Digital India Initiative

Digital India is one such initiative by the Government of India, aimed at providing high-speed Internet networks to rural areas. The mission primarily focuses on three areas:

1. Providing digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen.
2. Delivering governance and services on demand.
3. Digital empowerment of all citizens.

The Digital India initiative has led to an increase in electronic transactions related to e-governance. Under the Bharat Net program, a 2,74,246 km fiber optic network has connected over 1.15 lakh gram panchayats. The Government of India’s National E-Governance Project has also led to the establishment of Common Services Centres (CSC) to provide access to information and communication technologies (ICT).

Learn more about Digital India .

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) aims to ensure access to various financial services, including weaker sections and low-income groups, at an affordable cost using technology. It is a national mission that aims to provide affordable access to a plethora of financial services.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – National Mission for Financial Inclusion

Here are some features of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana:

• Universal Access to Banking Services – Bank Branches and Correspondents.
• Financial education program to promote savings, use of ATMs, simple mobile banking operations, etc.
• Interoperability through the RuPay debit card or Aadhaar enabled payment system “AePS”.
• Creation of a Credit Guarantee Fund to provide banks with a guarantee against default.
• Insurance – Free accident insurance coverage for RuPay cardholders from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh for PMJDY accounts opened after August 2018.
• Pension scheme for the unorganized sector.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)

The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian Postal Department with 100 percent Government of India equity. It operates through a network of post offices and nearly 3 lakh postmen.

Aarogya Setu Mobile App – Tracking COVID-19

In the fight against COVID19 in India, the government launched the Aarogya Setu mobile application to connect essential health services with the citizens of India. The Aarogya Setu app uses the GPS and Bluetooth features of smartphones to track the infection.

Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)

The Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a mobile payments application based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Read more about the BHIM interface here.

CoWIN Platform

CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work) is the Indian government's web portal for registering for the COVID19 vaccination. It enables real-time monitoring of the vaccination campaign in India and also provides vaccination certificates in digital format.

Digital Locker

DigiLocker is a key initiative under Digital India. The digital locker provides citizens with a shared private space in a public cloud and enables them to store personal documents such as university certificates, PAN cards, voter ID cards, and more.

EGram Vishwagram Project

The EGram Vishwagram (eGVG) Project was formulated by the Gujarat State Government to establish an E-Governance Business Model in Gram Panchayats (Village Administrative Unit). It aims to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural Gujarat using ICT (Information and Computing Technology).

Read more Gist of AIR Spotlight here.