DIGITAL INDIA IS POSSIBLE, BUT NOT EASY: SAM PITRODA
From being an innovator to heading the National Innovation Council (NIC) in the UPA-2 government, Sam Pitroda has donned several hats as one of the pioneers of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution in India.
After three major surgeries, he is still active and brimming with ideas at 73.
Talking to Hindustan Times in a telephonic interview from Chicago, he said the NDA government’s Digital India programme is possible but not easy to execute at the ground level.
Insisting that it is not a new concept, Pitroda said, “Digital India was first conceptualised by Rajiv Gandhi when he established the National Informatics Centre in the mid 1980s.”
Asked about the NDA government’s claim that majority of the initiatives under the Digital India programme will be realised in the next three years he said, “Going digital is not just about creating a website. It is also about creating platforms and processes required to make information accessible to the common man.” “Such things don’t happen overnight. It may take another five to 10 years to put in place the necessary infrastructure, applications, utility policies and processes in order to benefit from Digital India,” Pitroda explained.
LUCKNOW: After resigning as the chairman of the NIC and advisor to the prime minister on public information, infrastructure and innovation last year, Sam Pitroda has now turned his attention towards writing, and for a special reason, he says. Talking to Rajeev Kumar over the phone, he reveals that he is ready with his autobiography – ‘Dreaming Big: My journey to connect India’ - which would be released by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on October 19.
What are you working on these days?
I am writing, innovating, filing patents and spending time with my family. I have completed my autobiography ‘Dreaming Big: My journey to connect India’ - which is scheduled for release by Dr Manmohan Singh on October 19 in New Delhi. I am also working on three other books.
What inspired you to write an autobiography?
Even my family doesn’t understand my work. They only see an old man going to India and coming back. But when my granddaughter grows up, I want her to know about my work. I want to tell her about my journey in my own words.
What are the bottlenecks for Digital India?
People in the government are not willing to embrace technology. This mindset is the biggest challenge. Government offices still keep those old ‘nadawali’ files. Even the department of electronics doesn’t maintain electronic files. What kind of Digital India is this? Unless all official files are digitized and put on a common national platform where people can access them, Digital India is not possible.
People are being made to believe that the entire country would become digital. Is the government misleading people?
Knowledge is global, not Indian. In the digital space, however, there is a lot of information that is of no use to us. To address this, we need good curators of knowledge for relevant Indian content in local languages. Take for example our history. It may take us decades to organise and digitise it. To ensure that all working people of the country enjoy the benefits of digital technology, it would require us to move our present e-gov and other initiatives to cloud computing, open source softwares, low cost terminals, UID, GIS to benefit from standards and inter-operatibility. At present, most of our e-gov efforts are in vertical silos with very little standard and compatibilities between the states and between departments.
How would you rate the present government’s Digital India programme on a 10-point scale?
We can’t make a judgement like that. However, it would require a great deal of discipline and efforts from those responsible for implementing the programme with a clear focus on process re-engineering, standards, compatibility, inter-operability and lot more. It will also require a change in the mindset at all levels in the government. You cannot use a ‘nadawali’ file for day-today decision making and hope to build a digital India.
In a country that faces problems like underdevelopment and corruption, will Digital India be able to bring a positive change in the life of the common man?
Yes. Unless we educate, train and learn to use technology, Digital India cannot ensure the development of one and all. What good is it if people are not educated? As technology reaches all parts of the country over the course of next few years, first those who are qualified (educated and have access to technology) would benefit. The benefits would reach others over a period of time.
Will fast forwarding the Digital India initiative lead to a digital divide in the country –those who are educated and have access to technology would benefit the most, while others would be subject to manipulation?
Digital divide is also about the divide in education, health and income. We need to be careful. The focus should also be on empowering everyone with knowledge through reforms in education.
You were the chairman of the National Knowledge Commission? Did you face any problem in getting your proposals passed?
We made 300 important recommendations on 27 subjects. But due to vested interests, all of them were not implemented. For example, we recommended separating affiliated/community colleges to improve higher education. But unfortunately, even the vicechancellors of universities don’t understand and push for it. When students do not demand a change in the education system that affects them the most how do you expect change to percolate within the system. You need many agents of change at various levels to bring about a change, but it is difficult to find them in our system.
One government spends a lot of public money to set up a commission which makes important recommendations after a lot of research. The government, it starts the thinking process all over again by setting a new institution. What do you have to say about this?
It is unfortunate. The government doesn’t need to start the entire process from a scratch. Important recommendations for reform in areas like railways, Doordarshan, energy, urbanisation, education, health, etc are already there. We just need to find a way to implement them.
Were you asked to resign?
No. I decided to quit. It was time for me to leave. It was time for someone else to carry forward what we had started. What I was doing in India was out of love, commitment and passion for the country. I didn’t take any salary from the government. It was time for me to focus on my personal life and family.
Will Digital India be ‘Shining India’?
It is too early to say. Success of the programme will depend on our ability to implement it at the ground level. It is always easy to promise but difficult to deliver. Without big administrative, judicial, labour and education reforms it would be difficult to build a Digital India.
Government offices still keep those old ‘nadawali’ files. Even the department of electronics doesn’t maintain electronic files. What kind of Digital India is this? Unless all official files are digitized and put on a common national platform where people can access them, Digital India is not possible.
SAM PITRODA, Former NIC chairman