After Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge posted on social media platform X accusing the Union Government of making "false claims" and leaving 'unfulfilled promises' under the Digital India mission, Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia sharply criticised Kharge on Wednesday.
In response to the attack, Scindia said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered India into the 5G era, marking the end of the "era of buffering" under the Congress government. He took advantage of the occasion to make fun of the Congress, saying that whenever they asked questions, the government would answer with actions rather than words.
The Congress marked the end of Bharat's "buffering" period. The country transitioned to 5G under the Prime Minister. I appreciate the chance to educate you once more, Mallikarjun Kharge. We have always provided results in response to your questions, Scindia wrote on X. Comparing the past and present, Scindia claimed that the Modi administration had built a world-class telecom network, including important digital platforms like UPI, Aadhaar, and BharatNet, at scale and with quantifiable impact, whereas the Congress government had only delivered "dial-up promises."
The conversation took place on the day the Union Government commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Digital India mission, a major project started in 2015 to make India a knowledge economy and society empowered by technology. On his official LinkedIn account, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a blog post titled "A Decade of Digital India" to commemorate the milestone. In it, he reflected on the nation's swift digital transformation in the last ten years.
PM Modi recalled how India's digital access, internet penetration, and tech infrastructure were all lacking in 2014. With 97 crore internet users today, up from 25 crore in 2014, India has become a global leader in digital technology. He pointed out that even far-flung places like Siachen and Galwan now have high-speed internet.
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With almost 5 lakh base stations installed in just two years, he emphasised that India's 5G rollout is among the fastest in the world. The Prime Minister emphasised how digital tools have changed the lives of 140 crore Indians, from public services and governance to education and entrepreneurship.
He mentioned the popularity of websites such as
- UPI currently handles more than 100 billion transactions a year.
By cutting out middlemen, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has allowed citizens to receive ₹44 lakh crore directly, saving ₹3.5 lakh crore.
GeM and ONDC are helping MSMEs by giving them access to sizable online marketplaces. GeM recorded ₹1 lakh crore in sales in just 50 days, and ONDC recently surpassed 200 million transactions.
As another illustration of how digital technology is empowering people, Modi cited programmes like the SVAMITVA scheme, which has distributed 2.4 crore property cards and mapped over 6 lakh villages. The PM emphasised how India's digital platforms, including Aadhaar, CoWIN, DigiLocker, and FASTag, are well-known throughout the world. For example, CoWIN made it possible to administer the biggest vaccination campaign in history, which resulted in the issuance of more than 220 crore certificates.
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He also underlined India's push into artificial intelligence (AI) and its increasing dominance in the tech startup ecosystem, which is currently the third-largest in the world with over 1.8 lakh startups. By facilitating affordable access to cutting-edge AI tools, the India AI Mission is establishing India as a centre for digital innovation.
As India moves from being a user of digital technologies to a global leader in digital development, PM Modi predicted that the upcoming ten years will be even more revolutionary. In order to establish India as a reliable worldwide digital partner, he urged innovators and entrepreneurs to create technology that not only empowers but also brings people together.
Modi's thorough analysis of India's digital development and Scindia's incisive response highlight the government's resolve to refute criticism with accomplishments supported by data and goals for the future.
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