Digital India Programme Driving Inclusion, Growth, Jobs Since 2015: Govt
New Delhi, Feb 5 (KNN) The Digital India Programme launched in July 2015 seeks to ensure that digital technologies improve the lives of citizens, expand India’s digital economy, and generate investment and employment opportunities, said Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Ashwini Vaishnav in Lok Sabha.
Financial Inclusion and Digital Payments
Replying to a question in the Lower House, Vaishnaw said that JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) has emerged as a transformative initiative to foster financial inclusion, improve governance and ensure efficient delivery of welfare benefits and public services.
He further said that UPI has transformed digital payments by enabling fast, secure and low-cost transactions, boosting financial inclusion across urban, rural and remote areas.
Now live in over eight countries, the digital payment system positions India as a global leader in digital payments.
Serving 6.5 crore merchants and linking 685 banks, UPI accounts for 81 percent of India’s digital payments and nearly 49 percent of global real-time transactions.
Digital Identity and Citizen-Centric Platforms
Aadhaar, the world’s largest digital identity programme, provides biometric and demographic-based unique identification. Over 143 crore Aadhaar IDs have been generated so far, as per the Minister.
Additionally, DigiLocker enables citizens to access authentic digital documents anytime from original issuers.
As per the official data, over 65.01 crore users are registered on DigiLocker, with more than 950 crore documents issued by 2,412 onboarded issuers.
The UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) platform provides single-window access to government services from the Centre, States and local bodies. At present, 2,390 services (872 Central and 1,518 State services) are available through UMANG.
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) enables online public procurement, with over 1.68 lakh registered buyers. Common Services Centres (CSCs) strengthen last-mile digital delivery, offering over 800 services through 5.87 lakh centres nationwide, including 4.57 lakh at the Gram Panchayat level.
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system uses Aadhaar to transfer over Rs 48 lakh crore directly to beneficiaries, significantly reducing leakages.
Digital Health, Citizen Engagement and Pension Services
Vaishnaw said that e-Sanjeevani telemedicine platform has delivered remote consultations to over 44.6 crore patients nationwide. MyGov engages citizens in policymaking and governance, with more than 6.08 crore registered users. Besides this, Jeevan Pramaan enables pensioners to submit Aadhaar-based Digital Life Certificates remotely, with over 11.96 crore certificates processed since 2014.
Digital Literacy and Future Skills Development
The Union Minister said that Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) has trained 6.39 crore people against a target of 6 crore rural households, making it one of the world’s largest digital literacy programmes.
To address advanced skill gaps, MeitY and NASSCOM’s FutureSkills PRIME offers 500+ courses and 2,000 digital pathways, enrolling over 16.2 lakh learners, including 41 per cent women, across 720 Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
The National Knowledge Network supports Digital India through high-speed connectivity, with 1,869 institutional and 681 NIC district centre links operational.
Telecom Connectivity and Internet Infrastructure
Internet connectivity now covers urban and rural India through mobile and fixed broadband. As of November 2025, India had 123.4 crore telephone subscribers and 100.3 crore broadband users.
Under BharatNet, over 2.14 lakh Gram Panchayats are service-ready, with network upgrades approved. Remote connectivity has expanded with 23,694 new mobile towers and submarine OFC links to island territories, extending mobile coverage to over 6.34 lakh villages and internet access to more than 6.32 lakh villages.
(KNN Bureau)
