Role of Citizen Stack

Source: The post role of Citizen Stack has been created, based on the article “What we mean by good digital public infrastructure” published in “Indian Express” on 9th August 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3- Economy (financial inclusion) and GS paper 2-Governance-  e-governance

Context: The article discusses India’s success in achieving financial inclusion through digital public infrastructure (DPI). It highlights the role of Citizen Stack, a regulatory body ensuring secure, reliable DPIs, based on five guiding principles for maintaining trust and integrity.

For detailed information on Digital Public Infrastructure read this article here

What is India’s Achievement in Financial Inclusion?

1. Rapid Progress: India has achieved over 80% financial inclusion in just six years, significantly impacting over a billion people.
2. Global Recognition: This success was highlighted at the G20 summit in New Delhi in 2023, showcasing it as a model for the Global South.
3. Digital Framework: The foundation of this achievement is the India Stack, a comprehensive digital infrastructure that has proven its efficacy and security at a massive scale.

What is the Role of Citizen Stack?

1. Citizen Stack is based on the success of India Stack, which has already served over a billion people.
2. It acts as a regulatory body, not a manufacturer of DPIs.
3. Citizen Stack certifies and authenticates DPIs, ensuring they meet high standards of security, scalability, and inclusivity.
4. It follows five guiding principles, including privacy protection and interoperability.
5. The platform ensures that digital public infrastructure serves the public good, following India’s model of digital and financial inclusion seen at the 2023 G20 summit.
6. Standard of Excellence: Citizen Stack sets a global benchmark for DPIs, ensuring public benefit, not corporate exploitation.

What Defines a Good DPI?

A good DPI harmonizes technology with societal needs, focusing on security, scalability, and inclusivity. Citizen Stack has set five guiding principles, or sutras, to define what makes a DPI beneficial:

1. Maintain citizens’ relationship with the market and the state – Ensure digital infrastructure is free from distortions.
2. Safeguard citizen empowerment and privacy – Use a consent-based system for data sharing.
3. Prevent monopolies – Ensure interoperability to avoid monopoly lock-in.
4. Techno-legal regulation – Combine technology and law for ethical governance of tech.
5. Public-private innovation – Encourage collaboration without corporate dominance.

Question for practice:

Evaluate the role of Citizen Stack in ensuring the security and inclusivity of Digital Public Infrastructure in India.