Digital India: platforms for services and participation

Detail

1. Why digital platforms matter for transparency and accountability

• Transparency means people can see what the government decides, spends and does.
• Accountability means the government must answer for its actions and fix its mistakes.
• Two older steps came before these platforms:
• The MKSS movement of the 1990s demanded village records.

• The RTI Act, 2005 gave people a legal right to ask for government information.

• Digital platforms go further. They put services, records and feedback online by default, so a citizen does not have to ask for them.

• Chain of change:
• The service moves online → the official has less room to decide on their own and fewer face-to-face meetings
• → fewer chances for bribes and delay
• → each step leaves a digital record that people can track and audit.

2. Digital India (launched 1 July 2015)

• Digital India is the Union government's programme to turn India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is the nodal ministry (the ministry in charge).

• Three vision areas: 1. Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen. Internet access, a digital identity and a bank account should be as basic as water or electricity. 2. Governance and services on demand. Services should be available online, in real time, from any department. 3. Digital empowerment of citizens. This covers digital literacy, documents stored online and services in Indian languages.

• Nine pillars:

#	Pillar	Simple meaning
1	Broadband highways	High-speed internet in rural and urban areas
2	Universal mobile connectivity	Mobile coverage in every village
3	Public internet access	Common Service Centres and post offices as internet access points
4	e-Governance (reforming government through technology)	Simpler forms, online applications and tracking
5	e-Kranti	Electronic delivery of services (see below)
6	Information for all	Open data, government websites and social media
7	Electronics manufacturing	Making devices in India to cut imports
8	IT for jobs	Training people for IT and IT-enabled services jobs
9	Early harvest programmes	Quick, short-term steps such as biometric attendance and Wi-Fi in universities

• The decade mark: in 2025, Digital India completed ten years (1 July 2015 to 2025). PIB reported that India's digital economy made up 11.74% of GDP in 2022–23 and was expected to reach 13.42% in 2024–25 [2].

3. e-Kranti (NeGP 2.0)

• NeGP (National e-Governance Plan, 2006) was India's first plan to put government services online. e-Kranti is its second version (NeGP 2.0).
• Approval: the Union Cabinet approved the approach and key parts of e-Kranti on 25 March 2015 [3].
• Vision: "Transforming e-Governance for Transforming Governance" [3].
• Mission: deliver all government services to citizens electronically through linked systems that work together, in many ways, at low cost, and with efficiency, transparency and reliability [3].
• Principles of e-Kranti:

Principle	Meaning in simple words
Transformation, not translation	Change how the service works; do not just copy a paper form onto a screen
Integrated, not individual, services	One window for linked services across departments
Mandatory Government Process Re-engineering (GPR)	Every project must first remove useless steps
ICT infrastructure on demand	Departments get computing power when they need it
Cloud by default	Store data and apps on government cloud (MeghRaj) by default
Mobile first	Design for the phone first
Fast-track approvals	Quicker sanction of projects
Mandating standards and protocols	Common technical rules so that systems can talk to each other
Language localisation	Services in Indian languages
National GIS	Map-based (geo-spatial) data for planning
Security and electronic data preservation	Data is kept safe and stored for the long term

• 44 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs). An MMP is a single e-governance project with clear goals, a timeline and a lead ministry. Examples:
• e-Education
• e-Healthcare
• technology for farmers
• financial inclusion
• cyber security

• e-Courts

• Who manages it [3]:

• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA): approves projects.
• Monitoring Committee on Digital India, headed by the Prime Minister: sets the overall direction.
• Digital India Advisory Group: gives advice.
• Apex Committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary: adds or removes MMPs and settles disputes between ministries.
• Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC): examines costs.

4. Platforms for services

DigiLocker (2015)

• DigiLocker is a free online locker for government-issued documents, such as driving licences, vehicle RCs and marksheets. The issuing body sends the documents straight into the locker.
• Legal status: under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Locker Rules, 2016, documents in DigiLocker are treated as legally equal to the originals.

• The Ministry of Road Transport told traffic and transport officials to accept a driving licence or RC shown through DigiLocker or mParivahan [5].

• Consent: under the 2016 Rules, a document can be shared only with the user's clear consent [9].

• Users: 53.92 crore by June 2025, up from 9.98 lakh sign-ups in 2015 [2].
• Wider use:
• The UGC is the nodal agency for the National Academic Depository, which stores degrees and marksheets through DigiLocker [9].

• MeitY has set up a high-level committee to review the Digital Locker Rules and plan the next steps [9].

• Accountability link: a document cannot be "lost" in an office, and a fake certificate is harder to pass off.

UMANG — Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (November 2017)

• UMANG is one app for central, state and local government services, such as EPFO, gas booking and PAN.
• Scale, June 2025: 8.34 crore registered users, 597 crore transactions and about 2,300 services in 23 Indian languages [2].
• Principles it follows: mobile first and integrated services.

