The government’s vision of making use of internet-enabled services straddling governance, commerce, education, healthcare and finance is laudable. However, to ride on IT, robust infrastructure is a must, namely, telecom connectivity (read: ubiquitous, high-speed broadband) and stable power supply.

Given that mobile phone will be a prime mode to move to a digital economy, the government must make available more and cheaper spectrum for mobile use. The need is to ensure that there is no disconnect between goal and policies. Government agencies must implicitly follow the procedures to make the transition to online services smooth for every citizen. Take the simple case of e-filing of a compliant of loss of a person’s passport to the police. Often, servers crash, and hapless citizens are unable to file their complaint online, mandatory in a place like Delhi. The police blame technology, but lag in filing an FIR delays the process of applying for a duplicate passport.

This is unacceptable. Similarly, certificates issued by the government are to be stored in individual digital lockers and a communication protocol is to be established for government departments to access them. So, servers must work. Studies have reportedly shown there is potential for a reduction in the usability of government online services due to factors such as access to internet and usability of services. The need is to fix the glitches, not dispense with technology that brings in transparency and efficiency in public service delivery.

Often, implementation falters due to poor coordination between different government agencies. Digital India is not just about ambitious plans and technical wizardry. The citizen should not suffer because the infrastructure — physical or administrative — is not in place.