Parliament Question: Strengthening of Digital Public Infrastructure

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1675 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 29.07.2026 STRENGTHENING OF DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE 1675. SMT. MALA RAJYA LAXMI SHAH: SHRI NILESH DNYANDEV LANKE: SHRI VIJAY KUMAR DUBEY: DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND: SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI: Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) the progress made in strengthening Digital Public Infrastructure under Digital India Programme during the last five years including initiatives relating to DigiLocker, UMANG, eSign, Digital Locker services and other citizen-centric digital platforms, State-wise; (b) the measures taken to improve accessibility, interoperability and efficiency of digital governance services across Ministries, States and Union Territories including Maharashtra; (c) the details of the work done by the Government in this regard so far; (d) the initiatives undertaken to bridge the digital divide by expanding digital access, digital literacy and digital inclusion particularly in rural and remote areas; and (e) the impact of these initiatives on improving ease of living, ease of doing business and digital service delivery in the country particularly to rural population, women and disadvantaged sections? 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 use of technology, the Government has promoted Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) across India, including Andhra Pradesh. Under the Digital India programme, the Government has adopted the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approach to enable delivery of digital services at population scale through open, interoperable and scalable platforms. Key DPI initiatives: Government has successfully implemented foundational digital public infrastructure (DPI) at population scale for identity (Aadhaar), for payment (UPI), for data exchange (DigiLocker and API Setu), etc. DPI has been a transformative force in India's socio-economic development, significantly enhancing financial inclusion, digital inclusion, governance and economic growth.To promote linguistic inclusion in digital services, the Government has launched the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) – BHASHINI, envisaged as a public digital platform for Indian language technologies. The Bhashini platform addresses communication barriers for India’s diverse population. This fosters greater access to digital tools for underserved communities. The API Setu platform has been implemented to facilitate the implementation of the Open API Policy and foster an open and interoperable digital ecosystem, enabling seamless integration and delivery of Government services. Currently, 8,904 APIs provided by various Central and State Government departments are published on the API Setu platform. Further, the Government has implemented Meri Pehchaan, a Single Sign-On (SSO) platform, enabling citizens to seamlessly access multiple Government applications and services using a unified authentication mechanism. Digital India initiatives are accessible through mobile platforms, which has played a significant role in bridging the urban–rural divide. Expanding DPI in rural areas has been a key priority for Government of India to improve financial inclusion, digital inclusion and ensure access to essential government services for all the strata of society. These initiatives enable citizens to access a wide range of government services such as digital payments, digital education, digital health, e-Courts etc. anytime and from anywhere. Assisted service delivery through Common Service Centres (CSCs) and other facilitation channels, ensuring last-mile service delivery to rural and vulnerable populations. The status of some of the key Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and digital platforms that have been instrumental in strengthening Digital Infrastructure and ensuring inclusive and equitable access to Government services, particularly for the rural population, women, and other sections of society, is as under: ● Aadhaar: Aadhaar is the world’s largest digital identity programme that provides biometric and demographic-based unique digital identity. 