What is Digital India: Know its Objectives, Advantages, Significance & More - UPSC Notes

The Digital India programme was launched by the Government of India to improve online infrastructure and expand internet access, making government services easily available to citizens in digital form. It also aims to empower the country with modern digital technologies. The campaign was officially launched on July 1, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Digital India is an important topic as it forms a key part of Government Schemes in the General Studies Paper 3 syllabus and is also relevant for current affairs in the UPSC exams.

What is Digital India?

Digital India is a flagship programme launched on July 1, 2015, by the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. The main aim of this initiative is to provide every Indian citizen with easy access to the internet and digital services. It is a visionary step to prepare India for a knowledge-driven digital revolution.

The programme brings together multiple ideas and strategies under one umbrella. This ensures that all government services, technology platforms, and digital resources work toward a common national goal of digital empowerment. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is responsible for implementing and managing this mission.

Vision of Digital India

The vision of Digital India is to build a digitally empowered society and a knowledge-driven economy. The programme focuses on using technology to improve governance, deliver services more effectively, and ensure that every citizen benefits from digital transformation.

Its vision highlights three major areas:

1. Digital Infrastructure: It ensures access to high-speed internet and digital resources.

2. Digital Empowerment: It promotes digital literacy and bridging the gap between urban and rural communities.

3. Digital Delivery of Services: It transforms government services into transparent, efficient, and accessible digital platforms.

Objectives of Digital India

The main objectives of the Digital India initiative include:

• Expanding high-speed internet connectivity across the nation, including rural areas.

• Converting government services into digital platforms for faster and more transparent access.

• Promoting digital literacy to empower citizens with knowledge and skills for the digital era.

• Ensuring the easy availability of government information and services online.

• Encouraging domestic manufacturing of electronic goods and generating employment in the electronics sector.

• Supporting skill development programmes and boosting the growth of the IT and IT-enabled services industry.

Pillars of Digital India

The Government of India identified nine core pillars under the Digital India Mission to drive digital growth and inclusive development. These pillars highlight the country’s vision to make governance more transparent, citizen-friendly, and technology-driven. They form the foundation of Digital Bharat and ensure the effective delivery of digital services across the nation.

1. e-Kranti – Electronic Delivery of Services

The e-Kranti initiative aims to provide all government services electronically through integrated and reliable platforms. Its focus is on delivering e-Governance, simple governance, and good governance. This ensures that services remain affordable, accessible, and efficient for every citizen.

2. Electronic Delivery of Services

This pillar enhances the way public services are provided by streamlining processes and reducing delays. India has moved beyond simple computerisation to advanced solutions emphasising citizen centricity, transparency, and accountability through multiple e-Governance initiatives launched by both central and state governments.

3. Information for All

The objective of this pillar is to make authentic government data easily accessible to the public. It promotes transparency and encourages citizen participation in governance by enabling data reuse and redistribution.

4. Electronics Manufacturing

This pillar focuses on boosting domestic electronics manufacturing to strengthen India’s digital ecosystem. It reduces dependence on imports and creates employment opportunities in the electronics sector.

5. IT for Jobs

This pillar equips the youth with essential IT and IT-enabled service (ITES) skills. This helps them secure better job opportunities and contribute to the country’s growing digital workforce.

6. Early Harvest Programmes

These are short-term, high-impact projects that immediately strengthen India’s digital ecosystem. Examples include biometric attendance in government offices, an IT platform for mass messaging, Wi-Fi in universities, crowdsourced e-Greetings, and other citizen-centric initiatives.

7. Broadband Highways

This pillar ensures high-speed internet access through three components:

• National Information Infrastructure (NII)

• Broadband for All – Urban

• Broadband Highways for Rural Connectivity

Together, they form the backbone of India’s digital communication infrastructure.

8. Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity

This initiative ensures that even the most remote areas of India have mobile network coverage to bridge connectivity gaps. This enables every citizen to access digital services.

9. Public Internet Access Programme

This pillar expands Common Service Centres (CSCs) and revamps post offices as multi-service centres. These centres act as digital touchpoints for citizens, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. This provides them with government services at their doorstep

Benefits of Digital India

The Digital India initiative has played a major role in transforming the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge-driven economy. The programme has helped bridge the digital divide and make essential services more accessible to citizens by expanding internet connectivity, especially in rural areas. India is recognised as one of the top two fastest digital adopters in the world, and experts estimate that the country’s digital economy could reach $1 trillion by 2025.

