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The poor should also have access to digital infrastructure

Covid-19 with all its turbulences has ushered a digital era for most urbanites. Companies are operating with minimal manpower in the offices and the majority of the employees work from home with computers. People are buying everything online to avoid visiting crowded markets. Classes are being conducted online for school and college students.
For the next two years or until we find a cure or vaccine for Covid-19, we will have to get used to of operating substantial parts of our lives online. Laptops and computers have become the new pens and pencils of the digital era. Anyone who wants to make a living would needs his or her own laptop. Internet is the umbilical cord that is sustaining the world as social distancing is the new norm. Hence it may be useful for a person in a developing country like India to have at least two internet providers, so that if one falters, there is a backup.
The challenge in developing countries in Asia and Africa will be to take the digital revolution to the villages. Rural areas contribute 60 to 70 per cent of the population of many countries. However, in many villages, the residents live around the poverty line with per capita income of about $2 per day. They find it difficult to buy three meals a day, leave aside a laptop. -Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai, India