Bridging Digital Divide and Capacity Building in Rural India

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) is growing exponentially by offering numerous public services which is expected to integrate rural development. There is a conjecture that ICT-enabled application and digital inclusion may strive to integrate digital divide and capacity building by providing more opportunities for entrepreneurial activities in rural areas. Consequently, the digital divide has many dimensions and can be categorised as global, regional, national, rural and urban. However, disparities are observed among geographical areas in the diffusion of ICT that affect not only global digital divide but also regions within a country, that is, rural-urban digital divide. The problem is more visible in emerging countries like India where success in ICT and emerging areas of technologies is restrained. Therefore, in this chapter, an attempt is made to explore the ways how ICT can be helpful for capacity building and contribute to develop locally relevant content for ICT users in India.