Dawn of Digital India: PM Modi To Inaugurate Digital India Week Today; Rs 2 Lakh Crore Investments

[Sam.]

Here is your 10-point guide to this story:

1. Digital India is a massive tech push to provide electronic governance and universal phone connectivity across the country. The aim is to bridge India's digital divide, bringing in large investments in technology manufacturing.
2. The PM described Digital India as a roadmap to change India's future. "Earlier, a child used to playfully wrench your reading glasses", he said, "today, he reaches for your phone. We need to understand this change or the world will pass us by."
3. 'E-Governance is going to change into M-Governance... M is not Modi Governance, it is mobile governance," the PM said with a smile, sketching a broad roadmap in his 27-minute speech of how he plans to digitise India.
4. Reliance Industries Ltd plans to invest about 2.5 lakh crore ($39.3 billion) in digital initiatives, Chairman Mukesh Amabani said, though he did not indicate a timeline. "Normally, industry moves faster than government", he said," but with Digital India, I have no hesitation in saying the government has moved faster."
5. But the push to connect India and drive a national fibre optic network, approved by the previous Congress-led government in 2011, has made slow progress in utilizing technology to bring services and deliverables to those outside large towns and cities.
6. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that during Digital India Week, the government expects "billions of dollars in investment", critical for a government that needs to create more jobs quickly.
7. The government plan aims to stop net imports of technology and electronics by 2020, while creating over 100 million jobs.
8. A growing economy and falling handset prices make India one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the world, and PM Modi wants to harness that to drive social development in fields like education and health.
9. The challenges are many. India's average internet speed was ranked 115th globally earlier this year among countries studied by services provider Akamai Technologies. And India had just a little over 100 million broadband subscribers at the end of April.
10. At the event today, Cyrus Mistry said the Tata Group would hire 60,000 IT professionals this year, and Kumaramangalam Birla said his Aditya Birla Group will invest Rs. 44,500 crore ($7 billion) in the next five years in the infra and digital space.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Communications & Information Technology
01-July, 2015 10:46 IST
Digital India Week
Several initiatives have been taken for introduction of Information Technology to empower people. Some of the initiatives have resulted in development of products to extend various services in areas relating to health, education, labour and employment, commerce etc. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi would launch the Digital India Week this evening urging people to gain knowledge and to empower themselves through the Digital India Programme of his Government.

Digital India has been envisioned as an ambitious umbrella programme to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It comprises of various initiatives under the single programme each targeted to prepare India for becoming a knowledge economy and for bringing good governance to citizens through synchronized and co-ordinated engagement of the entire Government.

This programme has been envisaged and coordinated by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) in collaboration with various Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments. The Prime Minister as the Chairman of Monitoring Committee on Digital India, activities under the Digital India initiative is being carefully monitored. All the existing and ongoing e-Governance initiatives have been revamped to align them with the principles of Digital India.

The vision of Digital India programme also aims at inclusive growth in areas of electronic services, products, manufacturing and job opportunities etc. The vision of Digital India is centred on three key areas -

(i) Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen

(ii) Governance & Services on Demand and

(iii) Digital Empowerment of Citizens

With the above vision, the Digital India programme aims to provide Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, E-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology, eKranti - Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing: Target Net Zero Imports, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programmes. Several projects/products have already launched or ready to be launched as indicated below:

· Digital Locker System aims to minimize the usage of physical documents and enable sharing of e-documents across agencies. The sharing of the e-documents will be done through registered repositories thereby ensuring the authenticity of the documents online.

· MyGov.in has been implemented as a platform for citizen engagement in governance, through a “Discuss”, “Do” and “Disseminate” approach. The mobile App for MyGov would bring these features to users on a mobile phone.

· Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Mobile app would be used by people and Government organizations for achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.

· eSign framework would allow citizens to digitally sign a document online using Aadhaar authentication.

· The Online Registration System (ORS) under the eHospital application has been introduced. This application provides important services such as online registration, payment of fees and appointment, online diagnostic reports, enquiring availability of blood online etc.

· National Scholarships Portal is a one stop solution for end to end scholarship process right from submission of student application, verification, sanction and disbursal to end beneficiary for all the scholarships provided by the Government of India.

· DeitY has undertaken an initiative namely Digitize India Platform (DIP) for large scale digitization of records in the country that would facilitate efficient delivery of services to the citizens.

· The Government of India has undertaken an initiative namely Bharat Net, a high speed digital highway to connect all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats of country. This would be the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity project using optical fibre.

· BSNL has introduced Next Generation Network (NGN), to replace 30 year old exchanges, which is an IP based technology to manage all types of services like voice, data, multimedia/ video and other types of packet switched communication services.

· BSNL has undertaken large scale deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country. The user can latch on the BSNL Wi-Fi network through their mobile devices.

