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India’s digital




         leapfrog










         By Sanjay Jain and Som Pal Choudhury




                                or  the  first  50  years  after  public assets have revolutionised the way
                                independence the Indian economy  India does business, making it a leader in
                                grew  at  a  snail’s  pace,  which  digital infrastructure. Today, more than 1.2
                         Fbecame known as the ‘Hindu rate    billion people have a digital identity, known
                         of  growth’.  That  changed  25  years  ago  as Aadhaar.  Enrolment into Aadhaar was
                         when,  spurred  by  a  series  of  economic  rapid - reaching one billion people in just 5
                         reforms, the growth rate jumped to seven  1/2 years, one of the fastest in the world.
                         per cent, lifting 300 million people out of  This digital identity has resulted in lower
                         poverty. China made a similar transition,  know-your-customer (KYC) costs, and rapid
                         prioritising   manufacturing   and  expansion  of  the  banking  system.  Today
                         infrastructure  investment.  The  Chinese  most Indian families have access to a bank
                         government  used  an  authoritarian,  top-  account.    The  subsidy  program  now
                         down macro push. India's transformation  transfers  benefits  directly  into  bank
                         has  been  very  different,  with  economic  accounts, reducing wastage and corruption.
                         growth driven from the bottom up.   Mobile  payments  have  bypassed  plastic
                            India  has  made  the  transition  from  a  cards, propelling India towards a cashless
                         largely  agrarian  economy  to  a  services  economy.    The  digital  infrastructure
                         economy,   bypassing   manufacturing  includes  a  digital  locker  for  important
                         altogether.  A  series  of  privatised  models  documents such as driver’s licenses and
                         evolved, leapfrogging to the next generation  degree certificates.
                         technologies.  Television  leapfrogged  to  Taxation was simplified, resulting in a
                         cable,  bypassing  free  to  air.  Telecoms  uniform tax with a digital interface. The tax
                         skipped landlines and went straight to 2G,  coverage has improved significantly.
                         and then to 4G. Today India has one of the  The  digital  infrastructure  is  becoming
                         lowest  call  rates  and  data  rates  in  the  richer,  with  new  additions  enabling  an
                         world, creating a large subscriber base of  ambitious healthcare and health insurance
                         900 million users.  It is now the fastest  scheme and a digital sky for drone flight
                         growing smartphone market as well.   plan  authorization,  for  example.  The
                            More recently, ‘Digital India’ has become  success  of  IndiaStack  has  attracted
                         the  Indian  Government’s  single  biggest  considerable interest from other countries,
                         initiative.  This  is  underpinned  by  who  are  exploring  ways  and  means  to
                         “IndiaStack”,  a  paperless,  cashless,  leverage this infrastructure for their own
                         consent-based scalable architecture.  These  use.


        10 www.gpfo.co.uk                                                        Foglet 4th Edition
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