The Indian government has established a task force within the G20 to focus on digital public infrastructure in order to enhance India’s progress in the digital realm. This task force will also aid the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) and the Digital Working Group (DEWG) in their respective G20 tracks.
The G20 task force on digital public infrastructure will be led jointly by G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani. The task force will create a comprehensive plan for India’s digital infrastructure in finance, health, education, data, taxation, digital commerce, and mobility. The task force will also identify key infrastructure to be highlighted within various G20 tracks.
The task force has been assembled to explore potential international collaborations for the purpose of increasing economic inclusion in emerging economies, refining the targeting of fiscal policies, promoting competition within the marketplace, and safeguarding individual privacy. The task force will consist of the following members: Secretaries from the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and External Affairs Ministry, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, the CEO of UIDAI, the Managing Director of the National Payments Corporation of India, and the Chief Economic Adviser.
An official from the Ministry of Economics stated that “The government is committed to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge-based economy by ensuring digital access, inclusion, empowerment and bridging the digital divide. Digital infrastructure is its backbone. The world has acknowledged India’s prowess in this area during the Covid period when technology such as CO-WIN was used in the world’s largest vaccination programme. Digital revolution through JAM trinity (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile) has not only empowered people but it has created an infrastructure to provide cash subsidies to the poor directly in their bank accounts.”
Given the government’s emphasis on prioritizing the needs of citizens at the G20, the areas of focus include digital goods that are publicly owned, such as digital identity, access to banking services, rapid retail payment systems, and protocols for sharing data. Additionally, the government is focusing on creating techno-legal regulatory frameworks that are favorable to the market and encouraging the private sector to participate in innovation and service delivery.
