Digital Economy

About 

• • The digital economy is the global network of economic activities, industrial transactions and professional interactions which might be enabled by information and communications technologies (ICT). 
  • It can be succinctly summed up as the economy based on digital technology.

• 4th Industrial Revolution: 

• • The digital economy reflects the pass from the 3rd industrial revolution to the fourth industrial revolution. 
  • The 3rd industrial revolution, from time to time known as the digital revolution, refers back to the adjustments that befell in the overdue 20th century with the transition from analog digital and mechanical devices to digital technologies. 
  • The fourth industrial revolution builds on the digital revolution as technology these days retains to bridge the physical and cyberworlds.

Advantages of The Digital Economy

• Increased productivity: The digital economy has elevated the productivity of businesses as they are able to now use technology to automate their operations and processes.
• Increased competitiveness: Businesses can use technology to improve their products and services. This has increased the competitiveness of organizations.
• Reduced charges: Digitisation has helped organizations replace manual tasks with computerized processes. This has decreased the costs of agencies and has caused lower cost of services and products for purchasers.
• Better & Convenient Products: Today, digitised groups can offer their clients better services and products at lower charges. New business models like e-trade and m-trade have made it viable for clients to save whenever, anywhere.
• Increased employment opportunities: The digital economy has generated new activity opportunities as new organizations are bobbing up. It has additionally created new activity roles unfolding all around the world.
• Improved quality of lifestyles: The digital economy has made it possible for people to work from anywhere in the world. This has advanced the quality of life of people as they can now stabilize their work and personal existence.
• Faster transactions: The digital economy has made it possible for companies to conduct transactions quicker as they could now use on-line payment methods.
• Improved efficiency: Digitisation of processes has helped groups come to be more efficient through getting rid of blunders-susceptible guide responsibilities. 
• Innovation: The digitisation of companies and its strategies ends in innovation with recognition to not only services but also the way organizations perform.
• Increased transparency: The digital economy has extended the transparency of companies as they could now use technology to share information with their customers.
• Improved conversation: Increased connectedness in the digital economy has made it possible for corporations to talk with their customers more successfully. They now have a number of channels via which they are able to reach their customers together with social media, e-mail, and SMS.

Government Initiative

• DigiLocker: It was launched in 2015 to create a cloud-based platform to facilitate, trade and verify essential documents or certificates.
• MyGov: It was launched in 2014 to convey the government closer to the people by imparting an interface (online discussion board) for trade of ideas.
• BharatNet: It was introduced to attach all 250,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country and offer 100 Mbps net connectivity.
• Smart Cities: It was initiated in 2015 to convert all Indian cities into smart cities by leveraging various technologies.

Disadvantages Of Digital Economy

• The digital divide: One of the most important disadvantages of the digital economy is the digital divide. This is the gap between those who have access to technology and people who don’t. This has created a new form of inequality in the world.
• Cybercrime: The accelerated use of technology has also led to an increase in cybercrime. This is since criminals can now use technology to dedicate crimes like identity robbery, fraud, and money laundering.
• Data safety: With companies amassing more and more information about their customers, there is a risk of these records being leaked or stolen. This can result in a lack of agreement between companies and their clients.
• Unemployment: The digitisation of the economy has led to activity losses in a few sectors as groups have replaced human employees with technology. This has elevated unemployment in these sectors.
• Privacy concerns: As businesses acquire more data about their clients, there are issues regarding the misuse of this data.
• Heavy investments: The digitisation of companies calls for heavy investments in technology. This is a task for small corporations which might not have the assets to invest in technology.
• Monopoly: The digitisation of the economy has led to the upward thrust of some massive companies which have emerged as very effective. This has created a monopoly in some sectors.
• Addictive nature: The digital economy could be very addictive in nature. This is since it is designed to preserve human beings hooked on their devices. This can cause a number of problems like addiction, tension, and depression.
• Potential environmental effect: The expanded use of technology in the digital economy has caused an increase in the variety of e-waste and heavy carbon footprint.

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