Vision of Digital India

The vision of Digital India program is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The Digital India program is centered on three key vision areas:

1. Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen
2. Governance and Services on Demand
3. Digital Empowerment of Citizens

Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen

In today’s digital world,  well connected nation is a well served nation. Therefore, the prerequisite is to have the remotest of the Indian villagers  digitally connected through broadband and high speed internet. Then delivery of electronic government services to every citizen, targeted social benefits, and financial inclusion can be achieved in reality. One of the three key areas on which the vision of Digital India is centered is “digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen”.

A key component under this vision area is high speed internet as a utility to facilitate online delivery of various services. Besides, it is planned to set up enabling infrastructure for digital identity, financial inclusion and ensure easy availability of common services centers. It is also proposed to provide citizens with “digital lockers” which would be shareable private spaces on a cloud. These digital lockers are used for virtual storage of the documents issued by Government departments and agencies and could be easily accessed online. It is also planned to ensure that the cyberspace is made safe and secure. Let us elaborate on each of the items in italics for more clarity.

• Availability of high speed internet as a core utility for delivery of services to citizens

Information and communication technologies  have the potential of not only bridging the great digital divide in the country  but also of positively contributing to the growth of the economy, employment and productivity.

The emphasis is on providing high speed internet connectivity across the length and breadth of the country by deploying ICT infrastructure, optical fiber, and the last-mile connectivity options offered by wireless technologies in a manner that is affordable, reliable and competitive.The focus areas to achieve the objective as stated above with intended outcomes is given below in the Table-1

Table-1 High speed Internet as a core utility for delivery of services to citizens

Focus Area	Intended Outcome
Broadband for rural areas	Coverage for 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) by 2016-17
Broadband for urban areas	Virtual Network Operators for service delivery; Mandatory communication infrastructure in new urban settlements and buildings
National Information Infrastructure	Integration of all core ICT infrastructure built under National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) for greater efficiency and synergy; Nationwide coverage by March 2017
Universal access to mobile connectivity	Greater network penetration; Coverage for 55,619 uncovered villages by 2018
Public Internet Access Program under National Rural Internet Mission	Coverage for 2,50,000 GPs by 2016-17 through Common Services Centers (CSCs); Recasting of 1,50,000 post offices as multi-service centers by 2015-16

• Cradle to grave digital identity that is unique, lifelong, online and digitally establishable  authenticity to every citizen

The ideal identity is one that is unique, singularly sufficient, robust enough to disallow duplicate and fake records, easily and digitally establish the authenticity in an inexpensive manner, and for life.

Aadhaar, a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on behalf of the Government of India. Aadhaar meets these requirements. It is  a paperless online ubiquitous identity assigned to a resident to cover her entire lifetime. The verification of identity is done online with the help of authentication devices which connect to UIDAI’s Central Identity Repository and return binary response to the basic query. For instance, “Is the person who she claims to be?” is verified based on the demographic and bio-metric data available with UIDAI. Aadhaar can be used by any application which needs to establish the identity of a resident. It enables to provide secure access for the resident to services/benefits/entitlements offered by the application.

DeitY conducted a consultation workshop with various stakeholders in October 2014 on potential of usage of mobile phones. Various aspects of how mobile phones could be used  as means for electronic authentication of individuals. As an outcome of this workshop, three possible mobile identity solutions emerged for usage of mobile as an instrument of establishing the  digital identity of any individual. They are  (1) mobile number linked with Aadhaar; (2) mobile with digital signatures; and (3) Mobile with voice bio-metrics . Work is underway to implement the most efficient and effective solution to enable citizens to enjoy the benefits of a mobile-linked cradle-to-grave digital identity.

• Mobile phone & bank account enabling citizen participation in digital & financial space

Indian telecom sector is the world’s fastest growing telecom sector. The massive and growing penetration of mobile phones in India, especially in rural areas, provides a ready and widespread base for access to and delivery of public services electronically. Data access through mobiles continues to gain popularity, and as on date, around 80 per cent of internet users in India access internet through mobile devices. This holds great promise and potential for e-governance in general and digital-cum-financial inclusion in particular.

In the mobile space, DeitY has launched Mobile Seva, a revolutionary whole-of-government mobile governance initiative, enabling government departments and agencies across the nation to deliver public services to citizens and businesses through mobile devices across various mobile-based channels such as SMS, USSD, mobile apps, and voice/ IVRS.

In the financial space, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has envisaged common e-Governance infrastructure that will offer end-to-end transaction experience for a citizen which includes accessing various services through internet with payment gateway interface for online payments. In this regard, DeitY along with NSDL Database Management Ltd (NDML) has created a common infrastructure that can be used by Center/States/Departments to offer various services through their National / State portals with a facility to make online payment using net banking, credit cards and debit cards. PayGov India offers a range of payment options through which a payment can be made by the citizen to avail a service. The different options available to a citizen are:

• Net banking (approx. 65+ banks)
• Debit card
• Credit card
• IMPS
• Cash Cards/ Wallets
• NEFT/ RTGS

“Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)” has its objective to ensure access to various financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections i.e. weaker sections & low income groups. This deep penetration at affordable cost is possible only with effective use of technology.

