India’s Digital Public Infrastructure
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure
Introduction
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is reshaping how nations govern, transact and deliver services. In this transformation, India has moved from being a large user of digital systems to a builder of population scale digital architecture. What distinguishes India’s approach is scale, openness and integration. Identity, payments and data exchange have been connected through interoperable public rails that support welfare delivery, economic activity and state capacity.
As countries around the world search for trusted and inclusive digital pathways, India’s experience is drawing sustained attention. The model demonstrates that digital infrastructure can be designed as a public good rather than a closed platform. It shows that inclusion and efficiency can advance together. In doing so, India is steadily shaping the global conversation on how digital systems should be built and governed in the twenty first century.
The Global Digital Moment: Why DPI Matters
Infrastructure today is no longer limited to roads, ports and power grids. It is digital. The United Nations defines Digital Public Infrastructure as a set of foundational digital systems that form the backbone of modern societies. These systems enable secure and seamless interaction between people, businesses and governments. From verifying identity and opening bank accounts to enabling instant digital payments and safe data exchange, DPI shapes everyday life. Like railways once connected regions to opportunity, digital infrastructure now determines who can access services, markets and rights in the modern economy.
For digital infrastructure to deliver public value, it must be inclusive, interoperable and governed in the public interest. A well designed digital identification system can support subsidy delivery, voter registration and secure banking. When linked with payments and data exchange frameworks, it creates a unified architecture that strengthens state capacity and widens opportunity.
Against this backdrop, India’s experience offers a working demonstration of what population scale digital public infrastructure can achieve. India has built digital public infrastructure for over 1.4 billion people at very low cost. It is an open and accessible network, backed by regulation and a wide range of applications that modernise the economy, reform governance and transform lives. In India’s case, the principles of inclusion, innovation and trust are operational realities of its DPI ecosystem. At population scale, and with measurable impact, India has demonstrated that digital systems can deepen democracy while accelerating development.
Foundations of India’s DPI: The JAM Trinity
India’s digital public infrastructure did not emerge overnight. It was seeded through a deliberate convergence of identity, banking and connectivity. This convergence took shape as the JAM trinity. Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar enrolment and widespread mobile phone penetration created the base layer for India’s digital transformation. Together, they connected individuals to the state in a direct and verifiable manner. Through JAM, welfare benefits began to move straight into bank accounts. Intermediaries were reduced. Delays narrowed. Leakage declined. The scale of this integration laid the foundation for what would later evolve into a comprehensive DPI ecosystem.
Aadhaar
Aadhaar introduced a biometric based digital identity platform for residents across the country. It enabled unique identification and secure authentication for efficient service delivery. As of March 2026, more than 144 crore Aadhaar numbers had been generated. Usage reflects deep integration into everyday systems. In 2024-25 alone, over 2,707 crore authentication transactions were carried out. Identity became portable. Verification became near instant. Access to services became more reliable and transparent.
Jan Dhan Yojana
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched as the National Mission for Financial Inclusion, set out to give every unbanked adult in India a bank account, a financial identity and access to essential services such as credit, insurance and pensions. Launched in August 2014, it evolved into one of the largest financial inclusion initiatives in the world. The number of accounts grew from 14.72 crore in 2015 to 57.71 crore as of March 2026. Deposits increased from ₹15,670 crore in March 2015 to ₹2.94 lakh crore by March 2026. A total of 39.98 crore RuPay debit cards were issued to beneficiaries. Financial participation widened. Savings entered the formal system strengthening economic agency.
Mobile Phones and Connectivity
Connectivity completed the triangle. With 85.5 percent of Indian households owning at least one smartphone, the mobile phone became a bank, a classroom and a gateway to public services. The number of wireless telephone subscribers reached 125.87 crore at the end of December 2025. Fifth generation (5G) mobile services are now available in 99.9 percent of districts, covering 85 percent of the population. As of December 2025, 5.18 lakh 5G base transceiver stations had been installed nationwide. This extensive digital reach ensured that identity and banking were not confined to urban centres. They became accessible across rural and urban India alike.
The JAM trinity created the foundational rails on which India’s broader DPI ecosystem was built, linking identity, finance and connectivity at unprecedented scale.
The Rise of India’s DPI Stack
India’s DPI Stack grew from a few foundational digital systems into a connected national framework built on open APIs (Application Programming Interface) and public digital goods. Known as India Stack, it unlocks the core building blocks of identity, data and payments at population scale. What began with digital identity and financial inclusion gradually expanded into payments, welfare delivery, health, education, skilling and governance platforms. These systems are designed to work together through interoperable digital rails. The result is not a collection of standalone portals, but an integrated digital backbone that supports economic activity and public service delivery. While developed in India’s context, the model is modular and adaptable, making it relevant beyond national boundaries.
This is how the stack evolved across key sectors:
Digital Economic Infrastructure
Citizen Service Delivery Platforms
In September 2023, the Union Cabinet approved Phase III for the period 2023 to 2027 with an outlay of ₹7,210 crore. This phase advances digital and paperless courts and comprehensive digitisation of legacy records and pending cases. It expands video conferencing facilities across courts, jails and hospitals and widens the scope of online courts beyond traffic violations. The integration of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Optical Character Recognition supports case pendency analysis and forecasting of litigation trends. The initiative marks a structural shift towards data enabled judicial administration.
