Digital Governance: Changing that Red Carpet into a Green One

India's approach and success stories in digital governance show how technology should be used to cover the entire carpet area - From expanding inclusion to the digitally not-so-savvy folks to strengthening interoperability - we have made sure the grass is green, every side

- Pratima H

Observing the tools of Governance in India was like walking in the Museum. Boring. Archaic. Snailpaced. Full of corridors. And a lot of stanchions.

That was some years back.

Today, it may feel like sauntering in the Museum of Tomorrow. For a glimpse of what the future of humanity is going to look like. Dapper. Matrix-like. Fluid. FI-paced. And full of glass skywalks.

But there is more than shiny glass and gilded lilies in this digitalised land. And that's exactly what makes digital governance different from how the world of Big Tech has tapped digital powers.

In governance, and in India, it is not just about accelerating processes but also making sure everyone is covered in the warmth and safety of the technology blanket. It's about democratisation, inclusion and of course, real-time action. It's not about wax. It's about real humans. Especially those who were standing away from the velvet carpets for so many years.

NO WALLS, ONLY PLANKS

Let's comb through some numbers first. When compared by their aggregate level of digitalisation, India ranked as the third largest digitalised country in the world (behind the US and China, and ahead of the UK, Germany and Japan). Also, India has been ranked 12th among the G20 countries in terms of the level of digitalisation of the user. As seen in the 'State of India Digital Economy Report 2024' by ICRIER, India's DPI-led Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have been helping to scale access to public services among millions of unconnected rural residents. It has been observed that India has made remarkable progress on the use of digital payments, especially in the public sector. Just imagine the scale with this figure: UPI Payments crossed 9.3 billion in volume and Rs. 14.75 lakh crore in value around June 2023 - as per a recent NASSCOM report.