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A digital Bharat?

India's heart and soul is in her villages. Then shouldn't the technology revolution reach them, asks D.K. GHOSH

CONNECTING INDIA Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat releasing the book in New Delhi

Can telecommunication bring about an economic and social revolution in rural India? Can the application of ICT break the isolation of over six lakh Indian villages and herald the age of rural connectivity? The answers abound in "Digital India: Rural Empowerment and Transformation", a book written by D.K. Ghosh, released the other day by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the Capital. Speaking on the occasion, the Vice President talked about his own days as a farmer and the difficulties faced by the community.

He added that the book would help in generating awareness among the masses and policymakers alike.

Gosh, a leading telecommunications and IT personality, is currently Executive Director, Siemens Public Communication Networks. Addressing mediapersons about his book he said, "We have heard of a number of IT initiatives like the e-Chaupal Transformation, the GRASSO experiment of Bengal and the Baramati initiative by Sharad Pawar. However, these experiments have provided for economic development in limited geographical areas. What India needs is a model that can be replicated and implemented on any scale."

In the book, the author has emphasised the importance of delivering information to the people in the villages. He deduces that telecom centres can be successful if converted into information service centres. The services offered could be information on markets for rural products, weather updates, access to expert service in agriculture, veterinary and medical aid, connectivity to educational institutions and access to distant government offices.

"The applicability of the model is not doubtful, as it is based on rigorous research and is derived from the experience drawn from existing experiments," said Ghosh.

Outsourcing jobs to villages

The book also talks about the prospect of work being outsourced from cities to villages with the application of Information and Communication Technology, leading to employment creation in the rural sector and a resultant decline in migration from the villages. In recent years, rural connectivity has become the centre point of the government's ICT policy and this book might prove beneficial for policy makers as well as the general public.

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