IT: An enabler for socio-economic development of India

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Information Technology is a powerful tool which, if leveraged correctly, can accelerate the progress of an entire nation. It has the potential to raise the long-term growth prospects through increased productivity and overall system efficiency. IT has changed our entire lifestyle dramatically, may it be the way we communicate or the way we conduct business. Today, majority of Indians have a mobile phone and the penetration of the internet is increasing via mobile devices. However, the potential of information technology is yet not fully explored. The technology is yet to reach the masses that form the bottom of the pyramid. On one side the worlds is moving towards Cloud Computing and on the other side people don’t even know how to use internet or operate a computer for that matter.

The point in the Indian context is how we leverage this tool to ensure inclusive growth, from the grass root levels to the top. It is not that there haven’t been efforts from the side of government or other stakeholders. For quite some time now, ‘IT for Masses’ has been an intrinsic part of the Planning Commission’s Five Years Plan of development. The government along with educational and other institutes has been trying to increase the awareness about benefits of IT and to make Computer Education an essential part of the course curriculum of secondary schools. Along with this various initiatives have been taken to develop software applications accessible in local languages. Still, not much success has been achieved in the direction.
 

Why is it that despite millions being poured into efforts to bring information and communication technology to the rural India, we haven’t achieved any success? Are there factors, other than accessibility, illiteracy, awareness, and economical solutions as experts list? Can information technology contribute to India’s socio-economic development in an inclusive manner? If yes, what kind of efforts and policy measures are required to achieve this goal? This discussion aims at finding answers to these and several other related questions.