DIGITAL
INDIA PROGRAMME – GOVERNMENT SCHEME
News: Cabinet approves outlay of Rs 14,903 crore
to expand Digital India programme
What's
in the news?
● The
Union cabinet approved the extension of the Digital India scheme for a period
of five years till 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 14,903 crore.
Digital
India Programme:
● The
Digital India scheme is an umbrella programme launched on July 1, 2015, and covers plans such as Aadhaar for all,
country-wide rural broadband connectivity, common service centres, Bharat
interface for money (BHIM), Aadhaar-enabled payments systems and MyGov.
Objectives:
● Digital
India Programme envisions comprehensive digital
infrastructure, increased digital literacy, and widespread digital access
across all sectors, from governance and education to health and financial
services.
● The
Digital India initiative seeks to bridge
the digital divide, promote digital inclusion, and leverage technology to
enhance the quality of life for all citizens while promoting economic growth
and innovation.
Programme
Pillars:
● Broadband
Highways
● Universal
Access to Mobile Connectivity
● Public
Internet Access Programme
● e-Governance:
Reforming Government through Technology
● e-Kranti
– Electronic Delivery of Services
● Information
for All
● Electronics
Manufacturing
● IT
for Jobs
● Early
Harvest Programmes
Initiatives:
1.
DigiLockers:
● This
flagship initiative aims at ‘Digital
Empowerment’ of the citizen by providing access to authentic digital
documents in citizen’s digital document wallet
2.
E-Hospitals:
● It
is a Hospital Management Information
System (HMIS) which is a one-stop solution for connecting patients,
hospitals, and doctors through a single digital platform.
3.
E-Pathshala:
● Developed
by NCERT, e-Pathshala showcases and disseminates all educational e-resources
including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals, and a variety of other print
and non-print materials through the website and mobile app
4.
BHIM:
● Bharat
Interface for Money is an app that makes payment transactions simple, easy, and
quick using Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Revamped
Scheme:
● The
government will re-skill and upskill 625,000 information technology
professionals under the Future Skills
Prime Programme, apart from training about 265,000 people in information
security under the information security and education awareness phase
programme.
● The
government will also use Digital India funds to expand the scope of the Bhashini programme to all 22 languages under
Schedule 8 of the Constitution.
○ Currently,
Bhashini, an artificial intelligence-enabled multi-language translation tool is
available in 10 Indian languages.