In July 2015, the Indian government launched the ‘Digital India’ initiative to improve online infrastructure and increase internet accessibility among citizens (for example, linking rural areas to high-speed internet networks); thereby, empowering the country to become more digitally advanced.
The initiative encompasses the following three key objectives:
The government’s increased focus to create a digitally empowered economy is forecast to benefit all sectors, wherein core digital sectors such as information technology & business process management, digital communication services and electronics manufacturing are likely to double their GDPs to US$ 355-435 billion by 2025.
As per NASSCOM’s (National Association of Software & Services Companies) Strategic Review 2023 India's technology industry has exceeded US$ 250 billion in revenue and is projected to experience a modest growth rate of 3.8%, reaching US$ 253.9 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2023-24 in March. In the fiscal year 2024, the technology industry saw a net increase of 60,000 new hires, bringing the total number of employees to 5.43 million.
In another report, McKinsey highlighted that the ‘Digital India’ initiative is expected to boost the country’s digital economy to US$ 1 trillion by 2025, up from US$ 200 billion in 2018.
Despite rising adoption of digital technologies and the IT industry, India’s digital divide is deep and is creating economic disparities between those who can afford technology and those who cannot, thereby affecting the country’s overall digital growth.
To bridge this divide, the government introduced the ‘Digital India’ initiative, covering various programmes such as e-governance, mobile e-health services, and digital finance for digital inclusiveness. Through schemes such as Aadhaar (a digital ID programme), BharatNet and public Wi-Fi hotspots, the ‘Digital India’ initiative is enabling the country (including small towns and rural areas) to develop its internet infrastructure. As on March 2024, Overall internet penetration in India stood at 67 for every 100 people. State wise Kerala stood first with (87) while Telangana stood at (83) for every 100 people.
Further, the country’s low mobile data rates have allowed a vast population to access the Internet. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as of February 2024, the total internet subscribers (including wireless and wired internet subscribers) stood at 916.77 million, up from 911.03 million subscribers in January 2024.
To implement ‘Digital India Platform’, the government partnered with the following leading technology firms:
Key initiatives under the ‘Digital India’ mission are as follows:
Initiative
Description
Current Status
It was launched in 2009 to provide every Indian resident with a unique identity or Aadhaar number.
According to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), 129 crore residents of India possess Aadhaar as of April 2021.
It was launched in 2015 to create a cloud-based platform to issue, exchange and verify essential documents or certificates.
As of December 2023, there are 236.91 crore registered Digi Locker users in India.
It was launched in 2014 to bring the government closer to the people by providing an interface (online forum) for exchange of ideas.
Currently, there are >474 lakh registered members on MyGov.
It was introduced in 2012 (renamed in 2015) to connect all 250,000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country and provide 100 Mbps internet connectivity.
As of January 2024, there were ~2,10,000 service-ready GPs.
It was initiated in 2015 to transform all Indian cities into smart cities by leveraging various technologies.
100 cities have been selected for area-based and pan-city development between 2019 and 2023.
Common Service Centres (CSCs)
Under the Digital India programme, CSC 2.0 aims to establish a self-sustaining network of 2.5 lakh CSC centres in Gram Panchayats. Was implemented by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeiTY).
As of March 2024, there were 5,70,493 active CSC IDs and total no of transactions are 381.2 lakhs.
Digitisation of Post Offices
Under the Digital India programme, the government aims to convert ~150,000 post offices into multiservice centres.
As of May 2022, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) enabled >1.55 lakh post offices to provide banking services, including access to every Aadhaar-linked bank account, at the customer's doorstep, through its 650 branches.
Universal Access to Mobile
It was launched to provide mobile connectivity to >55,600 villages in India.
As of December 2023, > Six lakh villages were provided with mobile and internet connectivity.
Public Wi-Fi Hotspots
It was introduced to develop public Wi-Fi hotspots to allow people to access internet without relying on mobile data.
India's public Wi-Fi hotspots reached 0.5 million far less than target of 10 million by 2022.
India Stack aims to develop payment-enabled applications, using Aadhaar as the base for authentication.
The government uses JAM's (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) direct benefit transfers for ~317 services. In FY21, it conducted 2.6 billion transactions, transferring >US$ 46 billion to beneficiaries.
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA)
It was launched in 2017 to help people in rural areas become digitally literate. The scheme aimed to cover 6 crore rural citizens by March 2020, achieving ~40% rural households by targeting one member from every eligible household.
As of March 2024, 74,220,769 beneficiaries were registered; of these, 48,322,604 beneficiaries were certified.
It was introduced to provide timely and effective healthcare services such as online registrations, payments, reports, and claims.
As of January 2024, 38.18 crores patients were registered, Admission count was 2.96 crore across India.
It was started to provide online education in remote and urban areas using technologies such as smartphones, apps, and Internet services.
In May 2020, the government launched PM eVIDYA, a programme for multimode access to digital/online education.
In FY21, NISHTHA - Phase II was launched at the secondary level to customise modules for online delivery. As per the Union Budget 2021-22, under the NISHTHA training programme, ~ 5.6 million teachers will be trained in FY22.
Digital India Mission – Union Budget 2023-24 Highlights
The rising use of unified payments interface (UPIs) strongly indicate that more and more people in India are adopting a digital lifestyle. Moreover, the volume of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions increased from 92 crore in FY 2017-18 to 8,375 crore in FY23, with a CAGR of 147%. Similarly, the value of UPI transactions rose from Rs. 1 lakh crore (US$ 12.04 billion) in FY 2017-18 to Rs. 139 lakh crore (US$ 1,672.8 billion) in FY23, with a CAGR of 168%. The focus will be on creating a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy that can compete globally in the digital age.
With the emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, blockchains and robotics, the government can use these new avenues to further enable digital and technology growth in India. As per a McKinsey report, a digital economy is likely to create 60-65 million jobs by 2025. With the ‘Digital India’ mission, the government is well-aligned to tap this opportunity and create an economic value of US$ 1 trillion by 2025 from the digital economy.
