My mother says television was a dream for her in 80s. I still remember mobile phone was a dream for me in late 90s. But now a days I do video chat with my parents through my mobile phone, being thousands of miles away from them. Today, Video chat is no more a surprise for them. This is how we have been moving towards connectivity for last few years, this is how the world has shortened just like never before, this is how the whole analog world is kidnapped by digital devices, and this is how Information Technology has encouraged us to set a goal for the vision of Digital India. An India where all the villages would be connected through internet, all the services in the country would be e-Governed, and e-Education would make us the most literate country in the world.
India is moving towards a great vision: where a farmer in a village can get the information about the right pesticide right there in his mobile inbox; where a school won’t be the only destination for education but e-Education would facilitate 24×7 learning space; where a patient in a core village can get the information about the medicine in his/her mobile if the doctor is not available nearby; and where a person at any corner of India can log on a complain in a centralized portal and get back his/her right.
This is what e-Governance is and all these can be possible with the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The technical knowledge needed to provide e-Governance has been already achieved. But the main challenges are to set a proper plan and the need of man power and infrastructure to execute the plan. Spreading awareness among the village people and to make them technology friendly are other big challenges.
Our beloved Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seen the dream of complete Digital India by 2019. We all are ready to welcome the smart country. Modi Cabinet has approved Rs. 1 lakh crore Digital India Project [Source].
Many leading companies have stretched their helping hands to convert this dream into a reality. “Intel India will work with the Indian government to create digital literates across 1,000 panchayats, a move that will impact five million citizens by the end of 2015. As part of its ‘Digital Skills for India’ programme, Intel India has unveiled a digital skills training application, which includes modules on digital literacy, financial inclusion, healthcare and cleanliness in 5 Indian languages. The app will be available free on Android Play Store from December 6 in Hindi, English, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada.” [Source]
Intel® Easy Steps Program, Intel Learn Program, Intel Computer Clubhouse Network are different initiatives taken by Intel under Intel Asia Pacific Social Responsibility for Digital Literacy and Community Empowerment [Source].
As a proud citizen of India, I am also eager to welcome the Smart Digital India like others. I hope India would be digital and would draw the actual benefit from it without losing the empathy, care and respect for each other.
This article has been written to promote the #DigitalIndia initiative.