The following article appeared on Foreign Policy on September 26, 2015. An excerpt is below and the full text can be accessed here.
Technology offers considerable hope in overcoming many of
India’s challenges, given the rapid rate of change. At about 19 percent, India
has one of the lowest Internet penetration rates among major economies. That
said, some 30 million users, or roughly 2.5 percent of India’s population, are
coming online annually, and that figure is set to accelerate. Facebook wants to
tap into that market, in part with its Free Basics app, which allows users
access to pared-down Internet services at no cost. But for India’s poor, the
difficulties in getting online — including language barriers, illiteracy, and
poor infrastructure — are more complicated than just affording the price of a
phone or computer.
The implications of expanded Internet access for media
dissemination, education, and entertainment are self-evident. It’s not just
about enabling Indians to watch more cat videos. Digital access is critical to
integrating India’s citizens — particularly the poor — into the economy. For
example, efforts underway toward financial inclusion, biometric identification,
and digital access have the potential to overhaul India’s massive and wasteful
subsidy regime. Better identification, more bank accounts, and expanded online
access can cut out middlemen and corruption and can ensure that the poor
receive what they are owed by the state. There has been significant progress: So
far, some 900 million people, or roughly 72 percent of India’s 1.25 billion
people, have signed up for a national biometric identification scheme begun
under Modi’s predecessor, Manmohan Singh. And Jan-Dhan Yojana, Modi’s signature
effort to enable access to banking, credit lines, and insurance, has resulted
in the creation of more than 180 million bank accounts (though critics have
noted that many are left unused). While basic mobile services are widespread
and cheap in India, enabling access to cost-effective broadband will be
necessary to tap the full potential of these efforts. [Read the full article.]