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Digital platforms promote transparency, corruption-free atmosphere: Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar's remark comes in the backdrop of new rules notified by the government last month that will govern online content.
Union minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Saturday pitched digital platforms as a medium to promote transparency and introduce corruption-free atmosphere in governance. He reiterated that the new guidelines by the government for over the top (OTT) and social media platforms are an attempt to provide a level playing field for various digital platforms.
"Through these guidelines on OTT, we have tried to bring about transparency and provide level playing field to various media platforms, be it electronic, print or digital media. It is just for fair-facilitation for self-regulation and not intended for controlling the OTT platforms,” the Union minister said while addressing a digital media conclave in Mumbai.
Javadekar’s remark comes in the backdrop of new rules notified by the government last month that will govern online content. This includes allowing users to dispute action against them by social media intermediaries like Facebook and Twitter, and setting up a three-tier self-regulatory framework for OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hotstar, and online news media entities.
The Supreme Court, however, had earlier this month stated that the rules “do not have teeth” and asked the Centre to consider legislation that could also provide for “prosecution”.
Pointing to the role played by digital media in facilitating the government’s functioning during the Covid-19 pandemic, Javadekar said that more than 50 cabinet meetings were held virtually ensuring that there weren't any delays in decision making, according to an I&B ministry statement.
The minister also spoke about the role played by digital platforms in economic transactions. He said that more than 13 lakh crore rupees were transferred to 35 crore people through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mode under various welfare schemes of the central government. "More than 12.30 crore farmers received money in their accounts directly, without any leakage of funds," he said at the event, according to the I&B ministry statement.
"It (digital mode of payment) has now become our way of life, as even a vegetable vendor keeps a QR code to facilitate digital payment," the minister said, citing the example of DIKSHA Platform (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) to highlight the importance of digital education.
