What if public infrastructure extended beyond roads and bridges to include digital identities and payment systems? This article explains how “Digital Public Infrastructure” is transforming the way we think about essential services and why it’s becoming a focal point in global tech and policy discussions.

In recent years, the term “Digital Public Infrastructure” (DPI) has generated significant interest in global discussions on technology and economic development . But what exactly is driving this attention? Simply put, Digital Public Infrastructures represent a new approach to how countries can build, deploy, and leverage digital tools to transform public service delivery.

The concept of Digital Public Infrastructures is not just a passing trend; it marks a fundamental shift in how we think about infrastructure in the 21st century. Traditionally, public infrastructure referred to physical assets like roads, bridges, and water systems. However, as we progress further into the digital age, there is an increasing need for robust digital frameworks that can serve as the backbone of modern societies.

Digital Public Infrastructures encompass a wide range of scalable and interoperable technologies and systems that provide essential services and critical functions. The discussion about DPIs is particularly relevant in the context of growing digitalization across various sectors, including education, healthcare, governance, and public administration. These infrastructures are key to improving access, efficiency, and innovation across multiple industries, especially as they promote greater inclusion and transparency.

Examples of DPIs include Estonia’s e-Residency program, which provides non-Estonians with a digital identity, enabling them to access the country’s digital services and conduct business online without the need to physically reside in Estonia; Brazil’s PIX system that facilitates instant payments and financial inclusion; and Singapore’s SingPass, a national digital identity system facilitating secure online access to government and private sector services.

The “India Stack” as one interpretation of digital public infrastructures

Despite the various examples of Digital Public Infrastructures, there is not yet a clear definition of what that term really entails. This becomes particularly evident when looking at which narrative of Digital Public Infrastructures is currently advocated the most.

The reason that the discourse around Digital Public Infrastructure has gained so much traction in the last years is largely due to the innovative efforts and strong advocacy by the Indian government. During its G20 presidency in 2023, India made a significant push to promote its version of Digital Public Infrastructure, known as the “India Stack.”The India Stack consists of a set of government-backed application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow third parties to build software on top of them. The goal of this model is to create a service ecosystem through Digital Public Infrastructures designed to be interoperable and integrated. While the foundational layer is provided by the government, individual entities can develop applications that connect with these services, offering citizens access to everything from welfare payments to loan applications.

The India Stack places a strong emphasis on public-private partnerships, notably involving India’s non-profit organization iSPIRIT, which represents the country’s software industry. This collaborative approach is a defining characteristic of India’s interpretation of Digital Public Infrastructure. However, this model has faced criticism, particularly regarding the extent of public-private collaboration and the role of private companies in service delivery. Critics are concerned about the large volumes of data that both the government and private firms can collect and potentially link across different sectors, especially given the current weaknesses in data protection laws. On the other hand, supporters of the India’s model of Digital Public Infrastructure point to its economic success. In 2022, projects like the identify system Aadhaar and the payment system UPI, which are associated with the India Stack, contributed 0.9% to India’s GDP.

Competing definitions of digital public infrastructures

India’s interpretation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) represents just one of several perspectives on the concept. Another notable definition is provided by Open Future, which prioritizes governance and public interest over other aspects. According to Open Future, Digital Public Infrastructures should be grounded in the principles of openness, transparency, and interoperability. These principles ensure that the systems are accessible and beneficial to the public at large.

Open Future further advocates for the principle of digital commons, which suggests that DPIs should not be controlled by a single entity that has the power to unilaterally alter the rules or terms of use. Instead, they should be developed and managed through a collaborative process involving multiple stakeholders. This approach aims to foster an environment where decisions are made collectively and transparently, thereby enhancing community benefit and ensuring equitable access.

In this framework, public-private partnerships are not as central as in other models like the India Stack. While private entities may still play a role, the emphasis is more on ensuring that DPIs remain under public stewardship and are governed in a way that prioritizes the public interest. This model seeks to avoid the concentration of power and control, promoting a more democratic and inclusive approach to the development and management of digital infrastructure. Examples include the participation platform DECIDIM, the health information management system DHIS2 or the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

Looking Ahead

The way Digital Public Infrastructures are defined has significant implications for how they are implemented. The term’s vagueness has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it is broad enough to attract a variety of actors and gain political traction. On the other hand, there is a risk that the term could become diluted, as too many stakeholders might have vastly different interpretations of what it means. Nonetheless, we are still at the early stages of the debate on Digital Public Infrastructures. Although India has taken an early lead with its interpretation of Digital Public Infrastructures, this does not have to remain the case. We can certainly expect more robust discussions on what they should truly entail.

However, what all these competing definitions have in common is that they primarily focus on three key application areas: identity, payment, and data. In the past year, we commissioned the non-profit knowledge curation platform, The Syllabus, to identify and map examples of Digital Public Infrastructure for us. Over the next three weeks, we will feature three of these examples to make the concept of Digital Public Infrastructure more tangible.

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