DigiLocker (2015): India’s Paperless Document Wallet
Launched on 1st July 2015 as part of the Digital India initiative, DigiLocker is the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)
Category Entrepreneurship, ICT and Innovation
Chips, Skills, and Systems: The Story of India’s Special Manpower Development Programme for Chips to System Design Initiative (SMDP-C2SD-2014)
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched in 2014 the Special Manpower Development Programme for Chips to System Design (SMDP-C2SD).
PM Gati Shakti Data for Private Sector 2021
India's infrastructure landscape is undergoing a digital revolution, with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan at its core. Announced in October 2021, this ambitious initiative seeks to transform how infrastructure is planned and executed through a unified digital platform that brings together 44 central ministries and all states/UTs. In the Union Budget 2025, the government of India decided to distribute particular geospatial data to private sector organizations. The government made this strategic choice to democratize data which will drive public-private partnerships (PPPs) forward as well as enhance logistical effectiveness and attract investments in essential sectors.
National Centres of Excellence for Skilling 2024
The Government has established the National Centres of Excellence for Skilling, which are being operationalized through the National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs). It offers training aligned with National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) levels 5 to 8. These advanced programs focus on high-end technical skills that are currently not very well presented in the Indian skilling ecosystem.
National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) 2024: A Framework for Integrated Urban Governance
NUDM was launched as a new scheme in 2024, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology,
Centre for Excellence in AI for Education
The Centre of Excellence in AI for Education was announced in the Annual Financial Statement (FY 2025-26) with a budgetary allocation of ₹500 crores to transform the education landscape into AI-aided teaching, personalised education and skill development. Five National Centres for skilling in AI, robotics and cybersecurity shall be set up to address the requirements of the industry worldwide in curriculum designing, training of trainers, skill certification and periodic assessments in order to make the workforce of India globally competitive.
The Manufacturing Mission (2025-26): Furthering ‘Make in India’
The ‘National Manufacturing Mission’ introduced in the Union Budget 2025-2026 by the Finance and Ccorporate Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, is an extension to the ‘Make in India’ Project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. Despite progressive results from “Make in India”, several structural challenges persist- such as inadequate infrastructure, complex regulations, and reliance on imports for critical components.