Blitz Bureau
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, the country’s infrastructure is continuously evolving to meet the growing demands of the public and private sectors.
Major 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.
Data centre growth
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-theart 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.
Cloud infrastructure
India’s growing cloud service ecosystem has been crucial in supporting its digital transformation. The Enhancement of National Informatics Centre (NIC) National Cloud Services project, launched in 2022, seeks to further upgrade the national cloud infrastructure, enabling faster and more efficient delivery of e-governance services. Over 300 Government departments are now utilising cloud services, contributing to the rapid growth of India’s digital public infrastructure.
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 eGov 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.
Game-changer DPI
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to foundational digital systems that are accessible, secure, and interoperable, supporting essential public services. In India, DPI has been instrumental in transforming the digital economy, much like traditional infrastructure for industrial growth. Key achievements include Aadhaar and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) etc.
Aadhaar, the world’s largest digital identity programme, offers a unique digital identity based on biometric and demographic data. It enables authentication anytime, anywhere, while eliminating duplicate and fake identities. So far, 138.34 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated.
UPI facilitates digital payments and enhances financial inclusion. As on June 30, 2024, it has facilitated 24,100 crore financial transactions.
DigiLocker, a platform for digital document verification, 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 and as on July 22, 2024, 556.37 crore learning sessions have been imparted using DIKSHA.
