DIGITAL INDIA

SECTOR CHOSEN: EDUCATION

SECTOR CHOSEN AND WHY

India, having as much as 65% of population below the age of 351, holds a huge potential future
work force which if well trained can lead to growth of the economy by boosting the economy’s
output and demand. Education is single-handedly the most important process of developing
this skilled workforce. Digitization has bought about a radical change in various sectors with
its impact on the education system being profound. Digital India is one such initiative launched
by The Government of India bring about an innovative change in the education sector. India,
being the second biggest E-learning market2, with rapid penetration of internet services in
rural and urban areas in India holds a huge opportunity for large number of stakeholders, both
domestic and international.

At present, the Department of Electronics and Information technology in the process of

meeting its goal to train over 11 lakh people for various skilled jobs. Bharat Net has been a
success in creating common service centres for panchayats. The government’s NOFN project
which is the backbone of digital infrastructure is rapidly expanding broadband connectivity in
rural villages.3 However, the program is still lacking when it comes to education-centric devices
which are necessary to build a strong ecosystem for digital learning.

RECOMMENDATION AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EDUCATION SECTOR

 The Government and concerned stakeholders need to invest in building digital

infrastructure especially in rural areas where the objective of the government is to
provide access to education through online mediums using smartphones, computers
and tablets, whose consumption in urban and rural areas has increased significantly.
Currently, India ranks low on Networked Readiness index and thus need to utilize IT
infrastructure better. The result should increase penetration as well as usage levels of
internet as a medium of education.
 The Government needs to ensure the right ecosystem by partnering and collaborating
with capable domestic and foreign partners. A lot of international firms such as IBM
and Qualcomm are developing educational tools but lack the functionality to be tuned
to regional languages. India must market India as a profitable market for these firms
to develop regional content contextualized and personalized as per Indian context (4).

1 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/08/india-leaders-young-people-change-2014-elections
2 http://www.hindustantimes.com/education/how-e-learning-is-evolving-to-meet-the-digital-india-challenge/story-
GDPcm6DHCq2ZSBO3bazE1O.html
3 http://www.igovernment.in/articles/1001173/how-digital-india-initiative-can-revive-the-education-sector
 For example, the government can establish as skill development agency to encourage
innovation and development of e-learning solutions.
 The Government needs to put quality regulations in place to ensure effective skill
development of the targeted people. This will include teacher trainings, quality
research and help in assessing the progress of the campaign. 4

IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATION ON GROWTH

Attracting more number of stakeholders will result in increase in investment in the economy
which is expected to increase GDP and boost growth. The skilled workforce will increase the
performance of various sectors such as Healthcare, manufacturing and other services thereby
increasing the wages and standard of living of the people. This will lead to higher prosperity
for our nation.

4 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/digital-india-indian-education-system-has-a-
great-opportunity/articleshow/46200490.cms