The ‘Digital India’ campaign of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government will be a game-changer for the digital technology revolution in the country with the plan being to cover 100 crore people under the endeavour by 2020, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday.
India has also put in place adequate safeguards to ensure that digital technology is not misused, Naqvi, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, told students at a ‘Youth Perspective-2015’ event at Delhi University’s Faculty of Law.
He said that the BJP-led government has taken concrete steps to make India a digital country and the campaign will play an important role in bringing about socio-economic, educational and agricultural development.
“Our target is to extend digital technology to about 100 crore people by 2020,” he said.
The minister said that there is a need for a proper and strong system of checks and balances to prevent any misuse of digital technology.
“India has sufficient safeguards in place to check misuse of digital technology and they can be strengthened if there is any need in the future. Without infringing upon constitutional rights and the freedom of the people, there can be a check on misuse of this technology,” he said.
Discussing the enabling aspects of the digital revolution, Naqvi also talked about a “digital locker”, which he said will help people keep all their important documents in a digital format online and in a manner which is safe and simple.
He expressed hope that the ‘Digital India’ campaign will change the face of the delivery system for the government’s welfare services.
“Use of technology will ensure timely services to citizens and also ensure transparency in the functioning of government … It will simplify governance and the mechanism for providing services. It will tackle corruption and encourage citizens’ participation in democracy and decision-making,” the minister said.
The ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna’ and ‘Pahal’, the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme for LPG subsidies, are two important measures in this regard to curb corruption, he said.
Naqvi claimed that mammoth scams had taken place under the previous UPA government as it had allotted natural resources
such as coal and spectrum without any transparency in the process for the same.
“Our government has adopted e-auction route for allocation of natural resources. The recent e-auction of coal mines has generated thousands of crores… These steps have helped in tackling corruption,” he said.
