Since the launch of the Digital India programme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1st 2015, Arunachal Pradesh has been striving hard to integrate itself to this movement and ride the wave that has ensued since then. In this connection the state has launched many Apps and an array of similar activities the state is witnessing during the last couple of years which testifies the government’s intention in this respect.       
Digital India, as we all know is an umbrella programme based on technology that envisages transforming the nation into  a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy thereby making every Indian well informed and connected with the government activities and Arunachal Pradesh  has been in the effort of emulating these intrinsic objectives through various measures- both short and long term. Digital India  or to be more specific  Digital  Arunachal  expects to reduce corruption, increase speed of public sector services rendered ,decrease documentation and make an  easy  management of online storage of  documents.
Now with technology as an aid, a whole new avenue is now there ,open and giving invitation to  Arunachalees to walk, not just as citizens , but as netizens. At this juncture a query strikes- how prepared the state really is ?
There can be no denying of the fact that the state has fared abysmally low in ranking when it comes to delivering governance to its people. And now at the threshold of embarking this ambitious venture there is once again the issue of infrastructural preparedness. Without stepping into any debate-like atmosphere it can be safely said that although much have been done, manifold of it is yet to be done. The state is yet to get out of its state of digital connectivity problems, the single most important factor for success of any digital venture. While accessing a government website for the much needed update of your certificate or for transferring money or for downloading the vital admit card for your job exam or any such similar actions , the thing needed is an uninterrupted internet connectivity with a steady speed. But sadly this basic feature is missing in Arunachal, not to mention about a 100% internet coverage.
In  a flashback we can recall the lament of the industrialists at Tawang, a vital forward area of our country which hosted a two-day “Thought Shop” on connectivity a few year’s back with investment agreements  worth Rs. 1,200 crore signed. The mood was positive but there was also  an undercurrent of apprehension, attributed to a lack of good data connection.
Thus for a rising and digitally empowered Arunachal, a robust digital connectivity is the need of the hour. It’s not that outlandish and impossible ! Without a Digital Arunachal and North-east there can be no Digital India, if we are  allowed to echo the ubiquitous sentiments of the time. At any cost, digital darkness must not have a place in the land of the rising sun.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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