From Tablets to GCCs: Why Short-Term Doles Need a Long-Term Digital Plan

I woke up to a stack of headlines today — a familiar mix of short-term politics and longer-term economic signals. One story spoke of pre-poll giveaways: tablets and phones for education volunteers in Bihar Nitish’s pre-poll doles: Vikas Mitras to get tablets, phones for Shiksha Sevaks. Another described retailers and malls restocking and discounting ahead of a GST cut and the festive rush Retailers, malls stock up… ahead of GST rate cut. A third showed how UPI is changing behaviour — digital gold purchases up massively UPI push sparks 377% rise in digital gold in 16 months. And beyond these, industry bodies are pushing states to build the infrastructure that will make them GCC (Global Capability Centre) hubs CII urges states to set up hubs for global capability centres.

These items are not unrelated noise. Together they expose an essential governance question: are we simply handing out devices, discounts and short-term relief, or are we building the digital, skilling and institutional foundations that make those doles productive over time?

A simple, practical test

When a state distributes tablets or phones, ask three questions:

• Do recipients have reliable connectivity and power? (If not, the device is a paperweight.)
• Is there a training program that turns device use into service delivery or productivity gains? (If not, it’s a toy.)
• Is the initiative part of a larger data, DPI or institutional strategy so outcomes are measurable and scalable? (If not, it’s ephemeral.)

If any answer is “no”, then the exercise risks being short-term optics rather than structural improvement.

Why the digital backbone matters

Industry bodies like CII are right to push states to set up facilitation cells, digital infrastructure and single-window clearances to attract GCCs. GCCs do not come for freebies alone — they come for talent, predictable digital infrastructure, liveability and a partnerable state apparatus (CII urges states to set up hubs for global capability centres).

My own long-standing view has been that the promise of digitalisation only pays off when infrastructure and knowledge work in parallel. I wrote about the potential of a pan-state DPI and the NITI ‘for States’ idea — a knowledge platform that lets officials query rich datasets and generate policy-ready outputs for local problems (DPI platform ‘Niti for States’ to offer key insights to officials). That is exactly the kind of platform that can turn a one-off tablet distribution into an accountable educational-improvement program.

What today’s retail and payments signals tell us

The retail sector gearing up for a GST cut shows how sensitive demand is to policy nudges and how quickly consumers respond to price signals (Retailers, malls stock up…). At the same time, the 377% jump in digital-gold transactions through UPI reveals that people are increasingly comfortable with small, frequent digital financial interactions (UPI push sparks 377% rise in digital gold in 16 months).

These trends are an opportunity: once citizens are transacting digitally, we can layer services (education content, micro-skilling payments, targeted subsidies) — but only if back-end systems, data standards and trust mechanisms exist.

Where my earlier ideas fit — and why that matters

Over the years I’ve written about several building blocks that are now highly relevant:

• The need for a NITI-like DPI for states to generate contextual policies and actionables (working-in-parallel.html).
• Using under‑utilised public assets (schools, panchayat offices) to host digital services, training and even night-time economic activity — a way to reduce upfront private capex and spread economic opportunity (National Digital Communications Policy reflections).
• Encouraging states to craft targeted GCC strategies and incentives so growth is distributed beyond a few metros (Gujarat Govt unveils policy to set up 250 new Global Capability Centres; From Local to Global).
• Why public–private vehicles can be powerful engines to nurture startups and translate innovation into local jobs (This public private JV is harvesting startups).

If you read those posts you’ll notice a single through-line: I suggested many of these things years ago, and seeing them surface in news today feels validating. It is also urgent — because validation without implementation is simply nostalgia. The core idea I had tried to convey then remains the same: timely digital tools, policy DPI, skilling and public–private collaboration together convert short-term interventions into durable public value.

A compact checklist for policymakers (and for citizens who care)

• Align any device or cash transfer with connectivity, training and measurable outcomes.
• Build or plug into DPIs that let local officers query data, run scenario analyses and measure impact — not just push hardware.
• Use public assets (schools, panchayats) as nodes for digital services and distributed employment models.
• Pursue GCC attraction with a twin strategy: strengthen tier‑1 capabilities while activating tier‑2/3 cities with satellite offices and skilling pipelines.
• Leverage digital payments momentum to nudge inclusion-friendly products (micro-savings, micro-insurance, micro-skills).

Final, personal note

Headlines about tablets, GST sales and exploding UPI categories can feel disconnected. But they are all threads in the same fabric: digital adoption, consumer behaviour and state policy. If we sew those threads with foresight — by building DPI, by investing in skills and by making public assets work harder — then what looks like a short-term “dole” can become the start of something transformational.

I’ve written about each of these strands before, and seeing them converge today gives me both satisfaction and a renewed sense of urgency. The ideas were right then; they are still right now. The question is whether we will make the modest additional effort needed to turn proof-of-concept headlines into lasting public value.

---

Regards,
Hemen Parekh