PMJDY is a National Mission on Financial Inclusion encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country. The plan envisages universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility. In addition, the beneficiaries would get RuPay Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of र 1 lakh. The plan also envisages channeling all Government benefits (from Center / State / Local Body) to the beneficiaries accounts and pushing the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme of the Union Government. The technological issues like poor connectivity, on-line transactions will be addressed. Mobile transactions through telecom operators and their established centers as Cash Out Points are also planned to be used for Financial Inclusion under the Scheme. Also an effort is being made to reach out to the youth of this country to participate in this Mission Mode Program.

A special track on “mobile as an instrument of financial inclusion” was organized during the mobile identity brainstorming consultation workshop conducted at DeitY in October 2014. The workshop and further deliberations brought to fore that the extensive distribution networks of telecom service providers as well as the actual coverage and connectivity provided by them have the potential of addressing the challenges facing smooth functioning of banking services in rural areas, such as availability of power, cash management, security and adequacy of cash-in/cash-out points. Mobiles can serve as a viable and effective complementary channel for financial inclusion.

• Easy access to a Common Service Centre

Common Services Centers (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of the Digital India program. They are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society. Implemented under the NeGP formulated by DeitY, the CSCs are ICT-enabled front-end service delivery points (kiosks) at the village level for delivery of government, financial, social and private sector services in the areas of agriculture, health, education, entertainment, banking, insurance, pension, utility payments, etc.

• Shareable private space on a public cloud

DigiLocker is a key initiative under Digital India, the Indian Government’s flagship program aimed at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. DigiLocker ties into Digital India’s visions areas of providing citizens a shareable private space on a public cloud and making all documents / certificates available on this cloud.

Targeted at the idea of paperless governance, DigiLocker is a platform for issuance and verification of documents & certificates in a digital way, thus eliminating the use of physical documents. Indian citizens who sign up for a DigiLocker account get a dedicated cloud storage space that is linked to their Aadhaar (UIDAI) number. Organizations that are registered with Digital Locker can push electronic copies of documents and certificates (e.g. driving license, Voter ID, School certificates) directly into citizens lockers. Citizens can also upload scanned copies of their legacy documents in their accounts. These legacy documents can be electronically signed using the eSign facility.

To accelerate the delivery of cloud-based services, DeitY has launched the MeghRaj Cloud initiative. This would comprise several central and state clouds built on existing or new (augmented) infrastructure, following a set of common protocols, guidelines and standards issued by Government of India.

CSCs operate within a public-private-partnership  model and a 3-tier structure consisting of the CSC operator also known as the Village Level Entrepreneur, the Service Center Agency for establishing CSCs in a zone consisting of a few districts, and a State Designated Agency  for managing the implementation in the State. CSCs enable government, private and social sector organizations to align their social and commercial goals for the benefit of the rural population in the remotest corners of the country through a combination of IT-based as well as non-IT-based services.

The initial target was to establish 1,00,000 CSCs in 6,00,000 villages in the ratio of one CSC for every 6 villages. As on date, more than 1,37,000 CSCs are operational across the country. Under the proposed CSC 2.0 program, it is planned to increase the number of CSCs to 2,50,000 (covering all panchayats) to facilitate easier access to CSCs for the citizens.

Table-2  What is in it for the citizens with more CSCs?

Current scenario for a villager without easy access to a CSC

Inadequate access to government services and internet. Changed scenario Internet connectivity is available through the CSC. The neighborhood CSC is a convenient and friendly place to go to and avail G2C services, banking services (including loans) and also to learn about suitable agricultural practices. Several B2C services (e-commerce) are available too in the CSC. Family members can learn computer skills at the CSC and also undergo vocational training for better family income.

• Safe and secure cyber-space

Cyberspace is where all online digital assets, protocols, identities etc. reside. They are all interlinked and interact with each other. Numerous transactions take place in every second more than any largescale systems present as on today. It is imperative that cyberspace be made safe and secure for all organizations and users.

The National Information Security Policy has been put in place to protect information and information-infrastructure in cyber space, build capabilities to prevent and respond to cyber threats, reduce vulnerabilities and minimize damage from cyber incidents through a combination of institutional structures, people, processes, technology and cooperation.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT/ CERT-In) of DeitY hosts a comprehensive “secure your PC” portal at  http://www.cert-in.org.in/secureyourpc.in  with guidelines and measures for users against risks and threats. Further, a National Coordination Center on Cyber Security has been proposed as one of the key projects under Digital India to provide safe and secure cyber space.