MEITY
Year End Review 2024 - Part-2
·
Major Policy Developments in 2024: CCTV standards upgraded
& Forensic Science Laboratory recognized as electronic evidence examiners Under
Section 79A of IT Act
·
Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative
for strengthening cybersecurity of govt. officials, CSC welfare Camps for traders
& citizens, Capacity building programmes organised by NeGD
·
138.34 Crore Aadhaar numbers generated so far and DIKSHA
World's largest education platform, empowering millions with 556.37 crore learning
sessions
·
67 million Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) numbers
created, and 1,803 Institutions and 637 Districts linked under National Knowledge
Network
·
UMANG empowering 7.12 Crore users with access to over
2,000 Government Services from 207 Departments of the Central and State Governments
across 32 States
·
5.84 lakh operational CSCs with 4.63 lakh at the gram
panchayat level, bridging the digital divide in rural India by providing more than
800 services government services
·
Paperless Governance in Action: DigiLocker,
Entity Locker, and GovDrive transforming Document Management
with over 37 Crore registered users on DigiLocker
The Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has introduced
significant policy initiatives/amendments in 2024, aimed at fostering innovation,
enhancing governance, and empowering citizens.
Policy Developments:
Policies or amendments introduced in 2024
1. CCTV Security
Standards Update
The Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has updated
regulations for CCTV cameras under the Comprehensive Regulatory Order (CRO), effective October
2024. All CCTV cameras manufactured or sold in India must meet strict security standards,
including physical security, access control, network encryption, and penetration
testing. This update aims to enhance the quality and cybersecurity of surveillance
systems in the country.
2. Notification
of Forensic Science Laboratory as Examiner of Electronics Evidence under Section
79A of IT Act 2000
CHAPTER XIIA of
the Information Technology Act, 2000 empowers the Central Government under section
79A to notify any Department, body or agency of the Central Government or a State
Government as an Examiner of Electronic Evidence for the purposes
of providing expert opinion on electronic form evidence before any court or other
authority specified by notification in the Official Gazette.
MeitY has entrusted STQC Directorate for assessment and evaluation
of applicant laboratories seeking notification as Examiner of Electronics Evidence
under Section 79A of IT Act 2000. As on date 15 Forensics labs are notified and
many other labs are under process of notification
Regional Outreach:
Highlights of regional initiatives or programs implemented in various states
1. Strengthening
cybersecurity
Under the Cyber
Surakshit Bharat initiative, MeitY is strengthening the cybersecurity capabilities of Chief
Information Security Officers (CISOs) and IT officials to combat cyber threats.
NeGD organized the 43rd CISO Deep-Dive Training Programme
in April 2024 and a CISO Workshop in September 2024 in New Delhi, with over
250 participants, focusing on building awareness and resilience. Additionally, a
three-day Cyber Security Workshop was held in Kerala in November 2024, training
more than 100 state officials to enhance cyber defence capabilities and mitigate
risks effectively.
2. Empowering
traders & citizens through CSC welfare Camps
CSC e-Governance
Services and CAIT signed an Memorandum of Understanding to empower traders
and citizens by facilitating access to social security schemes like NPS, Atal
Pension Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri SVANidhi
through dedicated camps. With nearly 6 lakh CSCs nationwide, CSC SPV bridges
the gap between government schemes and remote areas.
CAIT, representing
over 9 crore traders, aims to ensure social and financial security for the trading
community, aligning with the Digital India Mission and the PM's vision of inclusive
empowerment.
3. Capacity building
programme by National e-Governance Division
MeitY, through NeGD, is enhancing
digital governance with a Capacity Building Programme on AI/ML applications in collaboration
with IIM Vishakhapatnam. The program aims to equip officers with strategies for
responsibly implementing AI in governance, ensuring data privacy, security, and
ethical standards. It emphasizes tackling regulatory challenges and ensuring AI
applications are transparent and comply with privacy standards.
4. Workshop boosts
state officials understanding of E-Gov and AI
The Digital India
State Consultation Workshop, organized by NeGD, MeitY, and TNeGA in Chennai on November
28, 2024, aimed to enhance Tamil Nadu state officials' understanding of central
e-governance initiatives and AI integration. Key programs like DigiLocker, UMANG, and API Setu were
discussed, alongside topics such as cybersecurity and capacity building. Tamil Nadu
showcased its innovative projects, including GID-based land records, e-Office, and
the AI-based cataract detection app, E-Paarvai.
