Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday, 3 July 2026, took to X to champion the Digital India programme, citing 103 crore internet connections and over 66 crore daily UPI transactions as proof of the initiative's transformative reach under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Context

In his post, CM Choudhary wrote — 'डिजिटल इंडिया आज नए भारत की सबसे बड़ी शक्ति बन चुका है' ('Digital India has today become the greatest strength of new India') — framing the programme not merely as a government scheme but as a civilisational shift. He credited PM Modi's 'visionary leadership' for making technology, transparency, and ease of access a part of every citizen's daily life.

The post, hashtagged #DigitalIndia, reflects a broader effort by senior BJP leaders across states to reinforce the Centre's digital narrative ahead of policy milestones linked to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

Policy Backdrop

The Digital India programme was formally launched on 1 July 2015 by PM Modi, with the stated goal of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. The initiative has since expanded to cover digital infrastructure, e-governance services, and digital literacy at scale.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), introduced in August 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in partnership with the Reserve Bank of India, has been a cornerstone of India's digital payments revolution. Combined with Aadhaar biometric identity and Jan Dhan bank accounts, UPI forms the backbone of what the government describes as digital public infrastructure — a stack designed to expand financial inclusion and reduce leakages in welfare delivery.

The figures cited by CM Choudhary — 103 crore internet connections and 66 crore-plus daily UPI transactions — illustrate the scale at which these systems now operate, reflecting years of investment in broadband connectivity and mobile-first payment adoption across urban and rural India alike.

Stakeholders and Impact

The beneficiaries of India's digital expansion span a wide spectrum: individual citizens accessing government services online, small businesses and street vendors using UPI for cashless transactions, and the broader financial sector which has seen rapid formalisation of the economy as a result. For a state like Bihar, historically underserved in terms of banking access and infrastructure, digital inclusion carries particular significance.

CM Choudhary's remarks also signal alignment between state and central leadership on the technology agenda — an important political signal as Bihar prepares for continued development pushes under the NDA alliance framework.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to parliamentary and budgetary updates on Digital India Phase 2 targets, including new broadband rollout goals and digital literacy allocations in upcoming Union Budgets. State-level implementations, particularly in eastern India, will be closely watched as indicators of whether the headline numbers translate into last-mile impact. The Viksit Bharat 2047 roadmap positions digital infrastructure as a non-negotiable pillar of India's development story — and statements like CM Choudhary's suggest that political consensus around this agenda remains strong across the ruling coalition.