Indian Prime Minister Wants Every Citizen to Own a Smartphone by 2019
The Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi laid out some bold 21st century goals in his Independence Day speech. One important goal was the Digital India project which would connect India through its length and width. The project has been green-lit by the cabinet of ministers, and the Prime Minister hopes for an India where government services can be delivered through the creation of technological infrastructure.
For starters, the Digital India project is a Rs 113,000 crore project directed towards setting up of a broadband highway. It hopes to connect 2.5 lakh villages by broadband and phones and bring Wi-Fi capabilities in 2.5 lakh schools, all universities and setup public Wi-Fi hotspots for citizens. It is expected to create about 1.7 crore direct and 8.5 crore indirect jobs. It will be particularly beneficial for delivering e-governance and e-services.
As of now mobile phones have reached about 74% of Indian population, which considering India’s massive population is a huge number. While a major portion of this population resides in urban areas, Mr. Modi hopes to change that in the coming future. He wants every Indian citizen to have access to a smartphone by 2019. He hopes to see mobile phones grow as welfare services delivery tool.
The main aim of the Digital India Project is to convert India into a connected knowledge economy which offers world class services. The government plans to take assistance from tech giants such as Cisco and Facebook in creating the infrastructure as well as spread awareness regarding the plan.
E-Governance is not just economical, it provides immense convenience to citizens
The cornerstone of his speech on Independence day was transforming India into a manufacturing hub of the world. The government of India plans to bring net electronics import to zero by 2020 which is an audacious plan. This will also help in curbing down the huge outflow of income that is spent by tech crazy Indian population. The manufacturing process will no doubt get a boost from the high-speed informational connectivity.
The Telecom Minister of India, Ravi Shanker Prasad said that the National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) venture which had been lying dormant for some years will be reinvigorated. The progress of the network will be monitored by the Prime minister himself.
Investment in Technological infrastructure will lead to a speedy growth in the economy. Not only will it help a farmer in the remote region of the country to know the right price of his produce, it will also make the government functioning transparent. It will also help in bringing better, technology aided education to the children of India, thereby leading to an optimistic future about the country. All we can ask the Prime Minister right now is to bring Google Fibre to India and speed up the urban economy right away.
