Written by: Umakant Sir (Founder, Mentor and Civil Servant).
Transforming one village at a time:
In the remote village of Chiragpur, nestled amidst rolling hills, Ramesh, a farmer, faced a challenge that had plagued his ancestors for generations—access to basic services.
The nearest bank was 30 kilometers away, official documents required multiple visits to the district office, and selling his crops involved dealing with middlemen who took hefty cuts. Technology, for him, was as distant as the city lights he could see faintly from his fields at night.
But everything changed one day when the village school introduced a simple smartphone in their digital literacy drive. With a few taps, Ramesh discovered that he could open a bank account using his Aadhaar card. For the first time, he received payments for his crops directly into his account via UPI, eliminating the middleman. Through the village’s lone Wi-Fi hotspot, his daughter attended online classes on ePathshala, and his wife consulted a doctor through telemedicine powered by the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
Chiragpur transformed, not through skyscrapers or sprawling highways, but through the invisible yet powerful network of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). From Aadhaar to UPI, DigiLocker to e-Sanjeevani, the village was now interconnected with the world in ways Ramesh had never imagined.
As India scales its digital horizons, the story of Chiragpur exemplifies how DPI is not just about technology but about empowering the last person in the line. It is a journey from exclusion to inclusion, from barriers to boundless opportunities—transforming the nation one village at a time.
What is Digital Public Infrastructure:
Though the term DPI is relatively new, the concept is not. The internet, powered by common protocols like HTTP, HTML, and SMTP, is a prime example of DPI. It ensures global information exchange and interoperability.
For example:
When you go to buy a new SIM card or get a new utility service (Internet/Wi-Fi etc.), you no need to provide any document for this purpose. Thats is a prime example of DPI. The service provider verifies you, through Aadhar authentication and you walk out with your service at a lightning speed (Compare this with the bygone era, when to get a SIM card you had to stand in queue and apply before 6 months or a year in advance).
Transforming India’s Public delivery landscape:
Since the usage and adoption of DPI at scale, the public delivery landscape of India has changed substantially. Here are few “damn” good examples of DPI.
List of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in India:
DPI Component |
Description |
Applications |
Benefits |
Aadhaar |
Unique biometric-based identity system. |
– Authentication for services |
– Reduces duplication |
|
– Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT). |
– Enables efficient service delivery. |
||
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) |
Real-time payment system enabling instant money transfers via mobile devices. |
– Peer-to-peer transactions |
– Promotes cashless economy |
|
– Merchant payments |
– Low transaction costs. |
||
|
– Bill payments. |
|
||
DigiLocker |
Digital platform for storing and sharing government-issued documents. |
– Storage of ID proofs, certificates, and licenses. |
– Reduces paperwork |
|
– Verification for various services. |
– Provides easy access to documents. |
||
CoWIN |
Platform for COVID-19 vaccination registration and tracking. |
– Vaccine scheduling |
– Streamlines vaccine administration |
|
– Issuance of vaccination certificates. |
– Provides authenticated records. |
||
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) |
Digital framework for health services. |
– Unified Health ID |
– Enhances healthcare accessibility |
|
– Telemedicine |
– Enables seamless health records sharing. |
||
|
– Health data interoperability. |
|
||
ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) |
Open e-commerce platform promoting inclusivity and competition. |
– E-commerce for small businesses |
– Reduces market dominance |
|
– Interoperable networks for buyers and sellers. |
– Promotes entrepreneurship. |
||
e-Sanjeevani |
Telemedicine platform connecting patients with doctors virtually. |
– Online consultations |
– Improves healthcare access in remote areas |
|
– Specialist referrals. |
– Saves time and resources. |
||
FASTag |
RFID-based electronic toll collection system. |
– Automated toll payments |
– Reduces congestion |
|
– Traffic management. |
– Promotes fuel efficiency. |
||
National Academic Depository (NAD) |
Digital repository for academic certificates. |
– Secure storage and verification of degrees and transcripts. |
– Prevents forgery |
|
– Simplifies access for institutions and students. |
|||
Account Aggregator Framework |
Data-sharing system for financial services. |
– Lending |
– Empowers individuals with control over their data |
|
– Investment management |
– Facilitates easier access to credit. |
||
|
– Personal finance tools. |
|
||
PM-WANI |
Wi-Fi hotspot initiative to provide affordable internet connectivity. |
– Public Wi-Fi access |
– Promotes internet penetration |
|
– Digital inclusivity in rural and urban areas. |
– Supports economic opportunities. |
Recent Posts
- Anonymity: Darknet allows users to communicate and transact with each other anonymously. Users can maintain their privacy and avoid being tracked by law enforcement agencies or other entities.
- Access to Information: The darknet provides access to information and resources that may be otherwise unavailable or censored on the regular internet. This can include political or sensitive information that is not allowed to be disseminated through other channels.
- Freedom of Speech: The darknet can be a platform for free speech, as users are able to express their opinions and ideas without fear of censorship or retribution.
- Secure Communication: Darknet sites are encrypted, which means that communication between users is secure and cannot be intercepted by third parties.
- Illegal Activities: Many darknet sites are associated with illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, weapon sales, and hacking services. Such activities can attract criminals and expose users to serious legal risks.
- Scams: The darknet is a hotbed for scams, with many fake vendors and websites that aim to steal users’ personal information and cryptocurrency. The lack of regulation and oversight on the darknet means that users must be cautious when conducting transactions.
- Security Risks: The use of the darknet can expose users to malware and other security risks, as many sites are not properly secured or monitored. Users may also be vulnerable to hacking or phishing attacks.
- Stigma: The association of the darknet with illegal activities has created a stigma that may deter some users from using it for legitimate purposes.
- Virtual assistants: Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are examples of virtual assistants that use natural language processing to understand and respond to users’ queries.
- Recommendation systems: Companies like Netflix and Amazon use AI to recommend movies and products to their users based on their browsing and purchase history.
- Efficiency: AI systems can work continuously without getting tired or making errors, which can save time and resources.
- Personalization: AI can help provide personalized recommendations and experiences for users.
- Automation: AI can automate repetitive and tedious tasks, freeing up time for humans to focus on more complex tasks.
- Job loss: AI has the potential to automate jobs previously performed by humans, leading to job loss and economic disruption.
- Bias: AI systems can be biased due to the data they are trained on, leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes.
- Safety and privacy concerns: AI systems can pose safety risks if they malfunction or are used maliciously, and can also raise privacy concerns if they collect and use personal data without consent.
Darknet
Definition:
Darknet, also known as dark web or darknet market, refers to the part of the internet that is not indexed or accessible through traditional search engines. It is a network of private and encrypted websites that cannot be accessed through regular web browsers and requires special software and configuration to access.
The darknet is often associated with illegal activities such as drug trafficking, weapon sales, and hacking services, although not all sites on the darknet are illegal.
Examples:
Examples of darknet markets include Silk Road, AlphaBay, and Dream Market, which were all shut down by law enforcement agencies in recent years.
These marketplaces operate similarly to e-commerce websites, with vendors selling various illegal goods and services, such as drugs, counterfeit documents, and hacking tools, and buyers paying with cryptocurrency for their purchases.
Pros :
Cons:
Artificial Intelligence
Definition:
AI, or artificial intelligence, refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, and understanding natural language.
Examples:
Pros :
Cons: