In a reel posted on social media, Janika Tuunainen and her family said they came to India to experience the country for themselves and have been impressed by how seamlessly several everyday services work, particularly digital payments, food delivery and urban transport.
"Nobody told us India was this advanced in everyday life," Tuunainen said in the video.
The family's observations have sparked a discussion about India's technological progress, urban conveniences and the perceptions of the country held by people abroad.
India's digital payments ecosystem appeared to leave the strongest impression on the family. Demonstrating the ease of transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), they highlighted how even small purchases can be completed within seconds.
"Even one banana. Scan, pay, done," the family said while demonstrating UPI transactions.
Beyond digital payments, the family highlighted nine other features of everyday life in India that they found remarkable. These included food delivery apps, quick-commerce deliveries, metro rail systems, home services, shopping convenience, access to private healthcare, ambulance-booking apps, digital-first services and modern movie theatres.
The family also compared India's delivery ecosystem favourably with Finland's, joking about the speed at which groceries can arrive in India.
"Finland will be still putting our shoes on," they said, contrasting the time taken to prepare for a shopping trip with the convenience of getting groceries delivered within minutes in India.
In a related post, the family said their experience had challenged several common perceptions about the country. They described their time in India as an opportunity to discover aspects of the country that they believe deserve greater international attention.
"The India we're living in is a story we wish the whole world could see," they wrote.
Calling India "beautiful," "colourful" and "full of life," the family said they continue to discover new aspects of the country every day.
"We came here from Finland to experience India for ourselves. And every day, we see another side of this incredible country," they said.
The family also stressed the importance of viewing India from different perspectives, adding that "India deserves to be seen through more than one lens."
The video attracted supportive responses from Indian social media users, many of whom said the country's everyday conveniences and technological developments are sometimes overlooked in international discussions about India.
One Instagram user argued that Western media frequently portrays India through an outdated lens and thanked the family for presenting a different perspective.
Another commenter described India's food delivery ecosystem, grocery services and UPI network as "unmatched anywhere." However, the user also noted that some of the conveniences featured in the video are concentrated largely in urban areas rather than tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Several users also pointed to areas where India still has room to improve, including waste management, the maintenance of public infrastructure and the development of more aesthetically designed public spaces.
A commenter who said they had lived abroad for 15 years wrote that if India addressed these issues, "there is no better country than India to raise your kids."
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Other users appreciated what they considered the family's balanced approach, arguing that India should continue acknowledging its shortcomings while also recognising the progress it has made.
"Let's also sometimes celebrate what we have," one commenter wrote.
The family's experience has brought attention to the contrast between India's everyday digital and delivery services and the broader challenges highlighted by some social media users. While the reactions reflect differing views on the country's development, the discussion has also underlined the importance of recognising both its conveniences and the areas where improvements remain necessary.
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