From Offices to Schools, India is trying to Work from Home to be able to learn to live with the Corona Virus. But can India really take up this new routine? How well does our infrastructure support us in this crisis?
The Inclusive Internet Index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit provides us some data with respect to India’s preparedness in the digital domain. This index measures a country’s internet preparedness in four verticals – Availability, Affordability, Relevance and Readiness.
Availability:
India ranks poor on the Availability vertical at 68th position. Only 34.4% of Indian population are internet users and this population is spread across the urban India. Rural India is not ready to work from home and stands vulnerable to the COVID-19.
More over there is a Gender dimension to this problem. While 35% of the Male population are internet users in India, the number falls down to 15% with respect to females.
What about schools? The trend of e-learning is limited to urban schools at the best. Only 24.4% schools in India have internet connection. This puts lakhs of rural children’s education at stake in the coming academic year.
Hence it is an imperative for the governments to ramp up internet access across India. While there are more than 2.5 Lakh Gram Panchayats (GP) in India, only 1.4 Lakh GPs got Optical Fiber Connectivity as on 22nd November 2019 under the BharatNet program. Even in these 1.4 Lakh GPs, WiFi hotspots are operational only in 23k GPs. Augmenting investments in these areas will facilitate social distancing, e-learning and help rural India to survive the crisis.
Affordability:
India ranked well in this vertical at 18th rank. Fixed-line internet connection costs only 4% of monthly income. The data tariffs for mobile internet in India is also among the lowest in the world.
However, there is a concern with respect to the cost of Smart Phones. On a score of 0-100 (100 being most affordable), India was scored at 50 in smart phone affordability. This will impede internet access. Moreover, with increased protectionist walls against China, smart phone costs would further increase.
A smart phone in every one’s hand is necessary today. EMIs for smart phones should be encouraged as banks now sit on excess liquidity. To support the cause for “Make in India”, the EMIs by the PSUs can be linked to “Made in India” phones. It’s also a great opportunity for companies like Xioami to offer EMIs to capture the smart-phone market.
Relevance:
India did well in providing relevant internet content. India scored high in access to vernacular content – in general information, Finance and Health. The e-Government schemes too are accessible in local languages making internet usage relevant for users.
However, E-commerce is not yet deeply penetrated in India. Our dependence on E-commerce to buy and sell goods will only increase due to the pandemic as physical markets take a toll.
Players dealing with essential commodities like BigBasket will find immense opportunities to expand their operations. The local supermarkets and retail stores should also provide home delivery services to remain relevant during this period.
Readiness:
The main stumbling challenge with respect to Internet readiness is Digital Literacy.
Schemes like PMGDISHA are key to increase Digital Literacy. Governments and Civil Society Organizations should leverage the Television network to run educational programs on usage of internet and smart phones.
Governments should also develop their websites in accordance with the W3C guidelines on web accessibility so that common man can find relevant information easily.
Internet is a Human Right.
Andrew Grove wrote, “Bad companies are destroyed by crisis; Good companies survive them; Great companies are improved by them”. The statement suits countries as well. COVID-19 crisis gives India a similar opportunity. Whether India proves to be a Great country or not depends on the policy priorities taken in the next few months.
Sai Krishna 