144+ crore Aadhaar IDs have been generated so far. Various public welfare and good governance initiatives utilise Aadhaar authentication for beneficiary identification across sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and banking. State-wise details of enrolments are available at https://uidai.gov.in/aadhaar_dashboard/. ● Unified Payments Interface (UPI): UPI has empowered millions of individuals and small businesses in rural and remote areas to make fast, secure and low-cost digital payments, significantly advancing financial inclusion. UPI serves more than 55.49 crore individuals, 6.5 crore merchants, and connects 731 banks on one platform, making it the world’s largest digital payment system. UPI powers 85% of India’s digital payments and nearly 50% of global real-time digital payments. State/UT-wise UPI statics are available at https://www.npci.org.in/product/ecosystem-statistics/upi. ● DigiLocker: DigiLocker provides citizens with anytime access to authentic digital documents issued by original issuers. The platform has over 71.66 crore registered users, with more than 936.03 crore documents issued by 2,822 onboarded issuers. In last one year, 17.90 Cr. users registered and 26.74 Cr. documents issued. More than 4.46 Cr Aadhaar enabled registrations have taken place in the state of Maharashtra to avail DigiLocker services. State-wise details are in Annexure. ● Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG), one mobile application for all government services, is operational and offers 2,575+ services from 241 departments for individuals. In last one year, 374 services onboarded and 186.24 transactions done. State-wise details of users and digital services available onUMANG are provided in the Annexure and are also accessible on the UMANG portal at https://web.umang.gov.in/landing/services. ● eSign (e-Hastakshar): e-Sign is an online electronic signature service, which can be integrated with service delivery applications via an Application Programming Interface (API) to facilitate an e-Sign user to digitally sign a document. e-Sign service facilitates instant signing of documents online by citizens in a legally acceptable form. Total 155.56 Cr. e-Signs have been issued by all e-Sign Service Providers (ESPs). Total 44.23 Cr. e-Signs have been issued by CDAC (i.e. under e-Hastakshara project). In the last one year, around 12.46 Cr. e-Signs were issued. State-wise details are in Annexure. ● API Setu: API Setu project intends to facilitate promotion of efficient sharing of data among data owners and inter-and-intra Governmental agencies to achieve the objective of interoperable systems in order to deliver services in an integrated manner. Currently, the portal has published 8,904 APIs provided by many Central and State Government departments on API Setu platform. ● Common Services Centres (CSCs) provide over 800 government and business services digitally, enhancing last-mile service delivery through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). As on May 2026, 5.01 lakh CSCs are functional across the country, including 3.91 lakh at the Gram Panchayat level. The State-wise and district- wise details are available on the CSC portal at https://csc.gov.in. Impact of digital initiatives: The Digital India Programme has significantly transformed citizen service delivery by leveraging technology to provide accessible, efficient and transparent Government services. Key digital initiatives such as Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), DigiLocker, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), UMANG, Common Services Centres (CSCs), API Setu and Meri Pehchaan have enabled seamless access to Government services, digital payments, digital documents and direct transfer of benefits. These initiatives have reduced service delivery time, transaction costs and the need for physical visits to Government offices, while promoting paperless, faceless and transparent governance. The extensive network of CSCs has further strengthened last-mile delivery of digital services, particularly in rural and remote areas. These initiatives have enhanced digital and financial inclusion, improved ease of living and ease of doing business, and empowered citizens, including women and disadvantaged sections, through greater access to Government services, entitlements and socio-economic opportunities. Strengthening Digital Infrastructure and Bridging the Digital Divide: The Government has undertaken several initiatives to bridge the digital divide and strengthen digital infrastructure, particularly in rural and remote areas, by improving broadband connectivity, expanding digital service delivery, promoting digital literacy and enabling access to services in regional languages and citizen awareness, including Maharashtra. These include: ● Expansion of broadband connectivity through BharatNet to Gram Panchayats and rural institutions. As of June 2026, a total of 2.21 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) hasbeen made service-ready under the BharatNet Project across the country. During June 2026, BharatNet Point of Presence (PoPs) at 80,472 GPs are operational. ● Telecom, Internet & Broadband Penetration: Total telephone connections in India grew from 93.3 crores in March 2014 to 133+ crores in March, 2026. Internet subscribers jumped from 25.15 crore in March 2014 to 