Polls to payments: What India taught the world about serving people on scale

The 1940s and 1950s were a transformative time for the world. Dozens of countries finally broke free from colonial rule and emerged as independent nations, eager to chart their own destinies. India was among the largest and most complex of these newly liberated states. But unlike many others, the sheer size of India made nation-building an entirely different challenge.

At independence in 1947, India had a population of around 340 million — vast even by today’s standards, let alone in a time when the country had limited administrative experience and resources. This meant that anything the new nation attempted — from implementing social justice programmes to holding elections to building transport networks — had to be done at an enormous scale. There was no room for small experiments. If it was to work, it had to work for hundreds of millions.

Against all odds, India rose to that challenge. Over the decades, it transformed itself into a model that other developing countries now look to for lessons in scaling governance and public services. Whether the goal is nation-building or delivering services to millions, India’s journey offers powerful examples.

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Building the world’s largest democracy

The first and perhaps most symbolic test of governance came with elections. India waited until 1951 to hold its first general elections, and when it did, they were free and fair — a remarkable achievement for a country emerging from colonial rule. At the time, the voting age was 21 and about 176 million citizens were registered to vote. Yet a huge challenge immediately emerged: roughly 82 per cent of voters could not read or write. How could they identify and choose their candidates?

The solution was as simple as it was ingenious — election symbols. Each candidate was assigned a unique symbol, which was pasted on their corresponding ballot box. Voters could then simply collect their ballot paper and drop it into the box marked with the symbol of their chosen candidate. This allowed illiterate citizens to fully participate in the democratic process.

The results were staggering. While overall voter turnout was about 45 per cent, in some areas it reached as high as 80 per cent. Critics in the West who doubted the ability of India’s diverse and largely poor population to uphold democracy were forced to reconsider. Even when other countries, including the United States, had not yet implemented universal adult suffrage, India embraced it fully, determined to ensure that every adult voice counted.

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Much of the credit went to India’s bureaucracy, which worked tirelessly to register voters and innovate solutions to overcome the barriers of literacy, geography and infrastructure. But challenges evolved. In the late 1950s and 1960s, election rigging became rampant, with “booth capturing” — where hired musclemen seized ballot boxes and stuffed them with fraudulent votes — undermining the process.

From ballot boxes to EVMs

The solution came in 1977, when India’s Election Commission began exploring the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs). Designed by two professors from IIT Bombay, the EVM went through trials and testing before being first deployed in 1982 in a single constituency in Kerala. However, because EVMs weren’t yet legally recognised, that result was annulled.

It wasn’t until 1988 that Parliament amended the law to formally include EVMs in the electoral process. From then on, their use spread rapidly. By 2004, every constituency in the country used EVMs. Today, they are a mainstay of Indian elections, and despite periodic questions about their security, they have enabled elections at a scale the world has never seen.

In the most recent national elections, India had nearly one billion registered voters, and almost five million EVMs were deployed. Whether in remote Himalayan villages or deep inside dense forests, voters could trust that their ballot would be counted. It’s this relentless commitment to inclusion and scale that has made India’s elections a global benchmark.

Railways: Lifeline of a nation

If elections are the lifeblood of India’s democracy, the railways are the arteries that keep the economy moving. Indian Railways transports about seven billion passengers every year — nearly equivalent to the entire world’s population.

The British introduced railways in India in the 1850s primarily for administrative control and resource extraction. After independence, the purpose shifted dramatically. The railway network needed to be affordable, efficient, and capable of connecting a vast and diverse nation.

In 1951, the government nationalised the railways, consolidating around 40 different companies into one unified system — Indian Railways. Growth since then has been driven in three key areas: expanding routes, electrification, and improving passenger comfort.

