ASPI - The Strategist | India-Australia collaboration on digital public infrastructure in the Pacific

The deployment of population-scale digital public infrastructure (DPI) is gaining traction worldwide and is acknowledged as a necessary and cost-effective intervention to fast-track sustainable development. The G20 also endorsed the ‘Framework for Systems of Digital Public Infrastructure’, a voluntary plan for the development, deployment, and governance of DPI. India has developed state-of-the-art DPI for various purposes, and Australia is the biggest development partner for Pacific Island countries. Together, they are well positioned to make state-of-the-art DPI accessible to small island developing states (PSIDS) there to help fast-track developmental outcomes. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | UPI: The world needs India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, but can’t see the benefit

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (“DPI”) is a domestic success story which its proponents are now seeking to export to other countries, and connect with existing global systems. The difficulties that foreigners in India encounter when using it, however, belie its spirit of inclusivity. At the G20 Summit this year, DPI was a central focus. At a side event preceding the Delhi leaders’ meeting, G20 Digital Economy Ministers recognised its importance and published the G20 Framework for Systems of Digital Public Infrastructure, later endorsed in the G20 Leaders’ New Delhi Declaration. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | G20 Summit: India takes its Digital Public Infrastructure success to the world

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has created quite a storm in the recent G20 meetings. For years, India’s soft power was confined to cricket, Bollywood, Yoga and Ayurveda. It now seems that there has been a powerful addition to this list. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman even mentioned that the inclusion of DPI into the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan was the defining legacy of India’s presidency of the G20. Read the full article here.

Deccan Herald | ONDC should exercise its gatekeeping privileges to a minimum

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) claims to be an inclusive ecosystem for e-commerce, attempting to break down the moats created by the dominant platforms. However, recent comments by the CEO of the ONDC and the commerce minister's hint at the ONDC playing an assertive gatekeeping role in evaluating the performance of network participants and removing companies that don’t onboard their leading platforms to the network. Such actions would be counterproductive. Transparency and accountability must be built into the structure and operating procedures of the ONDC to ensure that it lives up to its potential of an inclusive networked marketplace.

Read the full article here.