Digital India, a flagship programme of the Government of India, aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. This programme centres on three key vision areas of “Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen”, “Governance and Services on Demand” and “Digital Empowerment of Citizens”. The Digital India Week is a mega event planned for national launch of the Digital India programme. Digital India Week was observed in all the Ministries/Departments of the Centre, States, UTs along with various schools, universities and Gram Panchayats.
DIGITAL INDIA WEEK NATIONAL EVENT Digital India Week inaugural event was held on 1st July, 2015 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The event was graced by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India- Shri Narendra Modi along with Union Ministers Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Shri J.P. Nadda, Shri Thaavar Chand Gehlot, Shri Jual Oram, and Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. The event was attended by Cabinet Secretaries, Secretaries and senior officers of various Government departments (DeitY, C-DAC, NIC etc.) and distinguished representatives from Industry.
Leading industry heads shared their ideas and vision of Digital India and committed investments of about R 4.5 lakh crore, for the programme. Millions of viewers watched the live telecast of the event on Doordarshan, Webcast (webcast.gov.in) and Youtube. Simultaneous telecast of the event was organised in Post Offices, CSCs, STPI Centres, NIELIT Centres, BSNL Centres, State Headquarters and Missions abroad. The event witnessed more than 1 billion impressions on officials social media handles (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Instagram).
The Prime Minister unveiled the “Digital India” logo and released policy documents related to Digital India. He also felicitated two women CSC village level entrepreneurs. Young achievers like Kiran Kumari from Jharkhand, Tanuja from Chhatisgarh was awarded laptop and certificates for recommendable work done in the field of digital literacy.
Important applications/services like Digital Locker, National Scholarship Portal, Digitize India, Digital India Portal, Bharat net etc. were launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. Usage of these applications were promoted throughout the week.
Hon’ble Minister of C&IT Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomed all the guests to the launch of ‘Digital India Week’. He said that DIW is a transformational, game changing and transformational approach to assist the objective of economic growth and development that would achieve “Sabka Sath – Sabka Vikas” vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister. He described the various components of Digital India Program and reiterated the commitment of Government of India towards the successful implementation of ‘Digital India’ programme.
Many dignitaries and leading industrialists including Shri Mukesh Ambani, Shri. Anil Ambani, Shri Hari Om Rai, Shri Ping Cheng, Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shri Cyrus Mistry, Shri Azim Premji, Shri Sunil Bharti Mittal, Shri Benrhard Gerwert, Shri Pawan Munjal, etc. shared their vision and activities to make India digital. Mr. Bernhard Gerwert, CEO, Airbus Defence and Space said “The initiative of Digital India will revolutionize the Indian Economy and will empower the society”. According to Mr. Ping Cheng, CEO, Delta Technologies “The Digital India Drive will help India ensure sustainable growth”. Shri Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries in his speech said “I believe Digital India will be a huge success because of adoption of technology by the youth of India”. Shri Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited, said “The vision of PM for Digital India is a very powerful one. It is a first step forward to empower citizens with technology”. This was followed by screening of a short film on Digital India.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi presented the government’s roadmap to digitize India during Digital India Week. In his maiden speech, he said, “I trust that the dreams harboured by young India shall eventually come true”. The Hon’ble Prime Minister reiterated his Government’s resolve to not allow the Digital Divide to become a barrier between people. He outlined his vision of e-governance and mobile governance, where all important Government services are available on the mobile phone. “I dream of a digital India where High-speed Digital Highways unite the Nation; 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation;
Digital India is designed to bridge the digital divide and ensure effective delivery of various citizen centric services through digital medium. Digital India Week is a game changing and transformational approach to assist the objective of economic growth and development that would achieve “Sabka Sath – Sabka Vikas” vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister. — Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Hon’ble Minister for C & IT
Today, India is going through major changes. Digital India Week aims to harness the power of technology in various areas including economy, healthcare, education etc. and help in job creation to take India to new heights. With major leaders of industry from around the world, investing in this programme, Digital India will surely be a success in years to come. I extend my best wishes to the entire team of Digital India. — Shri Arun Jaitley Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting
I thank the Hon’ble Prime Minister whose vision has generated the desired momentum across all the Government departments for speedy implementation of the ‘Digital India’ Programme. I also thank the Hon’ble Ministers of GoI, Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries and Senior officers of various Government departments and Industry and various organizations associated with the DeitY including National e-Governance Division, C-DAC and NIC who played vital role in success of the event. — Shri Ram Sewak Sharma Secretary, DeitY
technology ensures the citizen-government interface is incorruptible,” the Prime Minister said.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister assured full support to young entrepreneurs who wished to launch Start-ups. He called upon the youth to innovate and said “Design in India” is as important as “Make in India.”
Hon’ble PM also added “The world is so worried about cyber security. One click can change a lot of things. Must assure the world through innovation that if it is a product of India, the world is secure in the cyber world”. The event concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Secretary, DeitY, Shri Ram Sewak Sharma.
GLIMPSES OF DIGITAL INDIA WEEK EVENT IN STATES & DISTRICTS To maintain the momentum and enthusiasm of the Digital India Week Programme, Week-long events were organised from State to the Gram Panchayat level. All State Governments, Industry and a number of Central Government Departments and Organizations have conducted the events. Some of the key highlights are as follows:
STATE LEVEL EVENTS: The Digital India Week was conducted across at all State headquarters with great enthusiasm. More than 150 such events have been organized with a participation from more than 98,000 people. About 25 such events were graced by Chief Ministers, LGs and Administrators. The events were also attended by State Ministers, Industry representatives and other dignitaries.
At the State level events, the key activities undertaken are launch of new services by states, discussions on technology and e-Governance and awareness through publications and social media. More than 250 services were launched in areas of health information, utility services, mobile app for civic amenities, services for farmers, smart PDS card, land record services, social welfare & pension services, electoral services, online court services, employment exchange services and police services.
DISTRICT LEVEL EVENTS: Events and activities have been organized at most of the District headquarters in the country. Reports have been received from 438 districts wherein in 1238 events, more than 1.36 lakh government officials and citizens have been informed on Digital India Programme and its services. A large number of events have been attended by Member of Parliaments, District Collectors, Members of the Legislative Assembly and other dignitaries.
The key activities taken up during the week were workshops and seminars, digital literacy activities, registration for Digital Locker and other e-Services, promotion through rallies & publications along with contests & competitions.