The next DPI — how India can commoditise AI
Making Artificial Intelligence affordable and ubiquitous should become India’s next transformative public infrastructure revolution
360° Perspective Analysis
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Context
The article analyzes India's success in building its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), specifically the India Stack, which commoditized identity, payments, and data. It argues that the next logical step for India's digital evolution is the commoditization of Artificial Intelligence (AI), positioning it as a public good to drive further inclusive growth and innovation.
UPSC Perspectives
Governance
The evolution of the India Stack represents a paradigm shift in how the state delivers services and empowers citizens. By building a foundational Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), India moved away from siloed, proprietary systems toward open, interoperable platforms. This started with , which drastically reduced the cost of identity verification through (APIs), enabling efficient rollout of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) under the (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile). The subsequent development of (UPI) democratized digital payments, fostering financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale. Finally, the (DEPA) and the framework shifted control of financial data back to the user, allowing them to leverage their digital footprint for credit access. This integrated approach to DPI is unique globally, contrasting with isolated successes like Estonia's e-identity or Brazil's Pix, and serves as a model for leveraging technology for robust, scalable governance.
Economic
The economic impact of India's DPI has been transformative, driven by the dramatic reduction in the cost of internet access (the "Jio effect"). The resulting surge in internet penetration—bringing hundreds of millions online—created a massive new market for digital services. The near-zero cost of transactions on spurred explosive growth in digital payments, formalizing large segments of the informal economy and significantly boosting the startup ecosystem. By lowering friction and transaction costs, these public digital rails have enhanced the efficiency of capital allocation. The article suggests that if AI can be similarly commoditized—made accessible and affordable as a public good—it could unlock a new wave of economic productivity. However, this transition requires addressing the significant fixed costs associated with AI development, such as computing power and data infrastructure, potentially through a model similar to how telecom infrastructure investments democratized internet access.
Science & Technology
From a technological perspective, India's DPI is built on principles of open APIs, interoperability, and scalability. This architecture allows private players to build innovative solutions on top of the public rails, fostering a vibrant ecosystem. The challenge now lies in extending this DPI model to Artificial Intelligence. Commoditizing AI involves democratizing access to the fundamental building blocks of AI: compute, data sets, and foundational models. If India can establish an "AI stack" as a public good, it could enable widespread adoption of AI across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education, tailoring solutions to specific local needs and languages (like the initiative). This would shift the focus from merely consuming AI technologies developed elsewhere to actively shaping and deploying AI solutions that address domestic challenges and contribute to inclusive national development.