Parliament Question: Digital India Programme in Uttar Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2842 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 17.12.2025 DIGITAL INDIA PROGRAMME IN UTTAR PRADESH 2842. SHRI RAJEEV RAI: Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) the status of the implementation of the Digital India Programme in the eastern Uttar Pradesh, including that of Mau and Ballia districts; (b) the total budgetary allocation by Union Government during the last five years for the programme in the region and its utilization etc.; (c) the status of IT Parks at Varanasi and Gorakhpur; (d) whether the Government has plan to establish IT infrastructure in Mau and Ballia districts; and (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) to (e): In line with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision to democratise technology and empower citizens, Government of India launched the Digital India programme in July, 2015. The overall goal is to ensure that digital technologies improve the life of every citizen, expand India’s digital economy, and create investment and employment opportunities in India. From expanding internet access in remote villages to revolutionising public service delivery through digital platforms, the country has bridged the urban-rural divide significantly. Digital India includes many flagship programmes that cut across sectors: • DigiLocker for secure document access • Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for cashless transactions • Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) for accessing digital services through mobile App • CoWIN for vaccine management, and • Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for transparency in procurement. Details of some of the key initiatives taken by the Government across the country including eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Mau and Ballia districts are as follows: - Common Services Centres – CSCs are offering government and business services in digital mode enhancing last-mile connectivity in rural areas through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). Over 800 services are being delivered through CSCs.As on 31st October, 2025, 5.67 lakh CSCs are functional across the country (in rural and urban areas), out of which 4.41 lakh CSCs are functional at the Gram Panchayat level (rural). In the state of Uttar Pradesh 1.21 lakh CSCs are functional across the country (in rural and urban areas), out of which more than 94,000 lakh CSCs are functional at the Gram Panchayat level (rural). Details of CSCs in Mau and Ballia districts of Uttar Pradesh are as follows:-: Sl. No. District Name Functional CSCs (Urban+Rural) Functional CSCs at GP level 1 Ballia 1499 1301 2 Mau 1127 858 PMGDISHA: The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was initiated to provide digital literacy to 6 crore rural households (one person per household) nationwide. 6.39 crore individuals were trained across the country, making it one of the world’s largest digital literacy initiatives. The Scheme has concluded on 31.03.2024. In the state of Uttar Pradesh 1.45 crore beneficiaries were trained. The status in the specified districts of Uttar Pradesh is given below: Sl. No. District Name Trained 1 Ballia 233409 2 Mau 165906 FutureSkills PRIME: The programme started by Government of India in collaboration with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) to bridge the industry skill gap. It focuses on skilling, reskilling, and upskilling individuals in new and emerging technologies. Over 500+ courses & 2000+ digital fluency pathways are offered on the platform. So far, 16.29 lakh+ candidates have enrolled/trained in various courses. In addition, a total of 23,996 Government officials, 2367 trainers and 30,053 candidates under 340 bootcamps have been trained through Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) centres. In Uttar Pradesh, more than 65000 candidates are enrolled/trained which includes 600+ candidates in Ballia and 200+ candidates in Mau districts. National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT): It provides training on digital literacy courses such as Awareness in Computer Concept (ACC), Basic Computer Course (BCC), Course on Computer Concepts (CCC) and Expert Computer Course (ECC) etc. NIELIT operates throughout the country including in the State of Uttar Pradesh through its main centre located at Gorakhpur and 3 more centres in the state.NIELIT has strengthened digital literacy and IT skill development in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, including Ballia and Mau, by delivering Digital Literacy courses, short-term Information Technology (IT) training, and regular online examinations under the Digital India Programme. NIELIT has 76 Facilitation Centres in the district of Mau and 128 in Ballia. Through this wide network of centres, NIELIT has trained more than 2 lakh candidates from Eastern Uttar Pradesh in Digital Literacy Courses, out of which 14157 candidates from Ballia and 13788 from Mau have been trained in last 3 years. BharatNet - Linking Villages to the Internet: BharatNet project provides broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages. The infrastructure created under BharatNet project is a national asset, accessible on a non-discriminatory basis to the Service Providers. The same can also be utilized to provide broadband services, such as Wi-Fi Hotspots, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections, leased lines, etc. As of October 2025, 2,14,843 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made service-ready under the BharatNet project. Status of BharatNet in Uttar Pradesh (including UP-East and UP-West) is as below: S. No. State Service ready Service ready Total Service ready on OFC on Satellite (OFC + Satellite) 1 Uttar Pradesh (E) 34263 11 34274 2 Uttar Pradesh (W) 12449 23 12472 Digital India is an umbrella programme covering multiple projects implemented across Central Ministries/Departments and State/UT Governments. Its execution requires close coordination among these agencies, as many initiatives are jointly developed and implemented. The details of funds allocated and utilised can be accessed from the website https://www.digitalindia.gov.in. For growth of IT sector The Government of India is promoting the growth of the IT sector, especially in smaller towns and cities. The aim is to make India a global hub for software products and boost domestic demand and exports. Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) plays a key role in expanding the IT/ITeS ecosystem beyond major cities. It supports startups, innovation, R&D, and product/IP creation in emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, Blockchain, Cyber Security and Industry 4.0 across multiple sectors.At present, following 5 STPI centres are operational in Uttar Pradesh which are providing services to all districts including Gorakhpur and Varanasi: SN City 1. Prayagraj 2. Kanpur 3. Lucknow 4. Noida 5. Meerut The Government had launched India Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Promotion Scheme (IBPS) under Digital India Program to create employment opportunities and dispersal of IT/ITeS industry in small cities/ towns by incentivize setting up of BPO/ITES operations, with an outlay of ₹ 493 crore. The scheme provided 50% financial support up to ₹ 1 Lakh/seat in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) towards capital and operational expenditures. In addition, scheme provided various special incentives to the units promoting local entrepreneur, encouraging employment to women and physically disabled persons etc. The duration of this scheme is over. Under this scheme, 227 units have set up BPO/ITES operations in 93 small cities/towns of the 21 States/UTs of the country and provided direct employment to 52,514 persons, including 870 in Uttar Pradesh state. *****