109.27 crore in March, 2026. ● Under the Government-funded 4G Saturation Project and other mobile connectivity projects, till June 2026, 24,812 mobile towers have been commissioned in the country. ● Common Services Centres (CSCs) provide over 800 government and business services digitally, enhancing last-mile service delivery through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). As on May 2026, 5.01 lakh CSCs are functional across the country, including 3.91 lakh at the Gram Panchayat level. ● Promotion of digital literacy through the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA). A total of 6.39 crore individuals were trained across the country. The scheme has been concluded on 31.03.2024. As per the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (CAMS), 2022–23, 78.4% of persons aged 15–24 years reported the ability to send messages with attached files, indicating improved digital skills among youth. The survey also reported that 94.2% of rural households and 97.1% of urban households possessed a telephone/mobile phone. ● FutureSkills Prime provides skilling, reskilling, and upskilling in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things (IoTs), Cyber Security, Blockchain, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), etc. Under the programme, so far, more than 34+ lakh candidates have registered on the portal, out of which there have been 23+ lakh candidates enrolled/trained in various courses. ● Under the IndiaAI Mission, the “IndiaAI FutureSkills” pillar focuses on expanding AI literacy and capacity building across diverse segments of society. Initiatives such as the “YUVA AI for All” programme have been introduced to promote AI awareness and foundational literacy among a wide spectrum of learners. The YUVA AI for All course offered by the IndiaAI Mission is available on multiple digital learning platforms including iGOT Karmayogi Bharat, FutureSkills PRIME, DIKSHA, Intellipaat, Khan Academy, Coursera, etc. ● National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) provides digital literacy and skill development courses, including ACC and CCC, through 56 Centres and a network of over 9,000 partner institutes across the country. ● Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) is the Nation’s One Nation, One Digital platform for providing quality e-content for school education in States/UTs along with QR coded Energised Textbooks (ETBs) for all grades. As a participant in DIKSHA, States/UTs have generated and contributed over 3.67 lakh content in local/regional languages enabling multilingualism. Overall, 579.41 crore learning sessions for 2.29 crore users have been completed on DIKSHA by students, teachers and other stakeholders. ● Cyber awareness - Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) programme has been implemented by MeitY for generating human resources in Information Security and creating general awareness on various aspects of cyber hygiene & cyber security among the masses. So far, 6,650 awareness workshops have been conducted across the country, covering 11.37 lakh+ participants, including school/colleges students, teachers, law enforcement, government personnel, and general public. *****Annexure State/UT wise details of UMANG, DigiLocker and e-Sign Name of Project UMANG DigiLocker eSigns Indicators-> No No. of Total No. of Services Aadhaar Deptts/ esigns on enabled Institutes issued boarded registrations integrated Sl. No. Name of State/UT 1 Andhra Pradesh 3 19679831 240 111276111 2 Arunachal Pradesh 0 388179 15 1002709 3 Assam 405 10619927 57 24920145 4 Bihar 3 28642947 51 75684225 5 Chhattisgarh 39 6835233 51 20400705 6 Goa 26 579659 23 3160904 7 Gujarat 234 20351432 148 88463488 8 Haryana 143 11004434 100 42544154 9 Himachal Pradesh 18 2790520 44 8673613 10 Jharkhand 39 9294483 49 23578336 11 Karnataka 0 28331890 238 156115050 12 Kerala 7 11552382 125 39237444 13 Madhya Pradesh 48 23206090 140 108447956 14 Maharashtra 60 44616860 354 183374483 15 Manipur 3 832818 19 2035566 16 Meghalaya 13 691888 16 1200829 17 Mizoram 0 283468 16 944363 18 Nagaland 0 403942 17 915518 19 Odisha 7 11597137 83 37612338 20 Punjab 8 10108233 55 30364044 21 Rajasthan 11 23473904 138 98269221 22 Sikkim 14 195100 16 1091432 23 Tamil Nadu 17 21847515 160 127047142 24 Telangana 19 9006198 83 38024737 25 Tripura 36 1036703 18 4538423 26 Uttar Pradesh 91 64515375 143 166810432 27 Uttarakhand 115 4195692 65 16688695 28 West Bengal 0 23922554 87 73138034 29 Andaman and Nicobar 35 131075 9 1017546 Islands 30 Chandigarh 36 570513 18 2993611 31 The Government of 119 10289067 149 51079814 NCT of Delhi32 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 5 199914 6 1936902 & Daman and Diu 33 Lakshadweep 9 19679 4 326347 34 Puducherry 23 427921 15 2291385 35 Jammu & Kashmir 105 3790394 37 10330603 36 Ladakh 4 39029 10 111917 ******