| |July 20169CIOReviewTransparent GovernanceIn India, a large part of government machinery runs in the age old ways of files and note sheets. But if the standards of governance have to improve, digitisation of data is must. Digital India initiative by Government of India is the right step forward and if all central departments show the desire to transform digitally, it can change the way governance is done or delivered in India. Digital transformation can help remove digital Divide and bring in much needed transparency to the overall system. Initiatives such as Aadhaar linked benefits transfer, online availability of citizen data, time bound single window clearances- pro-cesses that require a minimum of people interface - are positive case studies that other government depart-ments must follow. Digital backbone for Small Businesses and Start UpsThere is no doubt that initiatives like Make in India, Start up India and Skill India will positively impact our economy. And it is pretty certain that to realise that potential, we would need to technologically empower our Small and Medium Business and Start up eco-system. Only very handful of start-ups would be fortunate to get financial support through venture capitalists or angel investors. Majority of them will have constraints of money and manpower. To execute a good business idea, technology will be the key contributor and digital is the only way to go. The same mantra applies to small and medium businesses. India has lakhs of SMBs and most of them are not digitally aware or exposed. Today majority of these entrepreneurs cater to a small localised market, a restricted set of buyers due to limited access. Use of digital platforms such as creating a web presence, enabling digital transactions through e-commerce, presence on social media can take their product and service offering to customers' pan-India or even globally. Solving real life problems800 million youth are looking for opportunities to unleash their energy and creativity for the growth of the country. Our challenge is to touch the lives of these people, mostly living in small towns or villages of India in the shortest possible time and skilling them to enhance employability, facilitate job creation. And there are similar real life problems to solve to provide quality and affordable healthcare and education to all, improve agricultural productivity and enhance quality of life all around. No amount of brick and mortar work can help. India does not have the luxury of time to wait for thousands of schools or hospitals to be constructed for basic education and health facilities. Instead time has come to deploy cloud based future schools and mobile healthcare centres. Even the vocational trainings through future classrooms can be a game changer. With technological evolutions like 3D printing, we are poised for the 4th industrial revolution in the world and India needs to equip itself adequately to be the driver of this distributed manufacturing technology marvel. And this will lead to immense job creation in India. In summary, it is obvious that Digital transformation will be all pervasive. It is not just a way to stay competitive but a pre-requisite for success in the 21st century world. For our diverse country, it has the potential to help us leapfrog and to create & provide uniform opportunities to every Indian. Isn't that a great step towards a healthy, happy and prosperous India? Digital transformation can help remove digital Divide and bring in much needed transparency to the overall system
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