Digital India Essay: A Step Towards Modernization

Digital India is a massive campaign launched by the Government of India in 2015. The implementation of this would give easy access to government services in different regions of the country. This Digital India essay in English is for the students of Class 5 and above. Digital India Essay in English is written in an easy-to-understand manner for a better understanding of the students. Students are encouraged to read the comprehensive essay on Digital India below, which will help them write their own 1000-word and 500 word essay on the topic. In the same way, the below written short essay on Digital India for a New India will help the students write an essay on digital India in 500 words on their own.

Digital India Essay in English  - Long Essay 

Empowering Citizens through Digital India: A Step towards the Future

The “Digital India” campaign was launched by the government of India to uplift the usage of technology in India. The objective was to make Government services easily available to the citizens electronically by improving its online infrastructure all over the country. The process would be structured to increase internet connectivity to make the country digitally empowered. It helps to reach out to the masses and encourages them to use technology in their daily lives. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi launched the campaign on July 1, 2015. The initiative aims at connecting rural India with the help of high-speed internet connectivity. 

There are three components at the core of the “Digital India” campaign. 

• Creation of Digital Infrastructure 

To be able to deploy various digital services across the country, it is necessary to create a strong digital infrastructure, especially in rural areas of the country. The interior regions of the country either have very little or mostly do not have any electronic network. This is the reason behind establishing a digital network across the country. Bharat Broadband Network Limited, the governmental body that is responsible for the execution of the National Optical Fiber Network project is responsible for the Digital India project as well. Bharat Net aims to connect 2,50,500 gram panchayats across the country to a high-speed internet network via an optical fiber network. 4,00,000 internet points will be established all across the country as part of the program, from which anybody will be able to access the internet. 

• Delivery of Digital Service 

A major component of the Digital India campaign is to deliver government services and other essential services digitally. It is easier to change the way of delivering services from physical to digital. Many services of the Government of India were digitized under the Digital India Campaign. 

All ministries would be linked under this scheme, and all departments will be able to reach out to the people with fundamental services like health care, banking, education, scholarships, gas cylinders, water and electricity bills, and judicial services. The daily monetary transactions of people were also converted into digital mode. To ensure transparency in the transactions and curb corruption all the money transactions are being made online, and are supported by one-time passwords. 

• Digital Literacy 

For full participation of the people of India, the competency that they need to have is called Digital Literacy. The basic behavior, knowledge, and skills required to effectively use digital devices are mandatory. Desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones are the digital devices used for the purpose of communicating, expressing, collaborating, and advocating. The mission of Digital Literacy will be covering over six crore rural households. 

With the Digital India Programme, the Government of India is hoping to achieve all-around growth on multiple fronts collectively. The objective of the Government is to target the nine ‘Pillars of Digital India’ that are identified as follows. 

1. Broadband Highways 

2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity 

3. Public Interest Access Programme 

4. E-Governance 

5. E-Kranti 

6. Global Information 

7. Electronics Manufacturing 

8. Training in Information Technology for Jobs 

9. Early Harvest Programmes

10. To directly benefit the citizens of all future government schemes. 

The awareness of the importance of technology has been successfully created among the masses of India by the Digital India campaign. There has been a vast growth in the usage of the internet and technology in the past few years. The Panchkula district in Haryana was awarded the best and top performing district under the Digital India campaign on the 28^th of December 2015. 

So far, services such as digital lockers, my government website, e-education, scholarships, pensions, ration cards, PAN cards, Aadhar cards, e-insurance, and e-health have been made accessible under this plan. The goal has been established for the Digital India project to be completely implemented by 2019. 

Technology giants from all over the world paid attention to the Digital India campaign and are readily and happily supporting the initiative. Even Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, had changed his profile picture to support Digital India. He started a trend on Facebook and promised to get the WiFi Hotspots in rural India working. Google started on its commitment to providing broadband connectivity at 500 railway stations in India. Microsoft agreed on providing broadband connectivity to 5,00,000 villages in the country. Microsoft is also making India its cloud hub via the Indian data centers. Oracle planned on investing in 20 states to work on Smart City initiatives and payments. 

