India lags BRIC nations in providing digital access

India lags behind other BRIC nations China, Russia, and Brazil in providing its citizens access to information and communications technology, according to a report by UK risk analysis firm, Maplecroft. Emerging economies of Brazil, India, China and Russia, with high rates of growth, are referred to as BRIC countries.

Maplecroft rates India at "extreme risk" among countries whose populations and economies are stifled by a lack of 'digital inclusion,' which is defined by Maplecroft as the ability to use and access information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as computers, the Internet and mobile phones.

The Digital Inclusion Index, released by Maplecroft, uses 10 measures to calculate the level of 'digital inclusion' found across 186 countries. The indicators include data on mobile cellular and broadband subscriptions, fixed telephone lines, households with a PC and television, Internet users and secure Internet servers, Internet bandwidth, secondary education enrolment, and adult literacy. The Maplecroft index refers to the risk to countries from failing to improve the level of digital inclusion for their population.

While India rated at a high of 39 in the index, China was way behind at 103, Brazil at 110, and Russia at 134. All of them are rated as medium risk.

Access to ICT is increasingly considered a major development issue, and is therefore becoming a major political, economic and social imperative and risk factor, Chris Laws, an analyst at Maplecroft, said.

For business, the lack of digital inclusion threatens economic growth and social development by limiting market size and reducing the potential for trade, Laws said. It also inhibits individual and company access to educational and decision-making resources, and compromises the talent pool for employment, he added.