Women, Unemployed, Rural Poor Lagging Due To Digital Divide: Oxfam India Report (UPSC Current Affairs)

Relevance: GS 3 - Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development, and employment; GS 2 - Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, and Human Resources

(Source: The Economic Times,12/06/22)

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Why in the news?

• Recently, Oxfams' released the 'India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide' report, which states that the reach of digital technologies remains limited to largely male, urban, upper-caste, and upper-class households and individuals.
• According to the report, the percentage of men who own phones is as high as 61% while the percentage of women who own phones is only 31% in 2021.
• The report also claimed that India's growing inequalities based on caste, religion, gender, class, and location are being alarmingly replicated in the digital space.

Highlights of Report

• Gender: According to the research, India performs the lowest in Asia-Pacific, with the largest gender disparity at 40.4%.
• Digital divide based on employment: The report revealed that 95 percent of salaried permanent workers have a phone compared to only 50 percent of the unemployed (willing and looking for a job) have a phone in 2021.
• Rural-Urban: Contrary to the popular perception, the use of computer devices decreased in rural areas according to report.
• Prior to the pandemic, only 3% of people in rural areas had access to computers. After the pandemic, this was reduced to 1%. The percentage of people who own computers is 8% in Urban areas.
• Internet: According to the survey, just 31% of the rural population utilises the Internet, compared to 67% of their urban counterparts, although achieving a significant (digital) growth rate of 13% in a year.Bihar has the lowest internet penetration, followed by Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, while Maharashtra has the highest, followed by Goa and Kerala.
• Disparity across castes: Less than 1% of the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 2% of the Scheduled Castes (SC) own a computer or laptop, compared to 8% of the General caste.

Concerns

• The report said that the use of digital technologies in delivering essential services such as education and health is also reflecting the country's digital divide and its consequences.
• Digital Divide: The widening digital divide is a contributing factor to India's rising inequality.
• Inequality: Inequality based on caste, religion, gender, class, and location is becoming more prevalent, and this is mirrored in the digital sphere.
• As a result of access issues to education, health, and other services, those without devices and the internet become even more marginalized.
• The vicious circle of inequality in public services must be broken.
• Only approximately 9% of students who were enrolled in any course had access to a computer with internet, and 25% of students had access to the internet through any form of device, according to the NSS (2017–18).
• Digital transactions: The pandemic's digital push caused India to experience the most real-time digital transactions in 2021 with 48.6 billion.
• However, in India, the richest 60% are four times more likely to make a digital payment than the country's lowest 40%.

Way forward

• According to the report, the government's initiatives to reduce India's present income disparity by raising the income of the poor are important and can have a significant impact.
• This can be achieved by establishing a fair minimum living income, reducing indirect taxation of the populace, and offering universal access to healthcare and education.
• According to the research, accessibility is the first step in closing the digital divide. It emphasizes that internet accessibility in remote and difficult-to-reach locations is either inconsistent, subpar, or nonexistent.
• Through public WiFi and internet connection points, service providers must guarantee its accessibility.

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Some Important FAQs

MCQs

Question: With reference to the e-participation index, consider the following statements:

1. It is a composite measure of three crucial e-government dimensions, the availability of online services, telecommunication connection, and human capacity.
2. It is Published by the United Nations.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2