Monday, 15 Sep, 2025
Source: mygov.in
As India reflects on a decade of digital transformation, the focus is now shifting to what lies ahead. The next phase of Digital India is not just about access—but about scale, innovation, and building systems that are future-ready and globally relevant.
Over the past decade, Digital India has laid down the infrastructure for a digitally empowered society. But beyond inclusion and service delivery, it has also built the groundwork for a resilient, innovation-driven economy. As the country enters the next phase of digital transformation, India is not just adopting technology — it is leading with it.
From Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to the IndiaAI Mission, the next chapter of Digital India is about leveraging digital platforms, emerging technologies, and grassroots innovation to create a globally competitive, future-ready ecosystem.
Launched in 2022, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) aims to level the playing field for small and medium businesses in India’s rapidly growing e-commerce sector. By January 2025, ONDC had reached 616+ cities and onboarded over 7.64 lakh sellers and service providers. It recently surpassed 200 million transactions, with the last 100 million happening in just six months — an indicator of its rapid expansion. Its long-term vision is to bring 30 million sellers and 10 million merchants online across the country.
Similarly, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has become a crucial digital procurement platform for public agencies. In just the first 10 months of FY 2024–25, GeM recorded a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹4.09 lakh crore, up nearly 50% from the previous year. With over 22.5 lakh sellers and 1.6 lakh government buyers, GeM is driving transparency, efficiency, and scale in government purchasing. Of note, 1.8 lakh of these sellers are women-led MSMEs, who have fulfilled orders worth over ₹46,000 crore — a clear signal that digital commerce is also becoming more inclusive.
At the heart of India’s digital transformation lies India Stack — a combination of identity (Aadhaar), payments (UPI), and data governance (DEPA) layers that power India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Global recognition of India Stack came into the spotlight during the G20 Summit, after which 12 countries expressed interest in adopting India’s DPI model. India also launched a global DPI repository and a $25 million fund to help other nations implement inclusive and scalable digital infrastructure. These tools are now being studied and implemented around the world as models of interoperability, scale, and affordability.
India is also rapidly positioning itself as a global hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI). Unveiled in March 2024, the IndiaAI Mission is a ₹10,371.92 crore initiative focused on building a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem over five years. By May 2025, the country’s national computing infrastructure had reached 34,000 GPUs, making India the world’s most affordable compute destination — with access provided at less than $1 per GPU hour. The mission aims to fund AI startups, improve datasets, support innovation, and ensure responsible and ethical use of AI technologies. This initiative is expected to not only drive innovation across sectors but also provide Indian youth with tools to lead the global AI revolution.
Prime Minister Modi has repeatedly called startups the "backbone of a self-reliant India." Today, India ranks among the top three startup ecosystems in the world, home to over 1.8 lakh startups and 110+ unicorns. Government support through Digital India has played a significant role in this boom — by reducing entry barriers, providing access to digital infrastructure, and opening up new markets through platforms like ONDC, GeM, and BharatNet.
The Digital Economy: A Rising Pillar of India’s Growth
The digital economy’s contribution to India’s GDP has been steadily rising. According to the State of India’s Digital Economy Report 2024 by ICRIER, the sector accounted for 11.74% of GDP in 2022–23 and is projected to grow to 13.42% by 2024–25. Looking ahead, projections place the digital economy’s share near 20% by 2030, outpacing the growth of traditional sectors. This growth is being powered by digital payments, e-governance platforms, AI capabilities, and widespread internet access.
India’s UPI platform has not only transformed domestic payments but is now being recognised globally. A recent paper by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised the interoperability of UPI and suggested that countries aiming to shift from cash to digital payments should replicate India’s approach. The IMF noted that success requires more than just building a platform — it needs complementary investments in mobile data affordability, banking access, and digital identity infrastructure, all of which India delivered over the past decade.
One of the most powerful pillars of inclusion in Digital India is language accessibility. The BHASHINI platform, launched to ensure that digital services are accessible in every Indian language, now supports 35+ languages, offers 1,600+ AI models, and is integrated into platforms like IRCTC and NPCI. With over 8.5 lakh app downloads, BHASHINI is bringing millions closer to digital services by making them available in the language people are most comfortable with — a move that strengthens both trust and usability.
Looking Ahead: India’s Digital Vision for 2035
As the Prime Minister wrote in his blog, the next 10 years will be even more transformative. With foundational infrastructure in place, India is now poised to move from being a digital adopter to a global digital leader. The government’s emphasis on affordable compute power, interoperable digital platforms, and inclusive tech policies sets the stage for a decade of deep transformation — not just faster growth, but smarter, more citizen-centric development.
In just a decade, Digital India has evolved from a policy framework into a people-led movement that has touched nearly every Indian — from a farmer accessing weather updates in his local language, to a startup founder scaling through ONDC, to a villager receiving timely subsidies via DBT. With over 97 crore internet users, 1,867.7 crore monthly UPI transactions, and a digital economy growing faster than any other sector, India is on the cusp of becoming a digital powerhouse. As the country advances toward its Viksit Bharat vision, Digital India will continue to be its backbone — enabling opportunity, driving inclusion, and showcasing to the world what a tech-first, people-first model truly looks like.
