Indian tech innovation that can change the world

During the first two decades of the 21st century, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple and Microsoft have been at the forefront of a massive explosion in innovation and value creation. They, along with Chinese firms Alibaba and Tencent dominate the global sphere in digital advertising, commerce, messaging, cloud infrastructure, social media and mobile operating systems amongst others. India took a unique path In contrast, India has adopted an unprecedented and a powerful new approach in policy governance through the adoption of digital public infrastructure (DPI). This has enabled India to digitally leapfrog with the public sector playing a key role in defining the regulatory guardrails, and the private sector innovating and competing in the marketplace. These public digital platforms are open source, have open APIs (application programming interfaces), open standards for interoperability and leverage public data for open innovation models. These low cost and inclusive platforms are based on core principles of consent-based data sharing protocols and reduce the digital divide. They also create a level playing field through regulatory framework. Tech innovations normally emerge from the developed world. DPI is an area where an emerging market has created a unique model. These platforms include:JAM trinity which links Aadhaar, mobiles and bank accountsDigiLocker for digital storage and documentsBharat Bill Pay, a one stop solution for multiple paymentsUnified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems (AePs) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)CoWin for vaccination These platforms create a powerful integrated stack of building blocks that provide impetus to private sector innovations. Intertwined building blocks India has been able to solve the challenge of digital inclusion by taking a platform approach by mainstreaming digitisation and tech across all schemes of government. A recent study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has highlighted that on account of the digital public infrastructure, India has delivered in 10 years what would have taken 50 years to achieve. All these platforms have been developed by building an alternate model on principles of openness, equity, inclusivity, fairness, transparency and trust. In future, this new approach will create a new economic divide between countries who are leapfrogging ahead on digital public infrastructure approach versus the rest. For example, inherent to the UPI architecture is interoperability. Its value is resonated in over 300 banks offering linkages to bank accounts through UPI which is accessed by consumers via 50-plus third-party apps. As a result of the JAM trinity, every household now has access to formal banking services along with a platform for availing low value credit, insurance and pension schemes. A testimony of this is the resounding success of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). In 2015 when the scheme started only 15% of the accounts were operated by women.During the last eight years 460 million accounts were opened. The number of accounts operated by women has jumped from 15% to 56%, and 67% of the account holders are from rural and semi-urban areas. The average deposit per account has gone up by 71%. This transformation has been possible only due to the digital public infrastructure built by India. The platform approach has led to top class payment products being developed on top of UPI. Numerous apps like PhonePe, GPay and AmazonPay are facilitating payments with the click of a button. E-commerce, the next frontier India is now democratising e-commerce through interoperability. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has gone live by providing access and equity to small and medium-sized merchants, increasing choice and quality for customers, and ensuring competitiveness and efficiency across the value chain. ONDC is significant given that the coverage of retailers using digital commerce has remained at 15,000 out of 120 million retailers, while the estimated size of online shoppers is projected to be about 220 million by 2025. ONDC will revolutionise how people transact and empower MSMEs and with greater negotiation options. A vast segment of the global population, almost 4 billion, does not have a digital identity. Almost 1.5 billion people still remain unbanked and 133 countries do not have digital payment systems. As India takes over the Presidency of G20 it has a unique opportunity to create a complete package of these digital platforms and deliver them as an end-to-end e-governance service to digitally transform the world. All this as a “Cloud in a Box”. No better way to enhance India’s soft power. The writer is India’s G20 Sherpa