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Business Standard
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
PM Modi marks 10 years of Digital India, eyes global digital leadership
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday marked 10 years of the Digital India initiative, highlighting its role in transforming governance, empowering citizens, and building a robust digital economy. In a blog shared on LinkedIn, the Prime Minister highlighted when the intent is right, innovation empowers the less empowered and brings change in the lives of those on the margins. Here's the full text of PM Modi's blog post: Ten years ago, we embarked on a bold journey into uncharted territory with great conviction. While decades were spent doubting the ability of Indians to use technology, we changed this approach and trusted the ability of Indians to use technology. While decades were spent thinking that use of technology will deepen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, we changed this mindset and used technology to eliminate the gap between the haves and the have-nots. When the intent is right, innovation empowers the less empowered. When the approach is inclusive, technology brings change in the lives of those on the margins. This belief laid the foundation for Digital India: a mission to democratise access, build inclusive digital infrastructure, and opportunities for all. In 2014, internet penetration was limited, digital literacy was low, and online access to government services was scarce. Many doubted whether a country as vast and diverse as India could truly go digital. Today, that question has been answered not just in data and dashboards, but in the lives of 140 crore Indians. From how we govern, to how we learn, transact, and build, Digital India is everywhere. Bridging the Digital Divide In 2014, India had around 25 crore internet connections. Today, that number has grown to over 97 crores. Over 42 lakh kilometres of Optical Fibre Cable equivalent to 11 times the distance between Earth and the Moon now connects even the most remote villages. India's 5G rollout is among the fastest in the world, with 4.81 lakh base stations installed in just two years. High-speed internet now reaches urban hubs and forward military posts alike including Galwan, Siachen, and Ladakh. India Stack, which is our digital backbone, has enabled platforms like UPI, which now handles 100+ billion transactions a year. Around half of all real time digital transactions happen in India. Through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), over ₹44 trillion has been transferred directly to citizens, cutting out middlemen and saving ₹3.48 trillion in leakages. Schemes like SVAMITVA have issued 2.4 crore+ property cards and mapped 6.47 lakh villages, ending years of land-related uncertainty. Democratising Opportunity for All India's digital economy is empowering MSMEs and small entrepreneurs like never before. ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) is a revolutionary platform which opens a new window of opportunities by providing a seamless connection with huge market of buyers and sellers. GeM (Government E-Marketplace) enables the common man to sell goods and services to all arms of the government. This not only empowers the common man with a huge market but also saves money for the Government. Imagine this: You apply for a Mudra loan online. Your creditworthiness is assessed through an account aggregator framework. You get your loan and start your venture. You register on GeM, supply to schools and hospitals, and then scale up via ONDC. ONDC recently crossed 200 million transactions, with the last 100 million in just six months. From Banarasi weavers to bamboo artisans in Nagaland, sellers are now reaching customers nationwide, without middlemen or digital monopolies. GeM has also crossed ₹1 trillion GMV in 50 days, with 22 lakh sellers including 1.8 lakh+ women-led MSMEs, who have fulfilled orders worth ₹46,000 crore. Digital Public Infrastructure: India's Global Offering India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) from Aadhaar, CoWIN, DigiLocker, and FASTag to PM-WANI and One Nation One Subscription is now studied and adopted globally. CoWIN enabled the world's largest vaccination drive, issuing 220 crore QR-verifiable certificates. DigiLocker, with 54 crore users, hosts 775 crore+ documents, securely and seamlessly. Through our G20 Presidency, India launched the Global DPI Repository and a $25 million Social Impact Fund, helping nations across Africa and South Asia adopt inclusive digital ecosystems. Startup Power Meets AatmaNirbhar Bharat India now ranks among the top 3 startup ecosystems in the world, with over 1.8 lakh startups. But this is more than a startup movement, it is a tech renaissance. India is doing extremely well when it comes to AI skill penetration and AI talent concentration among our youth. Through the $1.2 billion India AI Mission, India has enabled access to 34,000 GPUs at globally unmatched prices at less than $1/GPU hour making India not just the most affordable internet economy, but also the most affordable compute destination. India has championed humanity-first AI. The New Delhi Declaration on AI promotes innovation with responsibility. We are establishing AI Centres of Excellence across the country. The Road Ahead The next decade will be even more transformative. We are moving from digital governance to global digital leadership, from India-first to India-for-the-world. Digital India has not remained a mere government program, it has become a people's movement. It is central to building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, and to making India a trusted innovation partner to the world. To all innovators, entrepreneurs, and dreamers: the world is looking at India for the next digital breakthrough. Let us build what empowers. Let us solve what truly matters. Let us lead with technology that unites, includes, and uplifts.
Hindustan Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Tech a means to empower poorest of poor, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday that his government in its 11 years has brought innumerable benefits for people by leveraging the power of technology and credited the role of youngsters in shaping and driving many of these changes. 'Leveraging the power of technology has brought innumerable benefits for people. Service delivery and transparency have been greatly boosted. Furthermore, technology has become a means of empowering the lives of the poorest of poor,' PM Modi wrote on X. The PM reposted an X thread by the IT ministry-led MyGovIndia summarising key digital developments over the past decade. Titled 'Tech it to the top,' the thread highlighted a 2,500-fold increase in Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transaction volumes over the last eight years, and its expansion to over seven countries including a recent entry into Europe via France. According to the recent National Statistical Office's Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom 2025, nearly 99.5% of Indians aged 15 to 29 years who can make online banking transactions said they are capable of using UPI for digital payments. In a separate post, the government shared updates on its Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, which it said has helped transfer over ₹44 lakh crore across 322 schemes and saved ₹3.48 lakh crore by cutting out leakages. The scale-up of Aadhaar, now used by over 1.4 billion people, was also presented as a pillar of digital governance. The thread also touched on drone innovation, mentioning how it has empowered rural women in initiatives like 'Drone Didis' to strategic deployments in Operation Sindoor. 'Our self-reliance is soaring with 550+ Indian drone companies emerging, and 14,000+ SwaYaan beneficiaries ready to fly,' said the post. In the field of artificial intelligence, the government said it has supported the development of AI Centres of Excellence and AI tools such as Chitralekha (an open-source video transcreation platform) and Everest 1.0 (a multilingual AI model developed under the Hanooman project). The government also lauded the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), a ₹1.55 lakh crore production-PLI scheme aimed at attracting investment and promoting local chip design. The mission was launched by the IT ministry in 2021, and has so far approved six semiconductor units across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Assam, with many more to be announced soon. In the space sector, ISRO's launch of 393 foreign satellites was cited as a marker of progress, along with a proposed goal of setting up a Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035. Finally, the government noted that its digital literacy campaign in rural areas, PMGDISHA, had trained over 6.3 crore individuals achieving its targets ahead of schedule. The campaign comes as part of a broader effort by the government to showcase achievements across sectors, as it completes over a decade in office since PM Modi took office on May 26, 2014.
