Reference:

• The Digital India Initiative (DII) launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed 10 years on 1 July 2025.

Digital India Initiative – General Information:

• A flagship initiative of the Government of India
• Launch Date: 1 July 2015
• Launched by: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Objective: To transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge-based economy
• A comprehensive program covering various projects of central ministries/departments and state/UT governments

Key Objectives:

• Development of digital infrastructure
• Making service delivery easy and transparent
• Digitally empowering citizens

Nine Pillars of Digital India:

• Broadband Highways
• Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
• E-Governance – Reforming Government through Technology
• E-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services
• Information for All
• Electronics Manufacturing
• IT for Jobs
• Early Harvest Programs
• Digital Literacy

Key Focus Areas and Services under Digital India:

• Digital India has built a robust digital infrastructure across the country.
• Mobile connectivity has now reached almost every village. Public internet centers have opened access for all.
• Digital services have made governance faster and more transparent. These efforts have truly laid the foundation of a connected India.

Telecom and Internet Penetration:

• Total telephone connections in India increased from 933 million in March 2014 to over 1.20 billion in April 2025.
• Tele-density increased from 75.23% in October 2024 to 84.49%.
• Between March 2014 and October 2024, urban connections grew from 555.23 million to 661.36 million, and rural connections grew from 377.78 million to 527.34 million.

Internet and Broadband:

• Internet users: 251.5 million in March 2014 → 969.6 million in June 2024 (285.53% growth)
• Broadband connections: 61 million in March 2014 → 949.2 million in August 2024 (1452% growth)
• As of December 2024, 615,836 out of 644,131 villages have 4G mobile connectivity

5G and Connectivity:

• Launched in October 2022
• In 22 months, India installed 474,000 5G towers, covering 99.6% of districts
• 295,000 towers added in 2023–24
• This strong mobile network will support 1.16 billion users in 2025
• Internet users increased by 285% in 11 years
• Data cost dropped from ₹308 per GB in 2014 to just ₹9.34 in 2022, making the internet more affordable

BharatNet: Connecting Villages to the Internet

• Launched: October 2011 (as NOFN), 2015 (as BharatNet), Phase 1 completed in December 2017
• By January 2025, BharatNet connected over 218,000 Gram Panchayats with high-speed internet
• Approx. 692,000 km of optical fiber cable laid, extending connectivity to many villages

Digital Finance and Inclusion:

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI):
• Launched: 11 April 2016
• Developed by: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
• Regulator: Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
• Objective: To provide instant, secure, and unified banking transactions on a mobile platform
• Nearly 460 million people and 65 million merchants use UPI
• In April 2025, more than 1.8677 billion UPI transactions worth ₹24.77 lakh crore were recorded in a single month

Aadhaar:

• Launch: Aadhaar project started in 2009
• Nodal Agency: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
• Operated by: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• First Aadhaar issued: 29 September 2010, in Nandurbar district, Maharashtra
• As of April 2025, over 1.42 billion Aadhaar IDs have been generated

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT):

• Launch: January 2013
• Started as a pilot project in 43 districts
• Objectives: Increase transparency in subsidy distribution, eliminate fake beneficiaries, ensure timely and accurate payment to genuine individuals, reduce administrative costs
• Saved the government over ₹3.48 lakh crore between 2015 and March 2023
• By May 2025, over ₹44 lakh crore transferred via DBT
• Over 58.7 million ineligible ration cards and 42.3 million duplicate LPG connections cancelled

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC):

• Pilot Phase: April 2022
• National Rollout: From 2023
• Developed by: Quality Council of India (QCI)
• Objectives: To develop digital commerce as an open network, bring small businesses and kirana stores online, break monopoly in digital marketplaces, provide more choices and better prices to consumers
• By January 2025, it will cover 616+ cities with over 764,000 registered sellers and service providers

Government e-Marketplace (GeM):

• An online platform of the Government of India for procurement of goods and services by government departments, ministries, and PSUs
• Launched: August 2016
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
• Managed by: GeM SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle)
• By January 2025, registered a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹4.09 lakh crore in just 10 months of FY 2024–25, a 50% increase over the same period last year
• Hosts over 160,000 government buyers and 2.25 million sellers and service providers

IndiaAI Mission:

• Objective: To strengthen the AI ecosystem in India and promote inclusive growth through AI
• Announced: Budget 2023–24
• Approved: By the Union Cabinet in March 2024
• Implementing Agency: Digital India Corporation (under MeitY)
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Target: Build a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem with a budget of ₹10,371.92 crore over five years
• By 30 May 2025, India’s national computing power surpassed 34,000 GPUs

Key Pillars of IndiaAI Mission:

• IndiaAI Innovation Center: Develops and deploys indigenous large multimodal and domain-specific foundational models
• IndiaAI Application Development Initiative: Promotes scalable AI solutions for large-scale social and economic transformation
• AIKosh Platform: A unified hub for datasets, models, AI sandbox environments, and tools to foster innovation
• IndiaAI Compute Capacity: Builds a scalable ecosystem with over 10,000 GPUs via public-private partnership (now crossed 34,000 GPUs)
• IndiaAI Startup Financing: Accelerates deep-tech AI startups by improving access to funding for innovative projects
• IndiaAI FutureSkills: Expands AI education at all levels and establishes data and AI labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
• Safe and Trusted AI: Ensures responsible and ethical AI development through tools, checklists, and governance frameworks

India Semiconductor Mission:

• Objective: To build a robust semiconductor and display ecosystem
• Announced: December 2021
• Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Implementing Body: A dedicated independent business division under Digital India Corporation
• As of 14 May 2025, six semiconductor projects worth ₹1.55 lakh crore have been approved
• The latest project is a joint venture between HCL and Foxconn to set up a display chip unit near Jewar Airport in Uttar Pradesh