Digital India

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Digital India

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Digital India

Motto "Power To Empower"

Country India

Prime Narendra Modi


Minister(s)

Ministry Ministry of Electronics and Information


Technology,
Finance Ministry

Key people Ravi Shankar Prasad, S. S. Ahluwalia

Launched 1 July 2015; 4 years ago

Status Active.

Website digitalindia.gov.in

Digital India is a campaign launched by the Government of India in order to ensure the
Government's services are made available to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure
and by increasing Internet connectivity or by making the country digitally empowered in the field of
technology.[1][2] The initiative includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks.
Digital India consists of three core components: the development of secure and stable digital
infrastructure, delivering government services digitally, and universal digital literacy.
Launched on 1 July 2015 by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is both enabler and beneficiary
of other key Government of India schemes, such as BharatNet, Make in India, Startup
India and Standup India, industrial corridors, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, dedicated freight
corridors, UDAN-RCS and E-Kranti.
As of 31 December 2018, India had a population of 130 crore people (1.3 billion), 123 crore (1.23
billion) Aadhaar digital biometric identity cards, 121 crore (1.21 billion) mobile phones, 44.6 crore
(446 million) smartphones, 56 crore (560 million) internet users up from 481 million people (35% of
the country's total population) in December 2017, and 51 per cent growth in e-commerce.[3][4]

Contents

 1History
 2Digital India initiative
o 2.1Implementation
 2.1.1New digital services
 2.1.2Training
 2.1.3Ongoing awareness campaign
 3Andhra Pradesh initiatives
o 3.1AP CM dashboard
o 3.2e-Cabinet
o 3.3e-Pragati
o 3.4Bhudhaar
o 3.5e-Panta (crop booking)
o 3.6Loan charge
 4Outcome
o 4.1Reception
o 4.2Criticisms
o 4.3Impact
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

History[edit]
Digital India was launched by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 1 July 2015 with an
objective of connecting rural areas with high-speed Internet networks and improving digital
literacy.[5][6][7] The vision of Digital India programme is inclusive growth in areas of electronic services,
products, manufacturing and job opportunities. It is centred on three key areas – digital infrastructure
as a utility to every citizen, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of
citizens.[8]

Digital India initiative[edit]


The Government of India entity Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) which executes
the BharatNet project is the custodian of Digital India (DI) project.[9][10]
Implementation[edit]
New digital services[edit]
Some of the facilities which will be provided through this initiative are Bharat net, digital locker, e-
education, e-health, e-sign, e-shopping and national scholarship portal. As part of Digital India,
Indian Government planned to launch Botnet cleaning centers.[11]

 National e-Governance Plan aimed at bringing all the front-end government services online.
o MyGov.in is a platform to share inputs and ideas on matters of policy and governance.[12] It is
a platform for citizen engagement in governance, through a "Discuss", "Do" and
"Disseminate" approach.[7]
o UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is a Government of India all-
in-one single unified secure multi-channel multi-platform multi-lingual multi-
service freeware mobile app for accessing over 1,200 central and state government services
in multiple Indian languages over Android, iOS, Windows and USSD (feature phone)
devices, including services such as AADHAR, DigiLocker, Bharat Bill Payment
System, PAN, EPFO services, PMKVY services, AICTE, CBSE, tax and fee or utilities bills
payments, education, job search, tax, business, health, agriculture, travel, Indian railway
tickets bookings, birth certificates, e-District, e-Panchayat, police clearance, passport, other
utility services from private companies and much more.[13]
o eSign framework allows citizens to digitally sign a document online using Aadhaar
authentication.[7]
o Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Mobile app is being used by people and Government
organisations for achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission.[7]
o eHospital application provides important services such as online registration, payment of
fees and appointment, online diagnostic reports, enquiring availability of blood online, etc.
o Digital attendance: attendance.gov.in was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 1 July
2015[5] to keep a record of the attendance of government employees on a real-time
basis.[14] This initiative started with implementation of a common Biometric Attendance
System (BAS) in the central government offices located in Delhi.[15]
 Back-end digitisation
o Black money eradication: The 2016 Union budget of India announced 11 technology
initiatives including the use of data analytics to nab tax evaders, creating a substantial
opportunity for IT companies to build out the systems that will be required.[16] Digital Literacy
mission will cover six crore rural households.[16] It is planned to connect 550 farmer markets
in the country through the use of technology.[17]
 Facilities to digitally empower citizens
o Digital Locker facility will help citizens to digitally store their important documents like PAN
card, passport, mark sheets and degree certificates. Digital Locker will provide secure
access to Government-issued documents. It uses authenticity services provided
by Aadhaar. It is aimed at eliminating the use of physical documents and enables the
sharing of verified electronic documents across government agencies. Three key
stakeholders of DigiLocker are Citizen, Issuer and requester.[7][18][19]
o BPO and job growth: The government is planning to create 28,000 seats of BPOs in
various states and set up at least one Common Service Centre in each of the gram
panchayats in the state.[20]
o e-Sampark Vernacular email service: Out of 10% English speaking Indians, only 2% reside
in rural areas. Rest everyone depends on their vernacular language for all living their lives.
However, as of now, email addresses can only be created in the English language. To
connect rural India with Digital India, the Government of India impelled email services
provider giants including Gmail, office, and Rediff to provide the email address in regional
languages. The email provider companies have shown positive sign and is working in the
same process.[21] An Indian-based company, Data Xgen Technologies Pvt Ltd, has launched
world's first free linguistic email address under the name ‘DATAMAIL’[22] which allows
creating email ids in 8 Indian languages, English; and three foreign languages – Arabic,
Russian and Chinese. Over the period of time, the email service in 22 languages will be
offered by Data XGen Technologies.[23]
Training[edit]

