Technology has now become as essential as the three utilities, water, gas, and electricity. Our government leaders have made it clear that broadband highways are as important as national highways. Through the government’s Digital India program,digital infrastructure will be offered as a utility to every citizen, governance and services will be on demand, and citizens will be digitally empowered. This article explains What is Digital India? How E-Governance through Digital India can accelerate the vision of Digital India. How Intel is helping in the realization of Digital India.

What is Digital India?

Digital India is an initiative of Government of India to integrate the government departments and the people of India. It aims to ensure that people in all parts of the country can access a range of government services through electronic means. The initiative also includes plan to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks. Digital India has three core components. These include

• The creation of Digital infrastructure which will  focus on providing high speed secure Internet
• Delivering services digitally involves integrating services across departments and jurisdictions and making services available in real time for both online and mobile platform.
• Digital literacy : Digital empowerment of citizens will pay emphasis on universal digital literacy and availability of digital resources or services in Indian languages.

Digital India is an ambitious programme of Government of India projected at Rs 1,13,000 crores. The programme will be implemented in phases from 2014 till 2018.  It is coordinated by DeitY(Department Of Electronics & Information Technology), implemented by the Central and State governments. It covers many government departments. It weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them is seen as part of a larger goa. The Programme Pulls together many existing schemes. These schemes will be restructured and re-focused. They will be implemented in a synchronized manner. The common branding of programmes as Digital India highlights their transformative impact.

Digital India is not something new in concept. The concept of e-governance has its origins in India during the seventies with a focus on development of in- house government applications in the areas of defence, economic monitoring, planning and the deployment of IT to manage data intensive functions related to elections, census, tax administration etc. Global shifts towards increased deployment of IT by governments emerged in the nineties, with the advent of the World Wide Web.  India has made rapid strides in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT has enabled the delivery of government services as it caters to a large base of people across different segments and geographical locations.

For example Evolution of core banking technology in India has brought in the convenience of  anytime, anywhere banking to Indian customers. Passport Seva Project under the National e- Governance Plan delivers all Passport-related services to the citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible, reliable manner & in a comfortable environment through streamlined processes and committed, trained & motivated workforce.Checkout Information about Passport Seva on Youtube  Online filing of income tax returns, EPFO websites are some of the projects that have slowly brought technology into the life of a common man. To see how Central and State government has been using technology one can visit DEITY website. Some examples of technology being used by various State Governments are:

State/Union Territory	Initiatives
Andhra Pradesh	e-Seva, CARD, VOICE, MPHS, FAST, e-Cops, AP online—One-stop-shop on the Internet, Saukaryam, Online Transaction processing
Bihar	Sales Tax Administration Management Information
Chattisgarh	Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society, Treasury office, e-linking project
Delhi	Automatic Vehicle Tracking System, Computerisation of website of RCS office, Electronic Clearance System, Management Information System for Education etc
Goa	Dharani Project
Gujarat	Mahiti Shakti, request for Government documents online, Form book online, G R book online, census online, tender notice.
Haryana	Nai Disha
Himachal Pradesh	Lok Mitra
Karnataka	Bhoomi, Khajane, Kaveri
Kerala	e-Srinkhala, RDNet, Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for the Disbursement of Services (FRIENDS)
Madhya Pradesh	Gyandoot, Gram Sampark, Smart Card in Transport Department, Computerization MP State Agricultural Marketing Board (Mandi Board) etc
Maharashtra	SETU, Online Complaint Management System—Mumbai
Rajasthan	Jan Mitra, RajSWIFT, Lokmitra, RajNIDHI
Tamil Nadu	Rasi Maiyams–Kanchipuram; Application forms related to public utility, tender notices and display

Challenges for Digital India

With the increase in Internet and mobile connections, the citizens are learning to exploit their new mode of access in wide ranging ways. They have started expecting  more and more information and services online from governments and corporate organizations to further their civic, professional and personal lives , thus creating abundant  evidence that  the new e-citizenship is taking hold. (It has impacted our daily lives too. As my friend says We can live with husband for a week, without maid for a day but without WhatApp, Facebook  even an hour is tortuous). Govt. leaders in India are  starting  to realize that e-governance is the key to drive today’s economy with  an increased participation from citizens.

