Digitization Of India | Make in India
keywords – Digitization, Digital India, Make in India, Digitalization
Introduction
Digitization is defined as the socio-economic changeover that arose from the wide acceptance of digital technologies to produce, process and circulate information. Digitization is seen as a pivotal economic driver in many nations as it leads to growth of the economy and creates abundant job opportunities. Though digital technology and IT industry started functioning in full-fledged in India, the digital divide between those who are able to afford the technology and those who are not is creating huge economic disparities, which thereby affects the country’s overall economic growth.
In order to bridge this divide, the government of India initiated a campaign known as ‘Digital India‘. To ensure that all the citizens of India are benefited by the government services, made electronically available. This was done by improving the online infrastructure, increasing internet connectivity and making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, launched this initiative on 1 July 2015.
Digital India
This initiative is both an enabler and beneficiary of other Indian Government schemes which include Bharat Net, Make in India, Startup India, Standup India, industrial corridors, Bharatmala and Sagarnaga. The initiative includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks making Indians digitally advanced and conscious. The vision of Digital India program is inclusive growth in areas of electronic services, products, manufacturing and job opportunities.
The motto of the Digital India Mission is ‘Power to Empower’. There are three key components to build a clear, cooperative and responsive system of governance, they are : the development of secure and stable digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen, delivering government services digitally and universal digital literacy. Digital India aimed to reduce corruption, access the speed and availability of public sector services, provide an online portal for storage of documents and digital growth of the nation. Digitization helps to make India an insightful economy and provide quality governance to citizens through the organized and synchronized efforts of the entire Government.
The major objectives of this initiative are : to build a governance model and empower the country’s population digitally based on the electronic infrastructure, advance the implementation of the programs and policies effectively by facilitating E-governance in the nation, using electronic medium and online mode to bring citizens closer to government schemes, removing hassles of off-line delivery services, encouraging digital literacy among the mass, continuous interaction of people and state by promoting the concept of collaborative and participative governance, providing easy access to Common Service Centre services and making all digital resources universally accessible to everyone in the nation.
Benefits of Digitized India
Digitalisation elevates our country towards development and addresses gaps owing to physical infrastructure. The shift to digitalisation is leading to transparency and reach, where government services reach citizens in the remotest of locations. Thus, digital technology plays a critical role in ensuring adequate last mile delivery of services to citizens. India is one of the most digitally advanced countries universally as it has adopted Digitization in almost every living respects such as hospitality, healthcare, finance and tourism. India has depicted excellent management while going through a digital transformation. Trading, production and consumption activities have benefited greatly through a digitalised economy with the help of digital technologies. Business management, interaction between government and people and many other major and minor activities are possible through digitisation.
Digitalization of the India economy accompanies a modern, innovative and revolutionary era in India with considerable benefits. Digitization bridged the gaps between rural and urban areas, tapering the digital divide and bringing technology to even the country’s remotest parts. Digitized payment systems executing seamless money transactions for citizens is possible through digitalization. Digitization helps to develop public accountability by making information accessible within reach. Since India is an informal economy with many businesses handled in the unorganized sector, the digital India campaign helps to shape this informal economy into an organized sector and further network it to organize every sphere of the economy.
Make In India and Digitization
India is named as the second fastest digitalized economy among the world’s leading economies by the Country Digital Index, which measures a country’s digital adoption. India is yearning to be the head of vast global technology platforms enhanced by the country’s expanding digital proficiency, active private sector, affluent diplomatic history and entrepreneurial prospects. In order to maintain India’s leadership in the IT sector, digital technology needs to build efficient trade mechanisms, improve the performance of public services and deliver financial inclusion. The goal should be to fulfil a breakthrough digital key for solving India’s problems and make a diverse economy. Payments apps like GPay, Paytm, PhonePe based on UPI transaction systems, facilitate instantaneous and swift cash transactions.
Digital India, Make In India, Startup India and Aayushman Bharat are some of the initiatives introduced in manufacturing, healthcare and education sectors to boost India’s economy by generating a comprehensive and digitised environment. ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ brought new opportunities for the technological sector. The Digital India Initiatives include DigiLockers, E-Hospitals, E-pathshala, BHIM. The Advanced & Futuristic Digital Solutions aim to bring businesses of all types to be small, big or start-ups onto the digital medium for greater profits and exposure. Foreign companies started investing in India and set their plants for manufacturing products which are to be sold in the country and to be exported. Development gained in the fields of technology, collaboration, connectivity tools as well as changes in management practice sensitively affect everyday life, indicating the significance of Digitization in every individual’s life.
Challenges to Digitalization
One of the basic challenges to Digitization is the lack of access to digital technology, especially in rural areas. The corresponding absence of knowledge about its use is another major challenge to be mastered .Many regions in India lack basic educational facilities which hinders the possibilities of digitalization. Though mobile phones and internet accessibility are readily available in the major cities and towns in India, there are areas where these facilities are non-existent, especially in the remote rural areas. Thus, more awareness and financing are to be committed to the advancement of India’s digital infrastructure.
Another hurdle to be faced for the flourishing execution of digitization is that government officials in charge of e-governance are not well trained or equipped. It is apparent that some e-governance projects accomplish big gains in some parts of India, although they entirely cease to function in other regions. Special care should be given regarding privacy, data security and data protection. Companies delay their investment in the digitization process because there are areas that need to be amended in terms of tax reliefs and inflexible guidelines. Low availability of electricity in the rural areas intimidates the growth of digital technology. The mission of making Smart Cities will promote the real estate industry, the construction, the steel and concrete industry as well as the infrastructure sector.
Conclusion
The research studies conducted manifested that Digitization is exceptional on a nation’s economic growth. India can take inspiration from the series set up by the developed countries for digitalization by grasping knowledge from their best practices, markets and mature technologies. This can hasten the performance of digitalization with much acceleration. The major challenge is to move forward at the same pace, promoting suitable technologies from time to time to determine the influence of mass adoption of digital technologies on the economies and societies government effectiveness.
India’s digital initiatives so far remodeled the socio-economic lifestyle of people and will only increase in the future. It is predicted that by 2025 India could see a fivefold increase in economic values through digital transformations by providing opportunities for global and local level businesses, start-ups, innovators to invest in emerging technologies (blockchain, AI, Drones) in ways that are customized to fulfil the country’s goals and needs. India is then guided to a safer, easy, digitalized, modern and futuristic lifestyle. The Indian digitized economy will proceed to robust growth and flourish in the upcoming years, completing more milestones and putting on further achievements to its list.
Written By: Ruby Sebastian
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