Syllabus: GS3/Economy
Context
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has released a comprehensive report titled ‘Estimation and Measurement of India’s Digital Economy’.
About
- Methodologies: The report uses globally adopted methodologies developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
- The report is an attempt to compile the first set of credible, comprehensible, and current estimates of India’s digital economy.
Major Highlights
- India’s digital economy stood at 11.74% of the national income in 2022-23 and is likely to rise to 13.42% by 2024-25.
- Growth: India’s digital economy is expected to grow almost twice as fast as the overall economy, contributing to nearly one-fifth of national income by 2029-30.
- In less than six-years, the share of the digital economy will become larger than that of agriculture or manufacturing in the country.
- Employment Generation: In 2022-23, the digital economy accounted for 14.67 million workers, or 2.55% of India’s estimated work force.
- India’s digital economy is steadily moving beyond the realm of the ICT industries, diffusing across all parts of the economy.
| Facts Related to Digital Economy of India – Mobile subscription: India stands second in the world after China of the estimated 8.36 billion mobile cellular users worldwide. – 5G deployment: According to Ericsson’s Mobility report, at the end of 2023, 10% of India’s population had subscribed to 5G. 1. India became the second largest market for 5G smartphones in the first half of 2024, following China. – Digital payments: Over 1644 billion digital transactions took place in India in FY 2023-24, the highest volume for a country. – ICT service exports: In 2023, India’s ICT services exports stood the second highest in the world behind Ireland. – AI projects: India’s contribution to GitHub for AI projects is the highest in the world, at 23%, followed by the US (14%). – Unicorns: As of April 2024, the third largest number of homegrown unicorns by country were in India, following the US and China. |
Recommendations for the Growth of Digital Economy
- Minimise regulatory uncertainty for digital platforms and intermediaries.
- Adopt collaborative and concerted efforts for digital literacy and skilling.
- Improve the ease of doing business.
- Enhance cybersecurity and trust.
- Make continued efforts towards building resilient fixed-line broadband networks to supplement mobile coverage.
Source: ET
Previous article
New Draft E-Commerce Guidelines
Next article
Cabinet Announces 6% Hike in Jute MSP
