Context- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the successful completion of nine years of the Digital India initiative.

About Digital India Programme:

•  Launch: July 01, 2015, by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• Aim: Transform India into a knowledge-based economy and digitally empowered society by ensuring digital services, access, inclusion, and empowerment, and bridging the digital divide.

Key Achievements:

• Financial Inclusion: Over 11 crore farmers receive money directly in their bank accounts.
• Ayushman Bharat: Created 34.6 crore Ayushman Cards.
• Aadhaar: Generated over 137 crore Aadhaar numbers, providing a unique digital identity for every Indian.
• BharatNet: Laid 6.83 lakh kilometers of optical fiber network, equivalent to circling the Earth over 17 times.
• FASTags: Issued over nine crore FASTags,.
• BHIM App: A UPI-based payment app facilitating seamless digital transactions.