Digital Inclusion: “Muzan Kubutsuzi*” of Inclusive Development

Authors: Sai Krishna N (Chief Executive, NSFI), Kritika Kothari (Growth Associate, NSFI)

* A character in a popular anime series who has the ability to change his anatomy and is a shape-shifter

“Efforts to improve digital inclusion would be greatly helped if there were a clear and agreed set of metrics to monitor it.”

-???????United Nations Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation

The concept of "digital inclusion" is not new. It's been around for over 20 years and is still gaining popularity. The approach to measuring digital inclusion intervention is diverse in its approach to individuals having access to digital infrastructure, such as ICT, or access to the digital content? being able to access e-government models in the country? having access to/the ability to afford internet connectivity? ownership of a smartphone? or access to information technology? as well as sending or receiving digital payments?

The answer awaits; Is it for an individual's day-to-day consumption activities in a household, obtaining various services, or engaging in activities as a citizen of a country? production of various goods and

services in an economic activity? or promotion and consumer / customer outreach for marketing in an economic activity? Process indicators such as quality of access, awareness for the use of various market and public sector services, skill to use various digital technologies, and so on are certainly important. One might wonder what value such inclusion brings to the personal, social, and economic spheres of a citizen in the country where a few have divided this viewpoint into stages, such as creating access, enabling adoption, and facilitating its application.

Rationally "All of the Above, seems the most appropriate answer and if that's the case, where to now? " The journey of Digital Inclusion discourse began with access to information and communication technologies, followed by access to digital content, affordability, and quality. Over time, the journey has shifted from access to technologies and content to the various services that these technologies have been introduced into people's lives.

With an initial focus on e-governance services, various programmes for marginalized communities were developed, specifically to build their capacities in making the best use of their access to technologies and content. Perhaps the use of digital technologies and content (access, skills) was initially oriented toward consumption from the public to personal domains. During the initial period, we measured digital inclusion performance in terms of the number / proportion of people who were given access to technologies and their use of the content for various purposes, which shifted to functional utility for economic activity purposes around 2015. The Indian startup revolution stimulated the digital inclusion narrative.

Around the same time, the role of digital technologies in the form of electronic money transfers from direct benefit transfers to personal finances made a significant impact on society. All performance trends in terms of digital inclusion have momentarily changed as a result of the pandemic (COVID), with society being preoccupied with economic activities continuing without physical interface. Suddenly, digital payments in all forms skyrocketed, and E-commerce is beginning to experience unprecedented growth.

While the performance numbers for digital inclusion expanded in a geometric proportion, the threat of digital divide began to stare the economy in the face, owing to the islands of marginalized sections of society struggling to keep up with the digital revolution and its security threats. The assumption that digital technologies would bring about scale neutrality and the ability to bridge the socioeconomic divide in access appears to be fading. Users of digital technologies and content are no longer competing on a level playing field. Businesses that invest in digital platforms with the ‘database’ of platforms as returns on investment and thus user-fees as the primary source of revenue are tending to bring in exclusivity. Such exclusive access to platforms for their users has contributed to the development of a great divide between the haves and the have-nots.

The digital divide refers to the inequalities between the digital have(s) and the have not(s) with their access to the internet and the ICTs. It is time to recognise this fact and begin investing in: (a) building capacities of the have-nots in competing with business houses for consumer rupees through exclusivity; and (b) building platforms that provide free access to users and competitiveness between product / service providers is based on the value they create rather than exclusivity in access to digital technologies or databases.

Trends of Digital Divide/ Inclusion

The digital divide is commonly evaluated and the results of the usage dimension and the physical access dimension, i.e., 'internet use' and 'access to mobile phones,' with parameters such as availability, affordability, and digital literacy. There is a significant digital divide in India, with gender, rural-urban residence areas (spatial divide in internet density), and age groups varying in their use and access to the internet and digital infrastructure (ownership of smartphones and/or internet).

The implementation of the world's largest identity project, Aadhar, which could open the door to a plethora of opportunities, began India's journey to digital inclusion at a national scale. To further social development and inclusive digital growth, the GoI has prioritized AI and building technology capabilities in its 2018-19 budget through initiatives such as Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, Technology Act 2020, National Digital Literacy Mission, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan, and Digital India. The nation has an opportunity in the AI era to facilitate AI concepts (first developed in the 1950s) for human benefit and to build a digitally inclusive society.

According to the most recent IAMAI-Kantar Cube report, the number of active internet users in India is expected to increase by nearly 45 percent, or 900 million, by 2025, up from 622 million last year. Furthermore, the report indicates that there are more digital users in rural areas than in urban areas, attempting to point to a massive revolution in India's digital ecosystem. As the country becomes more digitally dependent, those who remain disconnected are increasingly excluded. More than 400 million people in India still lack access to the internet and digital services, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this disparity.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-21 Report, only 57.1 percent of men and 33.3 percent of women have never used the internet. According to the GSMA Report titled "Connected Women: The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021," there is a general trend of increased smartphone ownership by women in India, with 79 percent of the adult male population and 67 percent of the adult female population owning smartphones. However, it also states that urban women own a higher percentage of mobile phones than rural women; however, the trends are reversed in states and union territories such as Kerala, Ladakh, Delhi, and Andaman and Nicobar, where rural women have greater access to smartphones.

The Way Forward

The digital divide is no longer a governmental or organizational issue, but rather a socioeconomic one. President Smt. Droupadi Murmu's Odisha village of Uparbeda is yet to receive electricity after decades of darkness. The question here is whether we really need to prioritize digital inclusion among population strata that do not even have access to electricity or poor connectivity, let alone own a smartphone and use digital payments. The first step is to understand the user/context and their need for and access to a smartphone; the second step is to ensure connectivity to consumers in the most remote areas. The need of the hour is to advance digital innovation while taking user differences into consideration.

Efficient and affordable digital technologies have the potential to transform work to achieve each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to open up new frontiers of opportunity for people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital landscape changed, prompting consumers to reconsider their financial priorities. Investing in greater digital literacy can assist in the reduction of digital inequalities while also advancing the development of accessible digital technologies.

With a refined approach, areas of digital inclusion can and should also be promoted in healthcare, population screening programmes, literacy, pandemic crisis, and to address the scale of digital inclusion for different groups of the population. The digital divide poses serious social consequences and has the potential to exacerbate existing social inequalities (education, health, financial and digital inclusion, safety, etc.). While several government schemes and initiatives have been implemented to promote digital services, there is a need to significantly boost efforts and improve the existing digital infrastructure for various segments of society. At the same time, vulnerable groups and disadvantaged communities must be encouraged to use digital technologies and services in their daily lives. Thus, a need for a collaborative approach among national and local governments, multilateral organizations, private and civil society, and others, where concrete actions and outcome-oriented initiatives is emerging, calling for prioritization.

References

●?????ICUBE 2020, Internet Adoption in India. Kantar, (June 2021 ).

●?????National Family Health Survey- 5; India Fact Sheet. Ministry of Health & Welfare, GoI (2019-2021).

●??????GSMA, Connected Women: The Mobile Gender Gap (2021)

[Authors Acknowledge the Contribution (through her secondary research on the topic) of Ms. Shreya Mehray , pursuing her ‘Bachelors of Management Studies’ at Shiv Nadar University, Noida]