Internet connectivity
With over 692 M internet users in India in January 2023, India’s penetration rate stood at 48.7% of the total population.
The competition among telecom operators has led to the availability of affordable data plans, making internet access more accessible to a broader segment of the population.
The entry of Reliance Jio in 2016 disrupted the telecom market by offering affordable data plans and sparking a data revolution. Jio’s aggressive pricing strategy led to increased data consumption and forced other telecom operators to adapt.
The Indian government has launched initiatives to enhance digital infrastructure, such as the BharatNet project. This project aims to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to rural and remote areas.
Efforts have been made to extend internet connectivity to rural areas to bridge the digital divide. Various projects focus on providing internet access to remote villages and promoting digital inclusion.
Ghes, a small village located atop the hills in Uttarakhand, has now been transformed to a ‘smart village’. This is why even though it is completely out of touch with electricity, it gets high-speed WiFi internet connection.
The state’s Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA) took up the mission of bringing the availability of high speed internet to Ghes but the major challenge was doing this without access to electricity.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST)
GST with the motto ‘ONE NATION ONE TAX’ is a comprehensive indirect tax reform that was introduced on July 1, 2017. It replaced a complex and multi-layered tax structure that involved both central and state-level taxes. GST is a destination-based tax, meaning it is levied at the point of consumption rather than at the point of origin.
GST has streamlined the taxation process, making it easier for businesses to comply with tax regulations. The unified tax system has reduced the complexity of filing multiple tax returns and has improved the overall ease of doing business in India.
GST has multiple tax slabs to categorize different goods and services. The tax slabs include 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. Some essential items are exempted or taxed at a lower rate, and there’s a cess on certain goods to fund specific purposes.
GST’s implementation has helped in curbing tax evasion by providing a comprehensive and digitized trail of transactions. The transparency and accountability built into the system make it more difficult for businesses to evade taxes.
GST as a technology has helped reduce duplication of claims on input tax, fraudulent claims, input tax claims that do not correspond with tax liability declared by the seller, or seller who has not furnished his tax liability etc.
Even the critics agree that GST has been a success. It has achieved what it was supposed to do – merge and subsume taxes and cesses and give common economic market and provide excellent technology-driven tax system.
Digital Transactions
The demonetization policy in India had a significant impact on country’s economy, but it also accelerated the growth of digital payments.
India has witnessed a significant increase in digital transactions over the years, driven by various factors including government’s push towards digitalization like Digital India, Make in India, and Startup India, technological advancements, increase in internet and smartphone penetration and changes in consumer behavior and the rise of e-commerce.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) developed by NPCI National Payments Corporation of India has emerged as a popular and widely used platform for digital transactions in India. UPI allows users to link multiple bank accounts to a single mobile application and facilitates seamless fund routing and merchant payments.
In August, the total number of UPI transactions reached an unprecedented 10.58 billion.
India has shared its UPI technology with many countries including France, Australia, UAE, Bhutan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and others.
FASTag India – Easy to Cruise
FASTag – with the motto ‘Easy to Cruise’ is a device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly while the vehicle is in motion.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), set up a committee headed by Nandan Nilekani to study electronic toll collection systems.
Fastag’s implementation has been a resounding success along with consistent growth trajectory, with Paytm becoming the first bank to issue one crore tags for payment collection at 280 toll plazas.
During 2018-19 the average waiting time for vehicles at toll plaza was about 8 minutes but with the introduction of Fastags this time has come down to about 45-47 seconds
Fastag penetration has surged from 16% in 2017-2018 to 96.3% in 2021-22. The average toll collection through Fastags in 2022 was Rs. 135 crore as per NHAI.
At the Mindmine Summit, the road transport and highways minister said that after introduction of FASTags, toll income of state-owned National Highways Authority of India NHAI increased by 15,000 crore per year.
The government is conducting pilot projects to replace toll plazas with Automatic Number Plate Recognition System.
5G Technology
India witnessed the fastest 5G rollout in the world. With more than 100 M+ users as per Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel the top leading companies in India . The 5G network rollout in India has been remarkable and the country is among the top three nations with the largest 5G installed base in the world.
Yes, we’re speaking of faster downloads, low latency, phenomenal network reliability, and a revolutionary impact on our lives, work, and play. India has overtaken Europe in this aspect by providing swifter network coverage and more dependable connectivity to both consumers and businesses throughout the country.
5G is predicted to account for 40% of mobile subscriptions by the end of 2024.
Read More: The Best new tech gadgets in 2023
According to some estimates, 5G connections in India is expected to reach near 369 million subscribers by 2026. The numbers may vary across market reports but a strong demand for 5G in India remains the bottom line.
5G has resulted in a 30% increase in overall network satisfaction compared to 4G.
