Portrait of Narendra Modi
Politician · policy
Wikipedia (opens in new tab)

Narendra Modi on Digital India

Strong advocate (strong)

TL;DR

Narendra Modi strongly champions Digital India as a transformative movement for digitally empowering society and driving global digital leadership.

Key Points

  • Launched the Digital India Week on July 1, 2015, with a vision for a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

  • Stated that Digital India has transformed from a government program into a "people's movement" touching the lives of the majority of Indians.

  • Charted a roadmap for the next decade emphasizing a shift from digital governance to global digital leadership and being a trusted innovation partner.

Summary

Narendra Modi views Digital India, launched in July 2015, as a flagship program with the vision of transforming the nation into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. He has consistently highlighted its success in bridging the digital divide, noting the massive growth in internet connections—from 25 crore in 2014 to over 97 crore by 2025—and the expansion of the optical fibre network. The initiative is centered on three core pillars: digital infrastructure as a utility, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens, significantly improving governance through platforms like Aadhaar, UPI, and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which has saved substantial amounts by cutting leakages.

The initiative has evolved from being purely a government program to what he describes as a "people's movement" that has democratized access and created vast digital opportunities, including fostering India’s top-three global startup ecosystem. He now frames the next phase as moving from digital governance to achieving global digital leadership, positioning India as a "trusted innovation partner to the world." Key focus areas for the future include driving innovation in emerging technologies like AI, enhancing digital inclusion, and ensuring capacity building and digital literacy for all citizens.

Key Quotes

"Digital India has not remained a mere government program, it has become a people's movement."

"I dream of a digital India where high-speed digital highways unite the nation; 1.2 billion connected Indians drive innovation; technology ensures the citizen-government interface is incorruptible".

Frequently Asked Questions

Narendra Modi's core vision for Digital India is to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy by improving lives through digital service delivery. He emphasizes building digital infrastructure as a utility, ensuring governance and services are available on demand, and empowering citizens digitally.

The Prime Minister often points to the massive increase in internet connections and UPI transactions as major successes of Digital India under his tenure. He also cites the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system as a significant achievement in ensuring transparency and reducing leakages in welfare delivery.

He sees the future of Digital India involving a transition from focusing on domestic digital governance to achieving global digital leadership. This includes positioning India as a trusted global innovation partner and driving advancements in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence.