Key Points
- ₹1.64 lakh crore approved for 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects in India
- UPI processed 24,162 crore transactions in FY 2025-26, comprising 49 per cent of global real-time payments
- Startup employment reached 23.36 lakh with 36 per cent year-on-year job growth
The Digital India programme, which completes eleven years on 1 July 2026, has secured ₹1.64 lakh crore in approved investments across 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects and deployed over 45,000 GPUs for artificial intelligence research, according to a government statement released on Saturday (27 June).
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the programme is now anchoring itself in AI and semiconductor manufacturing after building foundational digital infrastructure, financial inclusion and citizen service delivery over its first decade.
Mobile data costs have fallen from ₹269 per GB in 2015 to ₹8–10 per GB, while internet connections have grown approximately four times, the ministry said. The shift marks a transition from basic digital access to frontier technology capabilities as the government targets the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision of a developed India.
IndiaAI Mission Builds Compute Infrastructure
The IndiaAI Mission, approved with an outlay of over ₹10,372 crore, has established a shared compute facility with over 45,000 GPUs to support AI research and deployment at national scale, MeitY said.
Under the mission’s foundation model pillar, 15 large language models and small language models are being supported across speech, text and vision modalities. The AI Kosh platform now hosts over 12,519 datasets, 307 AI models and 20 toolkits.
Twenty AI solutions have been deployed across 12 sectors through challenges, hackathons and in-house development, the ministry said. To extend AI capability beyond metropolitan centres, 27 Data and AI Labs have been established across Tier II and Tier III cities, 684 fellowships awarded to students, and 84 lakh learners supported through the YUVA AI course.
Eighteen Centres of Excellence have been set up across the country, and 20 Indian AI startups have been supported for capacity building. The government released AI Governance Guidelines in November 2025.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026, held in February, brought together delegations from over 100 countries and 20 international organisations, with approximately 15 lakh participants attending physically and virtually.
The India AI Impact Summit Declaration was adopted by 92 countries and organisations. The summit attracted over USD 200 billion (approximately ₹16.8 lakh crore) in AI-related investment commitments, according to the ministry.
Semiconductor Manufacturing Pipeline Takes Shape
Under the India Semiconductor Mission, 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects have been approved with an investment pipeline of approximately ₹1.64 lakh crore, comprising one semiconductor fabrication unit, two compound semiconductor fabrication units and nine packaging units, MeitY said.
India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, will focus on semiconductor equipment, materials, indigenous intellectual property and supply chain resilience, according to the ministry.
On the design side, 24 projects are being supported under the Design Linked Incentive Scheme, 105 companies have been assisted with advanced chip design tools, and 23 design tapeouts have been completed at various foundries including at advanced nodes.
SEMICON India 2025 brought together over 350 exhibiting companies from 48 countries and regions. The event saw the signing of 13 memoranda of understanding with participation from global semiconductor company executives, the ministry said.
India’s electronics manufacturing sector has grown to an industry valued at ₹13 lakh crore, with electronics emerging as the country’s third-largest export category, MeitY said. India is now the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
The manufacturing ecosystem now spans AI-enabled data centre components, 5G equipment and high-end networking gear, integrating India into global technology supply chains while generating domestic employment, according to the ministry.
UPI Dominates Real-Time Payments
The Unified Payments Interface completed ten years in April 2026. In FY 2025-26, the platform recorded 24,162 crore transactions, the ministry said. UPI now powers 81 per cent of India’s digital payments and accounts for approximately 49 per cent of all global real-time digital transactions.
UPI is operational in multiple countries, and India’s Digital Public Infrastructure has been formally engaged by 23 nations through cooperation agreements, according to the government.
Broadband subscribers have reached 106.58 crore as of March 2026, MeitY said. BharatNet has connected 2.18 lakh Gram Panchayats with high-speed broadband. India’s 5G network now covers 99.9 per cent of districts, with 4.74 lakh towers established.
In February 2026, a National Data Centre for the North East Region was launched at Guwahati.
Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, released in January 2025, establish a framework for consent-based data governance including mechanisms for data breach reporting and the creation of a Data Protection Board, the ministry said.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, which received Presidential assent in August 2025, came into force on 1 May 2026. The Online Gaming Authority of India was constituted in April 2026.
Over 55,200 entities were certified by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in FY 2025-26, the highest single-year addition since the programme’s inception, MeitY said.
By the numbers
- ₹1.64 lakh crore
- Investment approved for 12 semiconductor projects
- 45,000 GPUs
- Compute capacity for IndiaAI Mission
- 24,162 crore
- UPI transactions in FY 2025-26
Direct employment generated by recognised startups has reached 23.36 lakh, a 36.1 per cent year-on-year increase. Approximately 48 per cent of all recognised startups feature at least one woman director or partner, according to the ministry.
India’s Global Innovation Index ranking has improved from 81 in 2015 to 38 in 2025. The country now has 2,23,000 recognised startups, the government said.
Your Questions, Answered
How much has India invested in semiconductor manufacturing under Digital India?
The government has approved ₹1.64 lakh crore in investments across 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects, comprising one semiconductor fabrication unit, two compound semiconductor fabrication units and nine packaging units under the India Semiconductor Mission.
How many GPUs does India have for AI research?
The IndiaAI Mission has established a shared compute facility with over 45,000 GPUs to support AI research and deployment at national scale, with an approved outlay of over ₹10,372 crore.
What is UPI's share of global real-time digital payments?
UPI accounts for approximately 49 per cent of all global real-time digital transactions. In FY 2025-26, the platform recorded 24,162 crore transactions and powers 81 per cent of India's digital payments.
How many jobs have Indian startups created?
Direct employment generated by recognised startups has reached 23.36 lakh, reflecting a 36.1 per cent year-on-year increase in job creation. Nearly 48 per cent of recognised startups feature at least one woman director or partner.
