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Digital tech will improve governance: Pitroda

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW DELHI, INDIA: As the Center is focusing on e-services with a series of initiatives to overcome digital divide, Sam Pitroda, a noted innovator, policymaker and PM advisor on public information, infrastructure and innovation feels that the country needs crores for a robust infrastructure over the next couple of years.

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''Rs 100,000 crore is needed for robust infrastructure such as UID, GIS, cybersecurity, procurement, payment and other government applications over a period of 2 to 3 years to get it all ready by 2020,'' Pitroda informed.

Even though the federal states fume over the Electronic Public Service Delivery Bill, which is in Parliament, Pitroda feels that electronic delivery of public services will become important as the country grows. ''Digital technology will improve government services, education, healthcare and quality of life,'' he said.

The national knowledge network has become operational with 720 nodes. ''Government is spending Rs. 15,000 crore to connect colleges, universities, R&D centers and laboratories,'' he said. 33,000 colleges are expected to be connected by the end of the year.

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He feels the key issue, however, is how to use the potential infrastructure. The Union Government has already announced its spending on its ambitious mega projects that include Aadhaar, national knowledge network (NKN) and national optic fiber network (NOFN).

One of the key challenges before the government is to procure and dissimilate information on e-Governance platform, while Internet penetration is yet on the horizon. ''We need to democratize information as we are different from China,'' Pitroda said.

Digital technology, as he feels, can bring transformational change. ''We need to create pressure centers to facilitate accountability, efficiency and transparency in both rural and urban regions,'' stressed Pitroda.