By IANSlife
December 5, 2022 (IANSlife) According to Oxfam India's most recent "India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide," India's worryingly expanding inequalities based on caste, religion, gender, class, and location are being duplicated in the digital sphere. According to the survey, in 2021, 61 percent of men owned phones, compared to only 31 percent of women.
According to the survey, the usage of digital technologies is still mostly restricted to urban, male, upper-caste, and upper-class homes and people. Less than 1 percent of the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 2% of the Scheduled Castes (SC) own a computer or laptop, compared to 8 percent of the General caste. According to the GSMA's Mobile Gender Gap research, women will be 33 percent less likely than males to use mobile internet in 2021.
“The Digital technologies were supposed to make public services and schemes more accessible. But the ‘India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide’ shows this isn’t happening. The report highlights how digital technologies are accessible to the rich and privileged. The report shows that a person with a post-graduate or a Ph.D. is 60 percent more likely to have a phone than a person with no education. This is worrying because this digital divide can further deepen the existing socio-economic inequalities in the country. We urge the state and Union governments to immediately take necessary steps to universalise internet connectivity and treat digital technologies as a public utility, not a privilege”, said Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India.
The research examines primary data from the household survey conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) between January 2018 and December 2021. In order to evaluate the inclusiveness of digital initiatives to deliver public services and entitlements, the research looks at CMIE statistics on internet access, mobile ownership, computer and broadband availability. The National Sample Survey's secondary analysis is also utilised in this study (NSS).
According to the analysis, there would be a digital divide depending on employment status in 2021, with 95 percent of salaried permanent workers having phones compared to 50 percent of unemployed people who are eager and looking for work. The research also emphasises that, contrary to common belief, fewer people were using computers in rural areas. Prior to the pandemic, only 3 percent of rural residents were computer owners. Since the epidemic, this has decreased to just 1 percent . In contrast, only 8 percent of residents in metropolitan regions own computers.
The country's digital divide and its effects are also reflected in the usage of digital technologies to supply important services like education and healthcare. Signal and internet speed were the major problems in private schools, according to Oxfam India's five states fast assessment study conducted during the shutdown in September 2020, which revealed 82 percent of parents had difficulties assisting their children in accessing digital education. 80% of parents in government schools said that no instruction took place during the lockout. Due to a shortage of equipment and access to the internet, 84 percent of instructors in public schools reported having difficulty delivering lessons using digital tools.
Amitabh Behar, CEO of Oxfam India said, “India's growing inequality is accentuated due to the digital divide. The growing inequality based on caste, religion, gender, class, and geographic location also gets replicated in the digital space. People without devices and the internet get further marginalised due to difficulties in accessing education, health, and public services. This vicious cycle of inequality needs to stop.”
The report welcomes several initiatives by state and union governments in India to promote digital literacy, availability, accessibility, and affordability of the digital technologies. Following are some recommendations provided by the authors to bridge digital divide in India:
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