That the internet’s reach in India has been gradually moving towards smaller, tier 2 and 3 towns has been known to observers for some time, but the figures thrown up by a new survey on Internet usage are still startling. India has now crossed the 112 million mark and is third only to China and the US; by the end of this year, a full 10 per cent of our population will be Net users. What should make everyone sit up and take notice is the finding that nearly 37 per cent of them are in small towns. This has implications for communications, e-commerce, society and governance. Governments can utilise the power and reach of the Internet to bring high quality education at the doorstep of rural and distant communities, thus cutting infrastructure costs. It could revolutionise education in India. The government has a major role to play if the internet is to continue growing. First, it has to invest in broadband.
All mobile connections should be converted into high-speed data networks, thus bringing the internet into people’s hands. Digitising government records and making them accessible to users across the country will definitely make things simpler. A citizen should be able to bypass myriad layers and hierarchies that come in his way when dealing with the government; the Internet can definitely help make that easier. The challenges thrown up by the spread of the Internet will be formidable, but the opportunities are going to be phenomenal.
Deccan Chronicle, November 10