Key facts

  • Email uses store-and-forward communication: SMTP sends outgoing mail, while POP3 or IMAP retrieves or synchronises received mail.
  • The Information Technology Act, 2000 gives legal recognition to electronic records and electronic signatures;
  • Digital India, launched on 1 July 2015, frames e-governance around digital infrastructure as a utility, governance and services on demand, and digital...

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    The Internet is a global network of networks that uses TCP/IP to move data between devices, servers and applications.

  2. 2

    The World Wide Web is one Internet service; email, file transfer, cloud storage, messaging, video meetings and digital payments also run over the Internet.

  3. 3

    IP addresses identify devices on a network, while DNS converts readable domain names into IP addresses so users need not memorise numbers.

  4. 4

    Email uses store-and-forward communication: SMTP sends outgoing mail, while POP3 or IMAP retrieves or synchronises received mail.

  5. 5

    Cyber security protects confidentiality, integrity and availability of data; common threats include phishing, malware, ransomware, weak passwords and unsafe public Wi-Fi.

  6. 6

    The Information Technology Act, 2000 gives legal recognition to electronic records and electronic signatures; CERT-In directions and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 are important later cyber and data-governance references.

  7. 7

    Digital India, launched on 1 July 2015, frames e-governance around digital infrastructure as a utility, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens.

  8. 8

    Rajasthan e-Mitra and Rajasthan SSO are state-level e-services: e-Mitra delivers citizen services and utility payments, while SSO gives one login identity for many Rajasthan government services.

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Internet: meaning, services and exam relevance

The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks. It does not belong to one company or one government; it works because common technical standards allow different networks to exchange data. In exam terms, the most important point is to separate the Internet from the World Wide Web. The Web is the collection of websites and web pages accessed mainly through browsers using HTTP or HTTPS. The Internet is wider: it also supports email, cloud storage, Voice over Internet Protocol, online banking, e-learning, e-governance portals, video streaming and instant messaging.

Data on the Internet travels in packets. A message, image or file is broken into small packets, each packet moves through routers, and the receiver reassembles them. TCP helps reliable delivery by checking order and errors, while IP handles addressing and routing. This packet-switching model is different from the old circuit-switched telephone model, where a dedicated path stayed reserved for one call. For CET, this distinction is useful because it explains why the Internet can carry many types of traffic at once.

A practical Rajasthan example is a citizen using an e-Mitra kiosk or mobile service to pay a utility bill: the user interface may be simple, but the transaction depends on Internet connectivity, servers, authentication, databases and secure payment channels.

Remember the distinction: the Internet is the infrastructure; the Web and other online services are applications built on it.

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