PRASAD: USE DIGITAL INDIA FOR RURAL AREAS

New Delhi, Oct. 21: Digital India initiative should be leveraged to transform rural India and create avenues for those in smaller towns and cities, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday.

The minister said Digital India should become a beacon for inclusion, healthcare, education and entrepreneurship.

He launched the next version of the government's mobile payment app Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) called BHIM 2.0 that is packed with new features and capabilities. The minister also launched an Indian software products registry, which will act as a single window portal to collate Indian software product database.

Speaking at the 'Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) StartUp Summit' here, Prasad said there is compelling case for social startups and that these should be encouraged so they unleash their power in India's changing digital narrative. “I want Digital India platform to transform rural India and create aspirations in tier 3 and tier 4 cities and towns,” the Minister said. Citing success stories of technology platforms Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and GSTN (GST-Network), the Minister said government entities such as NIC, STPI should also become competitive.

“For Digital India to succeed, the government entities must also become competitive. I have told National Informatics Centre (NIC) that your people have to become competitive and innovative... they have changed. Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) also must change,” the Minister said.