By N Ravi Shanker
“Speed thrills but also kills” is a hoarding one sees on the highway. On the information highway it may well read “Speed thrills but the lack of speed kills”. That denotes the importance of Broadband for Bharat. We are in Amrit Kaal at present and have visions of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Intermediate goals are to be a USD 5 Trillion economy in a year or two, and the third largest economy by 2030. For this to be a reality we need to broad-base our approach to development and adopt a broadband based economy across sectors. That alone will foster faster growth. Just like trade and commerce expanded exponentially with the advent of highways and transport vehicles of various categories, likewise information highways that transport large volumes of data have facilitated the expansion of the Internet economy leading to a multiplier effect across sectors. Now it is electronics everywhere: e-infrastructure, e-commerce, e-learning, e-governance et al.
e-Infrastructure:
ICT or Information and Communication Technologies refers to the amalgam of Telecom infrastructure and IT. Telecom infrastructure comprises Optical Fiber Cables (OFC), Telecom towers and Satellite communications. Optical fiber cables are laid underground on land and also under water across the seas and oceans. The optical fiber reaches up to the end point – a home, an office, or an institution. It is a robust medium to transport large volumes of data at high speed. Desktops connected to the fiber-point and laptops connected to it via Wi-Fi enjoy high speed broadband. Next in importance are the telecom towers that are spread all across the country. Microwave transmission is the medium adopted by all Mobile/Cellphone operators. 4G is ubiquitous across the country and 5G technology is slowly expanding its base as the preferred mode for cellphones. In transmission terms both 4G and 5G are very good – mobile broadband as available on mobile devices like cellphones and tablets. Far flung areas where it is difficult to expand the telecom infrastructure of OFC and Telecom towers are best served by satellite communications. The device used to transmit and receive a signal is referred to as a satellite phone or sat-phone for short. There are regulatory restrictions on usage of a sat-phone, and it is mostly used by the defence services and other organisations engaged in disaster relief operations. IT or Information Technology refers to the use of computers, storage, networking and other physical devices, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data. Internet and web technologies, Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), etc., all fall in this genre.
For a broadband economy we need a harmonised development of Telecom infrastructure and IT capabilities. Bharat-Net is the project which aims to take broadband to the 600,000 villages across the country. We need to accelerate the pace of execution of the project, so that speeds in the range 1GB to 10GB are available at the terminal points in the rural areas. Likewise, transition to 5G by all telecom service providers and expansion of the telecom tower networks thereof will be the harbinger of change for the hundreds of millions of mobile users. With the 6G Testbed, in a state of progress, the nation is poised to launch Bharat 6G within this decade. Indian IT capability enhancement needs to be addressed alongside telecom infra expansion, as part of the Digital India Mission of “Transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy”.
e-Learning:
e-Literacy/ Digital Literacy has to be prioritised in order to levitate to be a digital economy/broadband based economy. Functional Digital Literacy is to be expanded to cover over 500 million people. NIELIT [National Institute for Electronics and IT] has put in place a multi-stage courses package for people to take advantage of. And this is available in multiple language formats. The off-take can be swift. Under the Digital India canopy the National Digital Literacy Mission needs to be given a fillip to achieve the objectives for a highly digital literate population. This entwined with Skill India Mission can make millions of our youth employment ready across sectors.
Covid-19 has made us all familiar with Online classrooms from KG to PG. Why not expand the scope of self-learning on the digital/online mode? NEP 2020 offers the flexibility of the same to develop critical thinking among students. With broadband connectivity poised to connect all the 600,000 villages in the country; time to take the classroom to the homes/devices in the hands of students. NKN, NMEICT has focus on institutions of Research and Higher Education. Likewise, Operation Digital Blackboard is designed for high school students of Class 9 onwards. We now need something for the middle school students as well. A digitally literate nation is a sine–qua–non for transiting to a digital economy. A Country–wide classroom framework wherein students learn at their own pace in their mother tongue / language of choice will be a harbinger of change for the country and its citizenry. Learning now has to move beyond the classroom, and also away from the fetters of classroom time. Anytime, anywhere learning is what e-Learning intends to achieve.
e-Commerce:
e-Commerce is now well entrenched in the Indian psyche. The grim days of Covid-19 facilitated this great transition. In every adversity lies an opportunity, and our nation seized it. Digital payment platforms need to be secured to greater levels in order that faith in the system can be such that risks are minimised to the users. Cash will continue to be a mode of transaction till there is comfort level in dealing with digital payment mechanisms. Block-chain technology and AI, allied with cyber-security measures can aid in deepening the e-Commerce sphere across the country. e-Commerce and its offshoots like e-banking can truly transform the way business operations are conducted in the country. SME sector being a diversified one in terms of manufacturing and a large source of employment, digitalisation of this genre can spur growth overall. Simplified solutions that are both robust and secure for offtake could spur a lot of action.
e-Governance:
A few decades ago, the STD/ISD booths transformed the mode of communication. Today, the CSC’s (Common Service Centres) have transformed the mode of governance. NeGP (National e-Governance Programme) set in motion the establishment of a huge PPP initiative, with private ownership of CSCs offering access to public services. Governance based on leveraging the ICT infrastructure enabled millions connect with public offices to access their services. Many activities of public institutions are now on digital mode; lending credence to the catch phrase “high tech, high touch”.
e-Voting:
When will India that is Bharat transit to online voting when we have 1 billion plus registered voters? That is the question uppermost in the mind of citizens, after going through the grueling summer of 2024 with the world’s largest elections.
We are in Amrit kaal. To reach there, to be Viksit Bharat by 2047, we need double digit growth. Technology is the answer, more specifically ICT. India was described as a cell-phone nation a decade ago. We now need to be termed as a broadband destination. Twisting the iconic lines, I wish to say – “khudi ko kar tez itna ki taqdeer likhne se pehle khuda bande se khud pooche bataa teri broadband ki raftar kya hai”.
(The author is a retired Civil Servant. The views expressed are personal).
