India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani

India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani

SUMMARY

Nandan Nilekani also said that India’s DPIs have so far been deployed in 15 countries across the globe

Nilekani also reiterated that startups and companies leveraging India’s DPIs were valued north of $100 Bn

As per Inc42 data, Indian startups have raised more than $150 Mn in funding between 2014 and H1 2024, with the country currently being home to 118 unicorns

Infosys cofounder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani has reportedly said that India is planning to take its digital public infrastructure (DPI) to 50 countries in the next five years. 

As per Economic Times, Nilekani, while shedding light on the global deployment of India’s DPI, said that the infrastructure was currently being used in 15 countries across the globe. 

“This (DPI) can be applied anywhere… There is a project to take this to 50 countries in five years. We’re at least in 15 countries today. Not the whole stack as it’s a bit complex but a lot of pieces of this are getting rolled out,” said Nilekani at an event in Bengaluru. 

On being asked a question about whether such DPIs would need “government push” to succeed, Nilekani said some of it indeed needed a regulatory push.

“The ID (Aadhaar) was government-backed. They spent about $1 per person and gave 1.3 Bn people an ID. But UPI came from NPCI, which is a non-profit owned by banks. It became valuable to the government because of demonetisation, which gave a push to digital payments, and Covid-19 forced people to make payments with social distancing. Government needs to define the rules of the game,” Nilekani reportedly added.

Speaking about unified payments interface (UPI), Nilekani said that the digital payments infrastructure was built on the philosophy of “public rails and private innovation”, adding that UPI today clocked 14.4 Bn transactions a month with 500 Mn users and 50 Mn merchants. 

He further reiterated that startups leveraging India’s DPIs were valued north of $100 Bn. “We estimate that on this infrastructure, there are more than $100 billion worth of companies that have been created on top of this, leveraging this technology,” added Nilekani. 

At the heart of all this is India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem that has raised more than $150 Bn in funding between 2014 and H1 2024. India is also home to more than 118 unicorns and 112 soonicorns that have raised billions of dollars and clocked hundreds of crores in revenues. 

The growth of Indian startups has largely been attributed to the growing number of internet users in India, increasing penetration of smartphones and affordable internet tariffs. Additionally, state-backed platforms such as UPI, ONDC and account aggregator framework have created multiple use cases and spawned the rise of giants in the fintech ecosystem.

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become An Inc42 Plus Member

Become a Startup Insider in 2024 with Inc42 Plus. Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in India’s startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
Unlock 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
Unlock 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani-Inc42 Media
India Aims To Take Its Digital Public Infra To 50 Nations In Next 5 Years: Nilekani-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company