If you happen to spend a day or two in not just interior places but also the district headquarters and try to connect with the worldwide web, you will know how far Arunachal is from the IT highway. Forget the internet, even getting a decent mobile or landline network is a luxury which evades the majority of its people.

Therefore it is indeed music to people’s ears that mobile telecom service to all the uncovered villages in Arunachal Pradesh will be provided under the Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) during 2017-18. Around 1893 mobile Base Tran-receiver Stations (BTSs) are expected to cover all the uncovered villages; success of these tall claims only time will tell.

Teleconnectivity including internet has largely been limited to a smattering of few urban pockets and much of the rest suffers from poor or zero connectivity.  Given the Centre’s push for Digital India, it is vital to provide stable telecom backbone for expediting the e-governance projects of state and central governments. 

Vigorously towing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ vision, Arunachal of late has implemented many schemes in an effort to realize this dream. e-office suite at the State Civil Secretariat, e-Cabinet solution for cabinet members, portal which will enable citizens to register ‘grievances’ online are few worthy of mention. In another historic step, the state has announced to go cashless in tune with the Government of India’s programme of 100 cities, 100 melas for a cashless economy. 

This journey poses far more challenges for Arunachal. The non-existent internet connectivity and a majority e-illiterate populace is a double whammy. While the initiatives are commendable, the government must not only cater to urban pockets but also keep in mind the people residing across the state. There is a need to look at things practically before embarking on a wild goose chase. To be frank, Arunachal is miles away from being anywhere near ready to lead a digital life in the real sense. With poor technological support and a vast rural base, it will be unrealistic to get on the digital India bandwagon just for namesake.

Even though infrastructure is the minimum basic requirement, Digital India must be looked from an entire range of issues which are beyond just infrastructure. One of these issues is digital literacy – do citizens know how to use the internet? Another is utility – would they consider it worthwhile to use it?

Arunachal has taken to the ‘Digital India’ dream like a fish to water. But despite the enthusiasm and haste, there are roadblocks both physical and financial and going by the way things are, it won’t be wrong to say that optimism is misplaced and realizing this dream will be an ‘one herculean task’.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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