Digital India

PNB partners Digital India BHASHINI to offer multilingual AI banking

Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) for facilitating multilingual AI banking. Through this partnership, BHASHINI's advanced multilingual AI capabilities will be integrated into PNB's digital platforms, PNB said in a statement on Thursday. This will empower customers to access banking services seamlessly in multiple Indian languages via both voice and text, it said. Speaking on the occasion, PNB Executive Director M Paramasivam said by combining multilingual AI with public service delivery, this initiative will help bridge language barriers and ensure that digital banking services are more accessible, equitable, and citizen-friendly for people across the country.

Census 2027 pre-test: What India is testing before counting its citizens

As a population-enumeration pre-test begins, India is testing digital data collection, self-enumeration and field systems ahead of its first Census since 2011

Gave India new identity worldwide: PM Modi hails 11 years of Digital India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the Digital India initiative of the government, and said it has redefined governance, empowered citizens and accelerated all-round development by touching every aspect of life. Eleven years of Digital India has given India a new identity worldwide, he asserted. "Today, we mark 11 years since the Digital India initiative was launched. This initiative has redefined governance, empowered citizens and accelerated all-round development. It has touched every aspect of life," Modi said in a post on X. The prime minister said from seamless digital payments and direct benefit transfers reaching beneficiaries with transparency to the expanding digital public infrastructure, technology has become a powerful instrument for furthering 'Ease of Living.' "Digital India has taken the wave of innovation to all parts of India, especially villages, tier-2 and tier-3 cities," he said. Modi said young entrepreneurs, startups and innovators from every co

11 years of Digital India: Internet connections quadruple to 1.02 billion

The government said Digital India has expanded internet connectivity, lowered mobile data costs and transformed digital public services over the past 11 years

When a creator tells you what to buy: The new face of online shopping

From 'Amazon finds' to under-₹500 reels, short-form videos are reshaping how users discover, buy online

Cockroach Janata Party: Indian youth turn political anger into viral satire

The CJP manifesto offers an unstructured opinion poll on what concerns young people most

Zoho invests ₹70 crore in ONDC to support sovereign tech development

Zoho has invested ₹70 crore in ONDC to boost sovereign digital infrastructure and expand MSME access to open e-commerce networks

Financing India's growth story needs new institutional investment vehicles

Four institutional initiatives could materially accelerate the investment surge needed for the next phase of growth

Ayush ministry, BHASHINI ink MoU to strengthen multilingual services

An MoU was signed on Thursday between the Ayush ministry and the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to enable faster transcription and translation of Ayush knowledge systems into multiple Indian languages through advanced AI-powered language technology. Under the initiative titled "BHASHINI Rajyam - A BHASHINI Sahayogi Programme," the partnership aims to integrate the BHASHINI Platform, India's national language digital public infrastructure, across various digital platforms and services of the Ayush ministry, an official statement said. The Ministry of Ayush, through the Ayush Grid initiative, is working across healthcare, capacity building, research, drug administration, and related sectors. Several portals, applications, and AI-enabled solutions developed under Ayush Grid are proposed to be made available in all 22 scheduled languages recognised under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to ensure wider ..

DBN, Andhra sign pact for BharatNet expansion with ₹2,432 cr financial aid

Digital Bharat Nidhi has signed a pact with the Andhra Pradesh government to roll out amended BharatNet programme in the state with financial support of Rs 2,432 crore from the Centre, an official statement said on Wednesday. The agreement was signed between Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), the Andhra Pradesh government, Andhra Pradesh BharatNet Infrastructure Limited (APBIL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) for implementation of the Amended BharatNet Programme to accelerate broadband connectivity across the rural part of the state. "The Government of India has approved financial support of Rs 2,432 crore for implementation of the programme in Andhra Pradesh. The initiative is expected to facilitate more than five lakh rural home fibre connections with financial support from the Government of India," the statement said. The Union Cabinet had approved the Amended BharatNet Programme on 4 August 2023 with the objective of upgrading, ...

Next digital leap: DPI 2.0 can drive innovation and economic growth

India's local innovation capacity remains uneven, particularly outside major urban centres. Data systems are fragmented, raising challenges for interoperability and trust

Andhra Pradesh plans law to regulate children's social media access

State plans draft law to restrict social media access for children under 13 and introduce age-based controls, verification tools, and digital literacy initiatives

DigiHaat gives small sellers AI power in ecommerce for wider reach

DigiHaat rolls out AI tools to help small-town sellers list, price and deliver products online, deepening access to ecommerce via ONDC

CSM Technologies wins 'Tech Excellence in GovTech' at Nasscom awards

CSM Technologies wins 'Tech Excellence in GovTech' at NASSCOM SME Inspire Awards 2026, highlighting its role in advancing digital governance platforms

Intel & Digital India Bhashini Division bring multilingual capabilities

Intel India and the Digital India Bhashini Division have integrated Bhashini's Vidyalekha into Intel-based AI PCs, enabling real-time translation and transcription across Indian languages

Building an ownership society with a universal retirement account for all

India needs a universal retirement account for every citizen beginning at birth in an era when capital, rather than labour, will dominate economic returns

Budget 2026-27: Govt sets up panel to study AI impact on services sector

Union Budget 2026: The Centre plans a high-powered panel to assess how AI is changing services, employment and skills, while aiming to raise India's global share in services to 10% by 2047

Eco Survey asks online firms to verify age, push for simpler kids' devices

Online platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and simpler devices should be promoted for children to access educational content with safeguards to address rising problem digital addiction, Economic Survey 2025-26 said on Thursday. The Economic Survey 2025-26 tabled in Parliament has identified digital addiction as a rising problem impacting mental health of youth and adults. It noted measures by various countries, including Australia, China, and South Korea, and called for several interventions, besides ongoing efforts of various government departments. "Policies on age-based access limits may be considered, as younger users are more vulnerable to compulsive use and harmful content. Platforms should be made responsible for enforcing age verification and age-appropriate defaults, particularly for social media, gambling apps, auto-play features, and targeted advertising," the Survey said. The Survey has called for educating families and encouraged them to

Stable policies power India's rise as fastest-growing major economy: CG

A stable policy environment and a predictable, reform-oriented investment climate have ensured India's emergence as the world's fastest-growing major economy in recent times, Consul General in Shanghai Pratik Mathur said on Friday. Speaking at the 11th Edition of the Shanghai International Business Cooperation Forum, Mathur highlighted initiatives like Make in India and Digital India as important drivers of New Delhi's rise through the global rankings, the Consulate said in a post on X. He spoke at length about the increasing global interest in the upcoming AI Impact Summit 2026, which India will host on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. Mathur also spoke about India's Global South-oriented, people-centric, and inclusive AI policies, such as Bhashini, which have boosted the nation's ability to foster the world's largest startup ecosystem, with over 100,000 startups. The government's Bhashini AI platform allows translation of text, numbers

India gets its first fully paperless district court in Kerala's Wayanad

Kerala's Kalpetta in Wayanad becomes India's first fully paperless district court, using AI tools and digital records to deliver faster, greener and more accessible justice