India has built the world's largest digital payments ecosystem, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jagdish Vishwakarma said on Tuesday, 16 June, crediting the achievement to initiatives launched under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over the past 12 years. Speaking at the 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sammelan' in Rajkot, Vishwakarma said India was now setting the direction for the global digital economy.

Digital India and Jan Dhan at the Centre

Vishwakarma described the Jan Dhan Yojana and the Digital India Mission as 'key pillars of financial inclusion and economic modernisation.' He said that when these programmes were first launched, political opponents had publicly questioned their viability — a scepticism he argued had since been proved wrong.

'Today, India has the world's largest digital payment ecosystem, and crores of people are carrying out online transactions every day through UPI. India is giving direction to the world in the digital economy,' Vishwakarma said.

He stated that more than 58 crore bank accounts had been opened under the Jan Dhan programme, channelling over ₹2 lakh crore into the formal banking system.

Key Welfare and Infrastructure Claims

The event was organised under the BJP's campaign titled '12 Years of Trust, Development and Public Welfare', marking the completion of a dozen years of the Modi-led Union government. Vishwakarma outlined a series of figures he attributed to the period:

More than 25 crore people had reportedly been lifted above the poverty line; over 12 crore toilets had been built under the Swachh Bharat Mission; and more than 4 crore families had received homes through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

On agriculture, he said more than ₹4 lakh crore had been transferred directly to farmers under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, while cumulative farm procurement over the past 12 years had reached approximately ₹26 lakh crore.

Health Sector and Economic Standing

Vishwakarma said the number of AIIMS institutions had grown from 8 before 2014 to more than 23 at present, and that medical education seats had risen from around 51,000 to over 1.28 lakh. He specifically noted that the establishment of AIIMS Rajkot was 'a matter of pride for the Saurashtra region.'

He also claimed India had advanced from the 11th position to become the world's fourth-largest economy under Modi's leadership, citing growth across industrial, rural, digital, tourism, and green economy sectors.

Gujarat's Development Highlighted

On the state front, Vishwakarma said Gujarat had emerged as a national leader in solar energy and that Rajkot had grown into a significant industrial hub. He cited projects including the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train, GIFT City, the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, the PM MITRA Park in Navsari, and the Statue of Unity as markers of infrastructure scale.

Former Union minister and Rajya Sabha MP Parshottam Rupala also addressed the gathering, outlining what he described as landmark initiatives of the Modi government. State minister Jitu Vaghani, BJP state general secretaries Aniruddh Dave and Dr Prashant Korat, and Rajkot City BJP president Madhav Dave were among those present.

As the BJP's 12-year commemoration campaign continues across the country, the party's messaging is increasingly anchored around digital infrastructure and financial inclusion as defining legacies — a framing that opposition parties are expected to contest in the months ahead.