Mumbai: No doubt India has the second largest internet users. However, there are some dark points in our digital story. A significant Indians are out of reach internet as off line population nears 95 crore, revealed by the study titled ‘Strategic national measures to combat cybercrime,’ jointly conducted by ASSOCHAM and research firm Deloitte.
The report mentioned that existing government infrastructure assets should be further leveraged for provision of digital services at remote locations. Digital literacy needs to be increased by providing institutional trainings in schools, colleges and universities; accelerating partnerships with global technology leaders and using the workforce trained under Skill India to impart trainings. An integrated approach between Digital India and Skill India needs to be constructed to design programmes and impart training.
India has over 1,600 languages and various dialects. This diversity has resulted in strong language barriers. In areas where people only use local languages, integration of local language and technology is required to drive digital literacy.
Fear of cybercrime and breach of privacy has negative impact on the adoption of digital technologies in India. In order to encourage people to switch to digital means, it is important to provide awareness and education on cyber security, risks and safeguarding of information on the internet.
On the side the research report mentioned that mobile data plans in India are among the cheapest in the world and the average retail price of smartphones are steadily declining.
Internet penetration is increasing in India, the access to affordable broadband, smart devices and monthly data packages is required to spread digital literacy to make their ends meet, noted The various stakeholders (different government programs, ministries, institutions, industries etc.) involved in imparting digital literacy need to work in coordination to obtain the most effective implementation. This will require transparency of information, workflow management and timely updates on the progress of various factions.
