Digital Public Infrastructure

#GS-2 #Governance & Social Justice #E-Governance #Economy #Infrastructure #Current Events #National

Key takeaways

India's JAM Trinity crossed 144 crore Aadhaar numbers and 57.71 crore PMJDY accounts by March 2026.
UPI handled 21.70 billion transactions worth ₹28.33 lakh crore in January 2026 alone, dominating 49% of global real-time payments.
Direct welfare transfers through PFMS and DBT saved over ₹4.31 lakh crore by removing duplicate beneficiaries.
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) processed 3.27 crore orders worth ₹16.41 lakh crore, strongly supporting micro and small enterprises.

India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) stands out globally for running population-scale governance smoothly.
It proves that open and flexible digital systems can boost financial inclusion and service delivery at a very low cost.

DPI works like a physical railway or power grid, serving as the core base for secure digital connections among citizens, businesses, and governments.
Built on open APIs and public-interest rules, DPI avoids private walled gardens to push innovation and equal access forward together.

The JAM Trinity expanded massively with over 144 crore Aadhaar numbers creating more than 2,770 crore authentication checks in FY 2024 to 2025 alone.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) grew to 57.71 crore bank accounts holding 39.98 crore RuPay debit cards as of March 2026.
India reached 125.87 crore wireless subscribers, with 85.5% smartphone households and 5G coverage in 99.9% of districts using over 5 lakh BTS.
UPI processed 21.70 billion transactions worth ₹28.33 lakh crore in January 2026, taking 49% of global real-time payments and 81% of local retail digital payments.
The PFMS and DBT systems enabled total transfers of ₹49.09 lakh crore, cutting duplicate accounts and saving over ₹4.31 lakh crore in public funds.
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) recorded 3.27 crore orders worth ₹16.41 lakh crore, where MSEs contributed 44.8% worth ₹7.35 lakh crore.

The identity layer uses Aadhaar and DigiLocker to offer portable biometric identity and cloud storage, reducing delay and simplifying KYC rules.
The payments layer features UPI and AePS to build an open multi-bank system that removes high card-network transaction fees.
The data exchange layer uses the Account Aggregator framework to share encrypted financial data safely and unlock collateral-free credit.
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) connects independent buyers and over 1.16 lakh retail sellers across 630+ cities.
The Government e-Marketplace connects over 1.67 lakh government buyer bodies with 24 lakh vendor profiles.

Uneven digital literacy across rural and elderly groups creates barriers, forcing people to rely on intermediaries like CSC operators for mobile banking.
Fast-growing real-time payment rails face rising threats from social engineering, identity theft, and fake QR code scams.
Physical biometric wear and tear can cause authentication failures for manual laborers and senior citizens at Fair Price Shops.
Consumer payment volumes remain heavily concentrated, with a private foreign-backed duopoly holding over 80% of daily retail UPI market share.

India can share modular open-source systems with developing nations through the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR) set up during its G20 Presidency.
Strengthening domestic scheduled banks and public apps like BHIM will help reduce reliance on a few private front-end apps.
Enforcing the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act rules will protect citizen privacy across all data networks.
Expanding near-field communication and offline payment rails like UPI Lite X ensures smooth transactions in low-bandwidth areas.
Integrating ONDC with rural artisanal clusters will help nano-enterprises access formal working capital through the Account Aggregator network.