Digital India
Digital India is a flagship Government of India programme launched in 2015 with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The programme accelerated digital infrastructure, online public services, digital payments, digital identity, digital literacy and electronics manufacturing, and helped establish India as a major global hub for population-scale digital public infrastructure.
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Timeline
20 August 2014
Digital India programme approved
The Union Cabinet approved the Digital India programme with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
1 July 2015
Digital India officially launched
Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the Digital India programme in New Delhi.
1 July 2015
Nine pillars established
Digital India was structured around nine pillars covering broadband highways, mobile connectivity, public internet access, e-governance, electronic delivery of services, information access, electronics manufacturing, IT skills and early-harvest programmes.
11 April 2016
UPI launched
NPCI launched the Unified Payments Interface, creating interoperable infrastructure for instant bank-to-bank digital payments.
30 December 2016
BHIM launched
The BHIM application was launched to make UPI-based digital payments accessible to a wider population.
1 July 2017
GST digital infrastructure goes live
India's Goods and Services Tax system went live with GST Network providing digital infrastructure for tax registration, returns and payments.
1 January 2018
DigiLocker adoption expands
DigiLocker expanded as a digital platform for storing, accessing and sharing authenticated government-issued documents.
1 October 2019
UPI crosses one billion monthly transactions
UPI crossed the milestone of one billion transactions in a month, demonstrating the rapid adoption of India's interoperable digital payments infrastructure.
1 March 2020
Digital infrastructure becomes critical during COVID-19
Digital payments, direct benefit transfers, online government services and digital communication platforms became critical infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
16 January 2021
CoWIN vaccination platform launched
CoWIN became the digital backbone of India's COVID-19 vaccination programme, supporting registration, appointment scheduling, vaccination records and digital certificates.
1 January 2022
Account Aggregator ecosystem begins rollout
The Account Aggregator framework enabled consent-based sharing of financial information between regulated institutions.
1 August 2022
ONDC begins rollout
The Open Network for Digital Commerce began its rollout with the goal of creating an interoperable network for digital commerce.
1 November 2022
UPI Lite introduced
UPI Lite was introduced to simplify low-value digital payments and make everyday transactions faster and more accessible.
21 February 2023
UPI-PayNow linkage launched
India and Singapore connected UPI and PayNow, enabling faster cross-border remittances and extending India's digital payments infrastructure internationally.
16 August 2023
Digital India programme expanded
The Union Cabinet approved an expansion of the Digital India programme with an outlay of ₹14,903 crore, including expanded digital services, FutureSkills Prime and information-security training.
1 September 2023
India promotes Digital Public Infrastructure globally
India increasingly promoted its interoperable digital infrastructure approach, including identity, payments and open networks, as a model for other countries.
1 January 2024
India's DPI ecosystem reaches global recognition
India's digital public infrastructure ecosystem became a major part of the country's technology story, spanning identity, payments, documents, healthcare, commerce and financial data.
18 March 2026
Digital India records decade-long infrastructure expansion
Government data reported major growth in broadband subscribers, mobile infrastructure, optical fibre deployment and data consumption over the decade since the programme began.
1 July 2026
Digital India completes 11 years
The programme marked 11 years, with the government highlighting its evolution into a broad digital public infrastructure ecosystem spanning payments, governance, healthcare, education, connectivity and emerging technologies.