What Comes Under the Digital India Programme?

Digital India Programme

Digital India Programme“Technology transforms people’s lives. It empowers and connects. From mitigating poverty to simplifying processes, ending corruption to providing better services, vitality of technology is everywhere. It is an instrument of human progress”….Narendra Modi

Launching the Digital India programme formally at Indira Gandhi National Stadium on 1 July 2015, PM Narendra Modi said that it is time for India to move to mobile governance, to deliver services and facilities through mobile phones and the Internet. Digital India is an ambitious programme of the Government of India to empower Indians through the electronic and on-line media, to create a countrywide digital infrastructure to serve the people of the country.

What comes under Digital India?

Communication Infrastructure and Services

• BharatNet: This is the backbone of the Digital India programme. It will provide internet and telecommunication services to every part of the country, including connecting the villages spread all over India through broadband. This is the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity project.

• BSNL Next Generation Network (Voice, data and multi-media on one landline): BSNL has prepared a massive plan to use the advanced technology of Next Generation Network (NGN) to provide telecommunication services using various modes such as voice, data networks (internet), wireless network and multimedia video conferencing and fixed mobile convergence (FMC). In the first phase, BSNL aim is to cover four million customers.

• BSNL Wi-Fi Services (Wi-Fi hotspots, affordable connectivity on the go): BSNL has also chalked out a plan to roll out Wi-Fi in 2500 cities and towns, including major tourist places across India. The aim is to provide affordable seamless connectivity through 2G/3G mobile connectivity.

Products

DiGiLocker: This system provides an online storage space to Indian citizens having Aadhar cards to store all important personal documents, including other official documents issued by various Government departments and agencies. The system also helps in secured sharing of data through a uniform resource identity (URI) link.

• National scholarships portal (All Government scholarships under a single website): This is a one-stop solution for implementing the entire scholarship process. Here, in a single website, you can apply and register for different scholarships provided by different central and state ministries, governments and other agencies. You can receive application forms and process online. This helps in effective and faster processing of scholarships and delivery of funds to the beneficiaries’ accounts.

• e-Hospital/ORS: This system facilitates in making an on-line appointment with doctors at specialised government hospitals. The aim is to relieve the common man from waiting for long hours or running around in hospitals searching for doctors. The patient can also check his reports on-line. Presently, e-Hospital service is available in AIIMS, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Sports Injury Centre, Delhi and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru. The plan is to extend service to different hospitals spread across the country.

• e-Sign: This is another product introduced in Digital India. The e-sign or electronic signature facilitates an Aadhar card holder to digitally sign a document, which can be integrated with service delivery applications.

• Digitise India Platform (DIP): This is to digitise physical records and reduce piles of papers in record rooms and offices.

Portals

• Digital India Portal and Mobile App: Digital India Portal is the dedicated portal for Digital India and it also has its mobile based application as Digital India Mobile App. (http://www.digitalindia.gov.in/)

• MyGov Mobile App: MyGov is a mobile version of the citizen engaging platform, where citizens can share opinions and offer suggestions related to various issues and problems pertaining to the society and the country as a whole.

Also Read : MyGov Portal

• Swachch Bharat Mission App: This App has been developed to generate more awareness about the cleanliness campaign among the people and connect them with various programmes related to the Swachch Bharat Mission.

Institutions and Policies

• National Centre for Flexible Electronics (Getting the cutting-edge through research)

• Centre for Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT)
• e-Governance Policy Initiatives Under Digital India
• Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy

Nine Pillars of Digital India

1. Broadband Highways
2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
3. Public Internet Access Programme
4. e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology
5. e-Kranti: Electronic Delivery of Services
6. Information for All
7. Electronics Manufacturing
8. IT for Jobs and
9. Early Harvest Programmes

Recent Developments

  • India has teamed up with Google to have 500 free wi0fi at 500 railway stations. The teaming up took place during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley.
  • The government also seek to link 600,000 villages by optical fibre network.
  • The government has appointed four brand ambassadors for the Digital India Programme – Satwant Jagwani, all-India IIT-JEE—Advanced Topper 2015; self-proclaimed “ethical hacker”, Ankit Fadia; Pranav Mistry, a computer scientist and the author of ‘6th Sense’; and Krati Tiwari, IIT-JEE —Advanced Girl Topper 2015

BSNL partners with Facebook to set up 100 hotspots in rural India

As a part of the government’s Digital India drive, Facebook is partnering with state-run BSNL to set up 100 Wi-Fi sites in the rural areas of western and southern India. According to media reports, the hotspots are being established by Quad Zen, which has been selected by BSNL, and Facebook will spend Rs 5 crore per annum to sponsor these Wi-Fi hotspots.

More Programmes Launched by Modi
Top Schemes Launched by Modi Govt
DigiLocker
eBasta – Features and Benefit for students
Start-up India, Stand-up India
Free Wi-Fi Railway Stations in India
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
Atal Pension Yojana
MUDRA Bank Yojana
Sukanya Samriddhi Account
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)
One Rank One Pension Scheme
Seventh Pay Commission
Garib Kalyan Yojana
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Government to set up 300 rural clusters by 2020
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme
Pahal Scheme
Jan Dhan Yojana
Skill India
Modi’s Sagar Mala Project
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Making India Clean & More