What is Digital India: All you need to know

The aim of Rs 1.13-lakh-crore initiative is to use technology to create a participative, transparent & responsive govt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the Digital India Week as part of a larger initiative to empower the people and extend services better with the use of information technology and its tools. The initiative aims to bridge India's digital segmentation and bring big investments in the technology sector.

Business Standard brings you some salient features of the Digital India programme you need to know.
 
What is Digital India?
 
‘Digital India’ is a central programme to make India ready for a knowledge-based future. The focus of the Rs 1.13 lakh crore initiative is on using technology to create a participative, transparent and responsive government.
 
What does it aims to achieve?
 
The 3 major targets of the programme are:
 
1. To create a digital infrastructure as a utility to every Indian citizen. This includes providing high-speed internet, mobile phone and bank account enabling participation in digital & financial space, shareable private space on a public cloud, and creating a safe and secure cyber space.
 
2. The programme aims to take digital literacy to the next level, and will focus on finding ways to encourage people to opt for cashless financial transactions.

3. The initiative also aims at seamless integration across departments/jurisdictions, and ensuring availability of services in real time from online and mobile platforms.
 

Here are some of the projects and products that have been launched, or are ready for deployment, as part of the Digital India initiative:

- Digital locker system to minimise usage of physical documents and enable their e-sharing via registered repositories.
 
- MyGov.in as an an online platform to engage citizens in governance through a "Discuss, Do and Disseminate" approach.
 
- Swachh Bharat Mission Mobile app to achieve the goals set by this mission.
 
- e-Sign framework to allow citizens to digitally sign documents online using Aadhaar.
 
- e-Hospital system for important healthcare services such as online registration, fee payment, fixing doctors' appointments, online diagnostics and checking blood availability online.
 
- National Scholarship Portal for beneficiaries from submission of application to verification, sanction and disbursal.
 
- Digitise India Platform for large-scale digitisation of records in the country to facilitate efficient delivery of services to the citizens.
 
- Bharat Net programe as a high-speed digital highway to connect all 250,000 gram panchayats of country -- the world's largest rural broadband project using optical fibre.
 
- BSNL's Next Generation Network to replace 30-year old telephone exchanges to manage all types of services like voice, data, multimedia and other types of communication services.
 
- BSNL's large scale deployment of wi-fi hotspots throughout the country.
 
- 'Broadband Highways' as one of the pillars of Digital India to address the connectivity issue while enabling and providing technologies to facilitate delivery of services to citizens.
 
- Outsourcing Policy to create such centres in different north-eastern states and in smaller towns across the country.
 
- Electronics Development Fund to promote innovation, research and product development to create a resource pool within the country as also a self-sustaining eco-system of venture funds.
 
- National Centre for Flexible Electronics to promote research and innovation in the emerging area of flexible electronics.
 
- Centre of Excellence on Internet on Things (IoT) as a joint initiative of the government agencies and private institutions such as Nasscom.

- To make Post Offices multi-service centres.
 
- To connect all schools with broadband and free wifi.

[For more details, download Digital India Document]

(With inputs from Agencies)