13th November, 2024

The DPI Academy, in collaboration with Princeton University’s Chadha Center for Global India and the Center for Information Technology Policy, hosted an insightful roundtable discussion on “UPI and Risk Management” on November 13, 2024. The session was moderated by Mihir Kshirsagar, who leads an interdisciplinary technology policy clinic at Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP).

Since its launch in 2016, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has seen significant growth, now serving over 330 million users and 50 million merchants. As the UPI ecosystem has evolved, new challenges have emerged—ranging from security and trust issues to the need for fostering healthy competition. Despite its success, India’s demographic and socioeconomic changes indicate that there is still significant potential for digital payments to expand further.

The roundtable brought together 22 distinguished experts and stakeholders to discuss key issues surrounding financial inclusion, safety and trust, and financial sustainability. Together, participants explored practical solutions to address emerging risks and opportunities in the UPI ecosystem. The discussion also focused on UPI’s role in advancing financial inclusion and its broader impact on India’s digital economy.

This conversation is part of our ongoing efforts to examine the governance dimensions of digital public infrastructure (DPI), including how platforms like UPI can be managed and regulated to ensure they are secure, inclusive, and sustainable.

1st October, 2024

In collaboration with Apolitical, we hosted an event exploring Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). The session also marked the launch of our Community of Practice on DPI, bringing together experts and practitioners to drive knowledge-sharing and collaboration in this critical area. Sign up for the Community of Practice here.

We explored the transformative potential of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), a framework of interconnected digital systems designed to revolutionise public service delivery. Often likened to a digital highway system, DPI facilitates seamless online services and offers significant opportunities for public sector innovation.

The session featured insights from renowned experts: Viraj Tyagi, CEO of eGov Foundation; Azhar Malik, Program Manager at UNDP; and Ibrahim Mamma, Senior Manager of Country Engagement at Digital Impact Alliance. These speakers shared their experiences in helping countries adopt digital technologies at scale across various sectors.

As a key highlight, we announced the launch of our Community of Practice (COP) on DPI, co-hosted with Apolitical. The COP serves as a global platform for knowledge sharing and engagement among DPI experts and enthusiasts, fostering collaboration and innovation in this critical area.

19th June, 2024

We hosted the online launch of ‘The DPI Academy’, on 19 June, 2024. In an era where digital transformation initiatives are reshaping the global landscape, the potential for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to foster equitable and sustainable development is immense. To successfully leverage DPI to transform society, it is necessary to build, and at times, rethink the strategic capacity requirements for designing, implementing, and governing DPI.

The event commenced with a keynote address by R. Chandrashekhar, former Secretary, Department of Telecommunication, Government of India, and former President, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).

This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Building Strategic Capacities for a Digital Future’. The discussion covered the critical aspects of building technical, institutional, and governance capacities in the DPI approach to digital transformation from various stakeholder perspectives.

Our panellists included Deepti Mukerjee, Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority; Liv Marte Nordhaug, Chief Executive Officer, DPG Alliance; Manish Srivastava, Chief Technology Officer, eGov Foundation; N.S.N. Murty, Government and Public Services Consulting Leader, Deloitte; and S.N. Tripathi, Director General, Indian Institute of Public Administration. Keyzom Ngodup Massally, Head of Digital Programming, UNDP Chief Digital Office moderated the discussion.

29th July, 2024

The Global State of DPI Roundtable was jointly hosted by Princeton's Chadha Centre for Global India (CGI) and DPI Academy (an initiative of Artha Global and eGov Foundation) on 29 July 2024 to discuss the state of and possibilities for global DPI. The participant list featured 21 experts in the field of DPI.

In this closed-door roundtable, we considered lessons learned from India's experience at the national and state level, how best to build on those lessons at a global level, and what models or best practices can be gathered from other countries implementing versions of DPI. The specific objective of our discussion was to develop a research agenda for global DPI.

1st October, 2024

In Partnership with Apolitical

DPI has the potential to reshape how the public sector operates. That’s why it’s essential for public servants and policymakers to know what it is and how it works.

At this event, heard from global experts with experience helping countries adopt digital technologies at the national scale across various sectors, exploring how the principles of DPI contribute towards a digital transformation journey.

19th December, 2024

At the DPI Academy, we believe in leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to address challenges in urban service delivery. In Visakhapatnam, we collaborated with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation in an engaging session to empower city officials with innovative tools and strategies for smarter urban management, paving the way for efficient and sustainable service delivery.

In India, urban residents generate around 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annuallyThe workshop on Digital Public Infrastructure for Urban Transformation focussed on the use case of solid waste management and service delivery management for waste management. The participants assessed the problem statement and discussed in detail the different aspects of deploying a DPI approach for waste management in Visakhapatnam. 

21st December, 2024

The DPI Academy hosted 130 Odisha Administrative Services officers at Gopabandhu Academy of Administration for an impactful session on how Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) can transform public service delivery.

Led by J. Satyanarayana (Chairperson, The DPI Academy) & Krishnakumar Thiagrajan (VP, eGov Foundation), the panel shared case studies from the urban sector and discussed how foundational & sectoral DPIs are key to addressing today’s governance challenges.