25 countries pilot India’s digital public infrastructure: MEA official
India’s digital public infrastructure or DPI platform is in the pilot phase in as many as 25 nations, with a few countries considering implementing it this year, a senior Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official said.
“25 countries are running pilot programs to adopt India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI),” a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ET, adding that the development comes following India’s presidency at the G20 Summit in September 2023.
India’s historic G20 Presidency centered on digital public infrastructure, achieving a consensus on a common definition, a voluntary deployment framework, and the creation of the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR).
The indigenously-developed DPI is a platform-based approach using technology to achieve societal goals or ease of living. It encompasses digital identification, payment infrastructure, including data exchange, helping countries deliver essential services and enabling digital inclusion.
Backed by public and private sectors, the infrastructure unlocked innovations to address the diversity and scale of the Indian population.
India’s G20 presidency provided a significant opportunity to drive the global policy discourse on technological innovations and technology-led economic transformation.
Some of the early pilot initiatives include France Connect, Singapore National Digital Identity (SingPass), Oman National Payments Systems, and the Australian Government’s Digital ID System (AGDIS).
MEA’s New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies (NEST), a specialised division set up in 2020, acts as a nodal office to handle technology diplomacy, foreign policy, and international legal rules for advanced technologies.
The official further said that India would facilitate the Global South in DPI development by technology transfer and knowledge sharing, as well as support the adoption of open-source technologies.
India’s DPI stack includes Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS), DigiLocker, Bharat Bill Payment System, FastTag, and DigiYatra.
The Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) is coordinating with the Indian missions abroad through the MEA.
