भारत की डिजिटल सार्वजनिक सेवाओं में चुनौतियाँ: विश्वास, साइबर सुरक्षा, और पहुँच में अंतर

<p>India’s push to digitise citizen services promises faster, transparent delivery, but persistent gaps undermine the benefits. While platforms like <span class="key-term" data-definition="A set of interoperable digital platforms and services such as UPI, Aadhaar, and DigiLocker that enable delivery of public services electronically (GS3: Economy, GS2: Polity)">Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)</span> have transformed payments and identity verification, many services remain unreliable, insecure, or inaccessible.</p> <h3>Key Developments</h3> <ul> <li>Private firms such as <span class="key-term" data-definition="A private messaging platform that, in partnership with state governments like Gujarat, is being used to disseminate and facilitate access to digital public services (GS2: Polity)">WhatsApp</span> are being piloted to reach citizens in Gujarat.</li> <li>Estonia completed full digitisation of divorce in December 2024, highlighting a possible future benchmark for India.</li> <li>State‑run portals for property records, marriage registration and the decade‑old <span class="key-term" data-definition="An online portal launched in 2016 to facilitate electronic issuance of apostille (legalisation) certificates for Indian documents used abroad (GS3: Economy)">e‑Sanad</span> remain under‑utilised or non‑functional.</li> <li>Repeated data entry persists despite the existence of <span class="key-term" data-definition="A government‑run cloud repository where citizens can store and share verified documents digitally, reducing the need for physical copies (GS3: Economy)">DigiLocker</span>.</li> <li>Cyber‑security oversight by <span class="key-term" data-definition="Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, the national agency responsible for responding to cybersecurity incidents and protecting critical information infrastructure (GS3: Economy, GS4: Ethics)">CERT‑in</span> is deemed inadequate.</li> </ul> <h3>Important Facts</h3> <p>• <strong>Trust deficit</strong>: Citizens doubt the safety of their data, limiting adoption of online services.<br> • <strong>Systemic under‑investment</strong>: Many portals suffer from downtime, slow response, and lack of updates.<br> • <strong>Accessibility issues</strong>: Interfaces are not designed for persons with disabilities; name‑spelling variations often force users to restart applications.<br> • <strong>Legacy analog processes</strong>: Updating details on <span class="key-term" data-definition="A 12‑digit unique biometric identity number issued to Indian residents, used for authentication and service delivery (GS2: Polity)">Aadhaar</span> still requires physical visits, contradicting the digital promise.<br> • <strong>Inter‑governmental gaps</strong>: While the Union created <span class="key-term" data-definition="A real‑time payment system that enables instant fund transfers between bank accounts via mobile apps (GS3: Economy)">UPI</span> and <span class="key-term" data-definition="A 12‑digit unique biometric id