India's Digital
Revolution: Transforming Infrastructure, Governance and Public Service
India's digital
infrastructure has undergone a transformative evolution in recent years, positioning
the country as a global leader in digital adoption. With a rapidly expanding digital
economy, driven by innovations in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI),
machine learning (ML), and digital governance, India's infrastructure is continuously
evolving to meet the growing demands of the public and private sectors. Key initiatives
and projects have been rolled out to strengthen the country’s digital backbone,
ensuring accessibility, scalability, and security in delivering government services,
fostering economic growth, and enhancing citizens’ lives.
India’s Digital
Infrastructure Landscape
One of the central
pillars of India’s digital infrastructure is the expansion and development of data
centres. These centres are crucial for supporting the increasing demand for
cloud computing, data storage, and AI/ML applications. India’s data centre industry
is poised for substantial growth, with expectations for a significant increase in
IT load capacity, which is approximately at 1000 MW currently.
The National Informatics
Centre (NIC) has established state-of-the-art National Data Centres (NDC)
in cities like Delhi, Pune, Bhubaneswar, and Hyderabad, providing
robust cloud services to government ministries, state governments, and public sector
undertakings (PSUs). These data centres also offer essential disaster recovery and
hosting services, ensuring continuity in government operations.
At NDC, storage
capacity has been expanded to approximately 100PB, including All Flash Enterprise
Class Storage, Object Storage, and Unified Storage. Additionally, around 5,000 odd
servers are deployed to support various cloud workloads. Another state-of-the-art
NDC (Tier-III) of 200 Racks expandable to 400 Racks is being established at Guwahati,
Assam.
To address the
unique challenges faced by India’s Northeastern region,
the National Data Centre - North East Region (NDC-NER) was launched in September
2020. This facility aims to bridge the digital divide, foster socio-economic development,
and improve public services in the region by providing a reliable, high-performance
data storage and cloud service infrastructure.
Enhancing Cloud
Services: The role of NIC and MeghRaj
India's cloud ecosystem
is key to its digital transformation. The NIC National Cloud Services project, launched in 2022, enhances e-Governance service
delivery. Over 300 government departments use cloud services. The GI Cloud (MeghRaj) initiative aims to provide ICT services via Cloud
to all Government Departments at the Centre and States/UTs, promoting the Cloud
ecosystem nationwide.
It ensures optimal
use of IT infrastructure and accelerates the development and deployment of e-Gov
applications such as digital payments, identity verification, and consent-based
data sharing. MeitY has initiated the empanelment of Cloud
Service Providers (CSPs) to address the evolving Cloud needs of Government Departments.
Digital Public
Infrastructure (DPI): A Game-Changer
India's Digital
Public Infrastructure (DPI) drives accessible and secure public services, transforming
the digital economy. Key achievements include 138.34 Crore Aadhaar numbers
being generated. Unified Payment Interface (UPI) facilitates digital payments
and enhances financial inclusion. As on 30 June 2024, it has facilitated 24,100
Crore financial transactions. DigiLocker, a
platform for digital document verification. It has facilitated more than 37.046
Crore users and made available 776 Crore issued documents.
Digital Infrastructure
for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA), is the world’s largest education platform. As on 22nd
July 2024, 556.37 Crore learning sessions have been imparted using DIKSHA. It has
achieved 17.95 Crore course enrolments and 14.37 Crore course completions.
India’s digital
ecosystem includes platforms like GeM for procurement,
UMANG for government services, and API SETU for open APIs. Co-WIN and Aarogya Setu have revolutionized
health services, while eSanjeevani, e-Hospital, and e-Courts
enhance healthcare and justice delivery. Tools like the Poshan
Tracker, e-Office, and the NCD platform improve governance and health management.
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has created 67 million ABHA numbers. Skill India
Digital Hub supports skilling, and India Stack Local showcases 493 state-level digital
solutions.
The National
Knowledge Network (NKN) connects data centres, area networks, and institutions
to support G2G, G2C services, and collaborative research. It has 1,803 institutional
links and 637 district links, fostering resource sharing and efficient digital governance.
Citizen-Centric digital services
Innovative digital
services like UMANG and MeriPehchaan enhance
citizen engagement and simplify access to government services. UMANG offers 2,077
services across 32 States/UTs in 23 languages, streamlining interactions with over
7.12 crore users.
MeriPehchaan’s National Single Sign-On (SSO) processes over 132 crore
transactions, ensuring seamless authentication. The e-Hastakshar
(e-Sign) service enables citizens to digitally sign documents, providing a legally
accepted alternative to physical signatures. A total of 81.97 Crore e-Signs have
been issued by all ESPs.
