Introduction to Digital India

Digital India is a programme to transform India into digital empowered society and knowledge economy. The Digital India is transformational in nature and would ensure that Government services are available to citizens electronically. It would also bring in public accountability through mandated delivery of government’s services electronically, a Unique ID and e-Pramaan based on authentic and standard based interoperable and integrated government applications and data basis.

Digital India programme was launched on 1st July, 2015 to enable digital delivery of services to citizens. Based on the success of the programme, the Union Cabinet during August 2023 approved the expansion of the Digital India programme. The total outlay is ₹14,903 crores.

Vision Areas

The vision is centred on three key areas

1. Digital infrastructure as Utility to Every Citizen
2. Governance and services on demand
3. Digital empowerment of citizens

Digital Infrastructure as Utility to Every Citizen

• Availability of high speed internet as a core utility for delivery of services to citizens.
• Cradle to grave digital identity that is unique, lifelong, online and authenticable to every citizen.
• Mobile phone and Bank account enabling citizen participation in digital and financial space.
• Easy access to a Common Service Centre.
• Shareable private space on a public Cloud.
• Safe and secure Cyber-space.

Governance and Services on Demand

• Seamlessly integrated across departments or jurisdictions.
• Services availability in real time from online and mobile platforms.
• All citizen entitlements to be available on the Cloud to ensure easy access.
• Government services digitally transformed for improving Ease of Doing Business.
• Making financial transactions above a threshold, electronic and cashless.
• Leveraging GIS for decision support systems and development.

Digital Empowerment of Citizens:

• Universal digital literacy.
• All digital resources universally accessible.
• All Government documents/ certificates to be available on the Cloud.
• Availability of digital resources / services in Indian languages.
• Collaborative digital platforms for participative governance.
• Portability of all entitlements for individuals through the Cloud.

Scope of Digital India

The overall scope of this programme is

1. To prepare India for a knowledge future.
2. On being transformative that is to realize IT (Indian Talent) + IT (Information Technology) = IT (India Tomorrow).
3. Making technology central to enabling change.
4. On being an Umbrella Programme – covering many departments.
• The programme weaves together a large number of ideas and thoughts into a single, comprehensive vision, so that each of them is seen as part of a larger goal. Each individual element stands on its own, but is also part of the larger picture.
• The weaving together makes the Mission transformative in totality.
5. The Digital India Programme will pull together many existing schemes which would be restructured and re-focused and implemented in a synchronized manner. The common branding of the programmes as Digital India, highlights their transformative impact.

Nine pillars of Digital India

Digital India aims to provide the much needed thrust to the nine pillars of growth areas, namely

1. Broadband Highways
2. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity
3. Public Internet Access Programme
4. e-Governance: Reforming Government through Technology
5. e-Kranti - Electronic Delivery of Services
6. Information for All
7. Electronics Manufacturing
8. IT for Jobs
9. Early Harvest Programmes

To Know more about Nine pillars of Digital India Click Here

Outcomes of the Expanded Digital India Scheme

This would enable the following:

• 6.25 lakh IT professionals will be re-skilled and up-skilled under the FutureSkills Prime Programme;
• 2.65 lakh persons will be trained in information security under the Information Security & Education Awareness Phase (ISEA) Programme;
• 540 additional services will be available under the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app/ platform. At present over 1,700 services are already available on UMANG;
• 9 more supercomputers will be added under National Super Computer Mission. This is in addition to 18 supercomputers already deployed;
• Bhashini, the AI-enabled multi-language translation tool (currently available in 10 languages) will be rolled out in all 22 scheduled languages;
• Modernisation of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) which connects 1,787 educational institutions;
• Digital document verification facility under DigiLocker will now be available to MSMEs and other organisations;
• 1,200 startups will be supported in Tier 2/3 cities;
• 3 Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence on health, agriculture and sustainable cities will be set up;
• Cyber-awareness courses for 12 crores college students;
• New initiatives in the area of cyber security including development of tools and integration of more than 200 sites with National Cyber Coordination Centre

Source : MeitY, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, GoI