India's Leadership in Global Digital Infrastructure

Context

• In November 2023, the Prime Minister unveiled two India-led initiatives during the Virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit: the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR) and a Social Impact Fund (SIF).

Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR)

Social Impact Fund (SIF)

Developed by: Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. Aim: Bridging the knowledge gap in designing, constructing, deploying, and governing DPIs globally. Constituents: Showcases information in standardized format from countries and organizations with developed DPIs at scale. Includes maturity scales, source codes, and governance frameworks. Currently features 54 DPIs from 16 countries.

Aim: Government-led, multistakeholder initiative to fast-track DPI implementation in the global south. Platform: Offers a platform for relevant stakeholders to contribute, accelerating the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) through DPIs. Funding: India pledges an initial commitment of 25 million USD to SIF. Provides financial support for technical and non-technical assistance in developing DPI systems.

 

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

• Definition: A set of shared digital systems, secure, interoperable, built on open standards, delivering equitable access to public/private services at societal scale.

Digital Public Infrastructure
Digital	Enables remote, paperless, presence-less service delivery. Reduces costs and increases access. Functions as digital railroads.
Public	Governed for public interest. Orchestrated by the government. Facilitates public governance and accountability to people.
Infrastructure	Enabler for national scale innovation, serving as building blocks for large-scale development of digital solutions. Ecosystem-led implementation, whether led by the private sector, public-private collaboration, or solely by the public sector. Ecosystem-level impact, leveraging its influence in both public and private domains.

 

Key Pillars of DPI

1. Open, interoperable, extensible, and scalable technology.
2. Robust governance framework with transparent legal framework, data protection, grievance redressal, and intellectual property protection.
3. Resilient (flexible) local ecosystems, eliminating barriers, ensuring community participation and sustainability.

Foundational Elements of DPI

1. A strong DPI includes three foundational systems—identity, payments, and data exchange.
2. India's DPI architecture, known as India Stack, includes Aadhaar (identity), UPI and Aadhar enabled Payment System (payments), and Digilocker and Account Aggregator (data exchange).

Significance of DPI for Global South Countries

1. Inclusion: DPI addresses issues in existing systems, reducing delays, leakages, and targeting errors, ensuring inclusion, especially for marginalized communities.
2. Resilience: During public emergencies like COVID-19 and natural disasters, DPI facilitates uninterrupted, remote service delivery at a national scale.
3. Sovereignty: DPI, being open and interoperable, provides countries autonomy and flexibility in designing and implementing digital systems, overcoming centralized decision-making and legacy software constraints.
4. Innovation: The DPI approach fosters collaboration among governments, the private sector, and civil society, encouraging innovation in the digital ecosystem and fair market competition.
5. Socio-economic Outcomes: DPI encourages entrepreneurship, enhances competition, improves quality of life, and boosts business opportunities.

• For example, India's DPI has transformed its economy, supporting equitable growth.

India’s Role in Promoting DPI Globally

1. Identity System: IIIT in Bengaluru launched MOSIP, aiding countries in setting up Aadhaar-like systems; over 10 countries have initiated MOSIP projects.
2. Payment Linkages: India signed agreements with nations like Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, and France to extend the reach of its UPI payment system.
3. G20 Consensus: Under India’s presidency, G20 leaders agreed to promote and adopt the DPI framework.
4. Alternative Model: India's DPIs offer an alternative to the "big tech" approach, emphasizing public ownership and control of critical infrastructure.
5. One Future Alliance (OFA): India proposed OFA to build capacity, provide technical assistance, and funding support for implementing DPI in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
6. Open-Source Infrastructure: India's commitment to open-source technology prevents privatization, fostering innovation for flexible global adoption.

Conclusion

1. DPI systems aren't a cure-all and, if poorly designed, may pose risks to data privacy and user protection.
2. With foresight, well-designed DPIs can boost economic activity and improve community well-being.
3. In the coming decade, efficient DPI implementation in untapped sectors could shape a nation's growth.

Important key terms

Global South - The term “Global South” refers to countries that are economically and socially less developed in comparison to the more developed “Global North.” These nations typically experience higher levels of poverty, income inequality, and challenging living conditions compared to the Global North. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - SDGs are a collection of 17 objectives that were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The SDGs are also known as the Global Goals. Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) - Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are countries with a range of environments and resources. The term is often used interchangeably with "developing country". Account Aggregator - An Account Aggregator (AA) is a regulated entity that helps individuals securely access and share financial information. AAs enable users to access their financial data from multiple sources, such as bank accounts, investments, and credit card transactions.

 

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