By Dilip Singh
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKA-Mohatsav) is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements. One of the oldest and most vital sectors of the country is the Department of Telecommunications. It’s the most progressive sector not only in India but beyond and offers robust services in highly undulating geographies at reasonably low tariffs. The history of Indian Telecommunication Sector began in 1851 when the British Government laid down the first operational landlines in Kolkata. The British started telecom services for their own ease of administration and military control. We have had traditional ways and means to communicate our concerns either through newspapers or via tangible objects / artifacts. The method of communications used in Quit India movement was like encoded information in roti and flowers, passed around to other nationalist. The message is decoded and action plan executed accordingly.
Telecommunications penetrate without hurdle of physical, political and geographical boundaries. It works indiscriminately in all socio-geo-economic spheres with the ultimate aims of reaching the hearts of millions of people across urban and rural areas, rich and poor, high or low social status etc. In the ongoing covid-19 pandemic it’s the telecom sector which actively helped people to feel socially connected while remaining physically distant. It’s the telecom or digital connectivity which fosters love and happiness in times of crisis by facilitating celebration of online family functions, marriages and birthday celebrations, education etc. Hence telecom has transformed life and lifestyles while Covid-19 has taken away the lives and livelihoods of people.
In times of crisis, when people have connectivity they have been socio-psychologically comfortable while those devoid of connectivity are facing multiple challenges like livelihoods, education, loss of unskilled labour jobs as compared to other job workers who have been working from home via use of technology. Digital divide badly affects rural Meghalaya, where approximately 1164 census villages have been left digitally uncovered out of 6459 villages of Meghalaya as per available official records of Department of Telecommunications, North East Licensing Service Area (NELSA) Shillong, till August 2021.
One of the objectives of the Government of India is that no one should be left uncovered by telecommunications services. On the similar lines the state government also prepared a road map under the Shillong declaration in 2019. The Shillong Declaration talks about the improvement of communications connectivity in Northeast States by addressing issue of Telecommunications and implementing a comprehensive development plan.
North East Region (NER) is the one of the lowest in infrastructure investment, although it has huge potentials which need to be actualized. For fuller realization we need to have a seamless flow of digital connectivity. The biggest constraints in this regard is the geography of the region which is highly undulating. In the hilly areas only installing mobile towers is insufficient for seamless data connectivity; electrification of uncovered areas is also a prime requirement. Though data connectivity is sine-qua-non to comply with the Shillong declaration, public-private parties are working on various technological solutions in order to have telecom connectivity in the whole of Meghalaya.
M-Governance is cost effective because mobile phones have greatly reduced the communication cost, thereby allowing individuals and firms to send and to obtain information quickly and cheaply on a variety of economic, social and political topics. An emerging body of research shows that the reduction in communication costs associated with mobile phones has tangible economic benefits, improves agricultural and labour market efficiency as well as producer-consumer welfare. This benefit will be more in a State with huge tourism potentials. According to Earnst and Young (2011) Indian Telecom is an economic miracle in the making. Mobile phones also have the potential to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots and is one of the tools to eradicate poverty. An article in the economist (2008) says that “A device that was a yuppie toy not so long ago has now become a potent force for economic development in the world’s poorest countries.”
India announced a New Telecom Policy (NTP)-1999 for support to Telecom Service Providers according to the mandate of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for Information and Communication Technologies – ICTs. Article 1(d) of the ITU seeks to extend the benefits of the new telecom technologies to all the world’s inhabitants. Accordingly, the Indian Telegraph Act was amended in 2003 and gives statutory status to Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)whose main objective is to enable rural Indians to achieve their fullest potential and participate productively in the development of the nation by being effectively connected through a reliable and ubiquitous telecommunications network, access to which is within their reach. Accordingly, provision for mobile coverage in Meghalaya under a special and dedicated project of the Department of Telecom’s Universal service obligation fund (USOF), through which Meghalaya State will be covered at village level but for the fuller development of State is on but we need to equally focus on rapid electrification of villages and expansion of roads. Then only will residents of the State harness the fruit of developments in all walks of life. All the three goods are complementary to each other for all round development – Electricity- Telecom and Road sector. They need to develop and expand in order to celebrate the true spirit of AKA- Mahotasav.
The office of Sr. DDG (NELSA) has jurisdiction over six states – Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh for monitoring of resource deployment and compliance of instructions received from the Government of India from time to time. NELSA is a specialized office divided into verticals like rural connectivity, technology, compliance and security. Apart from monitoring and enforcement of the telecom sector we also create awareness about the benefits of mobile phones for their lives and livelihoods. Recently three towers were commissioned in uncovered Village of West Khasi, West Jaintia, Ri Bhoi Districts. It’s an ongoing journey until the last man gets mobile coverage.
Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance (UMANG) being a part of Shillong declaration, it’s our duty as well as responsibility to encourage good use of telecom facilities so that social benefits are maximized at minimum social cost.
(Author is an ITS officer working as Director (Rural), NELSA-Shillong, Meghalaya. Views are personal)