INTEL DIGITAL INDIA VISION AND E-GOVERNANCE

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸ The other day, after a long time, I was travelling by a public bus. Taking out the money, I held out my hand casually to the bus-conductor to get my ticket. To my surprise, he didn't have the bunch of colourful tickets bus-conductors usually carried where from they'd out pull one and punch a hole in it, manually. Infact, he didn't carry tickets at all. Instead, he had an electronic box, where he punched something, and from the paper-roll installed inside it, came out my ticket. It was a digital ticket. I took it with my mouth somewhat gaped-open. Once I reached home, I saw the courier guy arrive carrying a parcel, that I had ordered from my favourite e-commerce site. He didn't push any paper under my nose for me to sign, as I expected. Instead, he took out a box and asked me to sign 'digitally' on it. I was amazed to say the least. I've been observing things going rapidly 'digital' of late, and it had reached our bus-tickets and courier-signatures too ( not just important stuff like land-records/taxes/bills ( phone/electric ) or services like railways/airlines/banks/hospitals/shopping etc ). While in urban places, it has become our way-of-life, with almost everything 'digital', further away from the city ~ is however a different story altogether. But one, that promises to change fast ~ courtesy, our PM's very ambitious Digital India Vision, which Intel India has partnered with.

For the laymen, in simple terms : e-governance would mean ~ Government ruling the masses electronically, with the optimum use of Information Technology; which further means any services that a government provides to citizen ( i.e customer ), to employees, govt to government or to businesses - all these on a Pan-India level is a mammoth and very complex task, that'll require the best of equipment, infrastructure, process re-engineering and change management. Here comes Intel®, that'll power up those processors ( mainly computers ), hardware & software, data storages, network etc, to provide super-efficiency, fast and convenience in the services rendered. This task is so giant, considering the size of India both in terms of land-mass as well as the size of population, most of which are still so disconnected ( over 70% living in remote places ), even in this global age, and to make things affordable & easily accessible to all. Intel had recently launched its ambitious project "Digital Skills for India", with the Govt ( costing a whopping Rs.1 lakh crores ), to make over 1000 Panchayats digitally literate, after which the impact will be much higher empowering millions across the country, with an ultimate robust aim to connect all villages by 2018-19. The 'Digital Skills Training Application', available free on Android Play store, is part of the project that includes various modules such as Digital Literacy, Healthcare/Cleanliness and Financial Inclusion in 5 different Indian languages ( with its offline version in 7 languages ). Intel has already been engaging in various programmes successfully for last few decades. For this, there's been tie ups with BBNL ( Bharat Broadband Network Limited ) under the NOFN ( National Optic Fiber Network ) roll-out - thus, Government and Corporate are both working together to create a sustainable model for education in digital sector. Meanwhile, a conversation somewhere in rural India... Why Intel? For both small ( individual level ) and big ( govt or business enterprise level ), Intel® offers various computing solutions like ~ Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Data Center Optimization, Enterprise Mobility, and Better way to work ensuring more Productivity with a complete Wireless Innovation Technology. It provides best of Processors ( Xeon® Processor D, Core™ vPro™, Real Sense™ Technology ), Servers, Work-Stations, Storage besides other essential computer related products like Motherboards, Chipsets, Server Products, Ethernet, Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Solid-State Drives etc - all contributing in building up a massive and stable technology infrastructure required, to deliver the Dream Vision of #DigitalIndia into a reality.

Why I like the Digital India Vision Concept? With Digital, 100 Smart Cities Across The Country - you had heard smart phones? Time has come for smart-cities now! With the most sophisticated infrastructure laid in all aspects ( be it availing govt funds, transport, traffic, healthcare, education, housing and communities, miscellaneous services & amenities like electricity/LPG/water/waste disposal, disaster management etc ) and all fully digitalized too; these along with its satellite townships will bring along with it the 1000 Digitally literate villages too ~ thus, changing the whole country; bringing it at par with the most advanced of nations. With Digital, No More Standing In Queues Anymore - with everything digital, all my information ( i.e important certificates like birth, ssc/hsc, other imp documents, passport etc ) will be in a safe and secure digital folder ( powered by Intel ), which the Govt officials can access and verify. Thus, for every service I apply, I don't have to physically wait in long queues, outside government offices anymore. Same applies in case of customer grievances too, where one can go do so in a hassle-free manner. With Digital, Faster, Affordable & More Convenience - with everything online, things can be done smoothly and at a fast pace. For the Govt too, they can process the work in bulk, rather than at snail-pace as it happens when done manually. And when things are done in Pan-India scale, there'll be the cost factor that'll be definitely looked into as well, keeping things affordable for the masses. With Digital, More Accountabilty - in today's vibrant age of social media, we have already seen how things go viral, within seconds. Thus, with today's youth being more politically savvy ( thanks to mediums like twitter ;-), Govt with implementation of e-governance will have no option but to be more accountable to the masses. And with technology applied in every aspect, there'll be no room for error. With Digital, No More Bribes - isn't that the best? We normally give bribes to fasten up the process, but with things 'Digital' the faster-process is already in place. The immense work-load that falls upon a person working manually, often tempts him to demand bribe; but with digital taking over, work-load too will lessen tremendously. With Digital, Empowerment - small scale businesses, enterprises and industry like cottage/handicraft/manufacturing etc too can boom big-time, what with their craft and produces getting more exposure via the digital route. And with the Skills and Innovations programmes, special focus can be laid on developing those. With Digital, Robust Connectivity - integral to digitalization is connectivity - via special hi-speed routers, mobile-towers, fibre-optics or even wireless connections laid in all corners, covering the whole country in a digital web - nothing like it when a villager in remote Arunachal hill can do business real-time with someone sitting in Thar desert and many more such examples, which can very well become a reality soon. With Digital, Job Opportunities - with such a massive project at hand, imagine the innumerable job opportunities that'll be created. not just during the initial phase of laying out the whole digital set-up in place, but running it smoothly too later on and for the long-time period it is being planned for. As such, those smart IT pass-outs who are forever on the hunt to find job overseas, causing a massive brain-drain, will instead concentrate and contribute in building up the nation instead.

With citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency being the core components of e-Governance, the Government has already undertaken large amount of initiatives by both Central, State, Local District and some at integrated-service level too. All these are with sustained efforts implemented, at multiple levels, in order to simplify the process of accessing them as well as improving the delivery of public services. And in order to speed up the process and reach even the most remotest of localities, a greater strategy and vision is required between Government, Citizens and importantly Corporate entities like Intel, that acts as the connector and guide of sorts. Its performance is most vital, in running of the show called Digital India efficiently, without any hiccups; safeguarding it too ( security being a crucial part of it ). e-Governance had started way back in 2006 itself, but need of the hour is to increase its momentum, which the current Government promises to fulfill - with a vision to see whole of India connected by 2018-19. So, lets all warmly welcome the Intel Powered New Digital India! A new-age India :-)

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( Images - IB/india.gov.in/e-governance & Sketches are ©Mine ) | E-Governance is core to creating the Digital India envisioned by the government. It will empower Indians by providing access to citizen services, information on reforms, and be the platform to collaborate with the government. Technology will be the key enabler in realizing the Digital India Vision. Intel supports the Digital India Vision. Intel is committed towards our government's vision of a creating a Digitally enabled India and believes that innovation will drive this movement forward. Through its ‘Digital Skills for India’ and ‘Innovate for India’ initiatives, Intel has been fostering technology as the enabler for creating a digitized India.

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