The world is experiencing an unprecedented shift towards digitalization, and India is striving to keep pace with its Digital India program. However, this shift is not without its challenges, as it has exposed a significant digital divide that mirrors socioeconomic inequalities.
As someone who values the principles of equality, it is disheartening to see that marginalized communities are often the most disconnected from the digital world. The divide can hinder access to basic services, exacerbating inequalities that already exist. It is imperative to tackle the systemic obstacles in universal education, healthcare, and financial inclusion, rather than solely relying on technology as a solution.
While the pandemic has underscored the importance of technology in our daily lives, it is essential to ensure that equitable access to technology is available to all. Bridging the digital divide requires collective efforts from policymakers, civil societies, and stakeholders. As we move towards a more digital world, we must ensure that no one is left behind, and everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the digital economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant change in the way education was imparted worldwide. With schools and universities shutting down to avoid exposure to the virus, online education became the norm.
The transition to digital learning had a profound effect on economically disadvantaged and marginalized students, as they were unable to fully participate in their education or even faced the risk of dropping out due to the digital divide that limited their access to computers and the internet. The three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Vikram Nath, and B.V. Nagarathna warned that the digital divide will defeat the fundamental right of every poor child to education.
As someone who has witnessed the rapid growth of the digital space over the past two decades, it’s clear to me that this growth has been far from equal. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made it even more apparent that marginalized groups are being left behind. According to the UN, women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, or from ethnic or linguistic minorities, indigenous groups, and residents of poor or remote areas are among those most affected by the digital divide.
And let’s not forget about young children, who are missing out on critical lessons simply because they lack access to phones or other necessary technological equipment. In this era of rapid technological advancement, let us join hands and pave the way toward a future where no one is left behind. Let us empower every individual with equal access to the tools and resources required to thrive in the digital age.
Despite its benefits for the privileged, digital technology has also contributed to the widening of inequalities. As a result, depending solely on digital technology for public service delivery may not always be the best approach. This highlights the need for increased public investment in human resources and infrastructure development to ensure that everyone has access to public services. The pandemic has highlighted the need to bridge the digital divide and ensure that everyone has access to digital tools and resources regardless of socioeconomic status.
As digital technology has become increasingly pervasive, concerns regarding inequality of access and information have grown, leading to the concept of the digital divide. As defined by the OECD, the digital divide refers to the gap in access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the internet for various socioeconomic levels, individuals, households, businesses, and geographic areas. This gap reflects differences within and among countries.
The digital divide is not just about access, but also about individuals becoming “knowers and know-nots” and “doers and do-nots.” The digital divide can be understood through two theoretical perspectives – the technological diffusion normalization model and the stratification model of diffusion of technologies. While the former suggests that the digital divide will eventually close as technology becomes more widely available, the latter emphasizes that developed countries and privileged social groups are likely to maintain their advantage in the digital economy despite increased digital uptake.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General has warned that the digital divide has the potential to be the “new face of inequality.” The risk of exacerbating inequalities is highest in the least developed countries that have not built technological capabilities and are lagging behind. Therefore, bridging the digital divide requires attention to both access and usage of digital technology infrastructure. Merely having the infrastructure is not sufficient to address the issues of the digital divide.
The digital divide in India is starkly apparent in the disparities between rich and poor, urban and rural areas, and different caste and religious groups. This digital divide only serves to reinforce the existing socioeconomic inequalities in the country, with the most marginalized groups being left behind.
India’s rural areas are worse off than several of the least developed countries in terms of digital infrastructure. Despite the government’s Digital India program, India ranks poorly in the UN’s e-participation index due to lower levels of infrastructure development. The program has largely benefited the privileged sector of society more than the underprivileged.
To illustrate, the biometric-authenticated PDS system’s failure to deliver benefits to poor beneficiaries was caused by a range of factors such as biometric authentication failure, insufficient knowledge of Point of Sale devices, and inaccurate records. These disparities in digital access only worsen existing inequalities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where students without access to computers and the internet could not participate in online education, deepening the divide between the digital haves and have-nots.
