Daily News Analysis

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and India’s Digital Transformation

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India’s electronics production increased nearly seven-fold, from ₹1.9 lakh crore (2014–15) to ₹13.11 lakh crore (2025–26), while electronics exports rose nearly eleven-fold to ₹4.24 lakh crore. Electronic goods are now India’s third-largest export category, supported by PLI, ECMS, India Semiconductor Mission and EMC 2.0. Under Semicon 1.0, 12 semiconductor units worth ₹1.64 lakh crore have been approved, while Semicon 2.0 has an outlay of ₹1.27 lakh crore.

Mobile Manufacturing

India is the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. Mobile phone production increased from ₹18,000 crore to ₹6.27 lakh crore, while exports rose from ₹1,500 crore to ₹2.59 lakh crore between 2014–15 and 2025–26. The sector supports around 12 lakh jobs, with women constituting nearly 70% of the workforce.

Digital Connectivity

Telephone connections increased to over 134.8 crore, while internet subscribers crossed 109.2 crore by March 2026. Average wireless data costs declined to ₹7.51/GB, making digital access more affordable. 5G services are available in 99.9% of districts, with around 5.63 lakh 5G BTS as of June 2026. Under BharatNet, 2.21 lakh Gram Panchayats were service-ready, supported by over 8.5 lakh route km of optical fibre.

UPI and Digital Payments

UPI has emerged as India’s leading digital payment infrastructure, accounting for nearly 50% of global real-time payment transaction volume. In FY 2025–26, it processed around 24,161.69 crore transactions worth ₹314.23 lakh crore and connected 731 banks. UPI acceptance has also expanded internationally to 11 countries.

Digital Commerce

The ONDC creates an interoperable digital-commerce network that allows buyers and sellers to transact across platforms. By June 2026, it had more than 20 crore buyers, 5 lakh sellers and presence in around 1,000 cities. GeM has improved transparency and competition in public procurement, recording cumulative GMV of over ₹18.4 lakh crore by June 2026.

E-Governance

DigiLocker, UMANG, Aadhaar, Common Service Centres (CSCs) and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) form important pillars of India’s citizen-centric digital governance. By July 2026, DigiLocker had over 72 crore users, while UMANG offered 2,585 services. More than 5.16 lakh CSCs provide last-mile access to government services, while DBT covers 318 schemes across 56 Ministries.

Significance

India’s DPI has strengthened financial inclusion, welfare delivery, digital payments, public service access, entrepreneurship and economic formalisation. It has also enhanced India’s digital sovereignty and created a scalable model for digital governance.

Challenges

The major challenges include the digital divide, affordability, digital literacy, cybersecurity, data protection, privacy concerns and unequal access in rural and vulnerable communities.

Way Forward

India needs to focus on universal digital access, stronger cybersecurity and data protection, digital literacy, affordable connectivity and inclusive DPI, while promoting indigenous technologies and ensuring that digital transformation remains citizen-centric and accessible.


 

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