Driven by AI and Cloud computing, Digital Economy of India is projected to grow by 13.4%

New Delhi [India], June 12 (ANI): India has made remarkable progress in last 11 years in its journey to becoming a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, according to release by Press Information Bureau.

According to the release, the digital economy, which contributed 11.74 per cent to the national income in 2022-23, is projected to grow to 13.42 per cent by 2024-25, fueled by advancements in AI, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure.

Over the past 11 years, India has experienced a significant expansion in mobile networks and improved internet connectivity, particularly in rural areas. Total telephone connections increased from 93.3 crores in March 2014 to over 120 crores in April 2025.

Additionally, Internet connections saw a remarkable 285.53 per cent growth, jumping from 25.15 crores in March 2014 to 96.96 crores in June 2024. Broadband connections also surged by 1452 per cent, from 6.1 crores in March 2014 to 94.92 crores in August 2024. The cost of wireless data has plummeted from ₹308 per GB in 2014 to just ₹9.34 in 2022, making digital services more affordable.

Furthermore, the BharatNet project has connected over 2.18 lakh Gram Panchayats with high-speed internet as of January 2025.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has emerged as the backbone of digital transactions over the last 11 years, with over 1,867.7 crore transactions worth ₹24.77 lakh crore in April 2025 alone. India accounted for 49 per cent of global real-time payments in 2023.

Aadhaar-based e-KYC has simplified banking and public services, with over 141.88 crore Aadhaar IDs generated by April 2025. The Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) system, supported by Aadhaar, has saved the government over ₹3.48 lakh crore between 2015 and March 2023 by removing fake beneficiaries.

E-governance initiatives have made services more accessible and transparent. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), launched in 2022, aims to democratise digital commerce and has registered over 7.64 lakh sellers/service providers across 616+ cities as of January 2025.

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM), launched in 2016, has facilitated online procurement with a GMV of ₹4.09 lakh crore within 10 months of the current fiscal year 2024-25.

In the field of Digital literacy, the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) enrolled 7.35 crore candidates, with 4.77 crore certified by March 2024. Initiatives like Karmayogi Bharat are reshaping the learning landscape for civil servants, with over 1.07 crore Karmayogis onboarded as of May 2025.

DigiLocker, launched in 2015, had 51.6 crore users by April 2025, providing access to authentic digital documents.

Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governess (UMANG), portal for pensioners launched in 2017, offers 2,300 government services in 23 languages.

The BHASHINI initiative supports 35+ languages with over 1,600 AI models, bridging India's linguistic diversity. (ANI)