PMGDisha logo

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan is being executed by PMGDisha with an
outlay of Rs 2,351.38 crore with the objective of making 6 crore rural households digitally literate by
March 2020.[24][25][26] Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (abbreviated as PMGDisha[27])
is an initiative under Digital India program, approved by The Union Cabinet chaired by the
PM Narendra Modi.[28][29] The main objective of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan
is to make 6 crore people in rural areas across India digitally literate, reaching around 40% of rural
households by covering one member from every eligible household.[30][31][32]
Ongoing awareness campaign[edit]
Annual Digital India Summit & Awards are held.[33]

Andhra Pradesh initiatives[edit]


AP CM dashboard[edit]
Main Article: AP CM Dashboard and Real Time Governance Society (RTGS)
AP CM Dashboard (Core Dashboard) is an aggregator of the information generating from various
departments and displayed on a single screen. It is the brainchild of tech-savvy Chief minister of
Andhra pradesh Shri Nara Chandrababu Naidu and first of this kind platform in India. It is being
developed and managing by Real Time Governance Society (RTGS), a special department
created[34] to look after operations of RTGS state control center. One can check all the department
activities on a real-time basis and the data displayed on the screen is monitored by department
heads. Being the first state to make use of this technology, the initiative has received tremendous
appreciation from various realms including NITI Aayog[35] and International political platform
called High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) at the international conference on sustainable development
held in New York. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu can execute various
operations under the government while sitting in the room. All the departments share the progress of
various projects on a Real-time basis.[36] There are daily, quarterly, monthly, and yearly updations
too. Everything displayed on the dashboard is open to citizens and they can take the note. The look
and design of the website make it user-friendly and people can have easy access. The information
displayed is simple and clear. One can have access to the data sets like the current rainfall status,
how many street lights have installed, and how many are working and so on. The dashboard has
other features like multi-star rating, key performance indicators and government ranking.[37]
e-Cabinet[edit]
Taking a step further in e-Governance, for the first time[38] ever in the country, Andhra Pradesh
government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his Council of Ministers had its first
paperless e-Cabinet meeting by Using the app e-Cabinet a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
The ministers accessed the entire agenda of the Cabinet meeting in electronic form by logging into
the app on their laptops or Tabs.[39] The features of the app to prevent the user from sharing it with
anyone. Also, there is safety to the data as it is password-protected unlike in the conventional
method where papers could easily be taken away from the member of the Cabinet by anyone.
e-Pragati[edit]
Main Article: e-Pragati
E-Pragati, the Andhra Pradesh State Enterprise Architecture, is a holistic and coherent framework
designed[40] to provide 750 services to over 30 million citizens by integrating 34 departments on a
single platform.Unlike computerizing one department or service in state, e-Pragati aimed to
computerize all departments and services in the state. Through this, the citizens will have a
seamless service experience as they no longer have to go to government offices and can access the
services from anywhere in the world. With e-Pragati platform, the government is making an effort to
reach every citizen and serve them effectively.
Bhudhaar[edit]
Main Article: Bhudhaar
Bhudhaar is an E-Governance project that is intended to assign a 11 Digits unique number[41] to
every land parcel in the state of Andhra Pradesh[42] as part of the "land hub in E-Pragati
programme".[43] First of this kind platform in India to addressing issues in land record management
Bhuseva Authority, an inter-departmental committee was formulated to implement and monitor the
progress.[44] Eventually all land related transactions will use Bhudhaar as single source of truth to
reduces land related disputes. On 18-Feb 2019 Andhra pradesh Assembly given its consent to the
legal usage of Bhudhaar Number in land documents.
e-Panta (crop booking)[edit]
Main Article: Mee Bhoomi Electronic crop booking (e- Crop booking) is an Android application
launched[45] with a local name called e-Panta, first of this kind platform designed in India to know the
ground reality of the crop details and to analyse the crop pattern across the Andhra Pradesh state
and to capture the standing crop in the state. Photographs as evidence in the case of crop damage
and insurance are also available as the arable land in the state has been captured in latitude and
longitude along with subdivision and occupancy. All field officers are trained to capture the crop
details in the existing agricultural fields using tabs and to upload the crop details to the server for
every crop season.[46] The features include an online transfer of crop details to Webland (land record
management website), evidence in the case of crop damage for insurance, evidence for crop loans
by banks, crop pattern and water tax demand analysis, and GPS location of each land parcel across
the state. The mobile app covers land use and the entire Pattadar's history of land cover.[47]
Loan charge[edit]
Loan charge creation project of Government of Andhra Pradesh, first of this kind in is initially
developed in India to curtail bogus and multiple loans issued[48] to the farmers. By using this module,
Bankers can verify the land details in adangal and ROR‐1B copies and also know whether any loan
is taken on the same land. The financial institutions like banks, Primary Agricultural Cooperative
Societies (PACS) and Sub Registrar offices of Registration Department spread across the State of
Andhra Pradesh are covered under the application. Nearly 78 lakhs of farmers, 2.25 crores people of
the State are covered under the project along with 61 Major Banks, PACS and District Cooperative
Central Bank (DCCBs) having 6000 branches are using[49] this application to deliver the loans and for
creating charges on the land.

