India to leverage AI for making digital public infrastructure more efficient

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India intends to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technology into digital public infrastructure to improve efficiencies and redefine the country’s digital ecosystem. India’s DPI includes a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) public platform and Aadhaar, touted as the world’s largest biometric identification system.

“The seamless fusion of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with artificial intelligence propels us into a new world of ‘Digital Public Intelligence,’ representing a transformative leap forward,” India said in its report on the G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure.

The work of the Task Force led to the acceptance of the definition and framework of DPI during India’s G20 Presidency, and it is expected to be taken forward during the Brazilian and South African G20 Presidencies. India’s Ministry of Finance said that the report is also expected to play a key role in defining the future course of the DPI approach and actions around the globe.

India held its G20 presidency in December 2022, with digital asset regulation as one of its agendas. The G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies, collectively accounting for 85% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and 75% of international trade.

“Looking ahead, as we have seen, it will continue to be useful to deal with the complex and pressing challenges like achieving sustainable growth, financial inclusion, reducing cost of payments, harnessing data for development. With the appropriate application of emerging technologies, including AI, the impact of DPI can easily be amplified further,” the report said.

India’s DPI—digital identity, fast payment system, and consent-based data sharing—has demonstrated how 1.4 billion individuals can access socio-economically important services in finance, health, education, e-governance, taxation, skills, etc. This infrastructure is the result of strong partnerships between the public and private sectors, unlocking innovations to address the size and diversity of the Indian population.

“India did an incredible pole vault in Digital Public Infrastructure. We achieved in 9 years what would have taken 50 years without DPI,” Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa of India, said. In the G20, the Sherpas are the leaders of each country who take the discussions and agreements to the final summit with heads of state and government.

“Today in India, UPI is used at all levels from street vendors to large shopping malls, with the highest percentage of digital transactions globally, accounting for nearly 46 per cent share. All these proved to be building blocks for India to steer through the COVID-19 pandemic, be it transfer of $4.5 billion into the bank accounts of 160 million beneficiaries, or facilitate distribution of 2.5 million vaccinations in two years with digital vaccine certificates on mobiles. We are far advanced in terms of digitisation and I am confident this report will be the guiding North Star for the world to follow,” Kant added.

According to the report, the function of AI is to interpret intricate and complex data, foresee requirements, and offer personalized solutions customizable according to individual preferences and situations. Therefore, AI can facilitate DPI’s ability to evolve continuously in real time. Nations like India, characterized by many regional languages, consistently encounter data availability challenges. In such contexts, AI can help overcome the challenge of limited data availability to a large extent in Indian languages by enabling language localization.

The report said that DPI can use AI to enhance service delivery across various sectors, such as health, education, agriculture, and finance. AI algorithms can analyze large datasets to provide insights and recommendations, improving decision-making processes and resource allocation. They can also help streamline processes, automate routine tasks, and provide personalized services based on data analysis.

AI can also bolster cybersecurity measures within DPI by continuously monitoring for threats and anomalies. AI-driven systems can detect and respond to security breaches more rapidly, reducing the risk of data breaches or cyber-attacks. This is particularly relevant because a record surge in India’s digital payments has also led to a jump in digital payment fraud.

AI can also foster innovation in DPI. Open-source software, AI models, standards, or content that are publicly available can be replicated, modified, and shared freely. This encourages innovation and scalability in DPI by promoting the entry of private players in the technology industry, the report pointed out.

“Governments and businesses around the world are increasingly realising that if they really want to achieve SDGs [sustainable development goals] and social goals like inclusive growth, it has to have underlying DPI to make that happen,” said Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of information technology major Infosys, and founding chairman of UIDAI (Aadhaar).

“DPI has the power to dramatically improve the lives of citizens and transform governance. It has happened here in India and it started with the Aadhaar ID system, aimed at providing a digital identity to every Indian. Now, around 1.3 billion Indians possess this digital ID and on average 10 million eKYC [electronic know-your-customer] per day is being facilitated through Aadhar,” Nilekani added.

Meanwhile, in digital payments, Nilekani said that UPI facilitates 13 billion transactions per month and serves about 350 million individuals and 50 million merchants.

“DPI-enabled direct transfer has saved the government $41 billion across central government schemes. Therefore, it’s no longer a choice or a luxury, DPI is essential to get to where we want. This report will play a key role in defining the future course of DPI approach and actions around the globe,” Nilekani pointed out.

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