Another important
project, API Setu, facilitates the implementation
of the government’s Open API Policy, enabling seamless data exchange and service
delivery across government systems. Over 6,000 APIs have been published,
facilitating more than 312.01 Crore transactions. With 1,700+ publishers,
including key entities such as PAN, Driving License, Vehicle Registration, COVID
Vaccination Certificate, and CBSE, the platform also serves more than 634 consumers.
The MyGov
platform is the Government of India’s citizen engagement initiative, allowing citizens
to share ideas, opinions, and feedback on various government policies and programs.
With over 4.89 Crore registered users, MyGov fosters transparency and encourages
active citizen participation in governance.
Common Services
Centres (CSCs): Reaching rural India
The CSCs
initiative, managed by the MeitY, has played a vital role
in bringing e-services to rural India. As of October 2024, over 5.84 lakh CSCs are
operational across the country, including 4.63 lakh at the Gram Panchayat level,
the initiative has facilitated the delivery of more than 800 services ranging from
government schemes to education, telemedicine, and financial services.
Citizen-Centric
digital services
Unified Mobile
Application for New-Age Governance (UMANG) is key initiative aimed at
simplifying access to government services. With over 7.12 Crore users, UMANG has
streamlined the way citizens engage with government services. UMANG is available
in 23 multilingual languages (for top 100 services), including English and Hindi.
As of now, UMANG offers about 2,077 services from 207 departments of the
Central and State Governments.
The MeriPehchaan platform, a National Single Sign-On (SSO)
service, provides citizens with a seamless way to authenticate and access various
government services using a single set of credentials. Over 132 Crore transactions
have been processed on this platform, improving service delivery and reducing the
complexities of managing multiple accounts and credentials.
The e-Hastakshar (e-Sign) service enables citizens to digitally
sign documents, providing a legally accepted alternative to physical signatures.
A total of 81.97 Crore e-Signs have been issued by all ESPs.
Another important
project, API Setu, facilitates the implementation
of the government’s Open API Policy, enabling seamless data exchange and service
delivery across government systems. Over 6,000 APIs have been published, facilitating
more than 312.01 Crore transactions.
The MyGov
platform is the Government of India’s citizen engagement initiative, allowing citizens
to share ideas, opinions, and feedback on various government policies and programs.
With over 4.89 Crore registered users, MyGov fosters transparency and encourages
active citizen participation in governance.
Revolutionizing
government 0perations
In line with the
government’s vision of paperless governance, Digi Locker has become a revolutionary
platform for the issuance and verification of documents. With over 37 Crore registered
users, Digi Locker has transformed the way citizens access and authenticate their
documents.
Collab Files is a centralized
platform for government officials to create, manage, and share office documents
such as spreadsheets and text files. It integrates with platforms like e-Office
and NIC email and ensures secure access via government-issued email IDs, and maintains
records of document sharing.
Gov Drive is a cloud-based,
multi-tenant platform offering storage as a service for Government of India officials.
It enables secure storage, sharing, synchronization, and management of documents
across devices, allowing officials to store, access, modify, or delete files and
folders online through the GovDrive application.
The Gov Intranet
Platform is a modern, secure portal for government officials, streamlining workflow
management with Single Sign-On (SSO) via Parichay. It
provides access to applications like eMail, eOffice, and the Ministry Performance Dashboard while enabling
efficient calendar management, task assignment, event planning, and secure
Upcoming Plans
of MeitY: Shaping India’s Digital Future
1. Boosting the
Semiconductor Ecosystem
MeitY is committed to position India as a global semiconductor
hub through its Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. By fostering collaborations
with global technology giants and nurturing local startups,
the Ministry aims to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain, ensuring sustainable
growth and global competitiveness in this critical sector.
2. Advancing AI
Development and Regulation
Under the IndiaAI Mission, MeitY is set to allocate
substantial resources toward building advanced compute infrastructure, promoting
AI research, and enabling AI-driven applications in healthcare, agriculture, education,
and other key sectors. A special emphasis will be placed on generative AI and its
seamless integration across government and private sector operations, fostering
innovation and ensuring responsible AI use.
3. Expanding Digital
Public Infrastructure
Plans are underway
to enhance existing digital platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker. MeitY also aims to expand
the IndiaStack ecosystem, driving global interoperability
and fostering new opportunities in digital finance and e-governance. These efforts
are designed to streamline services and empower citizens and businesses alike.
4. Strengthening
Cybersecurity
With a focus on
building robust and resilient infrastructure to counter cyber threats, MeitY is leveraging advanced technologies and strengthening
public-private partnerships. These initiatives aim to safeguard India’s digital
assets and ensure a secure environment for citizens and enterprises.