India is currently ranked 58th in the world on e-readiness, according to minister of state for IT Sachin Pilot.
The ranking, from the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2009 report, was a measure of the quality of nations' ICT infrastructure and ability of its populous to take advantage of this infrastructure, Business Standardsaid.
Pilot told parliament that India's ICT sector employs 2.5 million people, and has created 8 million indirect jobs, and that increasing mobile and internet penetration is also benefiting the economy.
The government has a plan to connect all village panchayats (local government bodies) within three years, and is pouring 59.9 billion rupees ($1.34 billion) into connecting all universities, libraries, hospitals and agricultural institutions through a high speed network.