Outcome[edit]
Reception[edit]
The programme has been favoured by multiple countries including the US, Japan, South Korea, the
UK, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.[50]
At the launch ceremony of Digital India Week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on 1 July
2015,[51] top CEOs from India and abroad committed to invest ₹224.5 lakh crore (US$3.2 trillion)
towards this initiative. The CEOs said the investments would be utilized towards making
smartphones and internet devices at an affordable price in India which would help generate jobs in
India as well as reduce the cost of importing them from abroad.[52]
Leaders from Silicon Valley, San Jose, California expressed their support for Digital India
during PM Narendra Modi's visit in September 2015. Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, changed
his profile picture in support of Digital India and started a chain on Facebook and promised to work
on WiFi Hotspots in rural area of India.[53] Google committed to provide broadband connectivity on
500 railway stations in India. Microsoft agreed to provide broadband connectivity to five hundred
thousand villages in India and make India its cloud hub through Indian data
centres. Qualcomm announced an investment of US$150 million in Indian startups.[54] Oracle plans
to invest in 20 states and will work on payments and Smart city initiatives.[55] However, back in India,
cyber experts expressed their concern over internet.org and viewed the Prime Minister's bonhomie
with Zuckerberg as the government's indirect approval of the controversial initiative.[56] The
Statesman reported, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chemistry with Facebook CEO Mark
Zuckerberg at the social media giant's headquarters in California may have been greeted
enthusiastically in Silicon Valley but back home several social media enthusiasts and cyber activists
are disappointed."[57] Later the Prime Minister office clarified that net neutrality will be maintained at
all costs and vetoed the Basic Internet plans.[56] Digital India has also been influential in promoting
the interests of the Indian Railways.[58]
Criticisms[edit]
Several academic scholars have critiqued ICTs in development. Some take issue with technological
determinism, the notion that ICTs are a sure-fire antidote to the world's problems.[59] Instead,
governments must adjust solutions to the specific political and social context of their nation.[59] Others
note that technology amplifies underlying institutional forces, so technology must be accompanied by
significant changes in policy and institutions in order to have meaningful impact.[60][61]
It is being thought that there needs to be more research on the actual worth of these multimillion-
dollar government and ICT for development projects. For the most part, the technological revolution
in India has benefited the already privileged sectors of Indians.[59] It is also difficult to scale up
initiatives to affect all Indians, and fundamental attitudinal and institutional change is still an
issue.[62] While much ICT research has been conducted in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat,
poorer states such as Bihar and Orissa are rarely mentioned.[62]
Digital India as a programme has been considered by some as a continuation of the long history of
bias towards RIL, which has previously manifested in the form of altering TRAI regulations in favour
of the company. Reliance Jio has cited the Digital India initiative numerous times for its own
marketing purposes.[63]
Impact[edit]
Internet subscribers had increased to 500 million in India as of April 2017.[64] On 28 December
2015, Panchkula district of Haryana was awarded for being the best as well as top performing district
in the state under the Digital India campaign.[65]
India is now adding approximately 10 million daily active internet users monthly, which is the highest
rate of addition to the internet community anywhere in the world.[66]
See also[edit]
 Electronics and semiconductor manufacturing industry in India
 Flexible electronics
 India.gov.in
 National e-Governance Plan
 Standup India
 Startup India