Although Digital Health programs can increase the use of ICTs in delivering health services, the lack of access to digital technology among marginalized groups can further widen health disparities and exacerbate consumption inequality between households. Recognizing the digital access and literacy gap, Niti Aayog, the union government’s policy think tank, has acknowledged the challenges in achieving inclusion and equity.
Therefore, bridging the digital divide necessitates significant public investment in human resources and infrastructure development to deliver public services more efficiently and effectively, while ensuring that marginalized groups are not left behind.
The digital divide has far-reaching implications across multiple domains, including education, healthcare, and financial inclusion. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges students and educators face in accessing and effectively utilizing digital technologies have become even more pronounced.
Despite sustained efforts to integrate digital technology into primary, secondary, and higher education systems, the current crisis has underscored the urgent need to address the issue of inadequate access to digital infrastructure in countries like India. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of students in India remain deprived of basic digital resources, such as devices and internet connectivity, making online education a distant possibility.
The National Sample Survey Office reports that only about 9 percent of students enrolled in any course have access to a computer with internet, and 25 percent have access to the internet through any device. Access to digital infrastructure is also unequally distributed, with urban areas having better access than rural areas.
The top-income decile students have the highest access to digital infrastructure, whereas those in the lowest-income decile have the lowest access. These digital disparities exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities, particularly in education.
The digital divide in India is not only evident between urban and rural areas but also among students from different caste groups. The access to digital infrastructure is inequitable, with only 4 percent of students from ST and SC communities having access to a computer with internet connectivity, compared to 7 percent of students from OBCs and 21 percent from the “Others” caste group.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to address the issue of inadequate access to digital infrastructure. According to Oxfam India’s survey conducted in May-June 2020 in five states, over 75 percent of parents faced challenges in supporting their children to access education digitally, including internet connectivity and affordability. Moreover, 84 percent of teachers faced challenges in delivering education digitally, with nearly half of them struggling with signal issues and data expenses.
The study also revealed that many teachers lack the necessary devices to deliver education digitally, indicating a lack of preparedness. The digital divide has significant consequences for education, particularly in developing countries like India. The gap in access to digital infrastructure and devices has created a significant disparity between students from different socio-economic and caste groups, making online learning difficult for many. The failure to consider the provision of mid-day meals and textbooks during the pandemic has further exacerbated the problem.
With digitalization rapidly penetrating different domains of human life, the healthcare industry is also experiencing a shift. The realm of digital health, which encompasses personalized medicine, telemedicine, telehealth, wearable devices, health IT, and mHealth, has the capacity to bring about a significant transformation in healthcare services.
The advantages of electronic healthcare are not fairly spread out, and there is worry that it only serves the more advantaged segments of the population, neglecting those who require it the most. The absence of online connectivity is progressively being acknowledged as a significant public health problem, and specialists suggest that high-speed internet access ought to be viewed as a social factor influencing health. Health disparities have been exacerbated by the digital gap, which has hindered the provision of healthcare and wellness. A new technological advancement known as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has emerged, which combines medical devices and apps to connect healthcare IT systems using various networking technologies. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, formerly known as the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), seeks to construct a digital health system in India.
Nonetheless, worries persist about deficient digital infrastructure and difficulties with digital proficiency. Inadequate digital access and literacy rates among NDHM users pose a risk of exclusion. The ability to reach essential infrastructure and services, such as a mobile device or computer and web connectivity, is essential to maintaining patient records and utilizing resources like e-Sanjeevani, a telemedicine platform that strives to unite rural areas with dependable healthcare providers. Furthermore, there are reservations about informed consent and the difficulty of obtaining it from those who lack the digital proficiency to provide it voluntarily.
Financial inclusion is a crucial factor in reducing poverty rates globally by providing vulnerable groups, such as low-income households and weaker sections, financial accessibility and affordable credit. The extent of financial access is determined by the availability and usage of financial products. In India, the government has introduced the Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile system to promote fintech, which has successfully banked 78% of the population, notwithstanding the fact that more than one fourth of these accounts still remain dormant.
