Digital India: Challenges and Solutions

Digital infrastructure is as much important as physical infrastructure. It helps increase the productivity in the economy. It will enable a growth with lesser risk of asset bubbles and demand-driven inflation. Building digital infrastructure is less capital intensive as compared to the other like road and energy, but the enhanced productivity helps generate increased output.

What are the benefits?

• Productivity gains from such areas as online education, transaction and logistics. Health care, tourism could be improved through online transaction relating to accommodation, transport etc.
• It would improve the governance model. Bringing the direct benefit transfer schemes to reality. Leakages in the govt schemes would be checked.
• Better connectivity to the rural and far flung areas with lesser population. Connecting the village Panchayats through the national optical fibre network (NOFN) by high speed internet would shrink the country.

Impediments in the path

The restrictions like Department of telecom (DoT) opposition to the 3G roaming deprive the economy form the benefit of the gains from roaming. The consistent shielding of and inability to revive the sick PSU’s like BSNL and MTNL. Hamstrung decision making, a ‘not to touch’ approach because of recent 2G spectrum scandals.

Soaring prices of spectrum which is equated with the investment in the networks and spectrum. And their subdivision among numerous distributors resulting in the sub-optimal performance. Last mile access to end-user will need to be built through wireless access using the radio spectrum because laying fibre costs too much. Also our approach to spectrum allocation is such that it is simply unavailable.

What can be done?

Permitting the spectrum sharing between the primary users (defence and defence related services) and authorized secondary users. Just in a way the physical infrastructure like roads are shared. In this manner current holder retain their rights, while allowing their utilization of otherwise idle spectrum. More traffic would generate high earning and generate high revenue share and tax collection.

A multistakeholder collaborative participation to draft end-to-end strategy and problem solving approach in formulating and executing policies, regulations and processes. The transition to open access shared network available on payment to all the licensed operators. This has to be worked out by negotiations between participants based on technology, economics, business interest and pragmatism.

Simultaneously trials must be based conducted with new technologies with wireless broadbands utilizing unused spectrum reserved through the TV broadcasts.

Our trials validate solutions for rural broadband to be workable. And for making the digital India- a reality, intensive and innovative efforts like this is to be implemented.