Digital Nepal—A Dream In Progress

Nepal is making its efforts towards digitalisation for its social and economic transformation, adhering to the global trend of racing towards a digital world. Nepal, rugged with geographical diversities, grappling with the socio-cultural, economic, and political variations, has huge challenges in its dream of being digitally advanced. Digital Nepal is not only present-day demand for prosperity, but it is the only hope the country has for renovating its status in the international arena. So, with its formulation of the Digital Nepal Framework (DNF) in 2019, Nepal planned for a multi-dimensional revolution of the economy. However, the prevalence of administrative hurdles, technological barriers, and digital disparities put forward an engraved question on its implementation and success. Will Nepal’s dream of being the digital powerhouse be buffering indefinitely, or can the firm determinations from the government and private sectors make it a reality in the near future?

Nepal holds an ambitious plan of digitalisation prioritising eight key sectors, including health, education, and agriculture, for uplifting its status towards middle-income countries by 2030. With the internet penetration reaching 90 per cent along with the data of mobile infiltration exceeding 100 per cent, the disproportion of progress has become even more evident. While Kathmandu Valley and other cosmopolitan cities enjoy high-bandwidth internet service showing huge potential of digitalisation to leverage the progress, the broadening digital divide with poor internet access in rural areas puts questions on the formation of an inclusive and innovative Nepal. This poses a risk to the sustainability and eq uitability of digitalisation in Nepal.

However, the scenario is not yet gloomy, with many instances of digital platforms enabling the citizens to uplift their economic status. The city-dwellers are no doubt benefitting enormously in each of their steps of life with the emergence of digital markets, payments, shopping, online classes, transportation, and much more. Apps like e-Sewa, Khalti, etc., have successfully developed cashless transactions, while shopping apps like Daraz have revolutionised the shopping experiences of people. Now commuting around the city is hassle-free with bikes and cars available in just a matter of clicks. The access to knowledge without any impediments has broadened the intellectuality of Nepalis, making them sellable in the world market as well. The use of online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic as the only way to educate students elaborated on the prospects digitisation has brought to Nepal.

Bridging the digital divides, marginalised communities have also benefitted to some extent. The access to information, resources, and economic opportunities has fostered inclusive growth and social cohesion, aligning Nepal to achieve its global commitments of attaining Sustainable Development Goals. In some rural parts, people are taking advantage of social media by either marketing their traditional handicrafts or accessing knowledge about modernising their traditional practices of agriculture with the recent technological development. Nepal’s digital journey can proceed by embracing traditional livelihoods rather than replacing them like Japan does. 

In Japan, the government, with the collaboration of private organisations, cultural institutions, and tech innovators, is promoting Japanese culture through the use of augmented reality. These developments have brought problems and possibilities in embedded form. With Nepal benefiting from international exposure, the prevalence of incompetent manpower and resources in the field of digitalisation, impoverished with outdated cybersecurity laws and unclear policy, has brought new encounters as well.

India is transforming its digital landscape with initiatives like Aadhar and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), but numerous reports of data vulnerabilities and privacy issues, along with the fraud and unauthorised transactions, put forward a serious condition to think over. 

Nepal has a lot to work on in this regard since the Electronic Transaction Act 2063 (ETA), the primary legal framework for countering cybercrimes, is outdated and so incapable of dealing with the modern cyber threats complexities. Even the implementation of the National Cybersecurity Policy, approved by Nepal in 2023, is questionable due to the vague provisions of privacy rights and data protection. The proposed National Internet Gateway is considered to have the risk of splinternet by human rights organisations due to the centralised surveillance and censorship, fearing it to be like China’s Great Firewall.

Thus, continuous monitoring of the impacts of digitalisation, along with the regulations for avoiding the negative influences, is mandatory so that the remodelling of the digitalisation can be done to adopt in the Nepali context. This will amplify the waves of digital intervention, making it acceptable to the public as imperative for their socio-political upliftment. The world has much to offer as a lesson in the journey of digital Nepal. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 can be a reference on this matter, as this sets rigorous guidelines for the collection, processing, and storage of personal data, ensuring the individuals have strong control over their personal information. Estonia's decentralised model of the X-Road platform can serve as a model for Nepal’s e-governance system to disseminate secured digital services for citizens, businesses, and government entities.

Political strong willpower should assist digital processes, making them more than just electoral short-term agendas. The multi-pronged strategy should be formulated to merge the digital divides. As DNF envisions data-driven decision-making for the improvement of public services and resource allocation, this should overcome the bureaucratic riddles fostering integrity. However, achieving this requires overcoming bureaucratic lethargy and fostering a culture of accountability.

The government should be producing capable sound manpower to handle the complexities of modern technologies. The capacity-building workshops, trainings, and education should be given to the government staff and related stakeholders of private sectors. Motivations and rewards should be for the innovations and research. The start-up-friendly environment for tech-savvy manpower and financial incentives can catalyse the advances. IT education should be incorporated in schools and adult learning centres. The general public should be aware of the possibilities along with the knowledge of the security and protection in the digital world. The basic needs of the public should be given via digital mediums so that they learn of the platforms out of necessity rather than compulsion. For this to happen, the government should provide high-speed internet so that they become hassle-free.

The internet should be affordable given the low economic status of the average Nepali. The interest of Elon Musk in the Nepali market is positive with the fact that its satellite internet is fast and reliable. But the pricing of the internet provided through satellite internet should also be taken into consideration. With the difficult terrain in rural areas with the dispersed population, satellite internet seems like the only hope, but the affordability should be addressed with the incentives by the government. The government should create a more progressive environment for the international markets to operate in Nepal. The current provision of 20 per cent ownership by international companies acts as a hindrance to growth.

The need for digital innovation in Nepal is clear, with the potential to overcome existing social, political, and economic challenges. The question now is not whether we are ready, but how much effort we are willing to put in. If we do not act quickly, Nepal's dream of becoming a digital nation will remain stagnant.

 (The author is a technical officer at the National Archives of Nepal.)