Policy Update
Parth Lathiya
Background
In the last two decades, India has adopted technology as a way to make governance closer and more accessible to its people. When the National e-Governance Plan was launched in 2006, the first steps were taken to put services online through a few portals. Yet, it soon became clear that computers and broadband internet could not reach every corner of the country. At the same time, mobile phones were spreading at a pace that no other technology could match.
By 2010, mobile subscriptions in India had crossed 800 million, while personal computer use remained limited. This contrast made one thing obvious for policymakers that if governance was to truly reach citizens, we need to adopt mobile phones as the main channel of official communication between state and citizens.
It was in this setting that the National Mobile Governance Initiative i.e. Mobile Seva was launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It was designed and technically implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The idea was simple but powerful: to use the most common device in the country to bring governance to the doorstep of every household, especially in rural and remote areas. Mobile Seva was also aligned with the larger vision of Digital India, which aims to make governance participatory, transparent, and citizen-friendly.
Functioning
At the core of Mobile Seva lies the Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG). This is a shared platform that links government departments with mobile communication networks. Instead of building separate systems, departments can plug into MSDG and deliver services through multiple channels.
For citizens, the most familiar channel has been SMS services. With a short message to a designated number, they can obtain quick updates such as examination results, bill status, or weather information. On the other side, the government uses the system to send push messages, delivering alerts about health programmes, elections, or natural disasters. This has made SMS one of the most dependable tools for real-time communication between the state and its citizens.
Along with SMS, the initiative has developed IVRS and USSD services. These allow people, especially those less comfortable with text or English, to interact in local languages and through voice-based menus. The Government AppStore is another important component which offers a catalogue of official apps from central and state departments. This helps people access verified applications without the risk of fake and duplicate versions. Over time, new features such as location-based services and cell broadcasts have been added which makes the system more adaptable to diverse needs.
Performance and Assessment
The impact of Mobile Seva can best be captured through its growth in outreach and services over the last decade. What began with only a few pilot applications and a limited number of SMS transactions has now grown into one of the largest mobile governance platforms in the world.
(Source — PIB)
The chart above shows three key dimensions of this growth. The blue line shows SMS alerts rising from just a few million in 2012 to several billion annually in recent years.The bars in the chart show the expansion of government apps hosted on the AppStore; it crossed more than one thousand by 2023. The green line captures cumulative downloads which shows that citizens are not just receiving alerts but they are actively engaging with mobile applications. Together, these trends highlight that Mobile Seva has moved from being an experimental channel and become a mainstream tool for service delivery.
While these numbers speak of scale, one can also recognise performance based on recognition and institutional milestones. The table below provides a snapshot of the programme’s major achievements:
| Year | Key Milestones and Recognition |
| 2012 | Launch of Mobile Service Delivery Gateway (MSDG) |
| 2014 | UN Public Service Award for innovation in mobile governance |
| 2015 | SKOCH Award; integration with wider National e-Governance Plan |
| 2017 | Global mobileGov Award and Gems of Digital India recognition |
| 2021 | AppStore opened for private apps to encourage wider ecosystem participation |
Placed together, the chart and the table reveal both the quantitative and qualitative progress of Mobile Seva. The system has achieved scale through billions of SMS alerts and hundreds of apps, but it has also earned credibility by gaining international awards and by steadily broadening its institutional reach. The platform therefore stands today not only as a technical infrastructure but as a recognised symbol of inclusive governance in India.
Emerging Issues
Despite its progress, several issues have come into focus in recent years:
- Fragmented user experience: Too many separate apps and channels make it hard for citizens to find services easily.
- Compliance burden: New telecom and data protection rules require technical know-how, which smaller government bodies often lack.
- Data privacy: With the implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, ensuring safe handling of citizen data has become critical.
- Uneven access: The rise of smartphone-based apps risks mass digital exclusion, especially rural andmarigionalised citizens — those who are dependent on basic phones or don’t have access to basic smart phones.
- User trust: Inconsistent design especially which is not friendly to differently able people, language barriers, and limited awareness about the initiative can reduce confidence in mobile governance services.
Way Forward
The experience of Mobile Seva shows that technology can help to bring government closer to the people, especially in ways that once seemed impossible. The next phase of this journey must focus less on the scale of delivery and more on the quality of experience. Citizens should be able to access services through a single, unified window—whether by SMS, IVRS, or mobile apps—without having to navigate a maze of platforms. Additionally, the government needs to ensure privacy and security of data and people so that trust in digital governance grows stronger with each interaction.
Inclusivity must remain at the heart of the programme. Even as India moves toward more advanced smartphone applications and chat-based services, the reliability of SMS and voice-based platforms should not be forgotten. for the millions of rural and marginalised people, these are not alternatives but the only accessible tools of governance. At the same time, innovation must not slow down. There is a huge possibility to incorporate vernacular interfaces, location-based services, and offline-friendly apps so that Mobile Seva can adapt to the diverse realities of India’s digital landscape.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi once remarked while speaking of mobile governance, “That is the way to go in a country with one billion cell phones … It puts governance within everyone’s reach.” This vision captures the promise of Mobile Seva. If India continues to build on this foundation with creativity and responsibility, mobile governance will not only deliver services, it will strengthen the democratic bond between the state and its people.
References
- Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). “Mobile Seva – National Rollout of the Mobile Services Delivery Gateway.” C-DAC (Software Technologies, e-Governance), https://www.cdac.in/index.aspx?id=project_details&projectId=MobileSevaNationalRolloutoftheMobileServicesDeliveryGateway.
- Joshi, Lokesh. “Mobile Seva – The National Mobile Governance Initiative.” Informatics, National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. April 21, 2014. https://informatics.nic.in/news/591
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. “Mobile Seva | National Mobile Governance Initiative (About).” mGov.gov.in. https://mgov.gov.in/about.
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. “Yearly Push SMS.” mGov.gov.in (Mobile Seva, Data Analytics). https://mgov.gov.in/YearlyPushSMS
- “Mobile Governance | Digital governance.” Vikaspedia (an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India). https://egovernance.vikaspedia.in/viewcontent/e-governance/mobile-governance/mobile-governance?lgn=en
- Press Information Bureau, Government of India. “ ‘Mobile Seva’ Launched.” Press Information Bureau (Government of India), Ministry of Communications, December 23, 2013. https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=102104
- Press Information Bureau, Government of India. “India’s Mobile Governance Initiative Bags United Nations Public Service Award.” Press Information Bureau (Government of India), Ministry of Communications, May 28, 2014. https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=105229
About the contributor
Parth Lathiya is a Research Intern at the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI). He is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Hyderabad (HCU), Telangana. His academic interests lie in emerging technologies and their regulatory frameworks in India.
Acknowledgement
The author sincerely thanks Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja and IMPRI fellows for their valuable contribution.
Disclaimer
All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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