India needs a social network of its own

There is an emerging need of a social networking cum blogging site of its own in India (following the model of China).

Till now India has been dependent on the international social networking giants like facebook, orkut, twitter etc. for socializing among themselves. There has been a continuous absence of a major indigenous social networking site in India which is controlled and managed by Govt. of India to provide essential social media services to its citizens. It could possibly act as a catalyst to the implementation of e-governance initiatives and thus making NeGP a widespread thing.

Having a social network of its own will have many advantages to India:

·         The very first being the security. As we know all the social media we use basically is at the hands of the international players, there is an enhanced possibility of security breach. These international players can share the user’s personal information with the third parties, thus exposing user to a potential threat. Having our own site led by the GOI will lead to enhanced security.

·         Secondly, it will take the NeGP to a whole new level. With increased level of reach to the people through social media it will act as a communication platform for Govt. with citizens and vice-versa.

·         It will also create employment for young computer engineer who are willing to be a part of such projects. Thus this will also make the economy grow. e.g  Facebook as of now has a market worth of  USD 25 billion. So you can yourself imagine how much revenue this site will generate for GOI.

·         By integrating ADHAAR at the initial stage of personal authentication while creating the account for this social network will decrease the amount of fake ID’s on this social networking site as compared to all other sites where there, massive amount of fake ID’s exist. Having no fake ID’s will lead to increased transparency and efficient social networking.

The interface of the site should be more user friendly, so that even a naïve user can use it at the very first. Appropriate proprietary standards should be maintained so that the site can be accessible from anywhere.

There are some possible tensions in achieving this goal but can be curbed. It is difficult to set up huge databases and 24x7 running servers to support the whole set up without any potential breakdown. Initial cost is also high due to high precision technology associated with the whole project. But once this project gets established it will start generating enough returns soon enough that the possible cost will not be felt much. High standards of quality should be maintained in the technology part (as it is the backbone o the whole project). All the people who are connected to the project should be highly qualified and skilled to perform their jobs efficiently.

By having a social network of its own India will have an edge on the others, Govt.’s accountability to it citizens will increase, transparency will increase, as well there will be a healthy communication between citizens and Govt. while they still communicate and socialize amongst each other.