25 Years of Internet in India..The 6th element of Modern life

25th Birthday of Internet in India ...the 6th element of life!!

15 August is an important date for every Indian and year 2020 is no different. Apart from 74th Independence Day, this day also marks 25 years of internet in India.  It was launched by VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd) exorbitantly priced at Rs 25,000 for a 250-hour package with a speed of 9.8 kbs (Kilobits per second) using dial up modems. These days at homes we have anywhere from 16mbps to 1000 mpbs fiber links. Today India has one of the lowest tariffs for accessing 1GB of data by paying Rupees 20 on 4G. 25 years later we take 4G speeds for granted with internet and smart phone in every pocket.

Companies called “FAANG” Facebook, Amazon, apple, Netflix and Google with the highest market capitalization in the US stock markets have flourished post internet era. Thomas Friedman in his book “The world is flat” describes how internet has flattened the world and bridging the divide.

Internet is one component which has recently become the game changer in a world which is changing too rapidly. Be it for education or explorations, communication or connection with people for official or social purposes, ‘internet’ has become the central hub for all and can aptly be called the ‘sixth element’ of life!

Bill Gates rightly said, ‘The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow’. I feel that revolutionary tomorrow is right here in front of us. No doubt internet has been one of the biggest technological innovations of our times and no industry or sector has remained untouched.

WFH being the new normal amid COVID19 crises confined us within our homes and away from social circle and marketplace. Internet brought home friends and family through WebEx, Zoom, MS Teams, Hangouts, Google meet to name a few. Experiencing shopping in the comfortable setting of our living room via e-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart etc. made life easier. Digital branch is in our pocket and we can bank anytime anywhere. UPI (Unified payment interface) has given rise to several contactless electronic wallets and further made our life convenient. Our Gen-Z are digital natives and form connections on Instagram, U-tube and Facebook giving social media platform for digital marketing of new products and services. Internet has become the backbone of society and has touched all spheres of life. Education has been the recent one... Education’s internet moment is now...

John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco said, ‘There are two equalizers in life: the internet and education”. This pandemic has brought the two together created a new revolution in the Edutech world. The last few months have witnessed a dramatic change in the learning model. Technology has brought about various changes in the way education is delivered and received. Teaching is essentially a social activity but has become virtual reality... From self-learning to flipped classroom approach, we have seen technology make a considerable impact on the learning and teaching methodologies. With numerous benefits to offer, digital learning has become an important part of the education system and need of the hour. Who would have ever thought that social media would one day be accepted as part of the learning process?

Teachers have risen to the occasion and equipped themselves with required skills, innovative resources and tools to continue with one main objective – to impart education... remember they are not technocrats but educators who are willing to take up any challenge. In this situation of a global health crisis, the virtual system of learning has proved its merits. As the technology advances, this system is here to stay. But, accepting the virtual method doesn’t mean rejecting the traditional classroom pedagogy. The tactile experience of a nod, or a pat on the back are reassuring moments that are impossible to replicate online.