On the eve to mark four years of PM Modi in Office, the second phase of Digital India is to be announced on June 15. 

In July of 2015 the government of India launched the national "Digital India" initiative to make government services available to citizens electronically by bolstering internet connectivity and improving online infrastructure. A top priority of the administration of PM Modi, the plan aims to connect rural areas with high-speed networks and promote digital literacy.

Blueprint of a Digital India

The next billion consumers in India will be driven by:

1. Young workforce
2. The App economy
3. Social media
4. Learning and education
5. Digital entertainment

Through digital economies and digital identities the economy will be far more transparent, opening up new opportunities in the areas of:

1. New Government infrastructure
2. Smart cities
3. E-government & citizen services
4. National broadband
5. Cable digitization
6. Mobility (4G/LTE)
7. Tier III town & rural expansion
8. Public Safety & IoT
9. WIFI to schools & connected classrooms

Through the government’s Digital India program, infrastructure will be offered as a utility to every citizen, governance and services will be on demand and citizens will be digitally empowered.

Industry estimates suggest that by 2020 there will be 140 million Indians who don’t currently use banks  that will have access to mobile financial services, and 75 million children with online access to education.

How will Digital India affect social change?

As Digital India becomes a reality, the next one billion consumers will drive unprecedented technological, social and economic transformation in the country. New digital infrastructure will enable digital inclusion for people, create a society with minimal digital divide and unleash a tremendous amount of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.

JIO

Jio has transformed the way, Indian's use Internet. Apart from free voice for life, Jio didn’t charge for data for the first six months. it has notched up around 130 million users, or over 10% market share.

No. of 4G smartphones jumps three-fold, from 47m to 131m.

We live in extraordinary times when the world is at the dawn of a digital revolution. The emergence of disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT) is reshaping human civilization in a fundamental way while posing major challenges to businesses in terms of innovation and re-skilling, developing new age products and solutions, partnering and creating value for the customers and most importantly survive the technological storm.

 Every industry, be it manufacturing, retail, healthcare, education, entertainment, is going digital in India, embracing the rapidly evolving technologies not just to continue being relevant and avoid obsolescence but also to capture the market and seize opportunities offered by the Digital transformation.

Keeping an eye at the target of a $1 trillion digital economy by 2022, the government could soon announce the second phase of its Digital India programme, with about 30 policy initiatives.

Next Week - PM Modi is launching the second Phase of Digital India

According to sources, this is likely to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi around June 15. The electronics and information technology ministry is working on the boost to the existing programme.

The programme was launched by PM Modi in 2015 with an aim to make all government services available to citizens electronically.

“The proposal is to launch the programme immediately after the Modi government completes four years in office,” an official in the ministry said.

The focus would be on services such as health, education, rural development, agriculture, energy and next-generation financial services. The government plans a national document and data exchange, to develop real-time data visualisation and deep analytics capabilities, a government e-marketplace, digitally-enabled power distribution and direct benefit transfers, and grid automation, among others.

Watch out for the announcement on June 15, 2018. 

Sources: Internet.

Written and edited by Simrita Dhillon.