References[edit]
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2. ^ Mannathukkaren, Nissim. "The grand delusion of Digital India". The Hindu. Retrieved 26
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3. ^ Govt will soon make Aadhaar-driving licence linking mandatory: Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad,
Indian Express, 7 Jan 2019.
4. ^ "The Internet and Mobile Association of India". www.iamai.in. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b DNA Webdesk (28 September 2015), Here's what you need to know about
the Digital India initiative, Mumbai: Daily News and Analysis
6. ^ "Government School in Remote Bandahalli Village Gets Inspired by make in India", The
New Indian Express, 15 March 2016
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e "Digital India Week: Digital Locker, MyGov.in, and other projects that
were unveiled", The Indian Express, 5 July 2015
8. ^ "GST to take care of many of e-commerce firms' tax issues: IT minister", Live Mint, 21
November 2014
9. ^ "About Bharat Broadband Network Limited", Bharat Broadband Network Limited
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should know about", Tech2
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12. ^ "Modi's website gets new, mobile-friendly look", Business Standard, New Delhi, BS
Reporter, 16 January 2016
13. ^ "Government unveils Umang app for citizen services.", Economic Times, 23 Nov 2017.
14. ^ "Attendance.gov.in: Modi government launches website to track attendance of government
employees", The Economic Times, 7 October 2014
15. ^ "Attendance.gov.in - Government offices will no longer be the same, courtesy Narendra
Modi", Daily News and Analysis, 7 October 2014
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Economic Times, 29 February 2016
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18 February 2016
18. ^ "Can DigiLocker Catalyze Digital India? – Maximum
Governance". maximumgovernance.com. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
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archived from the original on 15 May 2015
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28 February 2016
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Addresses". Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups. 1 August 2016.
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Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
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Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' cleared by Cabinet". Financial Express. 8 February 2017.
25. ^ "Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan". Vikaspedia. Retrieved 22 May2017.
26. ^ "2,351 करोड़ से ग ां वोां को डिडिटल स क्षर बन एगी सरक र, PMGDISHA को मां िूरी" (in Hindi).
Live Hindustan. 9 February 2017.
27. ^ "Cabinet approves PMGDISHA under Digital India Programme". New Delhi: Business
Standard. 8 February 2017.
28. ^ "Cabinet nod for rural digital literacy programme". The Hindu. 9 February 2017.
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rural households". Press Information Bureau. 8 February 2017.
30. ^ "Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)". MyGov.in.
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Digital Saksharta Abhiyan". Jagran Josh.
33. ^ "Times Now and ET Now announce 2nd edition of Digital India Summit & Awards; on 22
March", The Economic Times, 19 February 2016
34. ^ "How Real-Time Governance Society helps Chandrababu Naidu evaluate his MLAs
performance". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
35. ^ ANI (18 January 2018). "AP govt, NITI Aayog sign MoU". Business Standard India.
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41. ^ "Launching of Bhudhaar". The Hindu. 20 November 2018.
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43. ^ "Land Hub".
44. ^ "ప్రగతి సూచిక - భూసేవ". bhuseva.ap.gov.in (in Telugu). Retrieved 4 February 2019.
45. ^ India, The Hans (19 September 2016). "Geo-tagging to ensure better land
management". www.thehansindia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
46. ^ "Agri and allied sectors register growth rate of 25.6% in first 6 months". The New Indian
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47. ^ e-Crop Booking: A Geo-tagging To Ensure Better Land Management Launched In AP,
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48. ^ "Loan Charge:: Login". loancharge.ap.gov.in. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
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Correspondent. 14 July 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
50. ^ "Vietnam may emulate Digital India, seeks cooperation on e-governance", Hindustan
Times, 28 March 2017
51. ^ "PM Narendra Modi invites tech enthusiasts for a 'Digital Dialogue'", The Times of India, 4
July 2015
52. ^ "Digital India: Top CEOs commit to invest Rs 4.5 trillion".
53. ^ Mark Zuckerberg changes his profile picture to support 'Digital India', The Times of India,
TNN, 27 September 2014
54. ^ Thomas, K (27 September 2015), Modi effect: Silicon Valley giants commit to Digital
India, Business Line The Hindu
55. ^ "Digital India to propel economy to its best era: Oracle", Moneycontrol.com, 8 October
2015
56. ^ Jump up to:a b "The Statesman: Digital India at the expense of Net neutrality?", The
Statesman, 8 October 2015
57. ^ "Clipping of The Statesman - Delhi". The Statesman. 29 September 2015.
58. ^ Dipankan Bandopadhyay (14 April 2017). "Digital India and Indian Railways". Politics Now.
59. ^ Jump up to:a b c Thomas, Pradip Ninan (11 July 2012). Digital India: Understanding
Information, Communication and Social Change. SAGE Publications
India. ISBN 9788132116851.
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not tech magic: Kentaro Toyama". Times of India.
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Technology", PublicAffairs
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Analysis of the Literature" (PDF). The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in
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Retrieved 22 May 2019.
64. ^ "India Internet Conference 2017: Minds meet on country's digital future", Financial
Express, 6 April 2017
65. ^ "Digital India campaign;Panchkula comes out on top among all districts of Haryana". The
Indian Express. The Express Group. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
66. ^ Reporter, B. S. (27 June 2018). "India is adding 10 million active internet users per month:
V

