Author: Aryaa Pandey, Law Center 1, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi
In a country like India , where many issues are prevailing in the current times, digital divide is one of them. And the need has been raised to address this issue as it is very important for the cosmopolitan development of India .
Digital divide here refers to the unequal access of the telecommunication technology by the people of different demographic sections on social & economical basis. It also refers to the gap in the access and usage of modern technology between the people who have access or those who don’t have. Its not a historic problem in India as it has evolved with the growth of scientific inventions & growing poverty. It has been dwindling between the growing developments in technology and economic inequality of the country or region.
Our country is a land where the technology lands here as fast as the growing invention but not the economic & social scenarios are the same here. Economic disparity and access to technology in the country are not keeping up the pace with each other.
Emerging technologies are not always affordable to everyone. People below the poverty line and on the verge of poverty cannot afford the access to the digital world. The society is mostly divided digitally everywhere where one section can have access and usage to smartphones, tablets, laptop and internet services and the other section which is unaware of all these facilities. Consequently it can be seen that the later ones are lagged behind. The well off section remains always ahead of the disadvantaged section in this age of information. The age of information is a boon for all those who are ahead but simultaneously it becomes a curse for all the socially and economically weak people.
In the world , overall seventy percent men use the internet services and sixty five percent women are in touch with the technology. But the situation is worse for a country like India where only fifty five percent of people use the internet. Fifty seven percent men constitute the digital user while thirty three percent women are exposed to these services.
During Covid times the extreme need was felt for bridging the gap between the unequal access of technology. Education, health , office, corporate, govt., market etc sectors of the current times were solely dependent on the digital media. Those who were able to cope up with the sudden change in the mode of work were unaffected by the ill effects of the lockdown period . But those who could barely afford the cellphone were at the large disadvantage . A number of students faced the obstacles to attain the education. Many women who were engaged in the marketing prior to the Covid were now left clueless and jobless. Mass vaccination and health check-ups were registered through an online process and many were left out throughout the process.
The division can again be varied according to their types :-
Access Divide – In this divide , a particular section is out of the touch of the digital media and never ever gets benefitted from any telecomm. technology. The access to the tech services are completely unaffordable particularly for them. This usually happens in the case of the poor & marginalized section of society where meeting the requirements of basic amenities are considered a huge achievement. However, the spread of the web technology is very fast in the affordable society where not even a single one is spared from exposure to such things.
Usage Divide – This type of division is horizontal division which can only be seen in the exposed class. Here the division is applicable on the basis of gender & skills. There can be a generation gap in the family where the elder ones are not comfortable with the use of the new things. Most females in families like housewives & homemakers of current times are not that much technically skilled to use the devices & gadgets as for them no need of learning is felt . So there is always the division that works on the horizontal platform.
Quality of use gap – There can be quality issues in the usage as good quality of services are always not available everywhere. We can witness somewhere the introduction of 5G and 6G whereas somewhere still people are reluctant to use 2G and 3G services. This unequal distribution of quality can disturb the virtual harmony of the section. Supposedly not everyone in the same class can afford the high speed and good quality content during online imparting of education. Again there is a need to address this issue.
Whenever we talk about digital access in India, uniformity is not observed here. PwDs ( Person with disability) are excluded from the digital services & its benefits. They remain at the disadvantaged positions when they are required to meet up the needs for accessing it. This need was earlier ignored & no attention was paid initially. Later, the government found the disproportionate division of services and the deserving ones are not getting the benefits. The government took the initiative and launched schemes like PMGDISHA ( Pradhan Mantri Gramin
Digital Saksharta Abhiyan ). These initiatives are taken to abridge the gap between the underrepresented section & digitally advanced section. The main aim was to facilitate the access to the underrepresented ones so that they could gain the skills, knowledge, benefits, and more importantly awareness.
Rights of Person with Disabilities ( RPwD) Act 2016 also mandates the accessibility to the digital services for the PwDs . However the provisions of the act have never complied with its mentioning of the statements. To strengthen the compliance of the act , the act was amended in 2023 which made the earlier provisions much more rigid and strict. So that the benefits of the act are exercised more efficiently.
The government also launched Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan to enhance the access and make the internet more affordable and reachable to everyone and everywhere.
In India there is scarcity of the accessible Assistive Technology ( AT ). Now our country still lacks affordable and need based AT solutions. Even the high level Assistive Technology is present in the country but that is not for everyone as they are heavily expensive for common people. Due to which many of them are left outside the ambit of the coverage of tech networks.
Various Supreme Court’s judgement and citings have stated further about the equality and accessibility of the facilities. We can take a clue from the relevant case law citings like in Amar Jain vs. Union of India and others, 2025 where the court has strongly stated that digital access to e-governance and the welfare system through virtual media is a fundamental right to life and liberty.
And also the court directed to make the digital KYC process accessible to PwDs as this process is mandated in every sector like banking, finance and licensing process. Mostly the disabled ones are left behind in that loop. Apex court also ruled major changes in the current process like digital KYC revision especially for the special cases like in the case of acid attack survivors and mostly persons with visual impairment . Here the biometric process is followed for the validation of the identity. But sometimes the process fails to identify the genuine ones because of the configuration. Very next to it, the court also focused on addressing the digital divide for the other sections like rural people, senior citizens, economically weaker sections etc. Without taking these sections into the consideration the evenness won’t be possible here. Also the court reinstated the provisions of the articles where article 14 talks about equality in every aspect, article 15 enshrines the prohibition of discrimination on various aspects, article 21 states the right to life where right to digital access is also a part of it. And finally the article 38 of the directive principles of the state policy ensuring the universal access for vulnerable ones. Also participating in public life is essential.
Other key judgements on digital empowerment have also been cited. First in 1978, Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India where the court specifically stated the importance of article 21 where it should be fair , just and reasonable. In Faheema Shirin RK vs State of Kerala (2019) where it mentioned access to the internet as the part of right to life under article 21. In 2020 also in Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India it was opined that the freedom of speech and expression can be exercised through the internet also. Here internet is also the mode of expression
Various effects of digital divide can be observed in the following aspects. Educational effects are the prime one as here the unequal division leads to the disparity in the quality of education.
Social scenario is also the prominent one as the information is spread through the virtual content where the well off section is benefitted.
The political world also benefits a lot from it as they gain the image and recognition from social media platforms.
In the economic world also the financially well off sections perform well in this age of information.
Governance in today’s world also executes some of its functions through virtual mode where many schemes and projects run through digital space. Many beneficiaries and subsidies are directly transferred through the online mode.
Conclusion
In the end , what can be done to minimize the ill effects of digital division is to develop a better infrastructure for accommodating the latest developments in the network like 5G . Promoting digital literacy can also help in narrowing the gap.It should be started right from the school. Providing the content in regional language can make the platform more reachable to everyone. Cyber security is the main key in resolving the trust issues of citizens doubting the worth of digitalization.
These small and impactful steps can mitigate the challenges faced by common people in the new transforming world.
FAQs
What are the digital services by govt. ?
-They are the online mode of service provision to the people of country like providing subsidies and benefits, facilitation of form filling, licence applying and spread of information.
What are the fundamental rights ?
-These are the rights enshrined in constitution for the citizens and some for the foreigners which puts the limit on state.
What are the Assistive Technologies?
-These are the Technologies that includes services, devices, software etc designed to help the people with Disabilities.
References
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/digital-access-as-a-part-of-the-fundamental-right-to-life-and-liberty#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20affirms%20digital,infrastructure%20and%20targeted%20digital%20literacy.
https://byjus.com/govt-exams/digital-divide-india/
