India has been challenged with the issue of having only a small percentage of the people in their country with access to internet, this issue has been referred to as "digital divide". As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the country has an internet density of a mere 48.4 internet users per 100 citizens.
Arriving at the information, India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Authority (NREGA) has come up with plans to use cheaper computers and tablets in village schools and universities to lift large communities of the rural population out of poverty. To ensure reliability, NREGA will test the devices in more than 1,000 schools in rural and even urban areas across India. While it won't fix everything, it's still a good start.
India's leaders are well aware of the issue brought up, At a news conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the issue of the "digital divide," saying that the government is focused on improving the accessibility of the internet and academic networks to tap into the large pool of new minds.
Indias telecommunications industry has even taken steps to solving this issue by negotiating affordable prices for the average Indian and creating millions of mobile connections, which has a positive impact on people's lives and the economy as well. Universal Internet access for every citizen is a must to fulfill the government's vision of a "digital India" and an "Internet for all" in the country.
The issue would be solved much quicker but due to the booming population it will take some time. India has 566 million Internet users, but only 200 million in rural India, which is only about 20% of the country's total population of 1.3 billion. Thanks to our telecommunications industries, 2G voice and data services are starting to be provided at an affordable price which cover almost 97% of Indians, while 3G and 4G services are available to 68% of the population.
As we talked about the huge gap within the population, information poverty is another issue in India. This however does not only apply to rural areas but even urban areas where most of the population is capable of accessing the internet. Many Indians all over the country have issues with receiving important information and announcements through the internet.
Additionally, the gender gap in India is one of the highest in the world in terms of mobile ownership making it 26%. Since 2011, the gap between men and women in mobile phone ownership in India has been improving; but not fast enough.
Proving this point, data from the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Forum (IMF) suggest that in low and middle income countries, gender differences in both mobile and Internet access are 2.6 times greater in owning a phone.
People living in rural areas and in less developed countries all over the world also get less reliable internet similar to India's case. When we look at issues of Internet access and digital literacy, we do not have reliable data that reflect the level of digital literacy in India. That data could tell us whether people are able to use the Internet in all aspects of their lives. Developed countries such as the USA have solved these problems almost completely which may serve somewhat as a model for other countries. The US however, only has 300 million citizens whereas India has a billion more at 1.3 billion citizens.
In 2014, the Indian government launched the Digital India initiative, whose purpose is to improve the country's digital literacies and move government services online. The next round of digital connectivity they will be providing for India will benefit women and further boost India's economic and digital speed.
Digital inequality will be an issue where those who are not fortunate to have access to the online world, will find it difficult to find a job in the face of the technological future ahead. ?This is not just an issue of poverty, but more a matter of human rights and social justice.