Aadhaar, Digital Public Infra Initiatives The Harbingers of Digital Revolution: Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (May 20) termed Aadhaar and other digital public infrastructure initiatives as the ‘harbingers of the digital revolution’ in the country.

Speaking at the 13th Annual Day commemoration of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Sitharaman called on the CCI to better understand the technological nuances of the new digital era to ensure fair and transparent markets.

The minister said that the companies are scaling up and the CCI should have a proactive understanding of what is shaping markets in this process, especially in mergers and acquisitions. 

“India has made a brand name for itself, be it in fintech or in adopting digital tools such as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoTs),”  the minister said on the adoption of new technologies.

Speaking at the event, CCI Chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta highlighted the need for embracing new technologies to ‘account for data-centric ecosystems’ in the country. He further called for augmenting capacities in the space of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data analytics, and others. 

Creating public digital infrastructure is a part of the government’s overarching ‘Digital India’ programme. It includes programmes such as NPCI-backed UPI, and a slew of other open APIs to drive digital penetration in the country.

According to a report, India’s digital transformation market was estimated at $24.5 Bn in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 74.7% between 2019-2024. 

The market has primarily been driven by increasing adoption of smartphones and increased internet usage.

According to the Economic Survey of India 2021-22, India’s internet user base crossed the 830 Mn mark in 2021, growing by over 530 Mn in the six years since 2015. The total volume of wireless internet data usage in India surged over 7X to 32,397 petabytes in 2021 from around 4,200 petabytes in 2018.