India can play a role in DPI development in Global South, says MEA official Foreign Defense Security News

He noted that today, the DPI model has become India's core value proposition and is being adopted and adapted by countries across the world.

“Based on our own experience during this period, for DPI-based solutions to work and deliver the expected results, we need a combination of three key aspects – technology, governance and community. Technology creates digital systems, technical protocols. And applications that It is important to facilitate user adoption by building trust in what the building blocks deliver.”

According to him, governance frameworks can include rules of engagement, stakeholder behavior management, cross-cutting and domain-specific principles, regulations and policies, and digitally embedded governance. Finally, vibrant and broad community participation is essential to enable value creation.

This includes private sector and civil society actors who can work together to unlock innovation and unlock value. DPI can play a transformative role in various fields. These include financial inclusion, empowerment of small businesses, transparent delivery of citizen services, running blockchain-based financial services and a unified lending platform, Kumaran said.

“Many of these ideas are already being implemented, but many more will emerge over the months and years. By integrating artificial intelligence to better understand the vast amounts of data generated, DPI can become the basis for an interconnected, more efficient and inclusive digital society,” he added.

Talking about the intersection of DPI with international cooperation and the global impact it can have from an MEA perspective, Kumaran said, “As new technologies emerge at a moderate pace, they benefit a select few and perpetuate various forms of digital divide as India progresses in our DPI journey, we are committed to supporting other countries in adopting and scaling digital public infrastructure.”

He noted that DPI has significant potential to drive global progress if supported by the necessary level of international cooperation.

He also emphasized that India's success provides a solid foundation for us to help the Global South develop and scale its own DPI initiatives.

“India can play a role in helping the Global South develop DPI through technology transfer and knowledge sharing, promoting the adoption of open source technologies. Secondly, consultation and capacity building on data management, policy and cooperation on cybersecurity,” he said.

India can advocate for interoperable and open global digital standards in appropriate fora, ensuring DPI developed in the Global South is compatible with the global system. He said this could help cross-border cooperation, especially in the fields of finance, trade and health.

Kumaran shed light on digital innovation and startup engagement.

“We can encourage partnerships between India's digital search startup ecosystem and entrepreneurs in the Global South to develop DPI solutions. This may include accelerators, incubators and collaborative financing mechanisms,” he said.

Despite the huge promises, DPI made clear that challenges remain and that ensuring privacy and data protection, bridging the digital divide and building trust in digital systems are crucial.

“In addition, there are governance challenges such as ensuring transparency, accountability and inclusion in the development and implementation of the DPI. However, these challenges also create opportunities. India's experience of large-scale digital transformation provides useful lessons on how to overcome these obstacles by investing in efforts to support cross-border collaboration, promote digital skills and ensure that DPI systems remain open and inclusive, which can unlock DPI's full potential for global development.” – he explained.