UPI has reached tea sellers, vegetable vendors; surpassed Visa: Ashwini Vaishnaw lauds Digital India
Addressing a packed hall at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre here on the occasion of 10 years of Digital India, he said that this is the strength of 1.4 billion Indians.
The celebration highlighted India's inspiring journey from being a digitally divided nation to becoming the world's third-largest digital economy.
At the heart of this transformation is the CSC network, a rural digital infrastructure that now reaches nearly 90 per cent of villages in the country -- empowering people at the grassroots level.
Minister Vaishnaw praised the efforts of lakhs of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs), who have made digital services accessible even in the remotest corners of India.
He shared stories of women like Manjulata from Odisha's Mayurbhanj and Rose Angelina from Meghalaya's East West Khasi Hills.
These women overcame tough circumstances, embraced digital skills, and transformed lives in their communities through CSC centres.
The Minister also made some big announcements to further boost the Digital India mission.
He said that free artificial intelligence training will be provided to 10 lakh individuals, giving priority to all VLEs.
He also urged all CSCs to offer IRCTC ticketing services and promised to work with Chief Ministers to link state IT agencies with CSC-SPV.
Union Minister of State Jitin Prasada also addressed the event and lauded the massive growth of CSCs -- from just 83,000 centres in 2014 to nearly 5.5 lakh centres today.
He emphasised the importance of digital empowerment and the key role of women VLEs -- more than 74,000 women are now leading centres across India.
Prasada also underlined the need to focus on cybersecurity, awareness, and capacity building in vital sectors like health, agriculture, and education.
He recommended allowing CSCs to deliver more services, like Update Client Lite and state government schemes, to improve VLE income.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
Coop sugar mills ditch molasses for grains to keep ethanol flowing year-round
About a dozen cooperative sugar mills operating molasses-based distilleries have applied to convert their ethanol plants to be run on more widely available grains. Molasses is produced during the process of making sugar from sugarcane. But the sugarcane crushing period is limited to 4-5 months in a year, which means sugar mills dependent on molasses can only operate for a limited period. Switching to grains like maize and damaged food grains would ensure year-round ethanol production and improved efficiency for cooperative sugar mills, whose output has been reduced to about a third of India's overall sugar production. Out of India's 269 cooperative sugar mills, 93 operate molasses-based distilleries. 'Out of these 93 distilleries… 10 of them applied for conversion of existing sugarcane-based (molasses) feedstock ethanol plants to multi-feedstock-based plants,' said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. Of these 10, eight are in Maharashtra, which is among India's largest sugarcane growing states, and one each in Gujarat and Karnataka. The federation is working on modalities so more cooperative sugar mills convert their distilleries from molasses to multi-feedstock. 'We have applied to convert our existing molasses distillery into multi-feedstock to increase our efficiency,' said R.B. Khandagave, managing director, Karnataka-based Chidanand Basaprabhu Kore Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane. 'Currently, our distillery is operational for around 200 days, but once the multi-feedstock is in place it would be operational throughout the year.' Currently, private and cooperative sugar mills in India produce about 3.5 billion litres of ethanol annually. Of this, cooperative sugar mills account for about 1 billion litres. In terms of sugar production, cooperative sugar mills account for about 35% of the national output, which is estimated at 26.1 million tonnes in 2024-25. According to a senior official in the government's co-operation department, the conversion to multi-feedstock plants will increase the financial viability and ensure better cash flows for cooperative sugar mills. In March, the Union government notified a scheme offering interest subvention, or a lower borrowing rate, for cooperative sugar mills converting ethanol distilleries to multi-feedstock units. Under the modified Ethanol Interest Subvention Scheme, the government offers an interest subvention of 6% per annum or 50% of the rate of interest charged by financial institutions, whichever is lower. The interest subvention is provided for a period of five years by the government, including a one-year moratorium on loan repayment. Cooperative sugar mills availing the benefit of interest subvention will also be given Priority-1 status by oil market companies. This aligns with the government's Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme, which mandates 20% ethanol blending with petrol. On 26 February, during the Advantage Assam 2.0 business summit in Guwahati, petroleum minister Hardeep S. Puri said 19.6% ethanol blending has been achieved so far. 'The conversion to multi-feedstock based plants would not only make the existing ethanol plants of the mills capable of operating when sugar-based feedstocks are not available for ethanol production, but will also improve efficiency and productivity of these plants,' said an official associated with cooperative sugar mills.
