India would be spending in excess of $100bn on its two ambitious projects, Unique Identification cards (UID cards) and Right to Education (RTE) program in the next five years. The country’s UID project is aimed at providing multi-purpose identity cards to all its citizens to facilitate e-governance, and for ensuring national security. Likewise, the RTE intends to offer free education to all its children between 6 and 14 years of age with a promise of neighbourhood education that makes every child within 3km to avail of his/her educational rights.
Though the UID program has given paramount importance to identity accountability of the country’s citizens, its larger goal would be to gradually wipe out paper currencies from its market. A mobile phone-based cash transaction with an upper limit on person to person money deals is likely to bring more transparency with minimal usage of paper currencies.
The identity card program has identified the possibility of making every transaction anything above a certain limit to be routed through either a credit/debit card or mobile phone tagged to one’s bank account; in either case the UID number will be the interface. The cost expended on the UID scheme is expected to be recovered through bringing in sizable transactions to book, reduction in expenditure on the mint and elimination of fake currency threat.
On the other hand, the implementation of the RTE in the form of neighbourhood education in a country like India is an uphill challenge particularly because about 70 percent of the population live in remote areas. Therefore, the country cannot afford to waste money on brick and mortar model, and the only option available before them is to go in for e-education formula.
The e-learning initiative will help students to get rid of the burden of buying the text and note books every year and carrying them to school by making the entire study material open source. Similarly, the global tenders for a substantial number of e-note books will make them extremely cheap through economies of scale. The most cost-effective education program undertaken by government of India will ultimately help the next generation of the country to prepare themselves to take on the electronic age head on.
The impact of both paperless projects by India is likely to transform the country to emerge as global leaders in environmental protection. Besides, it allows every citizen to partake in the massive exercise of protecting the environment with an extra guarantee on better living standards unlike some projects which often pile up agony to the country’s marginalized citizens in the name of development.
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