India is emerging as one of the pioneers in building a digitally empowered nation with its innovative policies. 

The ongoing digital transformation in India is powered by digital innovations in both the public and private sectors. Digitization and automation of fintech in India along with the growing digital payment ecosystem has garnered a lot of applause. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the reports received from 388 operators, the total number of internet subscribers increased from 749.07 million in June 2020 to 776.45 million at the end of September 2020 with a quarterly growth rate of 3.66%. The report further reveals that out of total internet subscribers, 96.78% are using mobile devices to access internet services. With such a fast growth rate of mobile and internet users, the objectives of Digital India launched by the government will be met with ease. 

Digital India Connecting the Nation

In one of its reports, Deccan Herald quoted Jawed Ashraf, India’s former High Commissioner to Singapore who says, “India is using its public digital infrastructure, to take a leap into the digital economy in a bid to achieve economic goals in the country and connect globally.” 

Digital India is a program launched by the Government of India in 2015 to digitally empower its citizens. The initiative has since then impacted the Indian digital economy in many ways and it is aiding the current industry-wide digitization across the country. Aadhar, the national biometric digital identity program started in 2009, was one of the early developments towards the digital journey of India. The 12-digit Unique Identification number connected each citizen and these UIDs linked to bank accounts, mobile numbers, e-mail, PAN cards, etc eased the governance and reduced identity frauds and corruption. The Aadhar UIDs are linked to bank accounts through Jan Dhan Yojana, a scheme introduced to ensure financial inclusion and affordable access, thus enhancing the digital payment ecosystem. The Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile or JAM enabled the direct transfer of subsidiaries to beneficiaries by eliminating middlemen and financial leakages thus ensuring a reliable financial ecosystem. According to the Business Today report, the Jan Dhan accounts crossed 41 crores on January 2021 and zero balance accounts declined to 7.5% showing the adaptation rates. 

Focusing on Digital Payments and Digital Literacy

The digital payment ecosystem soared with the inception of Unified PaymentInterface (UPI), BHIM, Bharat QR, etc. UPI acted as a catalyst for digital transactions giving accessibility to everybody. The promotion of fintech startups by the Indian government has boosted the transactions and digital payment system. Also, the Union Budget 2021 announced 1,500 crores for digital payment incentivization, which shows the nation’s determination in achieving a digital country amid a crisis. India is on a digital journey that aims to achieve economic goals through enhancing global connectivity. The pandemic forced a digital shift, wherein e-commerce and e-transactions flourished, accelerating the digital transformation across the nation. 

Promoting digital literacy through the National Education Policy 2020 is another step taken by India to succeed in its purpose. India’s National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) aims to create a knowledge economy for the better usage of the internet and digital resources. The government’s focus on extending the e-learning platforms like DIKSHA will enable many students from rural areas to access online education without any technological constraints. The vision to integrate coding lessons from class six thus providing technological exposure to the young generation was a commendable highlight of the NEP 2020. 

With all these developments, India has become one of the strong digital leaders in the world. There are more projects and policies like digitizing manufacturing sectors and enabling digital adoption in the MSMEs that are under construction. India recently emerged as Asia’s biggest financial market by beating China in financial deals. The digital transformation embraced by the government plays a pivotal role in this development. The coming years will see India at the helm of digital empowerment and establishing an inclusive digitally equipped population.