The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Minister inaugurates new Head post office in Razole
Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Dr. Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, on Thursday inaugurated the newly constructed Head post office building in Razole, aimed at providing enhanced services to Razole and the surrounding rural areas. Amalapuram MP Ganti Harish Madhur, was also present at the occasion. The newly constructed HPO building has been developed at a cost of ₹2 crore. The Union Minister also virtually inaugurated the Peddapuram post office building under Kakinada Division constructed at a cost of ₹1.78 crores. Addressing a public meeting at Mangena Gangayya Kalyana Mandapam, Mr Chandrasekhar said, 'India has two PMs — one is our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the other is the 'postman' in every village who ensures services reach the last mile.' He emphasised the rapid modernisation within India Post including real-time SMS alerts on article bookings and delivery, robust article tracking systems, and improved technological infrastructure to compete with private service providers in the market. Over the past year alone, ₹5,000 crores has been invested in modernising post offices. Mobile phones, biometric devices, and thermal printers have been distributed to 1.4 lakh postmen, transforming each into a 'Mobile ATM', he said. He added that the India Post plays a significant role in Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) and added that of the ₹10,000 crore released under the 'Thalliki Vandhanam' scheme, ₹1,500 crore was distributed through post offices in Andhra Pradesh. He encouraged citizens to utilise postal savings and insurance services, which start with as little as ₹100, offering secure, trustworthy financial options for all. Mr. Chandrasekhar highlighted the 'Sukanya Samriddhi' scheme describing it as a vital initiative aimed at securing the future of the girl child through long-term financial savings. Mr Harish Madhur noted that post offices are no longer limited to just delivering letters — they are multifunctional service points.
News18
17 minutes ago
- News18
From Sundar Pichai To Indra Nooyi, Indians Who Studied Abroad And Succeeded Globally
Last Updated: Many Indians who pursued their education overseas have achieved remarkable international success. Here are some of the most inspiring examples. Many Indians pursued their education overseas and achieved remarkable international success later on in life. From Sundar Pichai to Indra Nooyi,, many Indians have made significant contributions in their respective fields. Here are some of the most inspiring examples: Sundar Pichai – CEO of Google and Alphabet Inc. Sundar Pichai was raised in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He earned his from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, followed by an M.S. in Material Science from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School. During his time at Wharton, Pichai was honoured as a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar. Pichai joined Google in 2004, where he led the development of Google Toolbar and subsequently Google Chrome. He quickly climbed the ranks at Google and became its CEO in 2015. In 2019, he also assumed the role of CEO of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. Pichai was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the Trade and Industry category by the Government of India, the nation's third-highest civilian award. Satya Nadella – CEO and Chairman of Microsoft Born in 1967, Satya Nadella completed his primary education at Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet. In 1988, he graduated with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka. He then pursued further studies abroad, earning an M.S. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990. In 1997, he obtained an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Nadella was appointed CEO of Microsoft in February 2014, having been with the company for 22 years. Hyderabad-born Shantanu Narayen is the current CEO of Adobe. After completing his engineering studies at Osmania University in India, he furthered his education in the United States, which became a pivotal moment in his career. He obtained a Master's degree in Computer Science from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Narayen began his career with a startup in 1986 and later gained experience at Apple before joining Adobe in 1998. He also co-founded Pictra Inc., an early innovator in online photo sharing. Vikram Pandit – Former CEO of Citigroup, CEO of The Orogen Group Vikram Pandit, born in Nagpur, earned his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, followed by an MBA and Ph.D. in Finance from Columbia Business School. He has held the position of CEO at Citigroup and currently serves as Chairman and CEO of The Orogen Group. He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award in 2008. Indra Nooyi – Former CEO of PepsiCo, Board Member of Amazon and ICC Indra Nooyi, born in Chennai, earned her Master's degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management. To finance her studies at Yale, she worked as a receptionist. She went on to lead PepsiCo for over 12 years and now serves on the boards of Amazon and the International Cricket Council. She has consistently been recognised as one of the world's most powerful women. view comments First Published: July 04, 2025, 16:56 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
