Bharat 2.0

The Digital Metamorphosis: India's Journey from Megabytes to Tech Revolution

The year is 2013, a sunny summer morning greets you, and your day begins with the jingle of the alarm on your Micromax Canvas. You reach out to grab your morning dose of information, The Times of India newspaper. As you flip through the pages, your eyes catch the headline announcing India's triumphant win in the ICC Champions Trophy on the front page – a great start to the day.

Before folding the paper, you skim through the television schedule to check at what time "Sooryavansham" will be playing on Max that day. Surely, rewatching it for the 9th time is not a big deal, you think.

The entire day's agenda revolves around the hope that your friend will come through with the next season of Prison Break on the pen drive you handed him yesterday. Curiosity prompts you to check in with him. You switch on your mobile data, quickly drop a message on Facebook, and just as swiftly turn off the mobile data.

A notification pops up, reminding you that your mobile internet plan is expiring today.

You head to the nearby shop, placing a 150 rupees note on the counter. The shopkeeper gives you a tired look and requests change. Neither of you has it. It's early morning, so you peek into the nearby shop and luckily find a stack of 10 and 20 rupee notes. You get the change, hand it to the shopkeeper and when you return, your mom is delighted to have some extra change.

You grab the recharge coupon, start scratching it with a coin to reveal the code, a ritual that costs you 103 rupees for a mere 100 megabytes.

These were the struggles of a time not so long ago when every byte was valued, and every message had a cost.

If you are an early 2000s kid or before, I am sure this might ring a bell for you. Interestingly, this wasn't even very long ago; we have lived through many such days, till one day that changed everything.

The Jio Effect: The Breakthrough Day

September 5, 2016 marked the day that triggered a chain reaction of events that lead us to where we as a country stand today.

The dramatic fall in data prices, initially with Jio making data essentially free, coincided with the launch of Mukesh Ambani’s 4G mobile network, Reliance Jio, just days after India’s richest man delivered a 90-minute speech promising to reshape the future of the internet in India.

With Jio's cheap data prices and other freebies, Ambani paved the way for millions of less privileged Indians to enter the internet age, providing them with internet as cheap as buying a samosa or a cup of tea.

Nation’s Pride: How UPI Changed Digital Payments Forever

The introduction of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was a game-changer, transforming the landscape of payments overnight contributing to the country's push towards a digital economy.

UPI is widely regarded as one of the most successful and transformative digital payment systems globally. Several countries, such as Singapore, UAE, Bhutan, France, Nepal, Malaysia, have made contracts with the Indian government to implement a UPI-like system in their countries.

The success story of UPI is a confluence of factors, including the widespread adoption of cheap mobile phones, affordable internet access, government initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana, demonetization, and the rise of innovative startups like Paytm, PhonePe, and BharatPe.

The Indian startup landscape witnessed a boom with pioneers like Paytm, PhonePe, and BharatPe reshaping digital payments. These startups introduced user-friendly UPI apps and enticing cashback programs, playing a central role in driving UPI's widespread adoption. Remember the good old days when we used to circulate the same 150 Rs in a group of 6 friends so that all of us get a scratch card?

In July 2023, UPI transactions nearly hit the 10 billion mark (9.96 billion), with the transaction value crossing Rs 15 lakh crore. This is more than ten times what credit cards achieved in over 30 years.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates UPI, is now targeting one billion transactions a day, three times its current volume, a milestone achievable within a couple of years at the current annual growth rate of over 40 percent.

The Everyday New

A combination of affordable smartphones, cheap internet and seamless payment options truly made India unstoppable and ignited a wave of homegrown product-based companies crafted by Indians for Indians.

Think about it - just ten years ago, our daily routines and worries were poles apart from today's reality.

Now, we live in a society where even a 15-year-old can invest in stocks, MF, crypto (bwahaha) and what not. The anxiety of forgetting groceries is a thing of the past, thanks to swift 10-minute delivery services. No more enduring queues for bill payments or booking tickets. Who would have thought we'd have people coming in to take a blood sample for our regular health checkups?

And in case you forgot, remember the days when ordering a birthday cake required planning a day in advance? Two trips to the bakery were the norm.

We do have come a long way!

But wait, this is just the beginning. In a short time, we've achieved significant milestones, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing.

Why will we continue to flourish in this direction? The startup and entrepreneurship landscape is becoming the new norm, with more aspirational individuals and world-class products setting the standard.

As per the Economic Survey Report 2022-2023, Indian startups have surged from 452 in 2016 to an impressive 84,012 in 2022, making India the world's third-largest startup hub. Many aspiring and young entrepreneurs, over 73% of these founders being under 36 years old, are driving this growth. Reports indicate that these startups have directly generated over 9 lakh jobs, marking a 64% increase in 2022.

The Indian government is also actively fostering a conducive environment for startups through initiatives like Startup India, providing benefits such as tax exemptions, access to funding, and streamlined compliance procedures. State programs like Mission Startup Karnataka and Startup Odisha further support aspiring entrepreneurs.

We're not just optimistic; we are extremely bullish on India.

The trajectory points upwards, and the future promises more innovations, creations, and stories that define India's ongoing transformative journey.

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