IMF Praises India’s Digital Infrastructure

The IMF has issued a working paper ‘Stacking up the Benefits Lessons from India’s Digital Journey.’ In it, the IMF describes the achievement of India in creating a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that delivers significant benefits. The paper describes what has been done, what remains to be done and how others could emulate India’s achievement.

The DPI consists of five elements that make up what is known as the ‘India Stack’:

• Unique identity (Aadhaar)

• Complimentary payment systems (Unified Payment Interface – (UPI)

• Aadhaar Payments Bridge

• Aadhaar Enabled Payment Services

• Data exchange (DigiLocker and Account Aggregator).

The combination of these elements has delivered digital access that is open, paperless, cashless and which respects privacy. The goal of the India Stack has been to foster innovation and competition and increase financial inclusion, government revenue collection and public expenditure efficiency.