By Keshav Reddy, Founder, Equal
I was born in 1992, a time when the Internet was a novelty in India, accessible only to a privileged few tinkers and academics. As the World Wide Web made its debut in 1994, it remained relatively primitive, expensive, and largely unexplored.
Fast-forwarding through my lifetime, the digital landscape has radically transformed. The Internet has morphed into a near-ubiquitous utility, underpinning the rise and fall of business empires based on their digital relevance. India, too, has witnessed a surge of Internet startups, fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the tech space—a realm I am elated to navigate.
Standing on the cusp of this digital epoch, it feels as though we are perched on the shoulders of giants. Many hurdles have been surmounted, solutions crafted, and challenges highlighted, providing a fertile ground for innovation. To me, the cornerstone of this digital renaissance is India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), poised to catapult us into a new realm of seamless service delivery.
This infrastructure is part of the Indian government’s “Digital India” campaign to further propel the nation into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. The initiative aims at ensuring that government services are made available to citizens electronically, reducing paperwork, and promoting digital inclusivity. India’s DPI facilitates seamless interaction between the government, citizens, and businesses.
Central to the Digital India initiative is the Aadhaar system, which has become the world’s largest biometric ID system, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) which has revolutionized digital payments in India. In FY2022-23, UPI transactions reached a total value of INR 139.2 trillion. In September 2023 alone, the system processed over 10.5 billion transactions.
Digital frameworks foster innovation by providing startups with essential tools for real-time data analysis, financial transactions, and customer engagement. For instance, the Electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) process, especially Aadhaar-based e-KYC, has streamlined customer on boarding and authentication for financial sectors, promoting a paperless and cost-efficient process. This not only expedites business operations but ensures regulatory compliance, showcasing how DPI elements are instrumental in modernizing business processes in India. As an illustration, opening a trading account with India’s largest retail broker can be done using a thick stack of paper with numerous signatures and a physical mail-in, or the same procedure can be done digitally with e-KYC in a matter of minutes – just as safe, just as compliant.
The economic ramifications of the digital infrastructure are profound. It has attracted significant investments and generated employment.
India’s DPI has been a linchpin in nurturing a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. Its frameworks like Aadhaar, and UPI have not only simplified business operations but have also paved the way for innovation. As these digital frameworks continue to evolve, they promise to further fuel India’s entrepreneurial spirit, anchoring the nation’s position as a global hub for startups and innovation. The transformative journey from the Internet’s novelty to a robust digital infrastructure underscores the limitless possibilities awaiting the next generation of Indian entrepreneurs, heralding a new era of economic prosperity and innovation in India.
