Empowerment through Digital Inclusion in an Era of Globalization

Abstract

Globalization has accelerated the process of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ICT due to the digital revolution has transformed societies, both: developed as well as developing. This process has been conceptualized as so-called ‘informationalism’ by Manuel Castells. The government of India has initiated digital initiatives as an inclusionary and empowerment measure for the marginalized sections of Indian society, especially for the rural population where the majority of the population till date live and derive their livelihood from agriculture in spite of a substantial increase in the tertiary sector. The proposed paper looks upon digital inclusion through CSCs at the grass-root level in rural India as a process of empowerment. CSC is a program initiated by the government of India under the e-Governance plan to provide a gateway to the rural and urban citizens/netizens, where they can receive various services provided by different departments of the Central and State governments. CSCs have been introduced under the PPP model. One of the objectives of the CSC is to promote entrepreneurship among the rural educated youth by giving them an employment opportunity of becoming the Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE). VLE as an owner of the CSC provides various government services to the rural and urban citizens by reaching the doors of the so far unreached due to a variety of reasons. CSCs role in the inclusion of the marginalized and excluded groups has been examined within the framework of a digital governance model. The paper is based on primary data generated from the two villages: one located in the Aligarh district and another in the Bhadohi district of Uttar Pradesh.