India: Digitalization Program as the key to social problems solving

Abstract

The article examines the place and role of the public institutions and the economy digitalization in the implementation of the Indian innovation policy objectives such as the inclusiveness of innovations and the social problems of the country resolution on this basis. It is shown that digitalization reduces the cost and optimizes social communications, and as a result facilitates the interaction of the country’s citizens with public authorities, access of disadvantaged segments of the population to services that improve their quality of life, and activates their involvement in economic activity that can improve their standards of living. The article also examines the prerequisites that have been formed to implement large-scale digitalization in India. These are a digital identification system that has no analogues in the world, low cost mobile telephony services, a large number of mobile phone users, and a network of public broadband Internet access centers created by the state that covers the entire country. Thus, India has created a good base to provide access to electronic services for the general population. It is concluded that a broad base of digitalization was created due to the highly developed ICT industry in India. Examples of areas of digitalization include public services, healthcare, financial services, and agriculture. These are the areas where the social aspect of digitalization is most noticeable. And the digitalization of agriculture allows numerous farmers to conduct agricultural production effectively and efficiently, increasing their incomes. Thus, a systematic and integrated approach to digitalization allows the country to make significant progress in solving social problems caused by the poverty of the population, which persists despite rapid economic growth.