Indian economy.
– Photo : amarujala
Expansion
With the government’s digital initiatives, India’s financial ecosystem has undergone a major transformation over the years. A recent report by Ask Capital said India is set to become a US$1 trillion digital economy by 2028 with deep internet penetration, efficient and affordable 4G and 5G services, and government initiatives in the digital sector.
India has become a global example of real-time payments, benefiting from homegrown technological innovations like UPI. India’s digital transformation will prove to be a game changer for economic growth. The increasing use of smartphones along with the digitalization of the Indian economy over the past few years has promoted cashless transactions and online shopping.
According to the Indian Council for International Economic Relations Research (ICRIER), India’s score on digital skills has overtaken developed countries like Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany in terms of overall level of digitalization. Government initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) have helped in increasing universal access and financial inclusion in the country. Increasing mobile and broadband penetration will deepen financial inclusion and spur new digital services.
Digital entertainment, online education, tele-medicine, digital health, disaster response and life-saving services are taking advantage of better mobile and internet services in India. Affordable data, increasing number of smartphone users and growth in e-commerce are driving India’s digital transformation. By March 2024, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) shows that there are about 120 crore telecom subscribers in India.
The total number of internet subscribers is expected to increase from 881 crore in March 2023 to 954 crore by the end of March 2024, of which almost half are from rural areas. More than 7.3 crore internet customers and more than 7.7 crore broadband customers have been added in the last one year.