Together we can go digital

Despite a massive shift towards everything digital, rural India still remains largely unconnected. It’s time for all stakeholders, including the government to act

- V SRIDHAR

The anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 17 May is celebrated as the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) every year, and the theme for 2021 was “accelerating digital transformation in challenging times”. In his message on the day, the ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao indicated that the agency would use the occasion to unite the world in pursuit of digital transformation in every field of business and all aspects of life. He also released an advocacy toolkit for enabling the same.

It is in this context that we need to salute the digital platform startups. These companies have made our daily lives much easier, especially during the pandemic. Today, these start-ups deliver food to our doorsteps, offer home-based teleconsulting to address our health concerns, provide over-the-top (OTT) entertainment to tide over these depressing periods, and deliver digital education to millions when physical schools and colleges are under lockdown. These companies have also enabled us to work from home (WFH), and more, to eventually protect our health and safety.