· To deliver citizen services electronically and improve the way citizens and authorities transact with each other, it is imperative to have ubiquitous connectivity. The government also realises this need as reflected by including ‘broadband highways’ as one of the pillars of Digital India. While connectivity is one criterion, enabling and providing technologies to facilitate delivery of services to citizens forms the other.

Policy initiatives have also been undertaken by DeitY in the e- Governance domain like e-Kranti Framework, Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software for Government of India, Framework for Adoption of Open Source Software in e-Governance Systems, Policy on Open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for Government of India, E-mail Policy of Government of India, Policy on Use of IT Resources of Government of India, Policy on Collaborative Application Development by Opening the Source Code of Government Applications, Application Development & Re-Engineering Guidelines for Cloud Ready Applications

· BPO Policy has been approved to create BPO centres in different North Eastern states and also in smaller / mofussil towns of other states.

· Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy aims to promote Innovation, R&D, and Product Development and to create a resource pool of IP within the country to create a self-sustaining eco-system of Venture Funds.

· National Centre for Flexible Electronics (NCFlexE) is an initiative of Government of India to promote research and innovation in the emerging area of Flexible Electronics.

· Centre of Excellence on Internet on Things (IoT) is a joint initiative of Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), ERNET and NASSCOM.

The estimated impact of Digital India by 2019 would be cross cutting, ranging from broadband connectivity in all Panchayats, Wi-fi in schools and universities and Public Wi-Fihotspots. The programme will generate huge number of IT, Telecom and Electronics jobs, both directly and indirectly. Success of this programme will make India Digitally empowered and the leader in usage of IT in delivery of services related to various domains such as health, education, agriculture, banking, etc.

**************

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being received by the Union Minister for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi being received by the Union Minister for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the ‘Digital India Book’, at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the ‘Policy document on EDF', at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the ‘Policy document on EDF', at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

 

[Hindustani78]

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the ‘Policy Document on E-Governance Policy Initiatives under Digital India’, at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launching the ‘Digital India Week’, at a function, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi awarding the women, working on 'digital inclusion' in remote areas of India with a laptop & certificate, at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi awarding the women, working on 'digital inclusion' in remote areas of India with a laptop & certificate, at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

Prime Minister's Office
01-July, 2015 19:17 IST
PM's remarks at the launch of Digital India week


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today described cyber-related risks as a global threat of "bloodless war," and called upon the nation's IT community to serve the entire world by building credible cyber-security systems. He was speaking at the launch of the Digital India week in New Delhi today.

The Prime Minister also exhorted the captains of India's IT industry to boost production of electronic devices and goods in the country, as part of the "Make in India" initiative, to reduce dependence on imports.

Shri Narendra Modi noted that today, it was not enough for India to say that it is an ancient civilization, and a country of 125 crore with favourable demography. He said modern technology needs to be blended with these strengths.

The Prime Minister reiterated his Government's resolve to not allow the Digital Divide to become a barrier between people. He outlined his vision of e-governance and mobile governance, where all important Government services are available on the mobile phone. "I dream of a digital India where High-speed Digital Highways unite the Nation; 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation; technology ensures the citizen-government interface is incorruptible," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said that earlier, India was criticized for launching satellites, but now it was recognized that these satellites help the common man, for instance, farmers through accurate weather forecasting. Similarly, the Prime Minister said, the Digital India initiative was aimed at improving the lives of the common man. He said that India may have missed the Industrial Revolution, but will not miss the IT revolution.

The Prime Minister assured full support to young entrepreneurs who wished to launch Start-ups. He called upon the youth to innovate and said "Design in India" is as important as "Make in India."

The Prime Minister unveiled the "Digital India" logo and released policy documents related to Digital India. He also felicitated two women CSC village level entrepreneurs.

Union Ministers Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shri J.P. Nadda, Shri Thaavar Chand Gehlot, Shri Jual Oram, and Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman were present on the occasion.

***

 

[Hindustani78]

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launching the ‘Digital India Week’, at a function, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Arun Jaitley addressing at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

The Union Minister for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad addressing at the launching ceremony of Digital India Week, in New Delhi on July 01, 2015.

 

[PatriotLover]

^^^ All that India does, sets up a stage, talks and goes home....

 

[ni8mare]

& all of that happening due to oil prices

 

[ni8mare]

i was going to post this

 

[Hindustani78]

Cyber warfare is a threat to almost all the nations and what PM Modi is doing its really needed for India.

Republic of India can help all the friendly countries in IT sector and stop the hacking groups who are working on International level.

 

[Echo_419]

You forgot DSI .. @Superboy

TOI is reporting Rs. 4.5 Lakh crores investment by private sector... Job to theek thak create honge is paise se..

