India continues to display a managed, unified strategy to digitise the country in its drive to create a digital marketplace. This is the more remarkable considering the population base, both size and variety.

The last big news item was elimination of cash and replacement with digital ID and wallets.

Now we are learning more about how that was accomplished technically and the nature of the open API strategy that will further encourage business and government to lever the opportunity.

All this to further the view that India will likely beat even the most optimistic predictions on becoming an economic engine and powerhouse larger than China. I base that prediction on the clarity of vision and shared set of common goals which lis always a winning approach in my experience no matter the size of the entity.

China has a managed economy but the shared set of common goals is missing. Leaders are too busy looking over their shoulder due to personal concern about retribution and blame for something/ anything. The broad acceptance of human frailty and willingness to accept mistakes displayed in India is non-existent in China.

FT – The India Stack

New Delhi has pioneered a new approach to online infrastructure in its drive to connect 1.4bn.

Here is a snippet from the FT “Big Read”.

Pal’s story has been replicated millions of times in recent years in India as the authorities launched an unprecedented drive to bring its 1.4bn population online.

At the heart of this effort is the so-called India Stack: government-backed APIs, or application programming interfaces, upon which third parties can build software with access to government IDs, payment networks and data.

This digital infrastructure is interoperable and “stacked” together — meaning that private companies can build apps integrated with state services to provide consumers with seamless access to everything from welfare payments to loan applications.

Supporters argue that India has found a world-beating solution for building out and regulating the online commons that is more equitable than the US’s laissez-faire approach, more innovative than the EU’s regulation-heavy model and more transparent than China’s totalitarian template.

Now, as New Delhi hosts this year’s G20 presidency and surpasses China as the world’s most populous country, India’s public digital infrastructure has become a core part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to present India as a nascent economic superpower, alternative investment destination to China and leading voice of the global south.

Tags: #india #india-stack #india-digitising #modi #G20