2. Introduction
Digital India is an umbrella Programme based on technology with a vision to transform India to a
digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. To realize the objectives, the Programme
has established an ecosystem comprised of several Ministries and government departments,
initiatives which are coordinated by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(DeitY).
Digital India was launched by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 1 July 2015 with an
objective of connecting rural areas with high-speed Internet networks and improving digital literacy.
The vision of Digital India Programme is inclusive growth in areas of electronic services, products,
manufacturing and job opportunities etc.
The following are the objectives-
Providing digital infrastructure as a source of utility to every citizen.
Governance and services on demand.
To look after the digital empowerment of every citizen.
3. Objectives of the Study
Scope of digital India
Aims of the vision of digital India initiative
Approach of digital India
Program Management Structure
Nine pillars of digital India
Policy initiatives
Key Projects of digital India and Key factors affecting Digital Entrepreneurship
Opportunities of digital India for entrepreneurs
Impact of digital India
Challenges of digital India
Future of digital India
Suggestions
4. Methodology & Scope of digital India
To prepare India for a knowledge future
Making technology central to enabling change
Nine pillars of digital India
Broadband Highways
Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
Public Internet Access Programme
e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology
e-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services
Information for all
Electronics Manufacturing
IT for Jobs
Early Harvest Programme
7. Program Management Structure of Digital
India
The Programme management structure for Digital India consists of a Monitoring Committee on
Digital India headed by the Prime Minister, a Digital India Advisory Group chaired by the Minister of
Communications & IT and an Apex Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
9. Social impact
Modern ICT makes it easier for people to obtain access to services and resources.
The penetration of mobile devices are highly useful have an enormous impact on the quality of
life of the users and lead to social modernization.
Digital Technologies which include Cloud Computing (the practice of using a network of remote
servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a
personal computer) and Mobile Applications have emerged as catalysts for rapid economic
growth and citizen empowerment.
Digital technologies are being increasingly used by us in everyday lives from retail stores to
government offices. They help us to connect with each other and also to share information on
issues and concerns faced by us.
10. Environmental impact
Telepresence helps in creating a virtual environment for face to face conversations and minimizes
the need for travel.
Flexible work environment where work from home and bring-your-own- device (BYOD) are
permitted, can significantly reduce their carbon footprint and operational costs by not only
reducing the electronic waste in the form of laptops, desktops, etc. but also by reducing the need
of large fixed office space for businesses.
Digital media for paper intensive services such as governance, ticketing, newspaper, etc. could
not only result in efficient delivery of services but at the same time would lower the use of paper,
thus preventing deforestation.
11. Other Impacts
Seamlessly integrated services across departments or jurisdictions.
Availability of services in real time from online & mobile platforms.
Digitally transformed services for improving ease of doing business.
Making financial transactions electronic & cashless.
Leveraging Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) for decision support systems & development.
Reduces paper work by minimizing the usage of physical documents as well as enabling e-
sharing through registered repositories.
It makes possible for people to submit their documents and certificates online from anywhere
which reduces physical work.
12. Challenges of digital India
Speed: The technology is growing at a tremendous speed. Keeping up with this speed, it is
becoming increasingly difficult as factors like globalization, changing stakeholder exp
Global Competition: Increasing market demands for continuous improvement, and integration of
various disciplines like content, graphics, technology, services, relationships, etc. all together has
led to increased global competition which is difficult to cope up with without having the right
skill-set and appropriate technology at the right time. There is an underlying need for constant
innovation for all netpreneurs, without which they face the threat of extinction or being out
casted by competitionectations and increasing customer demands add to the complexity of the
issue.
Time overrun: National Optical Fibre Network(NOFN) project which is the back bone of the
Digital India project has been delayed several times and is suffering time overrun. The delayed
project may lead to delay in other dependent projects and meeting the budget limit will be
difficult.
13. Challenges of digital India
Lack of coordination among departments: It is an umbrella project involving participation of several
departments and demanding commitment & effort. Hence, strong leadership and timely support of all
the involved entities will play a vital role.
