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created Jun 5th 2021, 13:53 by sashank kansal


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287 words
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The digital divide is the gap between "Digital have and haven't". In other words its divide (virtual) among the people who can avail, access and utilize existing digital infrastructures and resources(like Smartphones, internet, ATMs, various Government services available online) for the welfare of themselves and the society at large.
Its implications:
The implications lie in the reasons for such Digital divide. Education, Poverty, Insufficient infrastructures and resources like (electricity, internet connection, linguistic skills, Rural-Urban gaps, Political dis-empowerment. These issues are further aggravated by existing digital divide, given the potential of Digital literacy and competency in addressing these issues. Digital services are cheap, easy to access, free from prejudices (or at least less prejudiced), independent from geographical constrains. However this would remain futile if people are not literate and competent of avail these services.
Regional variations in digital divide across the country:
North-South, East-West divide: Southern states are more digitally literate that Northern counterpart. This is consistent with their traditional literacy also. For example Digital divide is least in Kerala while worst in West Bengal.
"Bharat-India" divide: While urban areas are more digitally literate, rural counterpart are lacking in the respective states. So states which are more urbanized are generally more digitally literate and vice versa.
Linguistic Divide: More than 80 percent content on Internet is in English, so states where people are more competent in English are more digitally competent.
Governments in states are trying to address these issues through various schemes in conjugation with Central Government’s Digital India programme and PMDISHA. Multi-pronged approach (spreading across various ministries and departments) is needed to address these issues. Letting people miss this "Digital Bus" would be pernicious and even disastrous for our demographic dividend and our superpower ambitions.
 

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