Journal of Media Studies, Vol 34, No 1 (2019)

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A Political Economic View of the Digital India Campaign

Devpriya Chakravarty, Santosh Kumar Patra

Abstract


This paper discusses the proliferation of digital media in developing countries like India whilst dissecting the phenomenon with the tools under political economy. To unravel the various layers of this dense issue, it first explores the discourse on political economy of the digital space and what is now known as new media. Next, it looks at the importance given to the role of digital media to both compete and announce one's competence on a platform which is globalization biased. In order to understand the discourse around the digital wave in India, the role played by the State in terms of policy making, ownership and launching State initiated campaigns is studied. A thematic analysis of the inauguration speech given by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on the launch of Digital India shows the persuasive strategies used to influence the attitude of the audience towards the campaign and throws light on the political economy of Digital Communication and Digital Capitalism in the 21st century India.

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