Digital public infrastructure ought to girdle the globe

Source: The post is based on the article “Digital public infrastructure ought to girdle the globe” published in Mint on 2^nd August 2023.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Infrastructure

Relevance: About Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

News: Last year, India and the US jointly stated that Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) like UPI could establish a new norm for public-private digital partnerships.

However, during the recent PM’s visit to the US, no discussions were held on this matter.

How is infrastructure usually funded?

Historically, the public sector has been responsible for funding physical infrastructure such as road and rail networks. However, public-private infrastructure partnership has become the new standard.

For example, in India, the public sector has less than a 10% share in India’s telecom and internet infrastructure.

Similarly, many infra-like elements of online apps necessitate a public-private interface. It can aid in the establishment of ‘public’ digital infrastructure.

Moreover, India’s DPI experience is now part of its G20 presidency agenda but doubts about DPI persist among several G20 countries.

What are the G20 countries’ concerns?

These countries have little clarity about India’s DPI. Hence, an open discussion is needed about the advantages and possible shortcomings of the DPI with those countries.

What are some of the advantages of the DPI that could be highlighted during the discussion?

First, DPI can reduce market entry barriers and pave the way for the emergence of new industries. PhonePe, Google Pay, and PayTM are three instances that account for more than 95% of all UPI transactions.

These apps have taken use of UPI’s open architecture and offered users a service level that ensures high adoption rates.

Second, DPI set-ups are also inclusive by design. Civil society stakeholders play a key role in their development.

For instance, the ‘Modular Open-Source identification Platform’ (MOSIP) is an open-source architecture for establishing identification systems

Several countries including Burkina Faso and Madagascar have signed up with MOSIP to design and deploy population-scale identity schemes.

However, new infrastructural paradigms often raise concerns, especially when the public interest is involved.

For this reason, the Indo-US Joint Statement expresses a bilateral commitment to “protect privacy, data security, and intellectual property (IP)” in DPI deployment.

Must Read: India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and associated challenges – Explained

How can privacy and data security concerns with the DPI be addressed?

The model where consent managers, intermediaries who collect approval from website and app users to use and process their personal data can be considered. They also allow users to cancel their consent.

This model empowers users while also holding intermediaries accountable for preventing data leaks and unauthorized third-party surveillance.

Moreover, India, like the US, has robust IP protections and is a signatory to the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights. 

Therefore, if a business demonstrates significant skill and creativity in the compilation and organization of a database, it can claim copyright protection of it.

What can be the way ahead?

G20 presidency since 2016 emphasized digital technologies’ role in inclusive and sustainable economic development, but adoption has been limited.

Therefore, India’s willingness to co-conceptualize the principles that encourage DPI adoption is a positive sign.