NEW DELHI: A government policy that protects net neutrality is critical for the success of its Rs. 1.13 lakh crore Digital India program as any sort of prioritizing, throttling or blocking of the Web would stifle the digital ecosystem in the country.According to experts, preserving an open internet will prove to be the true test of whether the Narendra Modi government is able to execute its vision of Digital India.“The PM spoke of creating more Googles and successful start-ups in the country under the Digital India initiative and that can only happen if the Internet is neutral,” said Nikhil Pahwa Founder, Editor & Publisher, Medianama.com. He added that at the core of Digital India lies the development of the digital ecosystem in terms of apps and app-based government services, as well as free and equal access to all these for consumers across the country.“Any move to throttle access or create hurdles towards development of start-ups working on apps will hit at the essence of net neutrality,” Pahwa added.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Digital India project is aimed at broadening digital access for Indians and making sure government functions and services are available online to citizens. It hopes to launch a number of health, education and governance initiatives digitally in an attempt to deliver the essential services to all citizens even in far-flung areas.A background note circulated for the meeting shows telecom department saying that net neutrality is a must for the success of Digital India given the poor Internet coverage in the country. “India has the third highest number of Internet users in the world, but Internet penetration is the lowest compared to the top 10 countries (having the highest Internet users).India figures in the group of 42 world's least connected countries,” the note said. “As per a World Bank report, access to affordable, high quality Internet and mobile phone services enables development across all levels of economy and society.The report finds that for every 10 percentage point increase in high speed Internet connections, there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points,” the department noted. A key driver of growth in startups was openness of the internet, which offered a level playing field, it said.“The core essence of Digital India is to provide equal social and economic opportunity to each and every citizen through digitally connecting them. For that it is imperative that internet through which the people are being connected itself is neutral and unbiased,” said Prasanth Sugathan of SFLC.in, a not-for-profit organisation for legal services working to protect civil liberties in the digital world.Meanwhile, the government is busy stitching up its policy on net neutrality. The committee on net neutrality which submitted its report in May has batted strongly for neutrality of the internet and for not regulating any over the top players or the OTT players. It has strongly voiced its opinion against the zero rating plans or any other form of prioritizing of content saying it would distort the equality of access to the internet. It has also recommended that the policy framework must encourage start-ups and innovation.It has only made an exception for the domestic voice calls made using OTT apps such as Google chat, Skype and Viber to ensure a level playing field, vis-à-vis telecom operators. The OTT apps ride over the networks of telecom operators to deliver voice calls and thus make revenue on investment made by the telcos, the committee had said.However, the government’s final policy on net neutrality will only be formulated once Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) submits its recommendations on the matter to the department of telecom.While the government has made it amply clear that it is in favour of net neutrality, the fine print of the government policy will decide the degree to which net will continue to remain neutral in the country.