Syllabus: Poverty and developmental issues
Context
- A new MOSPI MIS 79th round report reveals deep inequalities in ICT skills and digital access across caste, class, gender, and rural–urban lines.
Key Trends in India’s Digital Divide
- Caste-Based Divide
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- Lack of ICT skills: ST (89.49%), SC (86.62%), OBC (81.73%), Others (73.71%) showing entrenched caste deprivation.
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- Gender Divide
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- National ICT skill levels: Men (22.78%) vs Women (13.91%).
- Uttar Pradesh gap: Men (14.62%) vs Women (6.93%).
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- Class / Income Divide
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- Access to computer with internet: Poorest 20% (6.8%) vs Richest 20% (66.3%) – ten-fold difference.
- Rural–Urban Divide
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- ICT skills heavily urban-centric; rural areas face poor devices, weak infrastructure, and limited exposure.
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- Schooling Divide
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- Private ICSE/CBSE schools teach coding from Class 3.
- Government schools often lack computers or electricity even in Class 8.
Factors Behind the Digital Divide
- Caste-linked exclusion resulting in poor school quality and late ICT exposure.
- Income inequality restricting devices, internet access, and home study space.
- Rural infrastructural deficits in electricity, broadband, and school resources.
- Weak skilling ecosystem with low-quality training centres and reliance on informal learning.
- Educational inequality due to lack of ICT labs and trained teachers in public schools.
- Low household digital literacy among first-generation learners.
- Institutional neglect in marginalised settlements.
Implications
- Unequal job access as ICT skills link strongly to salaried employment.
- Smartphone ownership does not translate into digital capability.
- Widening caste and class gaps as privileged groups move ahead digitally.
- Lower productivity and competitiveness in rural and low-income regions.
- Continued gender exclusion from tech-driven jobs.
- Strong intergenerational disadvantage despite higher education entry.
Challenges
- Persistent caste discrimination, weak school infrastructure, low device access.
- Poor digital capability despite device penetration.
- Fragmented skilling ecosystem lacking assessments and labour-market alignment.
- Uneven public expenditure and weak implementation.
- Limited longitudinal data on digital inequality.
Way Forward
- Universalise ICT labs, trained teachers, and stable electricity in government schools.
- Start early digital skilling in public and rural schools.
- Targeted inclusion for SC/ST, OBC, and women through devices, scholarships, and community centres.
- Strengthen formal skilling with industry-linked courses and rural hubs.
- Develop open-source digital learning platforms in regional languages.
- Conduct regular MIS rounds to track long-term inequality.
- Support home-based capability through shared devices and low-cost laptops.