Additionally, the introduction of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and cashless transactions has advanced India’s move towards inclusivity, however, the concerns of cyber threats and identity fraud should be tackled. To avoid deceptive practices such as raising credit limits without the borrower’s clear agreement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has established digital lending regulations. Digital advancements empower those who were formerly financially marginalized to save, settle bills, obtain loans, and prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the importance of digital financial inclusion. Although India has relatively high rates of account ownership, the country still has a substantial number of unbanked individuals due to its size. In the next decade, digital finance has the potential to add around $3.7 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of developing nations, ultimately generating as many as 95 million new employment opportunities across all domains. Digital finance can lead to a 10 to 12 percent surge in GDP in regions such as Nigeria, India, and Ethiopia where financial inclusion and digital payments are insufficient. Nonetheless, large gaps in digital payment adoption between the wealthiest 60% and the poorest 40% in India need to be addressed.
The technological progressions in India and the associated difficulties are worth considering. To convert India into a knowledge economy and a digitally empowered community, the government initiated the “Digital India” initiative in 2015. The program emphasizes the use of public-private partnerships to implement e-governance projects. However, there is a reliance on private players to expand internet connectivity in India, and private companies have become the foremost providers of internet services in the country.
Among internet service providers, Reliance Jio boasts the most substantial count of internet subscribers, accounting for 52% of the market share, while government-owned BSNL has only 4% of the market share. The BharatNet scheme, which is intended to provide internet access to rural India, is facing setbacks owing to the sluggish pace of development in certain states and a dearth of motivations for private entities to participate. As a result, the rural populace has been left behind in the drive for digitization, leading to a rise in disparities. Private companies, like Byju’s, are making huge profits in the tech industry, and concerns about the rise in prices of internet services loom over the future.
The predicament of socio-economic inequality cannot be entirely resolved through digitalization, particularly when a significant segment of the populace lacks essential means such as devices, internet, and technical expertise. In fact, the process of digitization can actually worsen existing inequalities, as it often favors those who are already digitally connected while excluding the rest. As such, there is a pressing need to address the challenges and hurdles of digital technology to ensure that a sustainable and inclusive digital environment can be established.
Achieving this goal requires a concerted effort to bridge the digital divide, promote digital literacy, and make digital infrastructure and services accessible to all members of society. Only then can we truly leverage the potential of digital technology to promote economic growth, social welfare, and environmental sustainability in a fair and equitable manner.
The passage outlines a series of measures that can be implemented to tackle the challenges arising from the digital divide. To bridge the digital gap, the first step is to tackle the primary reason for it, which is financial disparity. This can be accomplished by enhancing the earnings of the underprivileged, delivering comprehensive health and education facilities, and decreasing indirect tax obligations. The second step is to make sure that internet connectivity is available in distant and rural regions, which can be accomplished through communal networks and publicly accessible WiFi/internet entry points.
The third step is to make internet connectivity affordable for all, through government investment in digital infrastructure and reducing taxes on devices. The fourth step involves digital literacy camps to promote the effective use of technology in schools and panchayats. The fifth step involves setting up an open and accountable system to address grievances associated with EdTech and Healthtech. During times of emergencies, such as pandemics, governments should explore low-tech or non-digital options to ensure that public services and rights are accessible to everyone, not just those who rely on digital tools.
In conclusion, the digital divide in India is a significant challenge that threatens to exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities. While the government’s efforts to promote digitalization under the Digital India initiative are laudable, there is a need to address the structural challenges that limit access to essential amenities such as learning, medical care, and monetary integration are imperative.Bridging the digital divide will require the active engagement and dialogue among policymakers, civil societies, and stakeholders.
It is crucial to recognize that digital transformation alone cannot solve the inherent challenges of the physical world. We should be committed to fighting inequality, and creating a just and equal society is essential in this regard. By addressing the root causes of inequality and ensuring universal access to basic services, India can become a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy for all. #Contest: Digital Access