India’s DPI model continues global expansion with 23 country partnerships

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Stack, commonly known as India Stack, keeps inspiring nations around the world with more of them turning to Delhi for working relations.

In a recent announcement, the government disclosed that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 23 countries to cooperate on one or more components of its DPI Stack, among which is the Universal Payment Interface (UPI) system now operational in at least eight countries.

The India Stack is the trinity of Aadhaar digital ID, UPI, and the DigiLocker data-sharing platform, which all form the backbone of the country’s ongoing digital transformation journey. India is baking on the Stack to grow its digital economy into a trillion-dollar one by 2030.

UPI is the digital payments component of the India Stack which is positioning the country as a global payments leader. The system has for long also elicited interest from countries in different parts of the world which have been using it as a model for their national instant payment infrastructure.

According to the government, the MoUs cover “digital identity, digital payments, data exchange and service delivery platforms, aligned with India’s broader DPI diplomacy under the India Stack framework.”

The announcement lists the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius and Qatar as being the countries where the UPI system is live, a move that doesn’t only boost remittances and expand financial inclusion, but also presents India as a fintech exemplar.

Also, four counties namely Cuba, Kenya, UAE and the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, have deals with India regarding the DigiLocker data exchange platform.

In total, the MoUs have been signed with countries from five regions of the world with Africa having the highest number at six. The others are from Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Oceania.

These collaborative deals, the government explains, is part of its India Stack Global initiative through which it says it has “taken measures to share the success of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) globally.”

The government statement also mentions India’s contributions to the Global DPI Repository which was launched during the country’s G20 presidency in 2023. It says it is the highest contributor of DPI solutions on the platform which is a virtual hub for knowledge sharing on DPI-related issues. India shares knowledge on 18 digital solutions via the hub.

India, recall, used its G20 leadership to push for stronger South-South collaboration on DPI implementation. At the time, the country also led advocacy for a legal framework to inform the global adoption of DPI.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  data exchange platform  |  DigiLocker  |  digital ID  |  digital payments  |  digital public infrastructure  |  India  |  India Stack  |  Unified Payments Interface - UPI