DIGITAL
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE (DPI) – SCI
& TECH
News:
India’s DPIs, catching
the next wave
What's
in the news?
●
India’s digital public infrastructure
(DPI), loosely the India Stack and more, is a marvel of our times, shaped in a
unique partnership between governments (Union and States), regulators, the
private sector, selfless volunteers, startups, and academia/think tanks.
●
Engendering sustained collective action at
scale between so many disparate entities itself is magical and the outcomes are
India’s answer to Web 3, perhaps even superior in many ways.
Key
takeaways:
●
India has adopted a unique digital path trajectory, a new approach in policy governance
through the adoption of digital public infrastructure (DPI).
DPI:
●
It refers to an open-source identity platform that can be used to access a wide
variety of government and private services by building applications and
products.
●
It includes digital forms of ID and
verification, civil registration, payment (digital transactions and money
transfers), data exchange, and information systems.
●
These public digital platforms are customisable, localizable, interoperable
and leverage public data for open innovation models.
●
For example, Unified Payment Interface
(UPI) architecture’s interoperability is resonated in over 300 banks offering
linkages to bank accounts through UPI which is accessed by consumers via
50-plus third-party apps.
Principle:
●
The platforms in DPI are based on core
principles of consent-based data sharing
protocols, openness, equity, inclusivity, fairness, transparency and trust
hence reducing the digital divide.
Significance:
●
Because of DPI's low-cost and inclusive platforms, India has been able to push the
boundary of public service delivery
and digitally leapfrog, with the public sector defining regulatory limits and
the private sector innovating and competing in the marketplace.
●
DPI also allows nations to retain strategic control over their
digitalisation processes, ensure digital cooperation and strengthen long-term
capacity.
●
A recent study by the Bank for
International Settlements (BIS) has highlighted that on account of the DPI,
India has delivered in 10 years what
would have taken 50 years to achieve.
●
The analysis by the Centre for Digital
Economy Policy Research (C-DEP) estimates that national digital ecosystems
could add over 5% to India’s GDP.
Applications:
●
JAM
trinity which links Aadhaar, mobiles and bank accounts
●
Digi
Locker for digital storage and documents
●
Bharat
Bill Pay, a one stop solution for multiple payments
●
UPI,
Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems (AePs) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)
●
CoWin
for vaccination.
1.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY):
●
In 2015 when the scheme started only 15%
of the accounts were operated by women and has jumped from 15% to 56% since its
inception.
●
Also 67% of the account holders are from
rural and semi-urban areas, thus bridging the gender divide.
●
During the last 8 years 460 million
accounts were opened and the average deposit per account has gone up by 71%.
●
This massive digital inclusion is
attributed to the digital public infrastructure built by India.
2.
E-commerce:
●
For instance, numerous apps like PhonePe,
GPay and AmazonPay are facilitating payments with the click of a button.
●
Also, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is providing access and
equity to small and medium-sized merchants by creating open and decentralised
DPI and curbing digital monopolies.
●
It is significant as just 15,000 out of
120 million retailers are using digital commerce, while the estimated size of
online shoppers is projected to be about 220 million by 2025.
●
This indicates increased choice and
quality for customers, and ensuring competitiveness and efficiency across the
value chain.
3.
Health:
●
An open platform with digital registries,
a unique health identity and a robust consent framework.
4.
Skilling:
●
A Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and
Livelihood (DESH-Stack) to help
citizens upskill through online training.
5.
Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP):
●
To streamline movement of goods across
modes of transport and for travel.
6.
Mobility:
●
An “open source” mobility stack for
facilitating seamless travel of passengers.
7.
India Stack:
●
India Stack is a set of (application
programming interface) APIs that allows governments, businesses, startups and
developers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard
problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
●
The Open API team at iSPIRT has been a pro-bono partner in the development, evolution,
and evangelization of these APIs and systems.
Challenges
in DPI:
●
DPI may expose citizens to risks such as privacy violations, data-driven behavioural
manipulation, identity theft and fraud, and exclusion from essential public
services.
●
It may also create a new economic divide between countries that are leapfrogging ahead
on digital public infrastructure approach versus the rest.
WAY
FORWARD:
1.
New tools of DPI based on a whole-of-society approach:
●
For example, the multi-stakeholder
initiative GovStack develops a secure and standard-based approach to enable
countries to kickstart their digital transformation journey by adopting,
deploying and scaling digital government services.
2.
New models of digital cooperation:
●
The joint management and maintenance of
DPI by sovereign entities requires collaboration between countries on strategic
decisions like choice, data portability, interoperability etc., to create and
support new models for digital cooperation.
3.
People-centric approach:
●
While prioritizing investments in DPI,
effort should be made for inclusivity focusing on equity, good governance, and
regulatory frameworks to ensure that no one is left behind.
●
A 2021 report by the Digital Public Goods
Alliance outlined a vision for DPI that safeguards inclusion, trust,
competition, security, and privacy, public value and private empowerment.
4.
Engaging local stakeholders:
●
Such as universities and accelerators to
work with government partners could help in long-term capacity investment in
DPI implementation and maintenance.
5.
Global cooperation:
●
In 2022, the UN Development Programme, the
Digital Public Goods Alliance and countries from around the world committed to
sharing best practices for the implementation of DPI.
●
India's G20 presidency has the potential
to play a critical role in stewarding inclusive approaches to digital
transformation. Thereby improving, securing, and broadening access to DPI
through international cooperation and strengthening multilateralism to
transform people's lives and the larger global good.
DPI has emerged as the
new backbone of India’s economy, propelling it towards the goal of achieving a
$25 trillion economy by the 100th year of India’s political independence. With
the convergence of ChatGPT and India Stack, we can only imagine the tremendous
progress and innovations that could spark a new era of economic growth and
development, much like the Cambrian explosion in evolutionary history.