IAS online test series
 Home » Subject » Essay » Digital India or Green India, Discuss

Digital India or Green India, Discuss


In India's latest endeavor to undertake initiatives, and nay, implementing the Digital India Programme and Green India Mission, unearths the already seeming fact that she has diligently set out to achieve more upgraded goals and widen her horizon of development, quite dynamically. The top leaders, top schemes, top ministries are all seeming to be working with much fervor as one man to achieve the goals as soon as possible. With the sheer hard work of them, any average citizen to boot is all rekindled over the matter of getting all geared up for the combo Digital-Green India and for effectively participating in the harmony of the implemented programmes.

DIGITAL INDIA
Zeroing in at "Digital India", all important personages who have their say in the law-making seem to be "all yes" for the introduction of Digital India programme. But there are a few bunch of people, who have strong disagreement over the programme. Their primary concerns are:

  • How are the corporate going to bear the investment costs? Will the promised investments turn out to be enormous loans from banks?
  • Handling of personal data of so many citizens will be too cumbersome and its efficiency is doubted.
  • Whether the initiatives taken under the programme be inclusive or not, is hard to explain.
  • The reliability of proposed digital lockers for official documentation of so many denizens is beclouded.
  • There are some experts who feel rather redressing issues of water, power and sewage should be prioritized before the digitization.
  • If Adhaar is linked to every mobile number, bank account, travel details, the Govt. can build a profile of each person at the click of a mouse. Thus, people are concerned about their privacy.

Well, nevertheless some people have issues regarding this, lest their privacy be ruined, the other side of it is not yet paid heed to; because the other side of it could be such a blessing in disguise when dealing with the criminal cases, for by collecting the fingerprint from the crime scene the real ID proof of convict can be easily tracked down with just one click away and necessary justice can be done!

As far as there are doubts persisting in people's minds, these cannot be made as the lone bases to perceiving the programme as it will also see following positives:

  • Both small and large enterprises will thrive.
  • It will create job opportunities, magnanimously.
  • Citizens would be directly able to connect with the govt.
  • E-governance will come into its full effect.

However, these positive aspects cannot be fulfilled until there are strong goals considered. Thus the main initiatives undertaken by the virtue of Digital programme are:

  • To make all citizens digitally literate.
  • To provide internet access to everyone.
  • To bring E-governance to every door step. (E-governance is the application of information and technology to deliver govt. services).

Thus, Digital India programme is a huge project involving a lot of money. The corporates have proposed to invest 4.5 lakh crore in the initiative. This is greater than probably total expenditure on all govt. schemes, that is, it is equivalent to one-fourth of the national budget. To costing this much to govt. is quite alarming but doing this for people's upliftment, in good faith, is all welcome .The govt. sure must comply with what the time is needy of.

GREEN INDIA

As stated by M.K Gandhi "In nature, there's enough for everyone's need, but too little for everyone's greed', it seems as though the whole mother-nature, in fact, is bellowing with these insightful and worth pondering, pearly words by Gandhi, as mentioned above. There is, serious crisis going on in this discipline of greenery. The greenery is depleting at a very concerned rate. The increase in pollution is more aided by loss in greenery. It has to be fixed as soon as possible because a tree can, each year, remove 15 kg of Carbon Di Oxide from the air! That way, co2 emission can be efficiently checked.

Moreover, if only we indulge ourselves into studying about our homes, that is ecology, only then could we have bombshell economy, ever and conserve the biodiversity. Thus, in a remarkable step to meet with the issues of depleting greenery, govt. of India started Nation Mission for Green India (GIM) back in the year 2008 by the National Action Plan. Not much could be achieved as was planned back then but the campaign is still proactive and it looks forward to encourage more and more of afforestation. The goals of GIM are:

  • To increase forest cover to the extent of 10 million hectares.
  • To increase the forest based livelihood of about 3 million households.
  • To enhance ecosystem services as carbon sequestration and storage, hydrological services, provisioning services like fodder, Non Timber Forest Produces (NTFPS) and biodiversity.

These will be implemented on both public as well as private lands with the significant role of local communities in maintaining, protecting, checking and planning. GIM recently merged with MGNREGA and currently green works such as afforestation, farm forestry are under MGNREGA, implemented by Rural Development Ministry. A few eco -friendly trusts with the slogan, "Protect Nature, Protest Pollution "have been working actively as well.

GIM also co-ordinated with Joint Forest Committee (JFMC), Forest Development Agency (FDA) with Gram Sabha.

To assess the progress at every planned corner, modern technology like remote sensing will be used at regular intervals for extensive research. Doing so will help: respond to climate change by adaptation and mitigation measures, qualitative improvement of forests, biodiversity conservation, increasing ground biomass which will up the carbon sequestration.

Although, there aren't many those who oppose this mission, but certainly the main cons as envisaged can be:

  • Plantations by the agencies might encroach the land cultivated by tribals since long period.
  • For different agencies to co- ordinate effectively, might prove challenging.
  • In past 9-10 years, 2 to 3 lakh hectares of forest land have been sacrificed over in the name of development and with no apparent development.

The positives and negatives are both necessary for the birth and death of any mission. This mission too has its both faces and it is upon the govt. to bring out the best out of it. However, Digi-Green India is by far the most anticipated change that every eye is eagerly looking forward to. Because as long as the programme, campaign are undertaken for the countrymen's wellness cause, being unbiased, then it is all welcome with genuine appreciation. This is my original content and is not copied from anywhere.

Vimi Mihu

Related Essay

  1. Is digital India more important than green India?
  2. Essay on towards making a green india
  3. Digital India Programme, Green India Mission
  4. Green India - Working towards a better tomorrow
  5. Is digital India more important than green India now?
  6. What India needs now digital India or green India?
  7. Which one is important green India or digital India?
  8. Clean india green india essay in english
  9. Green India Mission, Digital India Programme