India, July 10 -- India's digital revolution has reshaped how the country learns, works, pays and unwinds, powered by cheap data, smartphones, digital payments and online entertainment. But the next phase of Digital India must confront a harder problem: how the very ecosystem that expanded opportunity is now eroding attention, mental well-being, and productivity.

This is the backdrop to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026, which came into effect on May 1, 2026. The rules mark a shift from a fragmented gaming landscape to a structured one built around user protection, age verification, time limits, parental controls, grievance redressal and a new Online Gaming Authority of India. They also distinguish between esports...