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Digitising a nation

Tech must be used to improve standards of basic education and healthcare

The BJP’s 2014 election manifesto made a bold promise to the people of India that the vast array of opportunities that proliferation of technology offers must reach all sections of Indian society.

In a nutshell, the promise was that technology would be used as a key enabler to deliver good governance and development for all and thus improve the lives of millions of Indians by providing digital empowerment and participative governance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government did not disappoint. Soon after coming to office, the new BJP-led government laid out an action plan of how this would be achieved in a pragmatic fashion by laying out three primary strands: digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen; governance and services on demand; and digital empowerment of citizens.

The ambitious smart cities project and the Make-in-India initiative are also part of this comprehensive vision of Digital India.

In his first Budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley and his team took forward the visionary manifesto and converted the broader plans into actionable Budget proposals.

The government committed $17 billion to ensure each and every village is connected to the information super highway along with plans to deliver digital literacy programmes structured around the needs of the people.

The Railway Budget too proposed providing Wi-Fi connectivity at train stations, on premium trains and “Office on Wheels.”

The Budget rightly focused on using technology to improve the dismal standards of basic education and healthcare to real India, Bharat, a vast majority of whom still lives in villages.

The use of telemedicine, virtual classrooms, open online courses and e-education can be the kick-starter to achieve size and scale to improve the primary healthcare network and basic education standards.

In addition, the creation of the new Integrated Office of Innovation and Technology will not only break departmental silos but also play an important role in effective delivery of services, monitoring performance, managing projects and improving governance.

However, Digital India is not just about delivering basic services instead, it is part of an integrated roadmap to transform India into a knowledge driven economic superpower with indigenous manufacturing and product development capabilities.

Hence, the Central government is now focused on developing an ecosystem that would make India a research and innovation hub through a nationwide district-level incubation and accelerator programme driving innovation from the ground up.

Leveraging existing postal and railway networks to deliver the fruits of digital commerce for consumers and local manufacturers is also envisioned in this grand plan.

Indians born and bred in India, educated in its premier institutions such as the IITs and IIMs along with a host of others, have been pioneers on foreign soil driving innovations that have benefitted the world.

Prime Minister Modi and his team now wish to create an environment where this highly regarded talent pool can use its talents at home and create world-beating products.

While software services would still be an important part of the Indian success story, the vision is why not look to host the next Google, Facebook and Apple of this world on Indian soil. With the right impetus, this can and will be achieved.

Arvind Gupta(@buzzindelhi) is an Innovation Evangelist, Eisenhower Fellow, currently heading the BJP’s National Information and Technology Group. The views expressed are personal.

( Source : dc )
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