Digital India
On November 08, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced one
of the most talked about decision of ‘Demonetisation’, sort of a surgical
strike to launch a multi-pronged attack on black money. This particular
decision has brought about many positive changes in the Indian economy
in the last two years, out of which the most significant change has been
the Digitization of the Indian economy. In this article, The True
Picture did an in-depth analysis of gauging the impact of demonetisation
on digital payments.
Here is the list of all the parameters on which the marked impact of
demonetisation has been noted.

1. Digital Payments Trends in India – An Overview


2. United Payment Interface (UPI) – An Upward Journey Continues
3. Mobile Banking in India – Penetrating Fast
4. Prepaid Payment Instruments – m-wallet Becoming Popular
5. Debit Card – India Reaching 1 Billion Mark
6. Debit card Usage at POS – Marks the Quantum Jump
7. Bhim App – India’s Own Payment App – Growing Fast
8. RuPay Card – Meteoric Rise Capturing Half of the Market Share
9. Boost to RTGS, NEFT, and IMPS
10. From ‘Financial Inclusion’ to ‘Digital Inclusion’
1. Digital Payments Trend in India – An Overview
Demonetisation has given a significant boost to digital payments as seen
in the graph below. The following points are to be noted:

 It was the financial year 2016-17 in which the decision of


demonetisation was announced and the same year noted the growth of
around 70% in the number of digital payments (volume) as compared
to the previous year.
 If the growth is seen from the perspective of a year before and after the
demonetisation, then, there is a growth of 147% in the number of
digital payments (volume) due to the demonetisation, taking the total
digital payments by value to the whopping Rs. 1684 lakh crores in the
year 2017-18.
 Importantly, the momentum of increase in the digital payments
generated due to demonetisation has sustained even after a year. In
the 5 months period of 2018-19, the total volume of digital payments
has already surpassed more than half of the total volume of digital
payments in the entire year of 2017-18. This completely falsifies the
criticism that ‘the surge in the digital payments was temporary which
mainly occurred due to the sudden jolt caused by demonetisation and
people are or will move back to the cash system’.

