Lok Sabha Question No. 2066 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-11
Subject: Expansion of Digital Public Infrastructure
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Smt. Pratima Mondal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2066

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 11.02.2026

## EXPANSION OF DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE

## 2066.  SMT. PRATIMA MONDAL:

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

(a) whether the Government has ensured that expansion of digital public infrastructure does not lead to exclusion, surveillance risks or data misuse particularly for vulnerable populations; (b) the concrete progress made under India's semiconductor mission in terms of operational fabs, timelines and indigenous capacity in light of global supply-chain realignments; and (c) the manner in which the Government reconcile frequent internet shutdowns with India's global digital economy ambitions and constitutional freedoms?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

- (a) to  (c):      In  line  with  the  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister's  vision  to  democratise  use  of technology, the Government of India has promoted Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) across India.  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.

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  prevent  digital  exclusion,  Digital  Public  Infrastructure  (DPI)  initiatives  incorporate multilingual  interfaces  through  the  National  Language  Translation  Mission  (NLTM) -BHASHINI, accessibility features for persons with disabilities, and assisted service delivery through Common Service Centres (CSCs) and other facilitation channels, ensuring last-mile service delivery to rural and vulnerable populations.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the expansion of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)  remains  inclusive,  secure,  and  respectful  of  citizens'  privacy  and  rights,  including vulnerable populations. The following legal and policy safeguards are in place:

- The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) provides a comprehensive legal framework for processing digital personal data in a manner that recognises the rights of individuals to protect their personal data while enabling lawful use of such data.
- The DPDP Act provides additional protections for children and persons with disabilities, including the requirement of verifiable consent from parents or lawful guardians.
- The Aadhaar framework is governed by the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and related regulations impose strict controls on storage, access, and sharing of identity data.

The semiconductor development strategy is inspired by Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, Make for the world. As part of this strategy, India aims to  develop  a  complete  ecosystem,  ranging  from  design,  fabrication,  assembly,  testing, packaging and module manufacturing.

Given the foundational nature of semiconductor industry for the economy, the Government has launched  the  'Semicon  India  Programme'  with  a  total  outlay  of  Rs.  76,000  crore  for  the development of semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. Following are the salient achievements/progress under this Programme:

- Government has approved 10 projects with envisaged investments of about Rs. 1.6 Lakh Crore  which  includes  2  fabs  and  8  packaging  units.  These  units  inter-alia  include Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor ( CMOS) (Silicon) fab, Silicon Carbide fab, advanced  packaging,  memory  packaging,  etc.  These  projects  are  in  various  stages  of implementation and pilot production has started in 4 units.
- 24 chip design projects have been supported through startups. 16 have completed tape outs and 13 have received Venture Capital funding.
- 350 universities have been provided access to Electronic Design Automation (EDA)  tools, used by 65,000 engineers.

Budget 2026-27 has announced Semicon 2.0 program.

As  per  the  Telecommunications  (Temporary  Suspension  of  Services)  Rules,  2024  notified under  the  Telecommunications  Act,  2023,  the  competent  authority  must  first  explore  all reasonable  alternatives  to  address  the  public  emergency  and  public  safety  concerns  before issuing  an  order  for  the  temporary  suspension  of  internet  services.  If  such  a  suspension  is deemed necessary, then the suspension order must be published clearly stating the reason and be limited to defined geographical area and specified duration.

Generally, during the temporary suspension of telecommunication services in a region, only internet services are suspended and other telecommunication services like voice calling and Short  Message  Service  (SMS)  remain  available  through  which  people  in  that  region  can communicate and access emergency services.

These safeguards ensure that the need to maintain public order and safety is balanced with India's global digital economy ambitions and the protection of constitutional freedoms.

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