Indian Economy News

Digital India program has enabled wider access to digital services and opportunities

India’s Digital India programme, launched in 2015, has significantly transformed the country’s digital landscape by expanding access, affordability, and digital infrastructure. Over the past decade, broadband subscribers have surged from 25 crore to 103 crore, reflecting a 400% increase, while mobile base transceiver stations have grown by around 273% to 29.5 lakh. Nearly universal mobile connectivity has been achieved, with village coverage rising to 6.35 lakh. Optical fibre deployment has expanded exponentially to 6,92,676 km, and average monthly data consumption per user has jumped from 61.66 MB to about 25.25 GB. Meanwhile, data costs have dropped sharply from Rs. 269 (US$ 4.20) to around Rs. 7.9 (US¢ 9.1) per GB, marking a 97% reduction, thereby making digital services more accessible and inclusive.

The programme has also driven large-scale digital empowerment and service delivery. Over 143 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued, forming the backbone of India’s digital identity ecosystem. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as the world’s largest digital payment system with over 46 crore users, accounting for 81% of India’s digital payments. Additionally, the JAM Trinity has enabled direct benefit transfers worth Rs. 49.82 lakh crore (US$ 572 billion) to citizens, enhancing transparency and efficiency. Platforms such as DigiLocker, with 67 crore users and over 967 crore documents issued, and UMANG, offering 2,446 services with more than 10.51 crore users, have further streamlined governance. The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) scheme has also played a key role in digital literacy, training over 6.39 crore individuals across the country. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.