With the aim of transforming India into a digitally empowered society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a journey towards universal connectivity through one of his flagship schemes, mission Digital India. The project is close to his heart, it has been widely reported, and he is leaving no stone unturned to pitch the initiative at world forums. On his recent trip to the Silicon Valley where he happened to meet tech czars, Modi found vehement support for his Digital India pitch after ‘mesmerising’ global tech leaders.
But what exactly is this Digital India initiative that has not just the whole country aflutter but also has giant foreign corporates and governments alike sit up and take notice? Simply put, this happens to be the Modi government’s attempt to empower the citizens of the country, location or socioeconomics notwithstanding, by extending government services with the help of information technology and its tools. So, it’s an attempt to connect the digitally disenfranchised. This, Modi stated, would bring in investment, create jobs, bridge the digital divide and create a participative, transparent and responsive government. According to the official website, Digital India has three core components: The creation of digital infrastructure, delivering services digitally and digital literacy. Mind you, this is an ambitious project at 1.13 lakh crore with gargantuan hurdles.
This story is from the October 10 2015 edition of Tehelka.
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This story is from the October 10 2015 edition of Tehelka.
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