Lol right how can I forget that

so what if PM Modi inaugurates a revolutionary initiative? This not a TRP generator.. let's talk about the new virtual reality show [HASHTAG]#LalitGate[/HASHTAG]!

Arnab be like duniyaa jayee ma chudayee apni
I will talk about Lalit only

 

[Hindustani78]

Pakistani hackers deface NIT Raipur website | Zee News
Last Updated: Friday, July 3, 2015 - 10:06
Raipur: The official website of the National Institute of Technology, Raipur, has been defaced by a Pakistani hacker.

According to reports, the homepage of the website, which was hacked on Thursday, displayed a warning and donned the slogan 'Pakistan Zindabad'.

However, the site has since been restored.

This attack comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India Week.

ANI

 

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
05-July, 2015 20:31 IST
PM's Digital Dialogue


PM Shri Narendra Modi has described technology as a means to “discover, learn, evolve and implement.” He shared his thoughts during the Digital Dialogue, in which we has talked extensively on technology, what it means to him and the way ahead.

Other thoughts on technology:

“It (technology) combines 3Ss- speed, simplicity and service. Technology is fast, technology is simple and technology is a brilliant way to serve people. It is also a great teacher. The more we learn about technology and the more we learn through technology, the better it is.”

“Technology empowers the less empowered. If there is a strong force that bring a change in the lives of those on the margins it is technology.”

On the Digital India initiative he said,

“The entire Nation has joined hands to make the dream of a Digital India into a reality. Youngsters are enthusiastic, industry is supportive and the government is proactive. India is yearning for a digital revolution.”

“The investment committed by industry towards a Digital India indicates their optimism and the positive effects will be felt for generations. Most notably, several job opportunities will be created for our people.”

On social media the PM opined:

“The future belongs to social media. It is egalitarian and inclusive. Social media is not about any country, any language, any colour, any community but it is about human values and that is the underlying link binding humanity.”

PM on mobile governance:

“M-governance is empowered governance. It has the potential to make development a truly inclusive and comprehensive mass movement. It puts governance into everyone's reach. It puts governance in your hands 24/7.”

On startups:

“Startups are the engines of exponential growth, manifesting the power of innovation. Several big companies today are startups of yesterday.”

“We want India to emerge as the Innovation Hub where the next big ideas emerge, driven by the power of technology.”

On Saturday 4th July the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Tweeted that he would be having a Digital Dialogue with Tech Enthusiasts. He urged people to share their views using [HASHTAG]#DigitalDialogue[/HASHTAG]. The response to his Tweets has been phenomenal. Several Tweets and Posts have been shared. At the same time, letters from the previous ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on technology and digital India were referred.

Here is the text of the dialogue:

Q1 – A very common question across social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)- The Digital India week has been launched. Has the response been encouraging and up to your expectations?

The entire Nation has joined hands to make the dream of a Digital India into a reality. Youngsters are enthusiastic, industry is supportive and the government is proactive. India is yearning for a digital revolution.

When the Digital India initiative was launched, the fervour was unimaginable and unprecedented. The investment committed by industry towards a Digital India indicates their optimism and the positive effects will be felt for generations. Most notably, several job opportunities will be created for our people.

Never before has something been planned at such a large scale. I want to add that this dream will be fulfilled not by the Central Government or the private sector alone. Everybody (Centre, State Governments, organisations, corporates, people) has to come together and is working towards a digital India.

Several people wrote to me asking how Digital India will touch their lives. They shared ideas for citizen-centric services from the national till the Panchayat level. @RishiBagree highlighted an App on waste management. @rangats and @kumawatraj have talked about PDS improvement and electronic ration cards.

I want to tell everyone - our quest for a Digital India is all encompassing. It is going to touch your lives in several ways, making it easier. For instance, the Digital Locker and e-Sign will manage all key documents with ease and efficiency. Documents can be accessed at a click and that too without being inconvenienced. Take healthcare- eHospital would mean no more wasting time standing in hospital lines. Instead, there is online registration for appointment, online payment and online reports. @microrao asked me about an online portal where information and prices of drugs and medicine will be made available. He will be happy to know that DeitY is actively working on this. The National Scholarship Portal brings together all scholarship schemes under a single application form. Thus, you will have one convenient platform to search the right scholarship, filling several forms and tracking their progress.

The real strength of these initiatives will come when they are extensively used. More usage will enable them to become mature and world class. That is why, I urge everyone to use these innovative services as much as possible. For instance, think of paying the salary of your support staff from your mobile to their Jan Dhan accounts. Similarly, keep using these services in as many ways as possible.

Q2- @BGMahesh (BG Mahesh) asked – what is your tech routine. In what ways in technology a part of your life.

This is a question many people ask me when I meet them. They ask me about technology, what mobile phone I use, how often I check my mail.

Technology for me is- discover, learn, evolve and implement.

