eNews
‘Digital India’ working towards empowered Digital Village: Prasad
NEW DELHI: The transformative and ambitious ‘Digital India’ programme of the Government of India has started bearing fruits after six months of its inception and e-services have begun to pick up momentum and reaching the bottom of the pyramid, which is digitally empowering the people of the country.
Making this claim, Communications and Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today that the governments at the Central and state levels, industry and academia need to work in tandem to accelerate the pace of digitisation.
He was addressing the second edition of the international conference ‘i-Bharat’ organised by FICCI in partnership with the Department of Electronics & IT (DeitY) of the Ministry.
Highlighting the progress of Digital India, Prasad said more than 12,000 rural post office branches had been linked digitally and soon payment banking would also become a reality for the post offices. As part of Digital India, the government had also planned to make Digital Village across the country by linking all schemes with technology. The digital village would be powered by LED lighting, solar energy, skill development centres, e-services like e-education and e-health. To make this programme a success, District Collectors will have to play an important role.
Speaking about e-Taal, Prasad said the web portal disseminates real time statistics of the e-transactions taking place at the national and state level e-Governance Projects. He added that the National e-Governance Plan of the Government sought to provide impetus for long-term growth of e-Governance within the country.
On promoting electronic manufacturing in India, Prasad said the progressive policies and aggressive focus on ‘Make in India’ initiative have played a significant part in the resurgence of the electronics manufacturing sector. Investment in the electronics manufacturing has increased, giving a quantum jump to the sector.
Elaborating on the headway made in connecting gram panchayats of the country with the optical fibre network, Prasad said 18 states were on board and the work was on at a rapid pace. To script a success story with ‘Digital India,’ the government and industry had to look for innovative ways to expedite the process of connecting India digitally, he added.
FICCI President Harshavardhan Neotia said the Government has embarked on a reforms programme focused on making India an easy place to do business. The emphasis has been on simplification and rationalisation of the existing rules and introduction of information technology to make governance more efficient and effective. Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number (JAM) trinity is acting as a game changing reform that is allowing transfer of benefits in a leakage-proof, well-targeted and cashless manner.
FICCI-IT Committee chairperson Debjani Ghosh said technology was changing the world and its transformative powers were evidently visible in India. New technologies were deeply impacting governance, society, and security and this year’s i-Bharat conference aimed to bring together leaders from all segments of industry and government to explore and demystify the complex technology trends and reach at solutions and execution techniques of the programs to connect India digitally. She added that the government and industry needed to figure out new solutions to speed up the process of making India digital.
eNews
Piyush Thakur steps down as Inshorts’ chief revenue officer
Former vice president and cro says exit marks a new chapter after close to a decade of building revenue and partnerships at Inshorts Group.
NOIDA: Piyush Thakur has stepped away from Inshorts Group after nearly 10 years with the company, marking the end of a long tenure that culminated in his role as chief revenue officer.
In a farewell note, Thakur said he was “turning a new page” after almost a decade at Inshorts, calling it one of the hardest professional decisions he has made. He added that his exit was not driven by uncertainty about the future, but by reflection on a long association with the company.
Thakur joined Inshorts in October 2016 as vice president and spent around seven years in the role before being elevated to chief revenue officer in April 2024, a position he held until April 2026.
He said his tenure was defined by “thousands of mornings, late nights, product debates and breakthrough moments”, as the company evolved into a large-scale digital news platform used by millions.
In his note, Thakur emphasised that Inshorts’ growth was a collective effort across teams, adding that engineers, designers, sales teams and customer support staff all contributed to building the platform. He said the company’s success was not the result of individuals but of “everyone who stayed, passed through, and left their mark”.
Before Inshorts, Thakur worked across several digital media and business development roles. At ESPN, he served as senior regional manager from October 2015 to October 2016, focusing on growth initiatives, strategic opportunities and video distribution.
At Times Internet, he worked for nearly three years, including as head of business development from April 2015 to September 2015 and chief manager from January 2013 to March 2015. His responsibilities included monetisation of mobile platforms, managing media and developer partnerships, and driving revenue across digital properties such as The Times of India and The Economic Times.
Earlier, he worked at Brandmovers as head of business development from June 2012 to June 2013, handling digital, mobile and social media marketing solutions, client development and strategic consulting. During this period, he also worked on advertising revenue, brand strategy and CRM-based solutions.
At Inshorts, Thakur’s role focused on revenue strategy, mobile and media partnerships, and growth initiatives across platforms. His profile highlights experience in mobile product management, digital business models, partner ecosystems and revenue expansion in high-growth environments.
