'Digital India' will be a game changer for India, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday that 'Digital India' will be a game changer for the country and it will have a cascading effect to change the entire system.

Chairing the Consultative Committee Meeting attached to his Ministry where all the Members of the Committee had appreciated the way that the Digital India' Programme has been conceived, Prasad informed the members that about seven lakh kilometers of cable for broadband is proposed to be laid in the next three years as against 10 lakh kilometers laid in the country so far.

He added that 50,000 Gram Panchayats will be provided Broadband facility the first tranche and 2.5 lakhs in the next three years.

Prasad also assured the members that the Government is giving a bit priority for the production of electronic goods as a part of the 'Make in India' programme and the hardware is also expected to take off in the country as the software.

Reacting to the concern of some of the members about poor services of the BSNL network in the country, he said that more funds are proposed to be provided to the public sector telephone service providers during the seventh phase to improve their functioning and make them commercially active.