Digital India completed 10 years on July 1, 2025. Launched in 2015, the programme aimed to make India a digitally empowered society and knowledge-based economy.
Growth of Digital Economy:
- Digital India has played a key role in changing the country’s digital infrastructure, improving connectivity, service delivery, digital payments, and e-governance.
- Over 10 years, it has enabled inclusive growth and boosted India’s digital economy.
- Contributed 11.74% to GDP in 2022–23; projected to reach 13.42% by 2024–25.
- By 2030, expected to form nearly 20% of India’s economy, growing faster than traditional sectors.
- India ranks 3rd globally in digital economy as per ICRIER’s 2024 report.
Key Focus Areas and Services: Connectivity and Digital Infrastructure
- Mobile networks now reach nearly every village.
- Telephone connections rose from 93.3 crore (2014) to over 120 crore (2025).
- Tele-density improved from 75.23% to 84.49%.
Affordable Internet Access
- India has one of the lowest mobile data costs globally, aiding digital inclusion.
Digital Payments and Identity: Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
- India made 49% of global real-time transactions in 2023.
- UPI now operates in 7+ countries, strengthening cross-border payments.
Aadhaar and e-KYC
- Enabled fast and paperless verification in banking and welfare services.
- Supports Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), cutting leakages and fake accounts.
Digital Commerce and AI Innovation: ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce)
- Started in 2022 to help small sellers go online.
- By 2025, 616+ cities covered, with 7.6 lakh+ sellers registered.
IndiaAI Mission
- Focuses on ethical AI use, research, startup support, and access to data.
- National compute capacity crossed 34,000 GPUs by May 2025.
India Semiconductor Mission
- ₹76,000 crore budget to boost local chip manufacturing.
- Offers 50% support for fabs and encourages chip design ecosystem.
E-Governance Revolution:
- Programmes like UMANG App, DigiLocker, and Mission Karmayogi have:
- Improved public service delivery,
- Increased transparency, and
- Made access to government schemes and documents easier.
Conclusion:
In its 10-year journey, Digital India has empowered citizens, expanded digital services, and transformed governance. With continued focus on infrastructure, innovation, and inclusion, it can drive India’s future growth and global leadership in digital governance.
