For some voters, being online doesn't mean being aware of key schemes

On a steamy 45-hour train journey across the length of the east coast, Tapan Alam, a labourer from West Bengal, fell back on a singular comfort —he remained glued to his mobile screen, watching short political clips of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. While Tapan was quick to tell anyone that Banerjee is the best bet for the state, he admitted that he doesn’t know about any of the schemes she has started.

Across India’s vast hinterland, the digital revolution has made information instantaneous, but the consequences of that have panned out not in a way the government had hoped. With ownership of mobile phones exploding, India's total internet user base exceeded the 500-million mark in January 2019. Despite this, government estimates show awareness of public policies and schemes hasn’t gone up, especially among their intended beneficiaries.

Most of them had Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio to thank after it provided dirt-cheap data plans. “I remember saving Rs  4,000 to buy a television eight years back when I first came to Kerala to work. Now, with smartphones getting much cheaper prices, no one bothers for a TV,” rued 40-year old Akbar Mondal from Assam. His 17-year old nephew, a school dropout who now helps Mondal in the masonry business, nodded, showing off his brand new phone.

Having watched a number of videos on the Balakot strike, Shahidul, 24, a fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claimed to have sufficient knowledge about the specifications of the missiles used in this mission. He, however, had little information about the steps taken to bring dropouts back to school.

As a result, while political parties of all hues have pumped in crores to push online campaign material, government agencies continue to struggle in spreading awareness about crucial schemes.

The case was the same with Sunil Brahma from Assam. He complained that his rice fields did not receive irrigation facilities promised by the government. However, a cursory glance at the websites of several district administrations revealed that farmers could apply for irrigation facilities online. 
 

Brahma has been a regular Facebook user for the past five years and falls in the “digitally literate” category created by the information technology ministry.

“If government advertisements about schemes were visible on Facebook just like advertisements about the ruling party, I would have known,” Brahma shrugged.