The following are some of the major benefits of Digital India:

• Growth in e-Governance: The number of electronic transactions related to government services has increased significantly, making processes faster, more transparent, and less dependent on paperwork.

• Improved Connectivity: More than 1.15 lakh Gram Panchayats have been connected through a 2,74,246 km long optical fibre network under the BharatNet programme. This ensures rural India has access to high-speed internet.

• Common Service Centres (CSCs): Thousands of CSCs have been established as part of the National e-Governance Plan. This offers digital access to citizens. These centres provide a wide range of services, including education, healthcare, telemedicine, e-governance, and entertainment.

• Empowered Rural Communities: Rural communities are becoming more self-reliant and digitally connected with initiatives like Wi-Fi Choupals, solar lighting, LED manufacturing units, and sanitary product production.

• Urban Digital Growth: The percentage of people using internet-based services has increased to 64% in cities. This reflects a strong shift toward digital-first solutions in daily life.

Outcomes of Digital India

The Digital India programme has delivered several impactful outcomes since its launch in 2015. The following are some of the major highlights include:

• International Collaboration (2017): Vietnam partnered with India to learn from its cybersecurity and e-governance model.

• Digital India Week (2015): Global and Indian CEOs pledged over ₹224.5 lakh crore for digital infrastructure, affordable devices, and job creation at launch.

• Silicon Valley Support (2015): Tech giants like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm backed the initiative. Google promised free Wi-Fi at 500 railway stations, Microsoft aimed to connect 500,000 villages, and Qualcomm invested US$150 million in Indian startups.

• Rising Internet Users (2017): India crossed 500 million internet subscribers by April 2017.

• District-Level Recognition (2015): Panchkula district in Haryana was named the top-performing district under the campaign.

• Fastest Internet Growth (2018): India recorded the world’s highest growth rate, adding 10 million new internet users every month.

Also Check:

Skill India Mission

Major Initiatives Under Digital India

Several flagship projects have been launched under Digital India to transform governance, education, healthcare, and agriculture. The following are some major initiatives under Digital India:

Aarogya Setu

The Aarogya Setu app was introduced by the Government of India during the COVID-19 pandemic to track contacts, provide self-assessment tools, and monitor health risks. It is developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT. The app quickly gained popularity and recorded over 100 million downloads in just 40 days. 

Its source code was made public to ensure transparency. This allows experts to review its functioning. The app also earned recognition from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its effective role in identifying and controlling COVID-19 clusters.

e-NAM (National Agriculture Market)

The e-NAM platform (National Agriculture Market) is a digital trading system that allows farmers to sell their produce online. It connects APMC mandis and market yards across India, making agricultural trade more accessible and efficient. 

The platform ensures fair and transparent price discovery, while also offering standardized crop quality testing (assaying). e-NAM helps farmers get better prices and provides buyers with a wider choice of quality produce with its vision to create a unified national agricultural market.

e-Sanjeevani

The e-Sanjeevani telemedicine platform is a digital healthcare service launched to make medical consultations accessible across India. It had already completed over 9 lakh online consultations, proving its wide reach. The platform plays a vital role in connecting patients in rural and remote areas with specialist doctors. This ensures that quality treatment is not limited to cities. 

e-Sanjeevani reduces the pressure on hospitals, addresses manpower shortages, and improves the overall delivery of healthcare services in the country by bridging the gap between urban and rural healthcare.

MyGov

The MyGov platform is a digital initiative that enables citizens to actively connect and engage with the Government of India. It played a crucial role by mapping over 750 cities with shelters and food centres through Google Maps and MapMyIndia integration during34w the COVID-19 lockdown. The platform also kept people informed with real-time COVID-19 updates via audio podcasts. MyGov launched the Positive Harmonies initiative, where singers used music to inspire positivity and share important health messages.

DIKSHA App

The DIKSHA app (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) is a government initiative that provides free digital learning resources for both students and teachers. It offers textbooks in multiple languages and for different education boards. This makes quality education accessible to all. 

The platform also includes teacher training modules on inclusive education, mental health, and professional development. It is available as both a mobile app and website. DIKSHA became one of the most widely used platforms for online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown, supporting millions of learners across India.