Cabinet to invest Rs 14,903 billion Digital India Program's expansion

The Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has approved an investment of Rs 14,903 crore to extend the Digital India programme. Following the Union Cabinet's approval, the Digital India programme, which was introduced on July 1, 2015 to facilitate the digital delivery of key services to citizens, is expected to expand.

The expansion includes a wide range of improvements intended to further change India's digital landscape and consolidate the victories previously achieved. The following are a few of this expansion's major highlights:

Enhanced Cybersecurity: 2.65 lakh people will undergo specialised information security training as part of the Information Security & Education Awareness Phase (ISEA) Programme, strengthening the country's cyber defences.

Digital Access Revolution: The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app/platform, which already hosts more than 1,700 services, will now offer an additional 540 services, increasing the reach of e-governance to more residents.

Upskilling and Reskilling Workforce: The FutureSkills Prime Programme will empower the workforce by reskilling and upskilling 6.25 lakh IT workers, maintaining their relevance in a rapidly changing digital environment.

Supercomputing Powerhouse: The National Super Computer Mission will see the addition of 9 new supercomputers, augmenting the current fleet of 18. This will increase processing capacity.

Empowered Language Diversity: In order to bridge communication barriers, the AI-driven multi-language translation tool Bhashini, which is now available in 10 languages, will be expanded to include all 22 schedule 8 languages.

Increasing Startups: The programme aims to support 1,200 startups in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurial development across a range of geographic areas.

Education Improvement: The National Knowledge Network (NKN) will connect 1,787 educational institutions, encouraging the spread of knowledge.

Increasing MSMEs' power: As part of the Digital India rollout, DigiLocker's digital document verification service is now available to MSMEs and other organisations, expediting the documentation process.

Excellence Centres for Artificial Intelligence: The creation of three AI Excellence Centres with a focus on sustainable cities, agriculture, and health will advance cutting-edge research and development.

Digital Literacy: Cyberawareness classes would be made available to 12 crore college students, fostering digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness.

Increasing Cybersecurity Infrastructure: A number of new cybersecurity projects will increase the country's resistance to online attacks, including the creation of tools and the integration of over 200 sites with the National Cyber Coordination Centre.

According to the government, the expansion not only builds on prior achievements but also paves the way for an India that is even more inclusive and empowered by technology.

The statement made on Wednesday, August 16th, has the potential to ignite India's digital economy, boosting digital access, reviving the country's IT and electronics ecosystem, and reaffirming India's status as a digital leader in the world.