DIGITAL LITERACY: A NECESSITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY FOR INDIA

India with its rapid growth has witnessed new heights with its innovative and technical practices. It has changed the way we share and gather information before, our traditional education system has now updated with the digital world. Being digital natives it becomes important to update or upgrade oneself with digital literacy. Digital literacy has emerged as a crucial skill for individuals to navigate and thrive in this digital age. This research paper has focused on the significance of digital literacy for Modern India and discuss how they are acquiring and utilizing these skills. The study has given a digital literacy framework to get the better understanding on digital literacy skills. The questionnaire was used as data collection tool and the questions were designed as per the three different dimensions of the framework. The framework provides three interconnected and dynamic dimensions including Digital Literacy and Skills, Digital Tools & Applications and Digital Health & Wellbeing. Through a comprehensive literature review and analysis of collected primary as well as secondary data, the study concluded the key factors influencing digital literacy among Indians, including awareness and access to technology, their understanding and challenges related to it. The findings reveal that while there have been advancements in digital literacy skills; there is still some problems and challenges that should be remove and improve it so that it can provide equitable access and quality information to all. The paper concludes by emphasizing the urgent need for policy interventions and targeted initiatives to promote digital literacy among Indian natives, ensuring their future success in the globalized and technology-driven world. The digital literacy should be improved by providing the content in their local languages, launch of training programs for them and the awareness programs of cyber crimes and frauds for their digital well-being will make Indian more confident and self-reliant.