Digital India (DI) is an initiative by the Government of India to make sure that government services are catered to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by enhancing internet connectivity.
Objective
Digital India has the objective of connecting rural areas with high-speed internet networks and improving digital literacy. The custodian of the Digital India project is the Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) that is in charge of executive National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project. The scheme has three kernel components: the creation of digital infrastructure; delivering services digitally; and digital literacy.
Pillars of Digital India
Indian Government intends to secure growth on multiple fronts with the digital India programme. The Government specifically, intends to target nine Pillars of Digital India that are identified as Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity; Broadband Highways; Public Internet Access Programme; e-Governance- Reforming Government through Technology; eKranti – Electronic delivery of Services; information for all; Electronic Manufacturing; IT for Jobs; and Early Harvest Programme.
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Projects and Initiatives
The Government is busy preparing a roadmap to form 28,000 seats of BPOs in different states and establish at least one Common Service Centre in each of the Gram Panchayats in the State.
On 27 February, 2016, the Government of India came up with a proposal that it was going set-up National Institute of Electronics and Information and Technology (NIELIT) to cater computer training to youth and along with this a Software Technology park of India (STPI) would also be established.
The 2016 Central Budget of India announced 11 Technology initiatives consisting of the use of data analytics to get hold of tax evaders, making a substantial opportunity for IT firms to create the system that would be needed.
Digital Literacy mission is going to cover six crore rural household. There is a plan to connect 550 formers’ markets in the country through the use of the technology.
Support and Partnership in DI
At the launching ceremony of Digital India Weak, top CEOs from India and abroad made a commitment to invest Rs. 4.5 lakh crore (US $ 67 billion) to this initiative. These investments, according to the CEOs, would be utilized for making smart phones and internet devices at an affordable price in India that would not only help in generating jobs in India but would also assist in reducing the cost of importing them from abroad.
Giants from silicon Valley, San Jose, California assumed their assistance for Digital India during the PM Narendra Modi’s visit in September, 2015. Mark Zuckerberg, Face-book’s CEO, changed his profile picture in support of Digital India and initiated a chain on facebook and made a promise to work on Wi-Fi Hotspots in rural area of India.
Google committed to cater broadband connectivity on 500 railway stations in India. Microsoft took a vow to cater broadband connectivity to five hundred thousand (five lakh) villages in India and make India its cloud hub through India data centres.
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Services under DI
Some of the facilities, going to be catered through the initiative of Digital India, include: Digital Locker, e-education, e-health, e-sign and national scholarship portal. Indian Government has also decided to initiate Botnet cleaning centres as a port of Digital India Project.
Digital Locker
Digital Locker is one of the most-important initiatives under the Digital India Project/Programme. It is intended to minimize the usage of physical documents and enable sharing of e-documents across agencies.
The sharing of the e-documents, with the help of this Portal of DI is going to be done through registered repositories. This will, therefore, make sure the authenticity of the documents online.
Residents too can upload their own electronic documents and digitally sign them using the e-sign facility. These digitally signed documents can be shared with Government organizations and other entities as well.
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