The year was 2006 when Praveen Dalal suggested the use of ICT for Women Empowerment in India (PDF). However, it took almost 10 years for India to realise that women empowerment is possible though ICT. Narendra Modi government has finally appreciated this fact and has introduced the Digital India project covering this aspect as well. However, there are many limitations and shortcomings of Digital India project of India as on date and with these limitations and shortcomings the effect of Digital India would not be as conducive as anticipated.
Of all facts one fact is very frustrating and discouraging and that would also defeat the Digital India project in the long run. According to Praveen Dalal, mandatory e-governance services in India are needed that are presently missing. This is also one of the main reasons explaining why e-governance has failed in India.
Another reason is that Indian government is very slow in accepting suggestions and recommendations that can be game changer for India. For instance, if the suggestions of Praveen Dalal were accepted in the year 2006 itself, women empowerment in India would have a totally different meaning today in India. Platforms like MyGov have little significance if the suggestions provided by public are not accepted and acted upon.
However, in many cases Indian government accepts the suggestions and recommendations of public. For instance, many of the suggestions of Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) regarding technology companies were accepted by the then Congress government.
The present BJP government is also open to public suggestions and inputs. However, how much they would be accepted depends upon the policies and strategies of Modi government. If Modi government is looking towards positive and image making inputs only, that would not be a fruitful exercise. Modi government must also keep in mind the shortcomings and weakness of its policies and projects. Censorship of posts and tweets and manipulation of news and search results is definitely not the right approach in this regard.
As far as Digital India and Aadhar projects of India are concerned, Praveen Dalal has compiled a list of aspects that Digital India and Aadhaar project must take care of in order to be successful. Now it is for the Modi government to consider the same and apply them to strengthen Digital India project wherever applicable and relevant. There is no sense in waiting for another 10 years to provide even the most basic e-delivery of services to Indian citizens.
Source: P4LO Blog.
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