MPs can boost digital inclusion

A heap of cash comes to every member of Parliament (MP) every year, under a government scheme to develop constituencies. At the end of the year, the money—which could be used to create valuable digital infrastructure in our remote villages—returns to where it came from, unspent. The consequence: Our villages continue to remain cut off…

OneWeb’s plans for digital access may run into hurdles

OneWeb’s plans to use satellites for digital connectivity and provide affordable internet access to all will have to address a few challenges that have earlier plagued such ventures. OneWeb is a group of firms, including Airbus Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Grupo Salinas, Hughes Network Systems, Intelsat, Qualcomm Incorporated and Virgin Group. Bharti Enterprises has also…

Mobile One: Governance at your fingertips

An anganwadi worker in rural Karnataka can register her attendance through a service called Mobile One, which a software professional in Bengaluru can also use to pay electricity and water bills or book tickets. This innovation is not by a start-up but by the Karnataka government’s centre for e-governance, which pitches its mobile governance offering,…

Collector reconnects govt’s e-bridge

People living in Mira Bhayandar especially students, widows and senior citizens will not have to travel all their way to Thane for procuring important government documents. In a much needed respite for them, the district authorities resumed its SETU sub-office in Bhayandar. Considered to be an ‘electronic bridge’ between the common man and government agencies…

PM to launch e-governance schemes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while sharing the roadmap for Digital India, will unveil various e-governance schemes such as Digital Locker, e-education and e-health at the Digital India Week, beginning on July 1. The big-ticket launch of the Rs 1.13 lakh crore Digital India project will witness participation from over 10,000 guests. Tata Group Chairman Cyrus…