Major ICT-Based Projects/Programmes in India
Digital India: The umbrella programme for transforming India into a digitally empowered society.
BharatNet: connected over 2.15 lakh Gram Panchayats with 42.36 lakh route km of optical fiber.
e-NAM: A pan-India electronic trading portal for agricultural commodities.
UMANG App: provide access to 1,500+ central and state government services.
DigiLocker: cloud-based platform for issuance and verification of digital documents/certificates.
e-Courts: Aimed at digitizing the Indian judiciary to reduce case pendency and improve access.
U-WIN: Digital platforms for tracking universal immunization.
ONDC: Open Network for Digital Commerce, democratizing e-commerce for MSME.
Bhashini: AI-led language translation platform to overcome linguistic barriers.
Major Issues in ICT Projects
Digital Divide – Eg: Rural internet penetration 59.06% vs urban 131.45% (TRAI Q1 2025).
Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities- Eg: cybercrime losses in 2024 – 206% rise (I4C, MHA 2025).
Data Privacy Concerns – Weak enforcement of data protection exposes citizens to misuse risks.
Poor Digital Literacy – Eg: Only 38% women have ever used internet (NFHS-5, MoHFW).
Inadequate Infrastructure – Internet connectivity, electricity, devices remain insufficient in remote regions.
Capacity Constraints – lower level government staff lack training in digital tools, data analytics, AI skills.
Targeting and verification errors exclude genuine beneficiaries from welfare schemes. Eg: PM-Kisan validation errors stranded 2.18 crore families (Dvara Research).
Departmental Silos – Ministries operate in isolation; lack integrated digital data ecosystems for governance.
Faulty validation processes. Eg: Aadhaar-PDS biometric failures linked to Simdega starvation death, Jharkhand (NHRC).
Linguistic Barriers – English-dominant interfaces exclude regional language users from accessing services.
Measures for Effective Implementation
Bridge Digital Divide – Saturate rural connectivity through BharatNet expansion and affordable smartphones distribution.
Strengthen Cybersecurity Framework – Implement zero-trust architecture, ICT audits, dedicated CERT-In response teams.
Strengthen DPDP Act 2023 – Enforce verifiable consent, data minimisation, breach reporting through Data Protection Board.
Mass Digital Literacy Drive – Scale PMGDISHA and Mission Karmayogi to all citizens and government employees.
Citizen Co-creation – Engage citizens through MyGov, hackathons, and pilot testing before scaling projects.
Inter-Ministerial Convergence – Adopt PM Gati Shakti model integrating data across ministries on single GIS platform.
Outcome-Based Monitoring – Real-time dashboards, third-party audits, beneficiary feedback for course correction.
Public-Private Partnerships – Engage startups, fintechs, and academia for innovation and last-mile delivery.
Adopt Global Best Practices – Estonia’s X-Road, Once-Only Principle for seamless inter-departmental data sharing.
For Viksit Bharat 2047, robust ICT governance demands inclusion, security, capacity, and citizen-centric design.