Role of Digital Public Infrastructure in Financial Inclusion

Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is a new term referring to the basic capabilities that are building blocks for developing digital services at a societal scale. It is the intermediate layer between physical infrastructure (for example, broadband and data centres) and sectoral applications (for example, social protection and e-commerce). The most common types of Digital public infrastructure are platforms and systems for digital identification (ID), digital payments, and data sharing. With digital transformation of economies and societies progressing at an increasingly rapid pace, the global community has recognized the need for clear policies, increased financing, creative innovation, and effective regulation of digital technologies to serve the public good and enhance financial inclusion of underserved populations. This paper attempts to understand in detail about the digital public infrastructure, its importance, approaches and various challenges faced while implementation of it in India. This paper examines the impact of digital public infrastructure in India and also aims to study the role of digital public infrastructure in the area of financial inclusion. In this study we also came to know about how India used digital public infrastructure to foster financial inclusion.