India has entered into agreements with ten countries to cooperate in the realm of digital public infrastructure, as reported by Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Jitin Prasada, in a written statement to the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
The nations partnering with India are Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Tanzania, Kenya, Cuba, and Colombia.
To boost accessibility, efficiency, and inclusivity, India has developed robust Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) across multiple domains.
Aadhaar: Aadhaar stands as the world’s largest digital identity system, offering a unique, biometric, and demographic-based identity that can be verified anytime and anywhere. So far, 1.38 billion Aadhaar numbers have been issued, eliminating duplicate and fake identities.
Unified Payment Interface (UPI): UPI is India’s foremost digital payment system. In June 2024 alone, it facilitated over 13.88 billion transactions. By being adaptable to various technologies and devices, UPI has propelled financial inclusion to the grassroots level. Digital payments are surging in India as citizens increasingly embrace online transaction methods. The government is keen on extending UPI’s benefits globally, ensuring other nations can also take advantage of this technology.
DigiLocker: This platform allows for the digital issuance and verification of documents and certificates. It has catered to more than 300 million users and provided access to 6.75 billion documents. Many fintech companies in the banking and financial sectors utilize DigiLocker for seamless user onboarding.
India has also launched several initiatives to expand its Digital Public Infrastructure nationally and internationally. Notable among these are India Stack Global and the Global DPI Repository.
India Stack Global was created to share India’s DPI achievements with the global community and to facilitate its replication in other friendly nations.
During India’s G20 Presidency in 2023, the Global DPI Repository (GDPIR) portal (https://www.dpi.global/) was designed, developed, and launched by India, showcasing the country’s leadership in digital public infrastructure.
