Majhar Mannan :
A country can only be called a digital country when the country becomes e-state and all the activities of the country are conducted through the internet. Internet service is becoming more accessible today with the addition of submarine cable. Digital passport, digital national voter ID, digital land survey, digital land development tax, mobile banking, online shopping, online admission, telemedicine, are no longer a dream, now these services are in our hands. The classes of school, college and university are being conducted digitally at present. All the official activities can be done in a beautiful and easy way through Video conferencing and Zoom meeting.
Digital Bangladesh is the first step towards building a science based society in the country. The core commitment of Digital Bangladesh is to use digital tools to alleviate poverty and reduce corruption. Its main goal is to bring every home under the digital network. Many of the steps taken to build a digital Bangladesh by 2021 have already been implemented. The main goal of digital Bangladesh is to digitalize government services.
Notable digital services are E-Commerce, E-Banking, E-Education, E-Book, E-Voting, E-Health service, E-Filing, E-Mutation, E-Paper etc. Now a lot of work can be solved online at home. Electricity, gas and water bills can be paid online. Even online registration, online income tax return, online public exam result, transportation tickets are at hand today. Money can be easily transferred from one place to another within seconds through Bikash, Rocket and Nagad. An E-Book platform has been opened to spread the light of education. Arrangements are being made to read all types of textbooks through internet. The government has already started implementing the National Information and Communication Technology policy extensively to build skilled human resources. A total of 39 Ministries have been involved in the implementation of 306 action plans. The country’s first high-tech park has been constructed on 202 acres of land at Kaliakair in Gazipur to strengthen the IT sector. A project called Bangladesh E-Governance has been launched to establish a network in all parts of the country. A company called ICT Corporate City Development has been set up to train ICT graduates. The government has started work on the Rooppur nuclear power project to provide uninterrupted power supply.
Union Digital Center (UDC) has been set up in each union to ensure online government services. Each of the 64 district Deputy Commissioners of the country has a facebook page where they listen to common people. Work on the Access to Information Programme (a2i) is underway to implement digital Bangladesh. Its primary goal is to ensure easy affordable and reliable access to quality public services for all citizens of Bangladesh. The government has a plan to bring 90 percent of the country’s people under internet service by 2021. At present the people of the village are getting 200 types of services from 5865 centers. More than 6 million people are receiving services from those centers and most of them are from rural areas. Specialized digital centers have been set up for the municipality, City Corporation, and garment workers. More than 1 crore 23 lakh people of the country get medical advice by calling 16263. Emergency services are available only by calling 999.
In order to provide digital services, people need to be brought under the Internet service and for this some measures need to be taken. 1. The cost of internet needs to be further reduced. 2. There should be more emphasis on broadband internet. 3. It has become urgent to increase Desktop Internet service. 4. The ability to browse various matters of the internet on mobile phones should be increased. 5. Technology education should be spread even in the most remote areas of the country.
Digital services have made our lives much easier. In a moment, people are able to take advantage the Uber, Pathao and others. At present birth and death registration is being done through digital process. We have to fulfill the dream of digital Bangladesh but some issues can not be avoided. 1. People may lose the ability to do physical work due to the extra reliance on technology. 2. Many people in rural areas may become unemployed due to the widespread use of technology. 3. Students may lose the attraction of reading their original textbooks. 4. Cyber and White collar crime may increase. 5. Excessive use of technology takes away emotion and it can affect our culture.
We need development but in the tide of it we should not lose our own identity and vision. We need to be careful that the pressure of excessive technology may lead the young generation again. Keeping in mind the above issues, we have to move forward to fulfill the dream of Digital Bangladesh.
(Majhar Mannan is Assistant Professor, B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola, Dhaka Cantonment).
