Lok Sabha Question No. 3557 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-22
Subject: Boost to Digital Economy
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: P. Ravindhranath

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3557

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 22.03.2023

## BOOST TO DIGITAL ECONOMY

## 3557 . SHRI P. RAVINDHRANATH:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any steps to push the Digital Economy of the country aiming to attain the target of tremendous monitory growth through various Digital India Initiatives, coupled with new and emerging technologies during the last three financial year;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether there is any proposal to leverage foreign collaboration to boost Indian Digital Economy in the near future; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a) and (b): Digital India programme is an umbrella programme of Government of India with the  objective  to  transform  India  into  a  digitally  empowered  society  and  knowledge-based economy by ensuring digital access, digital inclusion, digital empowerment and bridging the digital  divide.  The  programme  is  centred  on  three  key  vision  areas,  namely  digital infrastructure  as  a  core  utility  to  every  citizen,  governance  and  services  on  demand,  and digital  empowerment  of  citizens.  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 and digital technological capabilities in India.

Digital  India  has  considerably  bridged  the  distance  between  Government  and  citizens  and enhanced trust on government and governance. It has also helped in the delivery of services directly to beneficiaries in a transparent and corruption-free manner. In the process, India has emerged as one of the pre-eminent nations of the world to use technology to transform the lives of its citizens.

Various  initiatives  under  the  Digital  India  Programme,  coupled  with  new  and  emerging technologies,  include  setting  up  of  Centres  of  Excellence  in  emerging  technologies  like Internet of Things, Blockchain, Data Analytics, Future Skills Prime programme in emerging technologies, such as, AI, big data, additive manufacturing etc. for providing skills to Indian IT professionals, launch of National Policy on Software Products-2019 with a vision to create a robust Indian Software Product development ecosystem and National Policy on Electronics -  2019  (NPE  2019)  to  position  India  as  a  global  hub  for  Electronics  System  Design  and Manufacturing (ESDM).

Technology-enabled  transformative  initiatives,  such  as,  Digital  locker,  Unified  Mobile Application  for  New-Age  Governance  (UMANG),  Common  Services  Centres  (CSC),  eDistrict, National Scholarship Portal, MyGov, Open Govt. Data Platform, Online Registration System(ORS)/eHospital, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) Scheme,  Unified  Payments  Interface  (UPI),  Bharat  Interface  for  Money(BHIM)  App,  etc. have improved access to information and service delivery significantly. India Stack, has 12 digital  transformational  projects,  showcases  India  leadership  in  Digital  Technologies  and experience  of  implementing  Digital  Transformation  projects  at  population  scale,  is  India's contribution to the Global Digital Public Goods repository. The portal https://www.indiastack.global/ is accessibly in all 6 UN languages.

India has emerged as a trusted player in global value chain of electronics. In this connection, Government of India has taken various strategic steps and initiatives to broaden and deepen the Electronics Manufacturing and Information Technology sector in the country. The major steps taken by the Government for promotion of electronics manufacturing in the country are Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing, PLI for  IT  Hardware,  Scheme  for  Promotion  of  Manufacturing  of  Electronic  Components  and Semiconductors (SPECS), Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme, Program  for  Development  of  Semiconductors  and  Display  Manufacturing  Ecosystem, permitting 100% Foreign Direct Investment, rationalization of tariff structure etc.

As per NASSCOM strategic report 2023, total number of technology startups is 27,000 out of which 3200+ are deep tech startups (~12%). MeitY has undertaken numerous measures to spur the technology led startup-innovation ecosystem in the country and give an impetus to the new and emerging technologies. Some of the major initiatives areTechnology Incubation and  Development  of  Entrepreneurs  (TIDE  2.0)  Scheme,  Domain  specific  Centres  of Excellence, Start-up Accelerator Programme of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development and Growth (SAMRIDH) scheme, Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS), Support for International Patent Protection in E&IT (SIP-EIT) Scheme

GENESIS (Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups), etc.

(c) and (d): No Sir.

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