It combines 3Ss- speed, simplicity and service. Technology is fast, technology is simple and technology is a brilliant way to serve people. It is also a great teacher. The more we learn about technology and the more we learn through technology, the better it is.

Technology enthuses the world. I see technology as this vast ocean whose small droplets I have been able to touch upon. Ofcourse, I want to know more and more about latest technology but due to my schedule it becomes very tough.

Yet, I am a curious mind when it comes to anything that facilitates public good and so, I try to learn more and more about how technology can ensure public good. I keep thinking about it and try to know as much more as possible.

Like any common person, I scan my mails and try to be as regular in correspondence (by my own standards I am still slow). Technology makes access to information a lot faster. I am able to access news on the go. I may be travelling in the hills, in the Northeast of in interior Chhattisgarh but thanks to technology I am abreast with what is happening.

I have been using technology for my work right from the days when I was doing party work. As a Chief Minister I made attempts to integrate technology in the working of the government and my efforts to do the same continue in Delhi. A few months ago we launched PRAGATI, a technology based multi-purpose and multi-nodal platform where projects are monitored and people’s problems are addressed. On the last Wednesday of every month, I sit down with top officials during the PRAGATI sessions and we cover substantial ground in a wide range of sectors. We are already seeing the difference this can make.

Technology transforms people's lives. From mitigating poverty to simplifying processes, ending corruption to providing better services, Technology is omnipresent. It has become the single-most important instrument of human progress.

Technology is here to stay. The future of technology lies in its humanization. Technology on a day-to-day basis is getting adaptive to human emotions, preferences and choices. To me technology used wisely is a catalyst to magically transforming the way we live.

Q3- @ramyavenugopal (Ramya Venugopal) asked- You are active on ‪@LinkedIn‬ with a vibrant following. How has social media helped u connect better with people?

The future belongs to social media. It is egalitarian and inclusive. Social media is not about any country, any language, any colour, any community but it is about human values and that is the underlying link binding humanity.

A great example is the recent [HASHTAG]#SelfieWithDaughter[/HASHTAG] trend. Through social media I read about this initiative in a district in Haryana and I thought I must talk about it during my ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and ask parents to share selfies with their daughters on social media. The rest is history. Worldwide and in India this became a trend. People from Africa, Europe, the Americas, South Asian neighbours shared selfies taken with their daughters. When people were sharing selfies, they were not responding to the call of a Prime Minister, it was a connect between humans for a cause that is important for all of us and has resonance across the globe.

On Yoga Day the world could see what is happening all over due to social media. Physical distance was rendered irrelevant. Similarly, during the previous ‘Mann Ki Baat’ I asked people to share glimpses of [HASHTAG]#IncredibleIndia[/HASHTAG] and I got lakhs of responses. One Vietnamese person shared his memories of India and I got an opportunity to talk to that person on Twitter. When a group of friends decided to clean the Ghats in Varanasi it created waves across the world. If this doesn’t indicate something then what does?

My being on social media has enriched me in many ways. After a long day at work, I log on to social media and it is very very refreshing. I am active on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Instagram. It gives me a pulse of what people think. I get a lot of feedback. For example, someone tweeted to me that during one of the speeches I spoke too fast. It acts as a mirror for all of us in our otherwise very busy lives.

I am a firm believer in the use of social media. It has given voice to the common man. This is an empowering platform and it should be used as positively and creatively as possible. That is when you will understand the power of that medium and you will be able to make a difference.

Q4- Narayan Reddy from Andhra Pradesh wrote: There is a sense that technology further empowers those who are already empowered. How can technology change the lives of people on the margins? @RupamG (Rupam Ghatak) asks – rural India needs better internet penetration, how can digital India achieve that?

Technology empowers the less empowered. If there is a strong force that bring a change in the lives of those on the margins it is technology. It serves as a leveler and a springboard.

Take for instance the farmer. Technology can make agriculture productive, prosperous and profitable. We have seen this worldwide. I was happy to know that crores of Indian farmers have been receiving agriculture related information trough SMS.

Just recently, the Cabinet cleared the Scheme of Promotion of National Agriculture Market through Agri-Tech Infrastructure Fund. 585 regulated markets across India will be integrated with common e-platform. Farmers and traders can get opportunities to purchase and sell agricultural commodities at optimal prices in a transparent manner.

When a person can call for an auto rickshaw from the mobile yes, it makes life convenient for him or her but imagine the difference it makes in the auto driver’s life. Due to technology things like railway tickets have become easier to obtain. No need to take a day off from work and stand in line.

Small entrepreneurs not having abundant capital, get a chance to create value, through technology. Our handicraft workers who were dependent on seasonal tourist flow, can now sell their products across the world with a single click. Aggregators of various kinds have given a fresh lease of life to thousands of people across our country. Be it retail, tourism, transport, food industry, technology has given a new platform to thousands of people, most of who are on the margins.