Approximate Figures

Note- Digital Payment in this graph includes RTGS, Retail Electronic Clearing (which includes ECS, NEFT/EFT, IMPS, and

NACH), Cards (Credit POS and Debit POS), PPI (which includes m-Wallets, PPI Cards, Paper Vouchers) and Mobile Banking.
2. United Payment Interface (UPI) – An Upward
Journey Continues
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Unified Payment Interface
(UPI) in April 2016, to bring about uniformity and interoperability across
the payment networks. UPI, which has now become a major mode of
digital payments in India, got a major boost due to demonetisation as
seen in the graph below. This new-age, technology-led government
programme worked as demonetization was able to bring about a major
behavioural shift in people as they moved from cash to cashless.

 There is a substantial growth of more than 5000% in the UPI


transactions (volume) in the financial year of 2017-18 over the previous
year.
 Even here, the impact of demonetisation on digital payments through
UPI has continued in 2018. In the 6 months period of 2018-19, UPI
transactions (volume) have increased by more than 150% of the total
volume of UPI transactions done in the entire year of 2017-18.
Approximate Figures

3. Mobile Banking in India – Penetrating Fast


There was a time when very few Indians used internet banking on the big
screen of laptops or desktops, let alone the mobile banking. However,
this trend started changing after 2015-16 when many Indians moved
towards using mobile banking, as seen in the graph below.
 Modi government’s push to JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana-Aadhaar-
Mobile) boosted the linking of mobiles with Jan Dhan bank accounts (30
crore beneficiaries).

 Mobile banking in India got a massive push because of


demonetisation. The mobile banking transactions (volume) increased
by 380% from the year (2015-16) before the demonetisation to the year
after it (2017-18).
 Interestingly, defying the adage ‘old habits die hard’, Indians are
increasingly adopting mobile banking as a mode of the transaction with
each passing day. The transactions (volume) in the 5 months period of
the current year 2018-19 is 293% more than the mobile banking
transactions (volume) done in the entire 2015-16, a year before the
demonetisation.
Approximate Figures

4. Prepaid Payment Instruments –m-wallet


Becoming Popular
The Indian youth these days find it difficult to transact without m-wallets
(Mobile wallets like PayTM, Google Pay etc). Below graph validates this
assertion.
 Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) which also includes m-wallets have
seen a huge rise in the last 2 years. There is a growth of 362% in
transactions (volume) through PPI in 2017-18 as compared to 2015-16,
a year before the demonetisation was announced.
 The JAM trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) has also played a significant
role in the rise of PPI as the greater number of mobiles are being
connected to bank accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. The
Yojana has taken mobile wallets even to the rural areas.

Approximate Figures
5. Debit Card – India Reaching 1 Billion Mark
Moving from a cash-based economy to a card-based economy, India has
taken a quantum jump in the total number of people having debit cards in
the country as seen in the graph below. This significant rise in the
number of debit cards has further pushed the digital payments in India.

 India had 8.4 crore debit cards in 2008 which has now increased to 98
crore debits cards in 2018, an enormous growth of about 1000%. India
will soon have 100 crore (1 Billion) debit card holders.
 Most of the growth in the number of debit cards in India can be seen
after 2014-15 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Jan
Dhan Yojana and the debit cards were issued with the bank accounts.
Approximate Figures

Note – Figures in the next financial years includes the figures for the preceding year.

Jan Dhan Account Yojana and RuPay Debit Cards


As seen above, the significant rise in the number of total debit cards and
its usage at the POS is primarily due to two factors, outlined below:

 One, almost 25 crores RuPay debit cards have been issued under the
Jan Dhan Yojana only as shown in the graph below.
 Two, demonetisation played a major role in the usage of debit cards
which pushed people to move to cards instead of cash. This immensely
helped in increasing the digital payments.

 Importantly, India has not only seen a growth in the number of total
debit cards or RuPay debit card, but the usage of debit cards at Point of
Sale (POS) have also seen a significant jump.

Approximate Figures

Note – Figures in the next financial years includes the figures for the preceding year.
6. Debit card Usage at POS – Marks the Quantum
Jump
The New India now finds it much easier to swipe its debit card at retail
shops or at outlets in malls rather than carrying and using cash.

