Digital availability of public services has helped citizens in getting access to facilities with the click of a button.
Independence Day 2025: DigiLocker has more than 55 crore registered users
Photo Credit: MeitY
Independence Day 2025 marks 79 years since India gained its freedom from the colonial powers. Much has changed over these years, and a large part of it has come from the government's end. Be it the nationalisation of banks in 1969, the economic liberalisation policy of 1991, or the Make in India initiative started in 2014, they have all transformed and bolstered the country. On this August 15, it is only apt to take a look at another such transformative vision of the government — the digital evolution of public services.
In the last decade, India has quietly moved towards the digital sphere. Documents and identity cards are now paperless, health records can be stored on the cloud, and public services are now accessible with the tap of a button. The government's flagship tech initiatives have reshaped how people interact with the State. Together, they form a public digital stack that has brought governance closer, faster, and more transparent than ever before. So, let us take a look at the key tech initiatives that empower citizens.
Launched in 2009 and operated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Aadhaar was conceived as a single, verifiable identity that could work across the country's vast geography and multiple service providers. It assigns each citizen a unique 12-digit number linked to biometric data such as fingerprints, iris scans, and, more recently, facial authentication, and demographic details. The idea was to replace scattered, paper-based IDs with a single, portable proof of identity that could be used anywhere, physically or digitally.
Over the years, Aadhaar's role has expanded from being a basic identity card to becoming the backbone for a range of citizen services. Its e-KYC (Know Your Customer) and authentication APIs allow banks, telecom operators, and government departments to verify identities without physical paperwork. This speeds up everything from opening a bank account to getting a mobile SIM card, and has reduced both processing times and the scope for fraud.
For many welfare schemes, Aadhaar has enabled direct benefit transfers (DBT), where subsidies for cooking gas, pensions, or scholarships are deposited straight into beneficiaries' bank accounts. This cuts out intermediaries, minimises leakage, and ensures that aid reaches the intended recipients.
Introduced in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was designed to make money transfers as easy as sending a text message. Built on interoperable, bank-to-bank rails, UPI allows users to send and receive money instantly using a single identifier such as a mobile number or Virtual Payment Address (VPA), without needing account numbers or IFSC codes.
Its open API architecture has made it possible for both banks and third-party apps like PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm to offer customised payment experiences. This interoperability means a small shopkeeper in a tier 3 city can accept payments from any UPI app, while a government department can collect fees and taxes without deploying its payment gateway.
With near-zero transaction costs and a reliable and seamless interface, the adoption of the technology has also grown exponentially. It has also brought millions of small merchants into the digital fold, and strengthened the economy with increased transparent and recorded transactions. As a result, UPI transactions have reached a monumental height. According to a Business Standard report, UPI recorded 19.47 billion transactions worth Rs. 25.08 lakh crore in just July 2025.
DigiLocker came to the scene in 2015 as part of the government's Digital India programme. The public service aimed at solving one of the biggest bottlenecks of the people, carrying and repeatedly photocopying identity documents for different services. DigiLocker's solution was simple.
It provides each registered user with a secure cloud-based locker linked to their Aadhaar, where they can store and retrieve digitally signed documents issued directly by authorised entities. Users can store a wide range of documents, including driving licences, vehicle registration certificates, school marksheets, vaccination certificates, and insurance policies.
The platform uses strong identity verification and public key infrastructure (PKI) to ensure documents cannot be tampered with. Once stored, these can be accessed via mobile or web and shared instantly with banks, universities, traffic police, airports, or other service providers entirely digitally.
This convenience has not gone unnoticed either. As of writing this, DigiLocker has more than 55 crore registered users who have issued various documents a total of 943.90 crore times. DigiLocker tackles two problems at once: it pushes India towards paperless administration while ensuring citizens face less bureaucracy and fewer visits to government offices.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), launched nationally in 2021, is the government's blueprint for a connected digital health ecosystem. At its centre is ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account), a unique health ID that allows citizens to link, store, and share their medical records across hospitals, labs, and clinics.
The system relies on a federated architecture, where data remains with the healthcare provider but can be accessed with the citizen's consent via secure APIs. This design ensures privacy while enabling continuity of care. For instance, a patient moving from one city to another can share their medical history with a new doctor in seconds, avoiding repeated tests and delays in treatment.
As per the Health Ministry, by February 2025, the ABDM had facilitated the creation of more than 73.9 crore ABHA IDs and linked millions of health records. Private health-tech firms, hospitals, and diagnostic labs have begun integrating with the system, accelerating digitisation across the sector. The initiative has also enabled a smoother delivery of schemes such as Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG), launched in 2017, was designed to tackle a different problem: the fragmentation of digital public services across countless websites and apps. Umang brings together central, state, and local government services into a single mobile and web platform, offering a unified interface to citizens.
The app integrates with key systems such as DigiLocker, Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), and Aadhaar-enabled services. Through Umang, users can access more than 2,300 services, from paying utility bills and booking gas cylinders to checking provident fund balances and applying for scholarships.
The platform is available in 23 languages, ensuring that users with different native languages can take advantage of it. Notably, by May 2025, Umang has 8.21 crore registered users who have facilitated nearly 597 crore transactions.
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