I want to share a small story. As CM, I went to a tribal area of Kaprada in Valsad district for inaugurating a chilling centre in a dairy. Since there was less space to conduct a meeting at the centre itself, the programme was held 3 km away on a school’s ground. Some 30-40 tribal women, who collect milk, were present at the venue. While returning from the venue after the function, I saw nearly three-fourth of the women clicking photos from their mobiles. I asked, “What will you do after clicking these photos from your mobile phones?” They said we will get the photographs transferred to a computer and later get the printouts. These are women who never attended school or college where they could learn what to do with photographs clicked with a mobile. But they know that the photo can be transferred to a computer and later be collected in the form of a printout from the computer. I was amazed. This is how technology has reached out to people on its own even at the margins.

Q5- Shaili Chopra- As a digital entrepreneur I would like to know how does technology and India’s demographic dividend converge, especially for young women?

I think this is a natural convergence and India is the natural place for such a convergence. Yes, many parts of the world have technology but no other nation is blessed with a demographic dividend like ours. India offers the complete package.

The industrial revolution may have come late to India, but we are going strong in the current start-up revolution. I am told that we are currently the 4th largest startup ecosystem in the world and soon we are poised to be 2nd, only after USA. And the best part is- this is driven by the youth. This is drawing the interest of the world and has energized people across India. This is convergence for you.

Exuberance and Talent of our youth is finding an outlet of expression through technology. This is not only driven by demand side dynamics but is well complemented by our supply side potential as well. Hence technology is serving as a connecting bridge between our ever expanding consumer market and our demographic dividend. Here, I want to point to our MyGov experience. It gives people the opportunity to contribute to Nation building through technology. Many of the ideas we have got through MyGov are brilliant. So, when @Priyanka_1512 (Priyanka Aggarwal) says, “please let youth like me (working in private IT companies) know how can we contribute to a Digital India” or when @thetakshakpai says, “how do you intend on encouraging fresher tech/engineering students to contribute to ‪#DigitalIndia‬?” – I want to tell them and many others- go to MyGov and enrich the platform with your contribution.

Q6- @MonicaBhatia (Monia Bhatia) asked- Despite high penetration of Internet, many are still not digitally literate. How do you plan to spread digital literacy.

I don’t see it as being limited to digital literacy. The larger point lies in encouraging people to use technology. In some cases the problem is access. In some cases it is lack of adequate guidance. In some cases it may even be offering the technology the person needs. We are attending to all these challenges. Once we increase access to technology, the challenge of digital literacy will be mitigated.

I feel our emphasis on mobile governance will be a game changer as far as increasing technology penetration is concerned. A mobile is something every Indian dreams of having and is something every Indian even ends up having. We must make full use of this.

Giving our citizens a choice architecture, which enables them to choose technology led solutions through carefully calibrated nudges will help. A robust choice architecture implies producers are constantly innovating and consumers have a gamut of products and services to chose from. There will be something for everything.

It is important to harness technology in totality. In the past we have seen use of technology in isolation. The power of technology lies in convergence. Convergence brings convenience and this increases usage.

We want to give every Indian a unique digital identity. In the past, there have been too many digital identities for every person. Every service has it’s own requirement and every service has its own database.

All of this is happening due to the alternatives technology offers to our lives today. I am confident that Indians will be second to none in their embrace of technology in all aspects of their lives in the years to come.

Q7- Chandan Kumar from Bihar asked- What impact will technology and automation have on India considering a huge low skilled base?

Technology has time and again created opportunities for a whole new generation of Jobs and Industries.

I have been studying with great interest what is happening around the world. We are seeing the advent of a new generation of Machines. Some are calling it the next Machine Age. 3D Printing, Internet of Things, Intelligent Machines and Robotics will automate many Industries. While some see a threat I see an opportunity.

Let me explain why - we in India already have a natural advantage given our strengths in Software and Information Technology. Even as Technology and Automation may make low skilled jobs redundant in some sectors we have the natural advantage to learn new skills and lay claim to a whole new generation of jobs to manage all of this new age automation.

Hence my mantra is – don’t talk about "Digital India", "Make in India", “Design in India” and "Skilled India" in silos. All of them are interrelated. It is in the synergy across all three lies India's Opportunity for the 21st Century.

Q8 – There are a lot of questions on PM’s vision for mobile governance and the NM Mobile application.

M-governance is empowered governance. It has the potential to make development a truly inclusive and comprehensive mass movement. It puts governance into everyone's reach. It puts governance in your hands 24/7.

I have been saying from Day 1 that we should be working towards a ‘Mobile First’ approach. You may have seen that all our websites are increasingly getting mobile friendly. Innovative mobile applications have been developed that deliver end-to-end services. We will have to take into account the popularity of mobile and smart phones while taking decisions pertaining to IT.

