Digital Public Infrastructure revolutionizes India’s governance, growth

India’s governance has undergone a fundamental transformation through Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), with public services that once depended on extensive paperwork and physical offices now available through integrated digital platforms. Over the past 12 years, DPI has connected citizens, governments and institutions on an unprecedented scale, making governance faster, transparent and more responsive to citizens’ needs.

Digital infrastructure has also emerged as a cornerstone of India’s economic growth. The Digital Economy now contributes about 12-14 per cent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is projected to account for 20 per cent over the next decade. India is now the world’s fifth-largest digitalised economy and the fourth-highest ranked G20 economy, according to the State of India’s Digital Economy Report 2026.

Make in India: A Boost to Electronics Manufacturing

According to an official release, India’s continued expansion of digital governance is strengthening service delivery, enabling economic opportunities and advancing the vision of Viksit Bharat as the country marks its 80th Independence Day. Guided by the vision of Make in India, India has emerged as a global hub for electronics manufacturing. Flagship initiatives, including the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0), have strengthened domestic manufacturing. Electronics production increased from Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 13.11 lakh crore in 2025-26, while electronics exports grew from Rs 38,000 crore to Rs 4.24 lakh crore during the same period. Electronic goods have now become India’s third-largest export category, with exports reaching USD 47.96 billion in FY 2025-26. The electronic manufacturing ecosystem supports nearly 25 lakh jobs, with women accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the workforce. The Union Cabinet approved Semicon 2.0 with an outlay of Rs 1.27 lakh crore to strengthen India’s semiconductor ecosystem. Under ISM 1.0, 12 semiconductor units worth Rs 1.64 lakh crore have been approved. Three facilities have already started commercial production, with another unit expected to commence operations this year.

India as a Mobile Manufacturing Hub

“India is now the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, with mobile phones rising from the 153rd largest export item in FY 2014-15 to become India’s largest export product in FY 2025-26,” the release said. Mobile phone production rose from Rs 18,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 6.27 lakh crore in 2025-26, while exports increased from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2.59 lakh crore. Out of 12 lakh jobs in the mobile manufacturing segment, women constitute nearly 70 per cent of the workforce.

Expanding Digital Connectivity

Telephone connections increased from 93.3 crore in 2014 to 134.8+ crore at the end of June 2026, while tele-density grew from 75.23 per cent in 2014 to 94.31 per cent. The number of active wireless mobile subscribers reached 1201.06 million in June 2026. Internet subscribers increased from 25.15 crore in 2014 to 109.2+ crore at the end of March 2026. Wireless data cost dropped from Rs 308 per GB in 2014 to Rs 7.51 per GB in 2026.

5G services are now available in 99.9 per cent of districts across all States and Union Territories, while the number of 5G Base Transceiver Stations reached 5.63 lakh in June 2026. A total of 6.31 lakh villages have been covered with 4G services by BSNL and other operators. Under the BharatNet initiative, 2.21 lakh Gram Panchayats were service-ready as of June 2026, supported by more than 8.5 lakh route km of optical fibre cable. PM-WANI has deployed over 4 lakh hotspots nationwide as of February 28, 2026. The Bharat 6G Vision aims to position India among the global leaders in 6G technology by 2030, with a focus on indigenous research, intellectual property, standards development and next-generation telecom innovation.

Key Digital Public Infrastructure Platforms

UPI: Leading Global Digital Payments

UPI accounts for nearly 50 per cent of global real-time payment transaction volume, making it the world’s largest real-time payment system by volume. UPI processed 24,161.69 crore transactions worth Rs 314.23 lakh crore in FY 2025-26. It serves more than 55.49 crore individuals, 6.5 crore merchants and connects 731 banks on one platform. UPI accounted for 85 per cent of India’s digital payment transactions by volume in FY 2025-26. Monthly transactions increased from 0.01 crore in 2016 to more than 2,000 crore transactions in 2025. UPI is now accepted in 11 foreign countries, including Cambodia, Singapore, UAE, France and Mauritius.

Powering E-Commerce and Public Procurement

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) had over 20 crore buyers, 5 lakh sellers, presence in 1,000 cities and nearly 90 lakh monthly transactions by June 2026. The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) recorded over Rs 18.4 lakh crore in cumulative Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) by June 2026, including Rs 5 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, and enabled over 11 lakh MSMEs to access government markets.

Citizen-Centric Digital Services

DigiLocker had over 72 crore registered users and issued more than 934 crore documents as of July 31, 2026. UMANG expanded from 166 services in 2017 to 2,585 services as of July 23, 2026, while transactions grew from 4.6 crore to over 798 crore. Aadhaar generation increased from 0.42 crore in 2010-11 to over 145 crore by July 2026. More than 5.16 lakh Common Service Centres were functional across India as of June 2026. Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) enables direct transfer of welfare benefits from 318 schemes across 56 Ministries into beneficiaries’ bank accounts. More than Rs 52 lakh crore has been transferred through DBT across the country.

Digital Transformation in Education and Skilling

Enhancing Digital Education

DIKSHA has 2.35 crore registered users and 3.58 lakh daily active users as of August 10, 2026. SWAYAM hosts over 20,000 courses across disciplines, with 6.5 crore+ total enrolments. More than 33.74 crore APAAR IDs had been generated by June 2026, providing students with a unique digital academic identity for storing and verifying academic records.

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 31, 2026, proposes tougher penalties and a time-bound justice mechanism. Under the Bill, individual offenders face 5-10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh, while service providers face fines of up to Rs 5 crore and an eight-year ban. Organised exam-fraud syndicates face 7-10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 10 crore.

Skilling for a Digital Future

FutureSkills PRIME has more than 34 lakh registered users for digital skills as of August 10, 2026. The Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH), as of August 2, 2026, had 20.10 million registrations, offered 3,643 self-paced courses and generated more than 1 million opportunities. NIELIT delivers digital literacy and skill development programmes through 56 centres and more than 9,000 partner institutes across India. More than 31.92 lakh candidates have been trained over the last three financial years. The IndiaAI Mission is strengthening AI education, infrastructure and responsible AI adoption, while promoting AI skilling across schools, higher education institutions and professional training programmes through initiatives such as IndiaAI Kosh.

The Impact of India’s Digital Rise

The release said India’s digital rise is transforming the way citizens, businesses and institutions interact with the government and economy. It said the rapidly expanding digital ecosystem is enabling faster services, greater transparency and wider access. Digital Public Infrastructure is creating a strong foundation for innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth, while the adoption of emerging technologies is opening new opportunities across sectors and strengthening India’s global digital presence. It said that digital capabilities are also making governance more responsive, efficient and citizen-centric, positioning technology as a key enabler of economic opportunity and social development. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)