Digital India is not only about enabling digital infrastructure for products and services, but also about bridging the gender divide and empowering the poor, said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Addressing the plenary of the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial meeting held in Salata, Argentina, between August 23 and 24, Prasad, Minister for Electronics and IT & Law and Justice, said in a press release, “India’s digital story is a story of hope and growth; of opportunities and profits. But above all it is a story of digital inclusion and empowerment.”
Prasad pointed out that India’s JAM trinity of more than 300 million bank accounts of the poor, along with Aadhaar and mobiles, are empowering the poor by direct benefit transfer of their welfare entitlement into their bank account.
Initiatives such as Common Services Centre (CSC) and Business Process Office (BPO) Promotion Schemes are promoting entrepreneurship and creating employment opportunities in tier-2 and 3 cities. According to the release, these schemes have created digital literacy and more than one million employment opportunities. Close to 54,000 women are providing digital services through three lakh CSC.
Prasad said though the emerging digital ecosystem will lead to strong growth of the digital economy, it must be fair and equitable with a collaborative effort to promote global innovation and avoid the monopoly of a few.
To promote a collaborative effort, programmes to skill human resources in new technology are required to ease the movement of skilled human resources, which is vital for diffusion of innovation. “It is very important to leverage private sector investments, including encouraging the start-ups, by enabling them better market access based upon their innovative capabilities,” he added.