Digital India: UPI, Aadhaar, DigiLocker, GSTN, e-Governance & GeM Portal

Digital India is a high-frequency topic in Kerala PSC exams. Questions cover flagship initiatives, UPI, Aadhaar, and various e-governance platforms. This note provides exam-ready details on all key components.

1. Digital India Programme — Overview

Feature	Detail
Launched	1 July 2015
Launched by	PM Narendra Modi
Ministry	Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
Vision	Transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy
Three pillars	(1) Digital Infrastructure, (2) Digital Services (Governance and Services on Demand), (3) Digital Literacy

Nine Pillars of Digital India

Pillar	Focus
1. Broadband Highways	Rural and urban broadband (BharatNet)
2. Universal Access to Mobile	Mobile connectivity in all villages
3. Public Internet Access	CSCs (Common Service Centres) and post offices
4. e-Governance	Technology-driven government reform
5. e-Kranti	Electronic delivery of services (health, education, farming, justice)
6. Information for All	Open data, social media engagement
7. Electronics Manufacturing	Make in India for electronics; net zero imports target
8. IT for Jobs	Skill development for IT/ITES sector
9. Early Harvest Programmes	Quick-win projects (biometric attendance, Wi-Fi in universities)

2. UPI (Unified Payments Interface)

Feature	Detail
Launched	11 April 2016
Developed by	NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)
What it does	Instant real-time interbank fund transfer via mobile phone
Uses	Virtual Payment Address (VPA) — no need to share bank details
Available	24/7, 365 days (including holidays)
Transaction limit	Rs 1 lakh per transaction (Rs 2 lakh for some categories)
UPI apps	PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM, bank-specific apps
Global expansion	UPI accepted in Singapore, UAE, France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and others
Monthly transactions	Over 1,000 crore monthly transactions (as of 2024)

3. BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money)

Feature	Detail
Launched	30 December 2016
Named after	Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (Bhimrao)
Developed by	NPCI
Purpose	Simple UPI-based payment app for feature phones and smartphones
Key feature	Works on USSD (*99#) for feature phones; supports multiple languages
Aadhaar Pay	Merchants can accept payments using Aadhaar biometrics via BHIM

4. Aadhaar Ecosystem

Feature	Detail
Launched	28 January 2009 (UIDAI established)
First Aadhaar issued	29 September 2010 (to Ranjana Sonawane, Nandurbar, Maharashtra)
Authority	UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India)
Aadhaar Act	Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016
Number	12-digit unique identity number
Biometric data	10 fingerprints + 2 iris scans + photograph
Enrolments	Over 138 crore Aadhaar numbers issued (covers nearly entire population)
Chairman UIDAI	Appointed by Central Government
SC Judgment	K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2018) — upheld Aadhaar but limited mandatory usage; cannot be required for bank accounts or mobile SIMs

Aadhaar-linked Services

Service	Description
DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer)	Government subsidies transferred directly to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts
eKYC	Electronic Know Your Customer using Aadhaar for banks, telecom, etc.
AePS	Aadhaar-enabled Payment System — banking using biometrics at micro-ATMs
Aadhaar-PAN linking	Mandatory for income tax purposes
mAadhaar	Mobile app for carrying Aadhaar digitally

5. DigiLocker

Feature	Detail
Launched	1 July 2015 (with Digital India)
Purpose	Cloud-based platform to store and share documents digitally
Storage	1 GB personal storage per user
Issued documents	Directly fetched from issuing authorities (driving licence, Aadhaar, PAN, marksheets)
Legal validity	Documents in DigiLocker are treated as original documents (IT Act provisions)
Users	Over 15 crore registered users
Issuing agencies	Over 2,000 organisations issue documents to DigiLocker

6. GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network)

Feature	Detail
Purpose	IT backbone for GST implementation
Type	Not-for-profit, non-government company (Section 8 company)
Ownership	Government holds 100% stake (after 2020 restructuring; earlier private-majority)
Portal	gst.gov.in
Functions	GST registration, return filing, tax payment, invoice matching, refund processing
e-Way Bill	Electronic waybill for goods movement above Rs 50,000 — generated on GSTN platform
e-Invoice	Mandatory electronic invoicing for businesses above turnover threshold

7. Other Key Digital India Platforms

Platform	Year	Purpose
GeM (Government e-Marketplace)	2016	Online marketplace for government procurement; replaces DGS&D; transparent, competitive bidding
UMANG	2017	Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance; 1,200+ government services
CoWIN	2021	COVID-19 vaccination management platform; registration, scheduling, certificate generation
e-NAM	2016	Electronic National Agriculture Market; online trading of agricultural commodities
DIKSHA	2017	Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing; e-learning for school education
PM eVIDYA	2020	Multi-mode education delivery during pandemic
e-Sanjeevani	2020	National telemedicine platform
IRCTC	1999/upgraded	Railway ticket booking; one of the busiest e-commerce platforms
SWAYAM	2017	Free online education (MOOCs) for school to post-graduation
MyGov	2014	Citizen engagement platform

8. India Stack — Technology Layers

Layer	Component	Function
Identity	Aadhaar	Universal digital identity
Payments	UPI	Instant digital payments
Data	DigiLocker, Account Aggregator	Secure digital document storage and data sharing
Consent	Account Aggregator framework	User-controlled data sharing between financial institutions
Commerce	ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce)	Open protocol for e-commerce; alternative to platform monopolies

9. Digital Literacy Initiatives

Initiative	Detail
PMGDISHA (Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan)	Digital literacy for 6 crore rural households; one person per household
National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM)	Predecessor; trained 52.5 lakh people
CSCs (Common Service Centres)	Over 5 lakh centres providing digital services in rural areas

10. PSC Quick Revision — One-Liners

• Digital India launched on 1 July 2015
• UPI launched in 2016 by NPCI; instant interbank transfer via mobile
• BHIM app named after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar; launched 30 December 2016
• First Aadhaar issued to Ranjana Sonawane (Nandurbar, Maharashtra) in 2010
• Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique number with biometric data
• K.S. Puttaswamy case (2018) upheld Aadhaar but restricted mandatory usage
• DigiLocker documents have legal validity equal to originals
• GeM is the government’s online procurement marketplace (launched 2016)
• GSTN is 100% government-owned (after 2020); manages GST portal
• CoWIN managed India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive
• DBT uses Aadhaar-linked bank accounts for subsidy transfers
• India Stack: Aadhaar (identity) + UPI (payments) + DigiLocker (data)