payments as examples where citizens led positive change.  Another speaker said that India is continuously marching forward; but with every positive step there are two negative fallouts – still, India is rising.  India joined the digital bandwagon only recently, so this transition has seen some hiccups along the way.

Transitioning to a Digital India

Digital India was launched in July 2015 by the Government of India with the aim to achieve three interconnected goals:

• Availability of high speed internet to each and every citizen
• To make all government services accessible to the common man through e-governance
• Digital empowerment of citizens

This initiative is intended to reach out to citizens in the remotest of locations and make them a part of India’s growth story. Since technology is a key driver in causing disruptive change, digital tools will empower citizens and prove to be a game changer; the objective is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Digital India provides the much-needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas:

The question is: where are we on this journey? Digital India is a visionary program with a huge potential for technology-led transformation of the country. However, sustaining the program and achieving its vision require concerted efforts by all the stakeholders. In the last 3-4 years, the government has introduced various measures, such as demonetization, income declaration scheme, measures to promote digitalization to weed out black money, introduction of GST (goods and services tax) etc; and these seem to have given the desired results.  But, in my opinion, too many structural reforms imposed at the same time can cause chaos at multiple levels – because it takes time to understand and implement new regulatory procedures.  

Digital India – The Building Blocks for a Rising India

The Summit comes soon after India’s recent Budget announcement, which has doubled the allocation for the Digital India program. Industry experts have welcomed this proposal as it can transform the business landscape. The government is committed to improving accessibility across the country, connecting the whole nation, and boosting industrial growth. E-commerce will also gain traction. Further, the proposal on the use of blockchain technology to ensure credibility and safety of digital transactions, will certainly encourage the transition to a digital economy. The focus on promoting machine learning and artificial intelligence will accelerate the country’s position as a global hub for technological skills and capabilities.

A few highlights:

• NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India Commission) – the policy think tank of the government - will initiate a national program to direct efforts in artificial intelligence (AI).
• Department of Science & Technology will launch a mission on Cyber Physical Systems to support establishment of centers of excellence for research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, Big Data analytics, and the internet of things (IoT). These centers of excellence will also focus on cyber technologies and build solutions which embed security and privacy by design.
• 500, 000 Wi-Fi hotspots to provide net connectivity to rural areas.

The Budget, the recent Rising India Summit and such other conferences are positive indicators of India’s growth story. We are at the cusp of exponential growth – we hold the right cards, but we must play the game right.