Paper: GS – II, Subject: Governance, Topic: Good Governance and Application, Issue: Digital Governance in India.
Context:
India is at a pivotal moment where rapid advances in digital technologies AI, big data, and digital public infrastructure offer unprecedented opportunities to transform governance.
- While platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker have laid a strong digital foundation, governance outcomes remain constrained by fragmented adoption, capacity gaps, and institutional inertia.
Key Highlights:
From Silos to Scale:
- Problem: Innovation thrives in pilot programs but fails to deliver transformation due to a lack of scalability.
- Explanation: Many states have pockets of innovation, but these are often isolated and don’t translate into widespread change. Scale must be intentionally designed from the outset.
- Example: Agriculture has numerous technology pilots, but they haven’t significantly improved crop yields or farmer incomes due to fragmented deployment.
- Solution: Implement end-to-end, platform-based approaches across sectors that cut across departmental silos.
- Customization: Recognize the diversity among “Indian farmers” (small, medium, mature) and tailor technology to their specific needs, capital access, and tech-readiness.
From Data Collection to Data-Driven Action:
- Problem: India is data-rich but insight-poor, hindering timely decisions and actions.
- Explanation: Data’s value lies in its conversion into actionable intelligence. Without this, India risks becoming a supplier of raw data while importing intelligence.
- Solution:
- Invest in analytics capabilities.
- Embed data into core decision workflows, not just parallel dashboards.
- Improve data literacy among officials to use data for informed judgment, not just compliance.
Mindset Shifts for Technology-Led Governance:
| Shift Area | Problem | Explanation | Way Forward / Solution |
| From Technology Dependence to Sovereignty | In the current geopolitical environment, dependence on external technologies undermines strategic autonomy. | True tech sovereignty requires ownership of critical intellectual property, influence over global standards, and control of key supply chains. | Promote mission-driven indigenous R&D to move from service adoption to product innovation Develop a clear national roadmap with long-term commitment Prioritise R&D for resilience in critical sectors Build trusted partnerships without compromising strategic control |
| From Tech-Augmented Services to Stronger Policy Design | Technology is often used only to digitise existing services without improving policy outcomes. | Globally, advanced technologies are being embedded directly into policy formulation and decision-making. | Build end-to-end decision systems with embedded intelligence Use tools like digital twins to simulate and stress-test policies before implementation Strengthen continuous capacity building through platforms like iGOT |
| From Reactive to Proactive Risk Management | Governments typically respond to risks after they materialise. | Modern risks include cyber threats, cognitive warfare, quantum-enabled security breaches, and biosecurity challenges. | Institutionalise continuous risk-horizon scanning Treat fragmented procurement, siloed data, lack of standards, and weak capacity as national security and economic resilience risks Shift governance from crisis response to risk |
Technology will continue to advance rapidly. India faces a choice: continue with fragmented deployments and their sub-optimal impact, or re-imagine governance itself. By embracing these five mindsets shifts with clarity and conviction, technology will not just improve governance, it will lay the foundation for a truly Viksit Bharat.
Source: (Live Mint)
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