It also helps that mobiles are relatively easier to learn- a person may take time to learn a new operating system but he or she will master sending a WhatsApp message very quickly.

A decade ago and beyond, the pressing challenge was to take mobile phones to as many people as possible. Today, when already a large majority of people have mobile phones in the country yes, we do hope the number increases but the focus has shifted only beyond numerical reach of mobiles.

One small effort towards reaching out to the people on their mobile phones through the ‘Narendra Modi Mobile App.’ Launched a few weeks ago, the App is a one stop destination for all the latest news and updates from my side. It allows people to directly communicate with me and gives me an opportunity to hear their insights. It is also a repository of earlier news, my blogs, good governance initiatives of the government and the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episodes; these episodes can be heard in 16 languages too. Infact, the radio programme can be heard live through the App. People can receive messages through me on the App as well.

The response to the Mobile App has made me very happy.

Q9- Ankhi Das- I compliment you for cutting through layers ad reaching out to all directly and having a conversation. I hope this is a start of the many Digital Dialogues that you will have in our country. What is Digital India’s top priority. What is Digital India’s top priority? What role do you see universal access and the internet playing within Digital India?

These 3As are important for a Digital India- Accessible, Additive and Affordable.

Access is key. We want our 125 crore Citizens to be digitally empowered. We already have broadband usage across India go up by 63% in the last year. We need to accelerate this further. The government efforts must be complemented by similar energy and proactiveness by other stakeholders. I would also like to see the private sector become part of the efforts to ensure broadband Internet has the widest reach across India.

Our digital India initiative is about value addition. It must enrich the lives of the people. It must offer something unique to everyone, which can make a positive difference.

Similarly, Affordability is the third key. A product can be accessible and additive but it will never leave the long-term impact until it can be affordable. Because, at the end of the day, who are we working for? Who will gain the most from these initiatives- the poor, the marginalised, the neo-middle class.

In terms of scale, extent and influence, our Digital India initiatives must be path breaking and all inclusive, laying the foundation for how we script India’s development story in the 21st Century.

Q10 – In the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ letters, Kishore Trivedi from Rajkot asked- Prime Minister, what do you feel are the major challenges in the roadmap to achieve a digital India?

When we have taken up such an ambitious initiative and that too at such a large scale, there will be several challenges. But, we should neither underestimate these challenges nor should we get overwhelmed by them. We must be laser focused on our Mission and that is what we are doing.

I have already talked about access and affordable access.

The second challenge is Skills and Knowledge. We have to empower our Citizens with the skills and knowledge to use Digital Applications and Services. We also have to volunteer time and effort to share Digital Skills so our fellow citizens who have recently been digitally empowered get to know how to use this powerful medium and are able to get the maximum out of this medium.

The third challenge is reforming the citizen government Interface and the processes of governance. A Digital First model of Governance will not only bring in efficiency and transparency but also will also dramatically reduce corruption.

The fourth challenge is Innovation and keeping pace with the latest in technology. Every day there are new innovations that is making some piece of technology obsolete. It is in this fast changing technology environment that we must realize the Digital India goals.

Q11- @sbikh (Sanjeev Bikhchandani) asked- What is your message to young tech entrepreneurs doing start-ups?

Startups are the engines of exponential growth, manifesting the power of innovation. Several big companies today are startups of yesterday. They were born with a spirit of enterprise and adventure kept alive due to hardwork and perseverance and today have become shining beacons of innovation.

Thus, my message- keep innovating. Innovation is what will help us grow faster. The world is changing, quicker than ever before and we cannot remain oblivious to that. If we don’t innovate, if we don’t come up with cutting edge products there will be stagnation.

On the part of the Government, I assure absolute support. We are doing everything possible to make enterprise and innovation easier. We have covered substantial ground in the last 14 months and want to do a lot more in the future. We want India to emerge as the Innovation Hub where the next big ideas emerge, driven by the power of technology.

 

[dray]

Digital India Week: 10 Revolutionay Launches By The Narendra Modi Government

Inaugurating ‘Digital India Week’ on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for a digital revolution in the country, which he said is necessary to deal with problems like corruption, for a transparent and efficient governance and to bridge the rich-poor divide.

Here are the 13 launches made at Digital India Week:

Products

1. Digital Locker: It is aimed at minimising the usage of physical documents and enabling sharing of e-documents across agencies and individuals. Hassle-free registration can be done for SIM cards, LPG connections and driving licences.
It will speed up issuance of certificates such as birth, marriage and domicile. One can store and share important documents such as PAN cards, passports and educational certificates.

2. National Scholarship Portal: Unique log-in ID and password for all stakeholders. The scholarship will be disbursed to the bank accounts of students.

