--- title: "Digital India | Whitepill" canonical_url: "https://www.whitepill.in/milestones/digital-india" last_updated: "2026-09-07T19:13:58.738Z" meta: description: "Digital India is a flagship Government of India programme launched in 2015 with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowl..." "og:description": "Digital India is a flagship Government of India programme launched in 2015 with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowl..." "og:title": "Digital India | Whitepill" "twitter:description": "Digital India is a flagship Government of India programme launched in 2015 with the vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowl..." "twitter:title": "Digital India | Whitepill" --- [All milestones](https://www.whitepill.in/milestones) Technology Government # Digital India 1 July 2015 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. Published by [Whitepill](https://www.whitepill.in/about) on 7 August 2026 ## People involved [Narendra ModiPrime Minister of India](https://www.google.com/search?q=Narendra+Modi) [Ravi Shankar PrasadFormer Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology](https://www.google.com/search?q=Ravi+Shankar+Prasad) [Ashwini VaishnawUnion Minister for Electronics and Information Technology](https://www.google.com/search?q=Ashwini+Vaishnaw) [Jitin PrasadaMinister of State for Electronics and Information Technology](https://www.google.com/search?q=Jitin+Prasada) ## 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. ## Resources - [newspib.gov.in](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2278422)