Govt. proposes pan India prog. to bridge digital divide

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Government has proposed to launch a pan India programme called "Digital India" to further bridge the divide between digital "haves" and "have-nots".

This would ensure broadband connectivity at village level, improved access to services through IT enabled platforms, greater transparency in Government processes and increased indigenous production of IT hardware and software for exports and improved domestic availability.

Presenting his maiden budget in parliament today, the union finance minister Arun Jaitley said that special focus would be given on supporting software product startups.

FM said that the government has also proposed to set-up a National Rural Internet and Technology Mission for services in villages and schools, training in IT skills and E-Kranti for government service delivery and governance scheme with an initial corpus of Rs. 500 crore. A programme for promoting "Good Governance" will also be launched and a sum of Rs.100 crore will be set aside for this.