Digital India has not only enabled the availability of better services beyond large cities but also helped in creating local employment.
Srinivas R Pingali
Open any business publication, and you will see many articles on how digital is transforming companies and disrupting industries. The examples quoted in these articles are usually well-known digital companies in the e-commerce, ride-sharing or payments space. Companies you and I know well, and deal with every day. However, digital is supposed to democratise products and services. Is this really happening? Also, digital transformation has been studied to have both positive and negative impacts. On the positive side, it increases customer convenience, enhances operational efficiencies and promotes transparency. On the negative side, it has been projected as a ‘job-killing monster’ with predictions on how it will create mass unemployment across the globe.
The author, as part of a research project, led a team of researchers that spoke to over fifty ‘undigital’ companies and their customers, in semi-urban and rural areas, trying to understand the impact of digital. We explored if digital had a different impact on employment, once we move out of urban settings? Will digital help in slowing the pace of urbanisation and allow for job creation in semi-urban and rural settings?
Source: Financial Express
