One should not forget that Digital India is not just a toy for the rich and the information savvy but will be truly transformational only if every Indian uses digital power and sees the benefits
The impact of Digital India was really felt when the sharp blade of demonetisation made every Indian to find an alternative for cash. Today words like BHIM, Aadhar Payments and Cashless Economy have become part of everyday conversation and there is a real opportunity to understand what Digital can and will mean for us in the years to come.
At the very least, Digital India will provide the glue called Bharatnet, or a massive network of optical fibre and Wi-Fi that enables each person and institution to be connected through multiple devices-computers tablets and phones-providing the ability to access and exchange data at high speed. When fully delivered, Digital India will prove to be one of the great equalisers, removing all asymmetry of information and opportunity and creating a true spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity for a billion Indians.
My favourite example will make this clear. When Prime Minister Modi launched the National Digital Literacy Mission from Morabadi, Ranchi over two years ago, even he would not have imagined the inexorable forces of change it would let loose. Eagerly adopted by the Common Service Centres of the Ministry of Electronics and IT in Rural India and by NASSCOM Foundation in the cities, with Pune City Connect and the Pune Municipal Corporation choosing Digital Pune 2020 as one of its key agendas for Smart City Transformation, the NDLM scheme has morphed into a comprehensive Digital and Financial Literacy (DigiDhan) nation-wide movement. Our early rural implementations was in Sudumbre village near Pune, where we expected the youth of the village to be the first adopters of Digital Literacy. Contrary to this, elderly women of the village took to the training like ducks to water. In a chat with us when we visited the village, one of them gleefully pointed out that the digital capability enabled her to call the bluff of many suitors for her granddaughter, who providing misleading information about their land holdings, which she could challenge by diving into the internet. If this is not information asymmetry addressed, what is?
When fully delivered, Digital India will prove to be one of the great equalisers, removing all asymmetry of information and opportunity and creating a true spirit of liberty, equality and fraternity
But a truly digitally transformed company will go beyond such simple anecdotes to make enormous change in the country. The early business to consumer experiments like OLA and Flipkart following the global success stories of Amazon and Uber have demonstrated that given the power of information and choice at their fingertips, Indians are willing to substitute the afternoon outing to the store by a quick browsing on the net for goods and services. The immense success of Deep Kalra’s 'Make My Trip' and the adoption of the Internet as a B2B transaction medium by a variety of businesses has shown that this is one change which cannot be reversed. With new technologies like Social Networks, Mobile Apps, Big Data and Cloud moving to mainstream adoption in Corporate India and new business opportunities in User Experience and User Interface creation snapped up by the entrepreneurial community, both corporations and individuals have evolved in making Digital India a reality in the past year and more.
However, one should not forget that Digital India is not just a toy for the rich and the information savvy, but it will be truly transformational only if every Indian uses digital power and its benefits. Healthcare including remote diagnostics, telemedicine and education has to be the next. Particularly in the third and fourth tier locations, it can be made enlightening and even entertaining if the search and display facilities provided through new technologies are harnessed and exploited for the benefit of new learners. In a recent discussion with a young Indian executive in California, I was not surprised to hear that middle school teachers in that country have already integrated Khan Academy videos into their teaching process—very much as universities and corporate learning departments are embracing MOOCs and standard content from Coursera and HBR as part of their skill development processes, served up in engaging contexts through adaptive technology platforms like Skills Alpha. Virtually in every field of human activity and endeavour, digital power can change the outcomes and enable a better quality of life and work for all Indians.
The world of Digital is ever changing and one does not expect the average citizen to keep pace with technology evolution. However, ignore the revolution in consumption that digital will create at your own risk! Digital transformation and Digital India will transform cities, communities and people and the willingness to experiment, explore and adapt will create new opportunities and tremendous excitement for all of us in the months and years to come! We should embrace it willingly to make the India of our dreams a reality.
by Ganesh Natarajan
