DIGITALIZATION, BUREAUCRATIC LOGJAM AND ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Abstract

Humanity has come to the present stage through a long process of evolution as well as revolution and both have shaped us. However, one of the greatest of all the revolutions undoubtedly is the digital revolution, which has pushed through human limitations and permeated almost everything, including governance. Be it a student taking an online course, a healthcare worker using medical software to get a holistic view of a patient’s health, a housewife paying bills online, or someone like me to download and read research papers, project reports and topics of interest and concern. The technology has had profound impact on our day-to-day lives so far and will continue on its path to become all pervasive despite efforts of sabotage by interest groups with ulterior motives. It therefore offers endless possibilities, needless to mention power in the hands of the public. Like in other parts of the world, the Government of India too has launched a program to digitalize India, which is coined as “Digital India” aimed at building digital infrastructure, governance and services on demand and digital empowerment of citizens. One of the best examples of digital governance is Estonia, where the government has provided each citizen with a secured unique identity, through which the government has integrated all the services and made way for transparent and accountable governance. Giving a digital edge to critical focus areas like broadband highways, internet access for all, IT for jobs, electronics manufacturing, e-governance, healthcare and agriculture to name a few of the areas. As a step further, the government aims to engage key sectors and industries from within and outside to bring in administrative transparency, expediency, and accountability. These are welcome steps devoid of traditional “slothism”, which is a thing of the past. With an initial commitment by the government and India Inc to invest about USD 18 billion, the program has the potential to be a game changer as far as services delivery in rural areas is concerned. According to a 2015 report entitled “Digital India: Unleashing Prosperity,” by Deloitte and others, usage of mobile devices and other available technologies can serve as complementary channels for delivery of public services and can have positive outcomes on the quality of life of the users e.g. a ‘Digital Locker’ facility for citizens to digitally store their important documents like Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, passport, mark sheets etc. The idea is to reduce paper work for administrative officials and delivering faster results saving time and resources, especially financial resources. According to McKinsey, the adoption of key technologies across sectors spurred by the Digital India initiative could help boost India's GDP by $550-billion to $ 1-trillion by 2025 (Swati Mishra 2015). Through transaction cost cutting, the program can enable more creative and service-oriented businesses and this is estimated to create about 17 million employment opportunities. One of the important benefits of the program for a country like India would be reduced carbon footprints by lowering fuel consumption and waste generation. However, all this is not without challenges and there are hurdles ahead. The overarching challenges facing “Digital India” are digital divide between rural and urban India in terms of broadband internet connections and access to mobile phones; poor quality data services and call drops; cyber security and privacy; and policy framework and regulations. India therefore will have some way to go to meet citizens’ expectations and build trust in service delivery. The country, despite having a long-term digital strategy and vision, falls behind in measures like core infrastructure, service delivery experience and addressing issues of access and citizen centricity. In light of these issues, the benefits to be accrued due to digitalization and the difficulties to be faced are discussed in this article along with issues like accessibility and bureaucracy.