India's digital stack a ray of hope for Global South: PM Narendra Modi

Modi said that the UK-India Fintech Corridor is expected to create opportunities for piloting and developing new startups

India’s efforts to develop its digital stack are a ray of hope for countries in the Global South, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said on Thursday, adding that the country aims to expand digital cooperation and partnerships globally.

 

Modi observed that the India-UK Fintech Corridor is expected to create opportunities for piloting and developing new startups, including fostering collaboration between the London Stock Exchange and India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

 

The PM explained that artificial intelligence (AI) should be “All-Inclusive”, with India supporting a global framework for ethical AI. He added that the country is committed to delivering the benefits of AI to every district and language in India.

 

“India’s stack is not just a story of India’s success. It is a story for the whole world. What India is doing is a ray of hope for the countries of the Global South. Through our digital innovation, we aim to strengthen digital cooperation and partnerships globally,” Modi said.

 

He was speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai during UK PM Keir Starmer’s visit to India.

 

Modi said that financial integration would enable companies to benefit from free-trade agreements between India and the UK, while inviting other countries to form partnerships with India.

 

India and the UK signed a free trade pact in July this year. 

 

“We are sharing our experience and open-source platform for the global public good. MOSIP is a modular open-source identity platform developed in India,” he said, adding that more than 25 countries are adopting it as their sovereign digital identity system.

 

Modi described this collaboration as digital empowerment, not aid.

 

“We are helping other countries share and develop technology. This is not digital aid; this is digital empowerment,” he added.

 

India’s digital stack includes the Unified Payments Interface, Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System, Bharat Bill Payments System, BharatQR, DigiLocker, DigiYatra, and Government eMarketplace, among others.

 

Focus on AI

 

Modi added that an AI Impact Summit will be held in India next year.

 

“A few years ago, the AI Safety Summit was held in the UK. Next year, the AI Impact Summit will be held in India. Together, India and the UK have shown the world a path to global trade and win-win partnerships,” he said.

 

He also spotlighted India’s efforts to build high-performance computing capacity under the India AI mission to ensure innovators and startups have affordable and easy access to technology.

 

“India’s AI mission is capable of handling both data and privacy. We aim to develop AI platforms on which innovators can create inclusive applications,” he said.

 

Modi outlined that India’s approach to AI is guided by three principles: equitable access, population-scale scaling, and responsible deployment.

 

“Our digital public infrastructure experience and learning repository can be useful for the world. The level of digital public infrastructure we have achieved, we now aim to advance further in AI,” he said.