India Pushes for Affordable Digital Access at G20
At a G20 technology ministers' meeting, Indian government officials reaffirmed their commitment to affordable digital access, last-mile delivery, and cybersecurity. India's strategy involves leveraging trade agreements and international cooperation to advance its digital infrastructure. The country aims to position itself as a leader in inclusive digital transformation and standards-setting for the Global South.
- India's push for global cooperation is institutionalized through the "One Future Alliance," a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at sharing the Indian experience of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) globally. This alliance intends to offer technical assistance, funding, and capacity building to low and middle-income countries to help them develop their own customizable, open-source digital systems. - A key component of this strategy is the "India Stack," a set of open APIs and digital public goods that includes the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the DigiLocker data exchange platform. As of early 2026, India has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 23 countries to cooperate on components of its DPI Stack. - During its G20 presidency, India launched the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR) to serve as a virtual bank of DPI initiatives from G20 members, aimed at sharing best practices. India is the highest contributor of digital solutions to this repository. - The G20 Digital Economy Ministers' meeting in Bengaluru reached a consensus on a definition and framework for DPI, describing it as a set of shared, secure, and interoperable digital systems built on open standards. This was a significant step in establishing a common global understanding and approach. - Beyond infrastructure, India has advocated for a unified global approach to the regulation of emerging technologies like AI and digital currencies, comparing the need for common standards to those in the aviation sector. This includes promoting a responsible, human-centric AI governance framework. - The promotion of DPI is explicitly linked to accelerating the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the UNDP and World Bank partnering with India as knowledge partners on the initiative. This frames the digital access push not just as a technical or economic issue, but as a core development priority. - Domestically, the "Digital India" campaign, launched in 2015, underpins this international agenda, with programs like the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDisha) aiming to make one person in every rural household digitally literate. This initiative has focused on creating digital infrastructure, delivering services on demand, and empowering citizens digitally.
