DPI is the new ‘global tech bet’ and these are the five core motivations for adoption, researchers say

Digital public infrastructure is the new “global tech bet” — except everyone is betting on something different. That is according to David Eaves, an associate professor of digital government and a co-deputy director of University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose; and Beatriz Vasconcellos, a policy fellow at the same institute as Eaves.

The authors have identified five distinct objectives that shape the DPI agenda, as they mapped programs and initiatives in 210 countries. The five major motivations powering DPI adoption include fiscal resilience, public services, economic development, national sovereignty, and competition and rent extraction.

Digging in, fiscal resilience applies to how digital systems can be used to reduce wasteful government spending, prevent fraud in welfare programs, and improve tax collection efforts. The authors caution that while savings have been enjoyed, by Estonia’s government for example, the greater efficiency and lower access costs can lead to increasing costs. This arises from greater demand and frequency of transactions.

Public services is self-explanatory, with the authors noting that the expanded state capacity can prove particularly beneficial during crises, such as Covid-19 where countries with interoperable public data systems reached three times more people with emergency aid than those without, according to a 2019 World Bank report.

For economic development, DPI can help to realize more inclusive economies: simplifying identity verification processes and lowering access costs. The authors highlight how Aadhaar boosted banking penetration in India but that it was supported by multiple initiatives and not digital ID alone. They were an electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) system, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) financial inclusion policy, and a direct benefit transfer program that made use of Aadhaar.

In addition, DPI is gaining more and more interest for international economic integration, with the Mercosur Digital Citizen initiative cited, which enables access to services across five South American countries.

On national sovereignty, we can see this very clearly in the case of the European Union, with its Commission announcing a €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) investment in technologies, such as the EU Digital Identity Wallet, that are strategically important for the future of the continent. Put simply, national governments prefer not to rely on foreign digital service providers, such as companies in cloud hosting, digital payments and identity verification. Having sovereign control over critical infrastructure, whether physical or digital, remains key. However, creating, developing and implementing such technological stacks can be costly and some EuroStack proponents have called for a €300 billion ($323 billion) investment.

Finally, competition and rent extraction refers to the concerns that some governments have over how a few large digital platforms control key infrastructure and can extract excessive rents. The authors hone in on Brazil’s instant payment system PIX as a successful case study, where new entrants can enter the field making use of shared digital components as standards. At the heart of the final core point, DPI is about ensuring healthy competition so consumers and businesses have a fair ecosystem.

The authors delve into implementation as well in a detailed yet accessible op-ed. Those interested can read the full piece on Tech Policy here.

India’s digital transformation, a guide for international audiences

Indian writer Rishima Madan explores the key successes and learnings from India’s digital transformation. Along the way, we take a look at India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which the author contrasts with China’s WeChat Pay.

Public access, empowerment, and financial inclusion is the aim of the game in India, and countries such as Singapore and the U.A.E have adopted similar models, Madan writes. “The success of UPI is not just a national achievement; it has become a global benchmark for digital payments,” the piece says.

Those interested can read the full piece here. While MOSIP is not mentioned, India’s open-source nonprofit recently held a DPI summit in Manila, Philippines, with coverage of MOSIP Connect 2025 on Biometric Update.

India is rising up the ranks as its DPI systems such as Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker become admired and studied around the world. But that doesn’t mean everything is perfect. In a critical study – India’s Digital Future: Inclusive Growth or Widening Divide? –  researcher Yoon Jae Ro writes on challenges on integration, such as persistent gender divides, digital literacy, and digital device gaps. “Ironically, over-reliance on digital platforms also risks creating a new form of exclusion,” Ro writes.

The piece is available as a PDF and online, with the research fellow at the Center for Emerging Economy Studies writing for the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  DigiLocker  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  India  |  Unified Payments Interface - UPI