India has ascended to the position of the third-largest digitalized country among the G20 nations, following the United States and China, as revealed by a recent report released on Friday. The report, titled ‘State of India’s Digital Economy (SIDE) 2024’, conducted by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and global consumer internet group Prosus, emphasizes that India’s global ranking in digitalization significantly improves when considering the comprehensive spectrum and scale of digital adoption.
Debjani Ghosh, President of Nasscom, emphasized India’s status as a digital-native country, where technology has seamlessly integrated into the daily lives of its citizens across all age groups. Ghosh highlighted the importance of assessing India’s digital economy through the lens of its impact and livelihoods.
Utilizing a novel approach termed the CHIPS (connect–harness–innovate–protect–sustain) framework, the report benchmarks India’s digital transformation against G20 countries as well as Indian states and Union Territories (UTs). This approach, designed to capture both the opportunities and risks posed by digitalization, distinguishes itself from traditional global indices by considering the economy-wide scale and depth of digital adoption, alongside user-level metrics.
Pramod Bhasin, Chairperson of ICRIER, lauded India’s significant strides in innovation, government support, financial access, and skills development, underscoring its emergence as a digital powerhouse among emerging economies. India’s digital landscape boasts the world’s second-largest internet network, with over 700 million users, and has witnessed rapid 5G deployment since its launch in October 2022.
Notably, India’s Aadhaar system has issued more than 1.3 billion biometric IDs, highlighting its prowess in leveraging digital public infrastructures for large-scale service delivery. Moreover, India leads the pack in real-time digital payments, with over 83 billion UPI transactions recorded in FY2022-23, surpassing both China and Brazil in volume. Sehraj Singh, Managing Director of Prosus India, underscored the significance of the SIDE report in guiding Indian policymakers with informed decision-making in the realm of digital transformation.
