SCO members adopt India’s proposal for digital public infra

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Saturday adopted India’s proposal to support the development and adoption of the country’s digital public infrastructure (DPI). The proposal includes platforms such as Aadhaar, United Payments Interface (UPI), and DigiLocker. The adoption of India’s proposal was made during a meeting of the SCO ministers responsible for the development of information and communication technology (ICT), which India was chairing.

During the meeting, the minister for electronics and IT, communications, and railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, urged other member states to assess, evaluate, and adopt India Stack, emphasising the importance of interoperability and higher digital inclusion.

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Vaishnaw said, “I would urge all fellow members of SCO to assess, evaluate and adopt India Stack and benefit from this digital public infrastructure. This DPI is very important from the perspective of having completion, making sure that technology is democratised, and making sure of digitally inclusive growth among member states.”

India shared its plans to invest $3 billion (around Rs 24,000 crore) to provide mobile connectivity to villages in remote areas and $5 billion (around Rs 40,000 crore) to bring broadband connectivity to all 250,000 gram panchayats, or village councils. Additionally, India will chair the Annual Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit in December.

Vaishnaw also highlighted the need for interoperability between the different systems being developed by member states and recognised the need for an organisation to set common standards for the interoperability of digital systems.

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The SCO is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising eight member countries, including India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. The organisation focuses on regional security, economic, and cultural cooperation.

The adoption of India’s proposal by the SCO marks a significant step towards a more digitally connected and inclusive future for the region. This development highlights India’s growing leadership in the digital realm and its efforts to bridge the digital divide and promote connectivity among its neighbours.