The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its working paper has said that India’s creation of world-class digital public infrastructure serves as an example for other countries undergoing digital transformation.
The report “Stacking up the Advantage: Lessons from India’s Digital Journey (DPI)” states that the success of India’s digital public infrastructure is attributed to the country’s building block strategy and emphasis on fostering innovation.
The building block method emphasizes setting a minimum Common Core to address a set of issues. This strategy provides resources to develop specialized solutions in a diverse nation like India.
To foster a thriving ecosystem, the IMF report emphasizes the need for compatibility across different DPIs and competition-focused design. With the use of open standards, the functionality of the Bharat Stack is made available to all and supports interoperability.
The IMF report states that CoWIN, the COVID-19 vaccine delivery platform, as well as other DPIs in education and health have adopted India’s guiding principles. With the use of a digital backbone, India was able to rapidly scale up its vaccination program and overcome barriers such as extensive internal mobility. CoWIN’s technology has also been used in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Jamaica, to support their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
It is also emphasized that India recognizes the use of information technology (IT) in building the identity layer, highlighting the introduction of the Aadhaar card.
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The report emphasizes that India’s digital building block strategy encourages innovation as it enables each building block to handle multiple issues. India Stack’s design fosters competition and breaks down silos, bypassing existing barriers and established interests.
In a tweet, IMF Senior Resident Representative to India Louis E. Breuer lauded India’s digital public infrastructure and said it is improving people’s lives. The findings of the study suggest that other countries undertaking digital transformation can learn from India’s experience.