Some of the digital frameworks that are established under this scheme are given here: 

• Accessible India Campaign and Mobile App - It is also known as Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan. Its principal goal is to make all services open to individuals with disabilities. 

• Mygov.in - This forum allows users to voice their thoughts on the government's administration strategy. It has been implemented so that locals may actively participate. 

• Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) - This mobile platform can be used on any device. This software is available in a variety of Indian languages. This software allows users to access a variety of services. Education portals, a digital locker, Aadhar, tax, and train ticket purchasing are among the services available. 

• Agri market App - It was created to make agricultural prices known to farmers and discourage them from selling too soon. 

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao- Ensuring the welfare and nurturing of a girl child and also making sure that every girl child attends school. 

• Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)- It makes payments quickly, easily, and simply through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). It also allows the bank to accept instant payments and money collections using mobile phone numbers. 

• Crop Insurance Mobile App- Used to calculate crop insurance premiums depending on numerous characteristics such as area or loan amount, if a loan is taken out. 

• E-Hospital- It's an HMIS (Hospital Management Information System) for hospitals' internal workflows and operations. 

• E-Pathshala- The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) created it to make all educational resources, such as books and videos, available online. 

• EPFO Web Portal and Mobile App- Allow workers to check the amount of their provident fund using an e-passbook, which is a virtual equivalent of a real passbook. 

• Start-up India Portal and Mobile App- It is a government of India program to encourage entrepreneurs to develop businesses (start-ups) in the country to expand sustainably. 

Benefits of Digital India

• It makes health care and literacy more accessible since one may use a hospital service to receive online registration, a doctor's appointment, payment of the charge, a diagnostic test, and a blood test, among other things. 

• It allows consumers to submit their paperwork and certifications online from anywhere, reducing the amount of physical work required. 

• Citizens can digitally sign their records online to sign the framework. 

• It benefits the beneficiaries of the National Scholarship Portal by allowing them to submit applications, have them verified, and then be paid or disbursed. 

• BSNL's next-generation network will replace 30-year-old telephone exchanges for improved administration of online services on mobile devices like voice, data, multimedia, etc. 

• Flexible electronics will be promoted with the support of the National Center for Flexible Electronics. 

• As all transactions are completed through the digital method, it also aids in the reduction of black marketing.

A very ambitious initiative called Digital India got launched on a Wednesday, the 1st of July in the year 2015 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi. Various top industrialists like Cyrus Mistry- the then Tata Group Chairman, Mukesh Ambani– Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance India Limited, Azim Premji– Chairman of Wipro were all present at the launch. They all shared how they plan on bringing a digital revolution to the masses of India in cities and villages.

The execution of this program is expected to cost around one lakh crore rupees. However, Mr. Ambani, Chairman, and CEO of the Reliance Group have made a significant effort by spending 2.5 lakh crore on the digital India initiative. Many different events were held along with the IT companies to aid more than 600 districts in India. The digital India program was a big step taken by the Government of India to transform India into a digitally empowered country. 

Several schemes have been launched around this plan which are worth more than one lakh crores. They are e-health, e-sign, e-education, national scholarship portal, Digital Locker, etc. The program is such which would benefit both the consumers and the providers of the services. Free WiFi will be available in 2.4 lakh schools and institutions under this scheme so that students may work online without difficulty. A goal has been established for 1.7 lakh persons to be employed as part of this initiative.

Summary 

A digitally connected India is aimed at the growth of the social and economic status of the masses in the country. The development of non-agricultural economic activities could pave the path for such an achievement, for providing access to financial services, health, and education. Information and Communication Technology alone cannot directly impact the overall development of a country. Basic digital infrastructure could help achieve overall development.

Literacy and regulatory business environments also could help achieve the same. It will be a very profitable approach because it relieves the burden of spending time on paperwork and allows people to dedicate their time to other aspects of government. It is extremely efficient and beneficial for government employees who operate on a big scale.