 The total value of debit card transactions at POS increased from Rs.
13,556 crores in August 2015 (a year before the demonetisation) to Rs.
35,665 crores in August 2017 (a year after demonetisation). This is
again a significant growth of 163%.
 Debit card usage at POS after demonetisation has been rising by leaps
and bounds. There is a growth of more than 350% from August 2014 to
August 2018 due to both Jan Dhan Yojana RuPay debit cards and
demonetisation, as seen in the graph below.
Approximate Figures

7. BHIM App – India’s Own Payment App –


Growing Fast
Indian government launched its own Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
App which has revolutionised the digital payments in India. There have
been more than 3.5 crore downloads since its launch as shown in the
graph below.
 It is interesting to note that as per a report, 30 countries have
approached the Government of India to acquire the technology behind
the BHIM App.

Approximate Figures

 Not only the downloads of BHIM App but also the number of the
transactions (volume) and value of transactions have also risen
significantly as seen in the graph below.
 With increasing access to banking in the rural areas coupled with the
push given by the demonetisation, there is a growth of more than
1300% in the number of transactions (volume) in 2017-18 over the
previous year. Similarly, the value of money involving BHIM App
transactions has increased by more than 1500% in 2017-18.

Approximate Figures
8. RuPay Card – Meteoric Rise Capturing Half of
the Market Share
The below graph suggests that after 2014, RuPay card has increased its
market share from a tiny 0.6% in 2013 to a significant 50% in 2018.
This market share has not only increased the digital payments in India
but it has also troubled the business equations of the many international
players like Mastercard, Visa, and American Express among others.
 Demonetisation has further pushed this rise as explained above.
Approximate Figures

Source: NPCI, JM Financial and RBI

*Data for 2013 and 2015 is sourced from a study by JM Financial

9. Further Boost to NEFT, IMPS, and RTGS


Indian businesses and individuals have traditionally used Real Time
Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT)
and Instant Money Payment System (IMPS) as modes of digital
payments. But interestingly, all the three modes have been used more
frequently after demonetisation.

 As shown in the graph below, there has been an increase of more than
107% in the value of transactions done through NEFT in the year before
(2015-16) and after (2017-18) the demonetisation.

Approximate Figures
 IMPS, more frequently used by individuals, has seen the significant rise
of more than 450 % in the value of transactions done through IMPS in
the year before (2015-16) and after (2017-18) the demonetisation.

Approximate Figures

 Not only the NEFT and IMPS, but RTGS has also seen the jump of about
40% in the value of transactions done in the year before (2015-16) and
after (2017-18) demonetisation.
 Interestingly, the momentum generated by demonetisation has
increased these digital payment modes In the 5 months period of the
current year 2018-19, the value of transactions through RTGS has
already reached Rs. 672 Lakh crores. This is almost half of the value of
transactions done in the 12-month period of 2017-18. This suggests the
constant rate of growth in the value of RTGS transactions even in
2018-19.

Approximate Figures
10. From ‘Financial Inclusion’ to ‘Digital
Inclusion’
If digital payments trends in India (Graph-1) are seen closely, there is an
interesting observation about increasing digital reach in the country. The
below graph shows the trends of the 3 years i.e. 2015-16, 2016-17
(demonetisation was announced) and 2017-18.

 The volume of overall digital payments in India has increased more than
the value of money involved in those transactions. This leads to the
conclusion that the number of small transactions has increased in India
which means that a greater number of people are now doing digital
 This justifies the idea that if India through schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana
has moved towards ‘Financial Inclusion’, then, it is the demonetisation
that has taken the country towards ‘Digital Inclusion’.
Approximate Figures

Conclusion
Demonetisation, as explained above, has brought about a sustainable
increase in the digital payments in India, through all modes, by
significant percentages. Even after 2 years of demonetization, the
momentum of digital payments is increasing enormously. In the
background of the decision of demonetisation, the current government
has brought significant schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, RuPay cards,
JAM trinity (Mobile Banking), UPI and BHIM App, support to Direct
Benefit Transfer (DBTs) which has made our economy more digital,
more transparent and more accountable. On top of it, this digitization has
been increasingly adopted by Indians. Consequently, the country has
truly shifted toward a ‘less cash economy’ or a ‘card-based economy’.

Source:
RBI Annual Report

RBI Monthly Bulletin

NPCI Statistics

BHIM Analytics
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folder_openTagged in: Bhim Pay App, Cash Less Economy, Debit


Card at POS, Demonetisation For Black Money, Demonetisation in
India, Digital Payments in India, Impact of Demonetization on
Digital Payments, Indian Mobile Banking, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, UPI Digital Payment

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