Health & Nutrition Ecosystem
Education and Skilling
Digital Systems for Governance Capacity & Coordination
Together, these interconnected platforms illustrate how India’s DPI Stack has evolved into a comprehensive digital backbone powering governance, economic growth and citizen empowerment at scale.
India’s DPI Diplomacy
India’s engagement on DPI draws from a deeper civilisational ethos. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam means the world is one family. It reflects an outlook that encourages shared progress beyond borders, languages and ideologies. In the digital age, this philosophy has found new expression through India’s engagement on DPI. Technology is viewed not as a closed asset, but as a public good that can support inclusive development. India is not only sharing technology but also assisting other nations in developing and adapting it to their own contexts. As countries search for trusted digital pathways, India’s experience has steadily entered global policy conversations.
The following initiatives show how this approach is being operationalised internationally:
Strategic Partnerships on Digital Infrastructure
As of February 2026, Government of India has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and agreements with 24 countries for cooperation on India Stack and Digital Public Infrastructure. These partnerships focus on sharing technical knowledge and supporting replication of digital governance platforms. Areas of cooperation include digital identity, digital payments, data exchange frameworks and service delivery systems. The objective is not export of a product, but collaboration on architecture and design principles. This engagement has positioned India as a practical partner for countries seeking to build population scale digital systems.
S. No.
Countries with MoUs on India Stack / Digital Public Infrastructure
1
Republic of Armenia
2
Republic of Sierra Leone
3
Republic of Suriname
4
Antigua and Barbuda
5
Papua New Guinea
6
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
7
United Republic of Tanzania
8
Republic of Kenya
9
Republic of Cuba
10
Republic of Colombia
11
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
12
Saint Kitts and Nevis
13
Ethiopia
14
Jamaica
15
Gambia
16
Fiji
17
Guyana
18
Venezuela
19
Sri Lanka
20
Brazil
21
Lesotho
22
Maldives
23
Mongolia
24
Malaysia
Cross Border Expansion of UPI
India’s payment infrastructure has crossed national boundaries. UPI is now live in 8 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius and Qatar.[25] Its international adoption is easing remittances, improving payment efficiency and expanding financial inclusion. By enabling seamless cross border transactions, UPI has strengthened India’s presence in the global fintech landscape. The scale and reliability of the system have drawn attention from policymakers and regulators worldwide.
India Stack Global
To facilitate structured cooperation, India Stack Global was established as a dedicated platform to showcase India’s DPI solutions and support adoption by partner countries. The portal provides access to key digital platforms and technical resources. It serves as a bridge between India’s experience and the requirements of friendly nations. Through this initiative, digital public goods are presented as adaptable building blocks rather than fixed templates.
G20 Declaration and the Global DPI Repository
During its G20 Presidency in 2023, India placed Digital Public Infrastructure at the centre of the development agenda. The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration explicitly recognised DPI as a development accelerator. India articulated the idea that DPI is not proprietary technology, but digital rails for inclusive growth, particularly for the Global South. The Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository was launched under the Indian Presidency as a knowledge platform to share lessons and practices. It is designed to bridge information gaps around designing and deploying population scale DPI. India contributed the highest number of DPI solutions to the repository, reinforcing its role in shaping the discourse.
CoWIN as an Open Digital Public Good
India extended its digital health platform beyond national borders by offering CoWIN as open-source software to the world at no cost.[27] The platform’s success in managing over 220 crore vaccine doses demonstrated the ability to coordinate complex public health logistics at scale. By making the technology freely available, India signalled that its digital experience is meant to be shared. Its use of technology and policy for public good, inclusive development and social empowerment offers practical lessons for developing nations seeking resilient digital systems.
MOSIP and Sovereign Digital Identity
The Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), developed in India, represents another important example. MOSIP provides a configurable and open-source framework for countries seeking to build sovereign digital identity systems. More than 25 nations are adopting or exploring the platform for their national identity programmes.
Collectively, these initiatives reflect a diplomacy anchored in shared capability, where India is helping shape a more inclusive and interoperable global digital architecture.
Conclusion
India’s journey with Digital Public Infrastructure reflects a broader shift in how development and governance are conceived in the digital age. What began as an effort to expand financial inclusion and identity access has matured into a comprehensive, interoperable architecture that underpins economic activity, public service delivery and institutional capacity. The model demonstrates that scale need not compromise trust, and that openness can coexist with security and regulation. By linking technology with public purpose, India has shown that digital systems can strengthen democracy while accelerating growth. As more nations look to build resilient and inclusive digital foundations, India’s experience stands not merely as a case study, but as a reference point for the future of public digital infrastructure.
References:
Ministry of Electronics & IT:
Ministry of Communications:
MoFHW:
Ministry of Commerce & Industry:
Ministry of Law and Justice:
UNDP:
MEA:
PMO: