Digital India in Covid-19

Covid-19 struck the world like lightening, and everything was shut down overnight. People could not leave their houses. Schools and colleges were forced to close. Businesses had to shut down. People were laid off from their jobs. The pandemic uprooted our lives, in a blink of an eye. Scientists all over the world were trying to figure out this new virus, and find its cure. Thanks to the advancement in science and medicine, we soon learnt ways to avoid and slow the spread of the virus.

With time, we adapted technology to keep our day-to-day lives on track. We couldn’t meet our loved ones in person, but we can still see and talk to them through video calling. We found communities with who we share our interests on social media. Though schools and colleges switched from desks and benches in our classrooms, to the comfort of our couches. Teachers found new ways to interact with students, through online classrooms and video conferencing applications.

Digital India opportunities in this period, proved to be a sliver lining behind the lockdown cloud. When almost everything stalled, digital services remained functioning and kept everyone connected. The effects of the pandemic lockdown would have been far worse in the absence of digital facilities.

Businesses are now operating on the internet. The coronavirus outbreak is indirectly helping the vision of Digital India, as many services have significantly reduced their offline operations and are asking their customers to embrace the digital form. One can buy products, for example : groceries online, and have them delivered to their door step. Payments can be done digitally, and the customer doesn’t even need to leave their house. This trend could possibly help in speeding up digital transformation in the long term. But the challenge is that not many customers are prepared for this drastic change.

Thanks to cheaper and faster internet, almost everyone can go through their day-to-day lives with ease, without stepping out of our home sweet home. But is India truly digital? For the modern citizens, living in cities, who are literate, educated, aware and informed of the whole pandemic situation, internet is a device of convenience to go about their lives. But what about the people of rural India? Is the internet as easily accessible to them, as it is to us? Do they have the tools to go about their lives as we do? And what about the senior citizens of our country? Are they tech-savvy? Will they be able to efficiently adopt the digital life?

Even though India is not completely digital, we are trying our best to adapt & embrace technology. These digital services are going to play a big role in the post – pandemic era. Right now they play a pivotal role in reviving the economy & bringing life back to normalcy.