3. eHospital: Online Registration Services: Citizens can avail of online services such as registration and appointment, pay fees, view diagnostic reports and check blood availability.

4. eSign: eSign offers the functionality to authenticate signers and perform the digital signing of documents using Aadhaar eKYC service (biometric or OTP) while submitting documents to agencies. Hardware tokens are not required to be used.

5. Digitise India Platform: This initiative would facilitate efficient delivery of services and reduce piles of paper in record rooms of offices. The government’s files and documents, which are shareable and useful to citizens, would be digitised through “crowd sourcing” and citizens can earn money by participating in it.

Portals/apps

6. MyGov Mobile App: Through this innovative platform, the government encourages citizens to participate in policymaking by giving ideas and suggestions. As many as 211 issues have been put up for discussion in the MyGov.in web platform since July 2014.

7. BharatNet: It is the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity project using optical fibre to connect each of 2.5 lakh gram panchayats with a minimum of 100 Mbps bandwidth. Bharatnet will serve as the infrastructure backbone of Digital India, to facilitate delivery of e-Governance, e-Health, e-Education, e-Banking, internet and various other services.

8. Wi-Fi Hotspots: BSNL has launched Wi-Fi services at 78 hotspots over 17 locations across 6 cities to provide affordable, anywhere and anytime, high-speed broadband services while on the move. About 2,500 hotspots are planned to be set up by BSNL in FY16. These would essentially be in tourist destinations and government buildings dealing with people’s issues.

9. Next Generation Network (NGN): NGN technology will converge public switched telephone network, data network and wireless mobile network to enable high speed broadband across the country. This would provide for the first time value-added services such as video chats, video conferencing and other services now available on mobile phone on fixed line telephone at nominal prices.

Institutions

10. Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT): IoT is the emerging technological advancement in IT/ITeS sector, which is expected to swamp the connected digital world. The Centre of Excellence for IoT is expected to promote a vibrant IoT ecosystem, helping India attain a leadership role in the filed.

 

[dray]

C-DOT Launches Broadband Products

Image Courtesy : productrating

C-DOT, The R&D institute of the department of telecommunications, will next week launch four broadband products developed to forward the Digital India initiative.

The products, which includes long distance WiFi system, solar-powered WiFi system, 100 Gbps optical fibre cable (OFC) link and C-DOT’s next generation network (NGN) in MTNL network, will be launched by Minister of Communication and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad on July 6 as a part of the Digital India week.

The long distance WiFi system :
It is capable of extending WiFi and IP connectivity to the remote parts of India in a cost-effective and power-efficient manner, and is capable of providing 100 Mbps broadband speed.

The solar-powered WiFi system :
It is designed for outdoor environments and inaccessible terrains and operates in bands of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz. It can also be used for backhaul link for WiFi hotspots, cellular base stations and base station controllers, ATMs and database servers.

The 100 Gbps OFC link :
It will accommodate the increasing demand for superior bandwidth, high speed and power efficiency, C-DOT’s cost-effective next generation network (NGN) solution addresses the need of the changing telecom scenario and enables telecom firms to make a smooth transition from legacy time division multiplexing (TDM) technology to advanced VoIP Telecom technology.

A successful trial of the developed live network has been done for 1,000 landline connections of legacy PSTN technologies to C-DOT’s IMS-compliant NGN technology.

With this successful trial, MTNL can launch various services like voice, video and data, through various access based on IP. Also, it now possible to migrate its existing 3.5 million landline subscribers of MTNL to IP based network.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Labour & Employment
06-July, 2015 18:30 IST
EPFO Celebrates Digital India Week: Unveils New Website

EPFO Emerging as Centre for Excellence in Governance - Shri Shankar Aggarwal

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is on way of becoming a centre for excellence in governance. This was stated by Shri Shankar Aggarwal, Secretary, Labour & Employment here today while inaugurating EPFO’s new revamped website as a part of ‘Digital India Week’. Shri Aggarwal reiterated various initiatives taken by EPFO in the recent past to bring about a transformative effect on the benefit delivery mechanisms by adopting IT enabled tools and techniques. He further said that EPFO will become truly paperless and extremely subscriber/citizen friendly in the days to come.


On the occasion, a booklet detailing the various digital initiatives taken by EPFO in the recent past was also released. In the recent past, EPFO had taken giant strides in improving its benefit delivery methods and mechanisms. Leveraging Information technology, a host of measures were introduced for greater customer satisfaction:


Universal Account Number (UAN) – The launch of UAN has enabled PF members to access a bouquet of services like dynamically updated UAN card, updated PF passbook including all transfer-in details, facility to link previous members’ ID with present ID, monthly SMS regarding credit of contribution in PF account and facility for auto-triggering transfer request on change of employment. Already, more than 4.64 crore UAN have been allotted and 58 lakh EPF members have activated their UAN. During the UAN campaign, approximately2.42 crore bank account details, 99 lakh PAN details and 58 lakh Aadhar / NPR numbers of PF members were captured by EPFO.