The vision of Digital India is to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The focus is on making technology central to enabling change. But E-governance is about more than streamlining processes and improving services. It’s about transforming Governments and renovating the way citizens participate in democracy.    The real challenges is how to develop and sustain successful e-governance projects and deliver state of the art e-services to citizens. Unfortunately its not as easy as adding  e  in front of your service delivery mechanism. No country in the world has so far implemented an e-governance system for one billion people.  The Union Minister has aggressively reached out to the global business community with a focus on collaboration. Within few months of the announcement of the programme(Aug 2014), the Government started receiving offers of support and partnership from industry leaders like Satya Nadella, Mark Zuckerberg and Vishal Sikka, companies like Intel.

How Intel supports the Digital India Vision

Public-private partnerships (PPPs), solutions enabled by partnerships between government agencies and private companies are  important for success of country digitization initiatives. One such example has been of Intel. Intel has been fostering technology as the enabler for creating a digitized India.Intel has been committed to making Indian citizens digitally empowered for several years now. Over the last 20 years,

• Intel has trained over 18 lakh teachers through Intel Teach programme
• Intel Learn programme has reached 1.8 lakh under-served students
• Over 2.35 lakh students and 4,500 faculty across 450 institutes have been impacted through Intel Higher Education programme
• In 2012, Intel launched the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM), along with Nasscom. Over 16,500 youth were trained by 450+ volunteers from 10 NDLM partners in seven days during Digital Literacy Week
• In December 2012 Intel adopted 3 villages (BBNL pilot for Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan) and set up digital literacy training camps Achieved 100% digital literacy in these villages, as measured by one e-literate person per household

In Dec 2014 Intel announced  Digital Skills for India and  Innovate for India (#DigitalIndia) initiatives,  Intel India will also work with Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) to build capacity by imparting digital literacy training to key resource persons in the first 1,000 panchayats under the National Optic Fiber Network roll-out in India.

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. App is available free on Android Play Store from December 6 2014 in Hindi, English, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada. A similar offline training module will also be made available in seven Indian languages.

Intel’s Learn Digital Skills is the perfect app to learn the basics of using a tablet. In just a few simple steps, you can learn how to use your tablet for various activities from paying your bills to learning new skills. The app also helps you explore the features of the tablet including optimizing the way it works for you. The Intel® Learn Digital Skills app is an intuitive, engaging and innovative way to make the best of your tablet experience. Key Highlights of Intel’s Learn Digital Skills are as follows:

• A complete step-by-step approach for instant & easy understanding
• Clear instructions & descriptions with eye-catching illustrations & images
• Comprehensive tips on optimizing tablet use
• Easy-to-follow steps on everyday activities like creating an email account and getting entertainment
• Covers other essential topics like paying bills, creating a resume and learning new skills
• Designed to be used by everyone – from kids to adults

PM’s Vision for Digital India

We would like to share Prime Minister Narendra Modi Vision for a DIGITAL INDIA  ( It somehow reminds me of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem Where mind is without fear)

I dream of a Digital India where High-speed Digital Highways unite the Nation

I dream of a Digital India where 1.2 billion Connected Indians drive Innovation

I dream of a Digital India where Knowledge is strength – and empowers the People

I dream of a Digital India whereAccess to Information knows no barriers

I dream of a Digital India where Government is Open – and Governance Transparent

I dream of a Digital India where Technology ensures the Citizen-Government Interface is Incorruptible

I dream of  a Digital India where Government Services are easily and efficiently available to citizens on Mobile devices

I dream of a Digital India where Government proactively engages with the people through Social Media

I dream of a Digital India where Quality Education reaches the most inaccessible corners driven by Digital Learning

I dream of a Digital India where Quality Healthcare percolates right up to the remotest regions poweredby e-Healthcare

I dream of a Digital India where Farmers are empowered with Real-time Information to be connected with Global Markets

I dream of a Digital India where Mobile enabled Emergency Services ensure Personal Security

I dream of a Digital India where Cyber Security becomes an integral part of our National Security

I dream of a Digital India where Mobile and e-Banking ensures Financial Inclusion

I dream of a Digital India where e-Commerce drives Entrepreneurship

I dream of a Digital India where the World looks to India for the next Big Idea

I dream of a Digital India where the Citizen, Netizen is an Empowered Citizen.

DEITY’s vision for Digital India is outlined  in the following document.

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This article is our entry for Indiblogger contest Intel and Digital India.

Today Technology is central to enabling change.  The implementation of the Digital India program will help the country in overcoming our challenges, seizing our opportunities and providing citizens with access to better infrastructure and quality of life. The opportunity to live, work, play and learn in a Digital India is at hand. Government has made it’s intention known. Digital India program, if successful, will help transform the experiences and life of 1.2 billion Indians and drive India’s return to the centre of the world’s stage.  Will we use the opportunity , how the intention translates into execution, how Public Private Paternships pan out..only time will tell.