Digital economy to contribute one-fifth of national income by 2029-30

Digital economy to contribute one-fifth of national income by 2029-30

India’s digital economy is expected to grow almost twice as fast as the overall economy, contributing to nearly one-fifth of national income by 2029-30 Projections indicate the digital economy’s share will grow to 20% of GVA by 2029-30, outpacing agriculture and manufacturing. 

It has emerged as a significant contributor to its economic growth, accounting for 11.74% of the GDP (INR 31.64 lakh crore or USD 402 billion) in 2022-23.

Employing 14.67 million workers (2.55% of the workforce), the digital economy is nearly five times more productive than others. 

The Indian economy has been digitalising at a remarkable pace over the last decade. Quantifying and understanding the role of the digital economy in driving economic growth, employment, and sustainable development are essential for policymakers and the private sector. 

According to the State of India’s Digital Economy Report 2024, India is the third largest digitalised country in the world in terms of economy-wide digitalisation, and 12th among the G20 countries in the level of digitalisation of individual users.

In the short run, the highest growth is likely from the development of digital intermediaries and platforms, followed by higher digital diffusion and digitalisation of the rest of the economy. This will eventually lower the share of digitally enabling ICT industries in the digital economy.

The digitally enabling industries such as ICT services and manufacturing of electronic components, computers, and communication equipment, which form the core, contributed 7.83% of GVA (Gross Value Added), while digital platforms and intermediaries added another 2% of GVA. 

Furthermore, digitalisation in traditional sectors like BFSI, retail, and education added 2% of GVA, showcasing the pervasive impact of digital transformation. 

Key growth drivers

The rapid adoption of AI, cloud services, and the rise of global capability centers (GCCs), with India hosting 55% of the world’s GCCs are the key growth drivers of the digital economy in India.

Digitalisation of traditional sectors

The primary survey and stakeholder discussions highlighted interesting facts about how different sectors are digitalising and their contribution to the revenue generated by firms. Not all aspects of businesses are digitalising uniformly. For example, retail sales are digitalising much more than wholesale sales. Firms are also investing in digital methods for customer acquisition and business development. Chatbots and AI applications are fairly commonplace.

In the BFSI sector, over 95% of banking payment transactions are digital, but revenue-generating activities like loans and investments remain largely offline, with financial services less digitalised overall.

Retail is shifting to omni-channel models, with e-tailers adding physical stores, while AI chatbots and digital inventory tools enhance efficiency.

Education has begun adopting offline, online, and hybrid models, with most institutions favoring hybrid approaches

Hospitality and logistics are embracing AI, metaverse, and digital tools, with large firms fully digitalising operations, while smaller players lag behind.