So you support the Digital India initiative? Brilliant. Many have taken to Facebook to changing their profiles to the tri-color, following Mark Z, but are unable to answer how they can contribute beyond that.
Here are the four areas, that you as an entrepreneur / startup or technologist should think about as areas that you can make a difference in and truly support this effort.
There are these five (or more) spaces that need to come together collectively to make this work.
1. Devices
This is going to capital intensive, but we need a ton of new devices. And devices don't just mean mobile phones and tablets (and phablets), but also devices like Kiosks, sensors (IoT and otherwise) and several uni-functional devices (think about the devices that bus conductors use - isnt it about time that we move to a self serve model? But thats another topic - to devices that traffic cops and policemen use to lookup). It also means local language and simplified user interfaces - so that even our grandparents could use it (quite literally so).
This is going to capital intensive, but we need a ton of new devices. And devices don't just mean mobile phones and tablets (and phablets), but also devices like Kiosks, sensors (IoT and otherwise) and several uni-functional devices (think about the devices that bus conductors use - isnt it about time that we move to a self serve model? But thats another topic - to devices that traffic cops and policemen use to lookup). It also means local language and simplified user interfaces - so that even our grandparents could use it (quite literally so).
2. Access
This is where the deals that they are making with Google, Microsoft etc will come in play. This is where the net neutrality discussion is fiercely going on. How do we bring the cost of access down? And make connectivity available everywhere at an affordable cost? Telecom players will get in on this and I am not too worried about this piece. India is already the cheapest telecom network in the world and data costs are "reasonable". if we provide adequate value and opportunities to earn by virtue of being connected, access costs shouldn't matter.
This is where the deals that they are making with Google, Microsoft etc will come in play. This is where the net neutrality discussion is fiercely going on. How do we bring the cost of access down? And make connectivity available everywhere at an affordable cost? Telecom players will get in on this and I am not too worried about this piece. India is already the cheapest telecom network in the world and data costs are "reasonable". if we provide adequate value and opportunities to earn by virtue of being connected, access costs shouldn't matter.
3. Content
We'll need content, content creation infrastructure, not just in text, but perhaps in voice, IVR, TTS, voice recognition to be built up in local language. Video and Audio sites, audiences, and infrastructure needs to come up here.
We'll need content, content creation infrastructure, not just in text, but perhaps in voice, IVR, TTS, voice recognition to be built up in local language. Video and Audio sites, audiences, and infrastructure needs to come up here.
4. Services
This includes servers, the stack that goes on top, and the set of government related services that need to be built. Ideally governments have always talked about a modular system. But the better way of building these systems is in an API/Webhooks model, each talking to each other, interconnected and easily upgradeable independently. Aadhar is a critical piece of this. In technology speak, Aadhar is the Identity management service.
This includes servers, the stack that goes on top, and the set of government related services that need to be built. Ideally governments have always talked about a modular system. But the better way of building these systems is in an API/Webhooks model, each talking to each other, interconnected and easily upgradeable independently. Aadhar is a critical piece of this. In technology speak, Aadhar is the Identity management service.
5. Security
Security will cut across all these layers. A digital India also means a digitally vulnerable India and we do have the likes of China who will hack into networks. Security on an infrastructure level, and on an individual access level is something to look at. Whoever designs this needs to keep in mind that India is democratic, so there is some philosophical / ideological designs have to be made that security doesn't turn into censorship and that the systems of democracy continue to remain open.
Security will cut across all these layers. A digital India also means a digitally vulnerable India and we do have the likes of China who will hack into networks. Security on an infrastructure level, and on an individual access level is something to look at. Whoever designs this needs to keep in mind that India is democratic, so there is some philosophical / ideological designs have to be made that security doesn't turn into censorship and that the systems of democracy continue to remain open.
That last one is a big one and perhaps the most overlooked. Security and access will be the two controversial spaces.
PS: There is perhaps one another sixth piece. While I merged Services and Services together, there are some fundamental pieces missing. Thanks to startups like Reverie, we have rather elegant font-engines for embedded devices.
But have you ever tried storing data in regional language into databases? Storing names of people, town, places which are supposed to be in regional language, in english is half the reason why we can't have digital inefficiency - it is very hard to differentiate between two places or names that are similar sounding, or are the same thing. We can avoid some of those things if we can save and retrieve entries in regional languages. Some such building blocks (which should ideally be open source) is still missing. (by vijay anand the startup guy.)
PS: There is perhaps one another sixth piece. While I merged Services and Services together, there are some fundamental pieces missing. Thanks to startups like Reverie, we have rather elegant font-engines for embedded devices.
But have you ever tried storing data in regional language into databases? Storing names of people, town, places which are supposed to be in regional language, in english is half the reason why we can't have digital inefficiency - it is very hard to differentiate between two places or names that are similar sounding, or are the same thing. We can avoid some of those things if we can save and retrieve entries in regional languages. Some such building blocks (which should ideally be open source) is still missing. (by vijay anand the startup guy.)
