India is now on a gradual and persevering path of becoming a nation with a $5trillion economy. A blend of strong economic fundamentals, continuous infrastructure-based growth, and supply chains that are becoming more resilient all over the country is driving this ambitious economic objective. Recently, M. Nagaraju, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), presented this point of view at a conference specifically devoted to the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in New Delhi. The Secretary has indicated that one of the primary drivers of this national economic journey has been the massive growth in financial inclusion.
Impact and role of technology
The DFS Secretary claimed that the past decade played a significant role in designing a paradigm change in the financial ecosystem in India. The implementation of major government efforts like the Jan Dhan scheme and the rapid development of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) have been a one-time success in expanding the reach of formal financial services to the population. This concerted effort has led to a historic increase in financial inclusion, which has increased exponentially since 21% in 2008 to more than 80% today. It is described as a foundation of economic boost to the country by this unprecedented influx of financial access.
The remarks by the Secretary were made part of a jointly organized event under the banner of the National Institute of Smart Government (NISG), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Directorate of IT, Tripura, and the Knowledge partner of the conference was the consultancy firm EY.
The conference was an important venue where high-ranking policy makers, technologists, and industry players could discuss how they are best able to leverage AI and DPI to improve governance and delivery of services to the population. The overall goal of these deliberations is based on the realization of the national vision of a developed India by the year 2047.
Bhuvnesh Kumar, the CEO of UIDAI and CEO of NISG, gave further understanding of the strategic execution of these projects. He highlighted the efficiency of the model created by the NISG that is aimed at combining the speed of the governmental decision-making process with the effectiveness and efficiency of the procurement procedures that are typical of the private sector.
Economic priorities and evolution
The prominent report published during the event, one that was co-authored by NISG and EY, further strengthened the robust, collective belief of many industries in the inseparable nature of technology in driving India forward. One of the key points raised in the report was the fact that the union of AI and the current DPI stack of India would increase economic empowerment within the country. It is believed that this technology convergence will enhance the way governance works significantly and will enable the provision of services centered on the citizens on a large scale.
Continuing on the future direction of the development of these digital tools, Shankar Maruwada, Co-founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, distinguished between the past and future of digital development. He observed that DPI 1.0 played a significant role in supporting the welfare needs of the country. Going forward, he proposed that, with the support of AI in the background, DPI 2.0 will be critical in achieving the aspirational agenda of the 1.5 billion citizens in India. Maruwada concluded by saying that the present decade offers a deep opportunity to change the digital public infrastructure of India to digital public intelligence.
Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary, NEST Division, Ministry of External Affairs, gave the information on an important initiative to make India technologically ahead of the pack. He has defined that the IndiaAI Mission is committed to developing some key ingredients of future expansion. These involve building compute capacity, creating rich datasets, building foundational models, creating innovation centers, and creating regulatory frameworks that are reflective of the unique realities and national priorities of India.
Conclusion
The expressions and deliberations at the conference affirmed that India is on a firm path to reach its goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy, not only with its basic economic advantages and infrastructural development but also with the success of financial inclusion. The empowered population has been achieved by the transformational growth of services, such as Jan Dhan and the popularization of DPI. The vision of government, industry, and academia through systematic collaboration with artificial intelligence implementation in the DPI framework allows India to use the digital intelligence of people to empower the economy, enhance governance, and eventually achieve the goal of becoming a developed country by 2047.
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