Business opportunity was also evident in providing content in local languages that alone would enthuse the grass roots people to get involved in utilising the connectivity, said Mr. Garg, who is also Chairman, Telecom Commission at an ASSOCHAM event on e-Governance and Digital India.
Digital India was Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi's largest programme and was targeting to reach every single home with broad band access in India, Mr. Garg disclosed.
Detailing what the Digital India programme meant for the common people, Mr. Garg asked private sector enterprises to enable village homes to connect to public services in health and education among others through localised content created for the purpose. Government had already completed surveys of two lakh villages to create a database of what they required from public services. As for the optical fibre network, more than 50,000 panchayats had already been connected, said Mr. Garg.
Describing Digital India as a private-public-panchayat partnership (PPPP) Mr. Ravi Shankar, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms, Public Grievances and Pensions said that computer literacy could eliminate illiteracy in the country.
He pointed out how even illiterates were able to manage smart phones. Digital India would create a citizen centric administration conferring empowerment, entitlement and engagement opportunities to all the citizens. The portal like My.Gov created last month would enable citizens to engage in public affairs and provide inputs to government.
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He expected Indian industry to take up the challenge of making sub Rs 2000 a piece smart phone so that smart phones could become the normal connectivity devices across the villages of the country enabling rural people to access the whole range of services made available on the broadband network and last mile wireless connectivity.
Ms Meenashi Lekhi, Member Parliament endorsed digital literacy as a greatest equalizer and defined transforming her constituency as a 100 per cent Wi-Fi enabled zone and make all the people, especially the senior citizens and women as digitally literate. Already the Khan Market had been made Wi-Fi enabled and Connaught Place would follow, added Ms. Lekhi.
Last mile connectivity to the villages from the optical fibre network would have to be wireless, said Mr. Amit Sharma, EVP & President Asia, American Tower Corporation. He cautioned against wholly unnecessary costs being imposed on this sector by various authorities including state governments and municipalities when the critical factor was to reduce the costs of deployment of the countrywide network.
The online magic of Alibaba disrupting traditional business models and creating over five million jobs and supporting 20 million jobs President Huwai Mr. Watmein Yao explained at the panel discussion. Everything from banking to retail businesses were being disrupted and reset by this new comer. It was setting a new thinking into vogue where which, who and what are important had become the criteria.
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