In 1950, India had roughly 59,000 kilometres of railway tracks. Today, the network stretches over 107,000 kilometres, with around 40,000 kilometres added since independence — and 31,000 of those laid after 2014. The expansion has been particularly rapid in recent years, aimed at improving connectivity across states and regions. A striking example came earlier this year when a new rail line was inaugurated in Kashmir, cutting through some of the country’s most challenging terrain.

Electrification has been another major focus. While only 5,000 kilometres of track were electrified in the decade before 2014, more than 45,000 kilometres have been electrified since. Today, 98 per cent of the network runs on electric traction, and the goal is to make the entire railway system carbon-neutral by 2030. Solar energy is playing a major role in this transition, with about 2,000 stations already equipped with solar panels.

Modernisation has also improved passenger comfort. Over 1,000 stations are being upgraded with world-class facilities, including lifts, escalators and free Wi-Fi at 6,000 stations. On the trains themselves, newer models like the Vande Bharat Express offer faster, more comfortable journeys, while affordable models such as the Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat trains ensure accessibility for all income levels. The railways remain a crucial public service — affordable, inclusive and increasingly sustainable.

Digital revolution: UPI and financial inclusion

If railways symbolise physical connectivity, India’s fintech revolution symbolises digital connectivity. In less than a decade, India has achieved a level of financial digitisation that many thought impossible, bringing hundreds of millions of people into the digital economy.

The breakthrough came with the launch of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a platform that allows instant, free money transfers via mobile phones. The design philosophy was simple: make digital payments as easy as sending a text message. Today, UPI handles about 640 million transactions daily — roughly the same as Visa’s global transaction volume, but almost entirely within India.

UPI’s success is part of a larger digital ecosystem. Aadhaar, India’s biometric identity programme, has given every resident a unique ID, making it easier to open bank accounts and complete Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements electronically. The Jan Dhan Yojana, launched in 2014, further accelerated financial inclusion by opening over 540 million bank accounts, more than half of them held by women.

Plugging the leaks in welfare

Before these systems existed, social security payments in India suffered from chronic inefficiency. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi famously lamented that for every rupee spent by the government, only 15 paise reached the intended beneficiary. Middlemen, corruption and bureaucratic delays siphoned away public funds.

Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs), powered by Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar authentication and UPI payments, have transformed this picture. Today, around 1,200 government schemes use DBTs, ensuring that funds go directly into beneficiaries’ accounts without intermediaries. This has saved an estimated Rs 3.48 lakh crore by eliminating leakages and inefficiencies.

The result is a model where financial technology is not a luxury for the wealthy but a foundational service for all. While other countries view fintech as an added convenience, India has used it as a powerful tool for economic empowerment and poverty reduction.

Political will, public ownership and people’s trust

India’s ability to deliver services at scale rests on three pillars. The first is political will. From holding free elections in 1951 to building a nationwide digital payment infrastructure, successive governments have refused to settle for partial measures. The aim has always been to make these services universal, no matter how difficult or costly.

The second is public ownership. Whether it’s Indian Railways or UPI, the core infrastructure remains under government control. This ensures affordability and keeps the focus on public service rather than profit. It also allows for open access, enabling both private innovation and universal availability.

The third — and perhaps most important — is the trust and participation of the people. The world doubted that an illiterate population could sustain a democracy, yet Indian voters embraced their rights with seriousness and enthusiasm. Likewise, when the government pushed for digital payments, citizens adopted them at a pace that defied expectations, leapfrogging over credit card systems that still dominate in many wealthier countries.

Scaling for 1.4 billion

India’s success in scaling governance and services is not about making things work for a privileged few. It is about making them work for 1.4 billion people — from Himalayan villages to coastal cities, from urban centres to rural hamlets. Elections reach every voter. Railways connect the remotest regions. Digital finance reaches street vendors as easily as corporate executives.

This combination of ambition, innovation and inclusivity has turned India into a case study in delivering public services at scale. For other developing nations facing similar challenges of size, diversity, and resource constraints, India’s journey from polls to payments offers not just inspiration, but a roadmap.