Government e-Marketplace — GeM (9 August 2016)

• GeM is an online market where government departments buy goods and services. It replaced the old DGS&D (Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals) rate contracts.
• Legal anchor: Rule 149 of the General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017. Central ministries and departments must use GeM for goods or services that are available on it [4].
• How it supports transparency:
• Prices are posted openly.
• Bids are placed online.
• There is less face-to-face contact between buyers and sellers.

• Every order leaves a trail that can be audited.

• Inclusion: GeM brings in small sellers, such as MSMEs, women-led firms and startups.

• Since 2020, sellers must state the country of origin of their products, to support Make in India [10].

• Scale: Gross Merchandise Value (the total value of orders) reached ₹4.09 lakh crore in the first 10 months of FY 2024–25, nearly 50% more than the same period a year earlier [2].

• Newer use: GeM now runs forward auctions of government assets, which means selling things, not only buying [11].
• Problems that remain: complaints about poor quality, prices above the market rate, delayed payments to sellers and cartel-like bidding.

5. Platforms for participation and monitoring

MyGov (26 July 2014)

• MyGov is a citizen-engagement platform. People can:
• discuss draft policies;
• send suggestions;

• take part in tasks, quizzes and contests, such as logo and name contests.

• This is participatory governance: citizens help shape policy, not just vote.

• MyGov Helpdesk on WhatsApp also lets people use DigiLocker services [9].
• Limits: responses are not binding, and people without internet access or digital skills are left out.

PRAGATI — Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation (25 March 2015)

• What it is: an IT-based system for monitoring projects and resolving grievances. It was launched by the PM on 25 March 2015 [8].
• Three tiers: the PMO, Union Secretaries and Chief Secretaries of the states [12].
• How it works:
• The PM holds regular video conferences with Union Secretaries and Chief Secretaries. These are supported by data and geo-informatics visuals (maps and satellite images) [6].
• The PM reviews stalled projects, flagship schemes and public grievances (for example, CPGRAMS complaints).

• Issues are flagged → the officer responsible must explain the delay in front of the PM → there is a follow-up at the next meeting.

• Results: PIB's review of PRAGATI's first decade (2025–26) reported:

• 382 major national projects reviewed;

• 2,958 of 3,187 identified issues resolved [6][7].

• Federal angle: it is an example of cooperative federalism (the Centre and states working together on shared goals), because projects flagged by states are also reviewed [6].

6. Linked platforms

• e-Courts: an MMP that puts courts online. It covers case status, the National Judicial Data Grid, e-filing and virtual courts (see justice-delivery-tribunals).
• e-Gram Swaraj: a portal for panchayat planning, accounts and work progress, which supports social audit at the gram sabha level (see panchayati-raj).

7. Summary table

Platform	Year	Type	Legal or institutional anchor	Accountability tool
MyGov	26 July 2014	Participation	MeitY initiative	Citizen input into policy
PRAGATI	25 March 2015	Monitoring	PMO-led, three-tier	Officials must answer to the PM
DigiLocker	2015	Service	IT Act 2000; Digital Locker Rules 2016	Authentic, tamper-proof records
GeM	9 August 2016	Procurement	GFR 2017, Rule 149	Open prices, digital audit trail
UMANG	November 2017	Service	MeitY / NeGD	One app, fewer middlemen

Prelims Hooks

• Digital India was launched on 1 July 2015. It has 3 vision areas and 9 pillars. "Early harvest programmes" is one of the pillars.
• e-Kranti is NeGP 2.0. It was approved on 25 March 2015 and has 44 MMPs. Its first principle is "transformation, not translation."
• The Apex Committee that adds or removes e-Kranti MMPs is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, not the PM.
• GFR 2017, Rule 149 makes buying through GeM mandatory for goods and services available on GeM.
• DigiLocker documents are legally equal to originals under the IT Act, 2000 and the Digital Locker Rules, 2016.
• PRAGATI has three tiers: the PMO, Union Secretaries and Chief Secretaries. It was launched on 25 March 2015, the same day e-Kranti was approved.
• MyGov (26 July 2014) came before Digital India (1 July 2015). This is a common trap in date-order questions.
• UMANG (November 2017) offers about 2,300 services in 23 languages (June 2025).

Mains Points

• Digital platforms make accountability built-in.
• GeM's audit trail, PRAGATI's direct PM reviews and DigiLocker's verified documents reduce the room officials have to act on their own.

• These platforms add to the RTI Act, 2005: RTI makes officials disclose information when asked, while platforms disclose it by default.

• The digital divide can turn e-governance into e-exclusion.

• Gaps in internet access, digital skills and language mean that "mobile first" can leave out the poor, elderly and rural people.

• Assisted channels such as Common Service Centres and offline backups are needed.

• Centralised data needs privacy safeguards.

• DigiLocker, UMANG and GeM hold large amounts of personal and business data. Consent rules (Digital Locker Rules 2016) and the DPDP Act, 2023 must be enforced.

• The right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017).

• Participation that is not binding has limits.

• MyGov consultations do not bind the government. PRAGATI depends on the PM, which concentrates monitoring in the PMO.
• Possible reforms: publish how MyGov inputs were used, give PRAGATI-type monitoring a legal basis, and get independent audits of GeM pricing and quality.