India’s digital dream is nothing short of a blockbuster saga, but like every epic tale, it has its villains and underdogs. While urban India swipes, clicks, and streams its way to glory, rural India often finds itself on the opposite side of the digital story.
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Take internet access, for instance. In cities, we’re zooming through life at broadband speed. Meanwhile, rural India is stuck on patchy mobile networks, squinting at grainy WhatsApp forwards. With only 37% of rural households enjoying internet connectivity compared to 69% in urban areas, the gap is as wide as the Grand Canyon—or at least, it feels that way when a village has to share a single mobile hotspot.
And the divide doesn’t stop there. Women in rural areas face an even tougher climb. According to a recent Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), fewer than one in five rural women own a smartphone, while their male counterparts are busy scrolling through memes.
It's not just about gadgets—it’s about empowerment. Without access to digital tools, rural women are left out of education, jobs, and even basic services that could change their lives.
And then there’s the question of caste and class. Students from Scheduled Castes and Tribes are still among the most left behind, with a dismal 4% having access to a computer with internet. How can we expect them to compete in a world that’s all about Zoom classes and online exams when they’re still struggling to find a proper internet signal?
Even education took a hard hit during the pandemic. While urban kids adapted to online schooling (or at least tried to), only 17% of rural children managed to access any sort of online classes. Teachers, too, were caught in the digital crossfire, trying to navigate apps and devices without proper training or resources.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s hope in government initiatives like BharatNet, aiming to connect every Gram Panchayat with high-speed internet. However, progress has been sluggish, and many villages are still waiting for their digital lifeline. Programs like Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) are doing their bit, having trained millions in basic digital skills, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Private players are stepping in, too. Companies like Google and NGOs are trying to fill the gaps, distributing devices and offering digital education. These efforts are promising, but let’s be honest—there’s only so much a few well-meaning organisations can do in a country of over 1.4 billion people.
To truly bridge the digital divide, we need to think big and act fast. Imagine a future where every village has reliable internet, every child learns coding alongside ABCs, and rural women are entrepreneurs running businesses from their smartphones. Sounds utopian? It’s not. It’s achievable, but only if we stop treating connectivity as a luxury and start recognising it as a basic right.
Digital inclusion isn’t just about technology - it’s about equality, opportunity, and dignity. India has the talent, the ambition, and the resources to make it happen. So, let’s speed up those BharatNet cables, cut down data costs, and give every citizen a chance to be part of the digital revolution. After all, the internet isn’t just for city people—it’s for everyone, everywhere.
(The author is the IGP (Admn & STF), Assam. All opinions and views expressed in the piece in the author’s own)