Poor private participation: To achieve timely completion of the projects extensive private participation is
necessary. The private participation in the government projects in India is poor because of long and
complex regulatory processes.
Infrastructure: Though the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) project is aiming to build a nationwide
high speed broadband by the end of the year 2016 - 17 there are other supporting infrastructure
deficits, such as lack of robust and large data centers to hold the data of entire country. In addition, the
last mile connectivity and the physical infrastructure at customer premises are unaffordable by most of
the rural Indians. Infrastructure fulfillment is necessary with the NOFN project.
Cyber Security: According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report there is rapid increase in
cybercrime in India by 50% from 2012 to 2013. There have been several incidences of cybercrime on
corporate and individual level in the past few years. Putting the data of 1.2 billion people on the cloud
could be risky and could threaten the security of individuals and the nation. Hence, the Digital India
project demands very strong network security at all levels of operation.
14. Future of digital India
Digital India is a Programme to transform India into a digitally empowered society and
knowledge economy. According to analysts, the Digital India plan could boost GDP up to $1
trillion by 2025.
Empower citizens of India with data and information that is available with government across all
departments. Information to be digitized with government services that are accessible online
anytime, anywhere on any device.
Over 2.5 lakh educational institutions including schools and universities will have Wi-Fi facility.
India will become a world leader in IT interface with e governance and e-services getting
maximum exposure. Indian firms will gain internationally with their expertise in IT use in services
like health, education and banking.
15. Suggestions
Provide adequate spectrum at reasonable prices: A clear road-map of spectrum availability with a
rational pricing structure needs to be developed.
Rationalize taxes and levies: Taxes and levies on telecom services should be rationalized to ensure
overall growth and financial viability of the sector.
Provide uniform policies for deploying telecom infrastructure: There should be uniform Right of Way
(RoW) policy across all states with a uniform and reasonable cost structure. Moreover, a single window
mechanism should be provided for granting RoW permissions. Also, the private sector needs to be
incentivized to provide last mile connectivity in rural areas.
Establish robust standards for security and privacy: Clear rules relating to security standards should be
set to help reduce uncertainty for equipment providers, and service providers. The Government,
industry and related global standards bodies should coordinate to establish protocols for
standardization, interoperability and performance of connected devices.
16. To be continued..
Internet Penetration, Internet Commerce, Internet Advertising: In Internet penetration we are about
seven years behind China. Hence, it is suggested to strengthen the internet services in India. E-
Commerce: It is still in nascent stage in India, hence it is to be strengthened.
Electronics Manufacturing Hub: The intention of government is to bring down net electronics imports
to zero by 2020, from about $100 billion now, a move which will help the country control its current-
account deficit. As things stand, net annual electronics imports could rise to $400 billion by 2021,
outgrowing oil imports. “The PM is absolutely focused on making India the manufacturing hub and we
see massive potential in electronic manufacturing," It should become reality.
Make Language Independent for Digital India: Another area of focus for Google as a part of
supporting the Digital India initiative is to build the non-English internet user base. Hence, along with
English, Indian languages to build the non-English internet so that internet becomes very helpful.
17. Conclusion
There has been a huge shift in technological trends across the globe and as a result, the world is
witnessing a rapidly growing digital economy. Easy access and availability of information and
communication technologies such as cloud computing, mobile solutions, growth of social media and
data analytics has increased the range of new business opportunities for the entrepreneurs. These
technologies are influential tools which hold the power to reshape entire industries, reduce entry
barriers, redefine value chains, increase market intelligence and provide opportunities for growth
and innovation. If exploited correctly, these technologies hold enormous potential to create vast
business value for the budding entrepreneurs. Increased usage of advanced digital technologies by
new business enterprises can accelerate growth and increase employment opportunities as there is
enormous scope of innovation in this sector. Hence, there is a huge underlying potential for digital
India to grow.
