Caribbean countries look to India for digital public infrastructure solutions

India has been pitching its solutions for digital public infrastructure (DPI) across the Caribbean region. But aside from the technology, the country also may have lessons in building legal systems that can support DPI.

Countries within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) intergovernmental organization should embrace both new digital tools and legal frameworks in order to replicate India’s success, says former Barbados government IT advisor Steven Williams.

More specifically, Caribbean states should look up to legislation like India’s 2005 Right to Information (RTI) Act. The legislation has helped promote government transparency and accountability, which in turn has fostered citizen trust in digital government.

“For CARICOM to harness the potential of similar digital frameworks, the region must embrace a culture of openness and transparency. Implementing legislation akin to India’s RTI Act would be a significant step forward,” writes Williams, who is also the principal consultant at Barbados-based Data Privacy and Management Advisory Services.

The RTI act has been instrumental in enabling the success of India Stack, a set of software tools and resources designed to improve digital service delivery, he adds. Relying on the biometric-based Aardhar ID, the India Stack has helped fast-track identity, document and payment applications such as eKYC, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), DigiLocker, DigiYatra and more.

During the past year, India has been promoting both the India Stack and its status as a key development partner for Caribbean countries. In October, heads of 13 CARICOM states met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Second CARICOM-India Summit in Georgetown, Guyana.

The Indian government took the opportunity to build more collaboration on digital public infrastructure, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jamaica.

The collaboration between the two sides includes exploring an introduction of a payment system similar to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Digital payments will be led by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), according to Caribbean News Global. Aside from payments, the island country is also hoping to improve its benefit distribution system, Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).

During the CARICOM-India Summit, Prime Minister Modi also promised to expand the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) in the region over the next five years. The bilateral assistance program is run by the government of India.

Another Indian investment will be into technical training through the Technical Development Centre established in Belize which will be expanded and opened to all CARICOM countries.

“We will also work on creating a forensic center for CARICOM,” says Modi.

Bermuda awaits digital transformation tender results

The Caribbean island of Bermuda is not waiting for India. Last year, its government published a call for proposals for strategic partnerships related to digital transformation. This includes the use of artificial intelligence to improve government services.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued by the office of Bermuda Premier Edward David Burt and includes three areas: Implementing AI to automate government processes and improve customer service, improving and expanding the unified payment platform and consolidating government services into a single platform.

The successful bidder is expected to be announced soon, on January 31, 2025. The agreement is expected to start on March 21st, 2025.

Article Topics

Bermuda  |  Caribbean  |  digital economy  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  India  |  India Stack  |  Jamaica  |  Unified Payments Interface - UPI