Editorial: India’s digital mission, a work in progress

Removing disparities within the digital ecosystem is key to realising the grand dream of Viksit Bharat

The ubiquitous presence of QR code scanners across the country — from small street vendors to large retailers — tells the success story of India’s digital transformation. The widespread adoption is driven by the simplicity, affordability, and adaptability of QR codes, making them a convenient tool for both businesses and consumers. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, a significant portion of which involve QR codes, have seen massive growth, reaching billions of transactions per month. As the ‘Digital India’ initiative, launched in July 2015, completes ten years, the meteoric rise in digital payments disproves the argument that Indians are reluctant to embrace new technologies. While the rapid penetration of digital payment modes among all sections of society is a heartening development, the digital mission is still a work in progress. Several challenges and concerns still need to be addressed. These include the persistent digital divide, lack of broadband connectivity in villages, digital exclusion of marginalised groups and concerns over privacy and transparency. The Digital India mission aims to bring government services online, improve digital infrastructure, and make technology accessible to all citizens. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed that what began as a vision to bridge the digital divide has now become a powerful tool for inclusion and transparency, opposition parties have highlighted the gap between goals and actual outcomes. Critics point out that as of June 26, 2025, under the BharatNet project, a total of 6.55 lakh villages were targeted for broadband connectivity, but 4.53 lakh villages, constituting 65 per cent, are yet to be covered.

Though access to healthcare, education, banking and other services has improved significantly during the decade, the promise of bridging the digital divide remains unfulfilled. Nearly half of the women living in rural areas do not own a mobile phone, according to the Comprehensive Modular Survey of Telecom, 2025. Another eye-opener is the 2023-24 report of the Unified District Information System for Education Plus, under the Ministry of Education. It says that only 57.2 per cent of the schools in the country have functional computers, and 53.9 per cent have internet access. The government has many reasons to pat itself on the back for Digital India’s progress, but it would be well advised to take note of the shortcomings and gaps. Removing disparities within the digital ecosystem is key to realising the grand dream of Viksit Bharat. No doubt, there have been several positive outcomes of the initiative. Internet access has grown from just 25 crore users in 2014 to over 85 crore today. The country has laid over 42 lakh kilometres of optical fibre cables, and become one of the fastest nations in rolling out 5G services, with over 4.8 lakh 5G base stations in just two years. The UPI has enabled over 100 billion real-time transactions every year.

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