With the launch of Inoperative Account Helpdesk on the EPFO website, tracing out old or dormant Inoperative Account of PF members has become easy. Already, more than 42,500 cases registered with the helpdesk have been disposed.


With the introduction of centralized software for generation of certification of coverage(CoC) for international workers, it has been possible to issue more than 63,000 certificates of coverage to members migrating for employment to countries having social security agreement with India.


Online Transfer Claim Portal(OTCP) has madetransfer of PF accumulations from one account to another quick and online. Members can file their requests online and there is zero paper movement between the concerned offices of the organisation. More than 5.71 lakh claims have been handled through this facility.


Electronic return for exempted establishment has made the process of submitting the monthly return by exempted establishments easier and hassle free. 1,600 exempted establishments have made use of this facility.


Centralized Monitoring of Compliance related functions has enabled online monitoring by field offices and Head Office. It provides data on defaults by establishments covered under the Act and enables the Organisation to track the status of assessments including levy of damages and also status of recovery and legal cases.


Online Registration of Establishments (OLRE) has made registration of establishment with EPFO web based. PF code allotment letter is also made available online and more than 53,000 employers have benefited since the introduction of this facility in June, 2014.


Mobile platform based Short Code SMS Service was also launched which could be accessed by PF members who have activated their UAN. Using this service, member can send SMS to a specific number i.e 7738299899. The format of the SMS is EPFOHO UAN followed by first three characters of the preferred language.


SMS alerts are sent to members for remittance, withdrawals, interest credit etc.Also, SMS is sent to employers for non deposit of dues.


Central MIS portal has introduced a system of Dashboards which ensures uniformity and consistency in data and results in greater efficiency in monitoring.


Auto-updation of members’ accounts has enabled the organization to update more than 14.5 crore accounts for the year 2014-15 in the beginning of the financial year itself.


In addition to the above, EPFO has lined up a slew of digital initiatives for the future like introduction of centralized pension system, integration with external entities such as UIDAI, steps to ensure direct extension of services to members, initiation of Big Data analytics and progressive introduction of service delivery measures through hand held devices.


Earlier Shri K K Jalan,CPFC welcomed the guests. Shri Harish Gupta, EPF Appellatet Tribunal Senior officers from the Ministry and EPFO were present.

The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal inaugurated the new website of EPFO as part of Digital India Initiatives of EPFO, in New Delhi on July 06, 2015.

The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal felicitated the officers who have excelled in e- enabled services of EPFO, at inauguration of the new website of EPFO as part of Digital India Initiatives of EPFO, in New Delhi on July 06, 2015.

The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal felicitated the officers who have excelled in e- enabled services of EPFO, at inauguration of the new website of EPFO as part of Digital India Initiatives of EPFO, in New Delhi on July 06, 2015.

The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal releasing a boolet at inauguration of the new website of EPFO as part of Digital India Initiatives of EPFO, in New Delhi on July 06, 2015.

The Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Shri Shankar Aggarwal addressing a press conference at the inauguration of the new website of EPFO as part of Digital India Initiatives of EPFO, in New Delhi on July 06, 2015.

 

[Echo_419]

C-DOT Launches Broadband Products

Image Courtesy : productrating

C-DOT, The R&D institute of the department of telecommunications, will next week launch four broadband products developed to forward the Digital India initiative.

The products, which includes long distance WiFi system, solar-powered WiFi system, 100 Gbps optical fibre cable (OFC) link and C-DOT’s next generation network (NGN) in MTNL network, will be launched by Minister of Communication and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad on July 6 as a part of the Digital India week.

The long distance WiFi system :
It is capable of extending WiFi and IP connectivity to the remote parts of India in a cost-effective and power-efficient manner, and is capable of providing 100 Mbps broadband speed.

The solar-powered WiFi system :
It is designed for outdoor environments and inaccessible terrains and operates in bands of 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz. It can also be used for backhaul link for WiFi hotspots, cellular base stations and base station controllers, ATMs and database servers.

The 100 Gbps OFC link :
It will accommodate the increasing demand for superior bandwidth, high speed and power efficiency, C-DOT’s cost-effective next generation network (NGN) solution addresses the need of the changing telecom scenario and enables telecom firms to make a smooth transition from legacy time division multiplexing (TDM) technology to advanced VoIP Telecom technology.

A successful trial of the developed live network has been done for 1,000 landline connections of legacy PSTN technologies to C-DOT’s IMS-compliant NGN technology.

With this successful trial, MTNL can launch various services like voice, video and data, through various access based on IP. Also, it now possible to migrate its existing 3.5 million landline subscribers of MTNL to IP based network.

Great news