Digital India: Opportunities and Challenges including in Context of COVID-19

Abstract

Abstract: Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple Government Ministries and Departments. It is an effort to weave a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision so that each of them can be implemented as part of a larger goal. Digital India is to be implemented by the entire Government with overall coordination being done by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). It provides the much needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas, namely Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme, eGovernance: Reforming Government through Technology, e-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services, Information for All, Electronics Manufacturing, IT for Jobs and Early Harvest Programmes. A number of digital health initiatives have also been rolled out under the programme, including in context of COVID-19 and pandemic response. A comprehensive real-time based IT platform ‘COVID India Portal’ has been launched in March 2020 in response to COVID -19 pandemic, for monitoring the situation, preparedness and management to control the COVID in the country.