India pushes for plug-and-play DPI models to keep sovereignty: Report

DPI of countries should be universally applicable, says India's G20 task force report

The digital public infrastructure (DPI) of countries should be universally applicable but nations should be able to use plug-and-play models to keep intact their sovereignty and data ownership, according to the report on DPI by India’s G20 task force.

India’s proposal, in the G20 leaders’ communiqué, to formalise an interoperable global DPI framework had faced a pushback from some developed countries, which argued the move might impede the growth of global private payment processors.

The task force, chaired by Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 sherpa, and with Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani in it, was established in January 2023 to oversee and facilitate achieving India’s G20 presidency agenda and priorities on DPI and financial inclusion.

“India did an incredible pole vault in DPI. We achieved in nine years what would have taken 50 years without DPI,” Kant said while referring to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), direct benefit transfer, and Covid vaccinations. 

Kant said the task force’s report would be the guiding star for the world to follow.

The report cites examples such as the API Setu as well as the open APIs (application programming interface), published by India’s Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). This allows a number of third-party apps to design unique and inclusive user experiences for filing taxes.

The report said the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had reached out for UPI globalisation in 80-plus countries and had executed memorandums of understanding with more than 20 payment partners covering 30-plus countries. “To take this initiative even further, both bilateral and multilateral (approaches) are equally important,” the report said.

The task force has recommended an existing body be identified to foster and harness the DPI ecosystem across various regions and countries, especially countries of the global south.

In a joint preface, Kant and Nilekani highlighted that many countries were considering developing their national digital infrastructure to improve public services and foster trust between people and institutions.

“The report will play a key role in defining the future course of DPI approach and actions for implementation around the globe, particularly in the Global South,” they wrote.

The report has talked about five stages for DPI, starting from advocacy, advisory, and financing to skilling, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.

It has suggested an annual forum for countries to share their experiences of deploying DPI.