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ShareAhmedabad: Though India is poised on the verge of attaining Asian supremacy in the case of economic reforms and low-cost production, and is being reckoned as a leader in information technology, one of the main challenges is the frightening gap between the information haves and the information have-nots - what is generally known as the digital divide.
A lack of internet and telephone connectivity in rural India, where more than 70 per cent of the Indian population lives, is a major challenge for a number of authorities, non-government organisations and multilateral aid organisations. The business sector has discovered that bridging the digital divide could translate into new markets, this opening up business opportunities.
The digital divide, important as it may be, is not receiving enough attention as there seems to be some ambiguity regarding whether such a divide exists or not. Despite the shoddy infrastructure and poor connectivity in rural areas, the benefits of information and mobile technology are being recognised and enjoyed across India, across all income levels.
It all began ten years ago with the long-distance, direct-dialling STD system. Now, the whole country is wired up for phone services. There are pay phones everywhere, handling costs are falling, intense competition is leading to an improvement in reliability and Indian now have more than two phones for each home.
Then came the satellite television age. Indians everywhere began to be informed: of products, of opportunities, of other lifestyles. Free home connections suddenly diminished to some extent the urban and rural divide.
India is now in the mobile telephony and internet age. So, is there a digital divide? Yet, statements such as "There are more telephones in Manhattan, New York, than in all of rural Asia" and "There are more internet accounts in London than in all of Africa" still hold true.
To determine whether or not the so-called digital divide is of importance, we need to examine whether it exists. Various government reports suggest that it does exist, that it "threatens to leave 20 million people excluded from the Knowledge Economy". The popular definition of the digital divide is the "gape between those who have access to computers and the internet, and those who do not". The question of the digital divide has many facets, including "geographical, income, social, age, language and gender".
The American report 'Falling through the net' (1995) was one of the first to recognise the digital divide, finding that those least likely to have access to ICTs were "those with low incomes, those living in rural areas, those without a high school education, senior citizens and women".
One-third of Europeans under the age of 25 are online, compared with only 3 per cent of those over 65. A BBC special report in 1999 found that 80 per cent of the world's population had never heard a dial tone; there is an obvious global divide between rich and poor countries.
Some argue that the gaps will narrow over time. However, the anticipated trickle-down effect has yet to occur. The launch of cybercafés that can be used as virtual offices; the launch of more than 3,500 information highways that will offer utility computing to the middle-classes; the 'IQ PC' initiative aimed at families with school-going children, which will include 100 hours of free internet access; are all initiatives to bridge the digital divide and contribute to economic development by empowering people for a technologically advanced society.
