Decoding India’s DPI Learnings for the Global South with Professor S Rajagopalan

Do we take the possibilities enabled by the unique identification system of Aadhar for granted in India today?

Certain reports estimate that 850 million people around the world do not have an official ID, and that around 133 countries today do not have a digital payment system. Through India's digitisation revolution we have made leaps and bounds in how people can be uniquely identified for social welfare needs and how they can use that identity to manage basic civic rights like accessing financial services, government support, and even applying for a job.

So how can more countries benefit from what we are doing today in India, in a manner which builds the agency of the country to deliver better welfare for their people? To discuss this host Rathish Balakrishnan had an opportunity to speak to Professor S Rajagopalan for this episode of Decoding Impact.

Professor S Rajagopalan, is currently the president of MOSIP & OpenG2P, both housed under IIIT, Bangalore. He is an entrepreneur, teacher, advisor and advocate, and his subject matter expertise and interests include innovation dissemination, economics of innovations, Geographical Information systems, and Economics of Information Technologies.

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• Host: Rathish Balakrishnan | ⁠Linkedin | Twitter
• Guest: Professor S Rajagopalan | Linkedin
• Producer: Meenakshi Iyer
• Audio Engineer & Editor: Abhilash Raikar
• Designer: Usha Sondhi Kundu

Content Sections:

• 0:51 - Introduction to topic and guest
• 02:53 - Understanding MOSIP
• 06:35 - Why is a unique identity important?
• 10:36 - How are other countries looking at identity?
• 11:55 - Drawbacks to using other systems
• 14:28 - Which countries are using MOSIP today?
• 17:27 - Timelines to implement MOSIP in other countries
• 19:38 - How countries are enabled to implement MOSIP
• 24:01 - Reactions and interacting with other countries
• 27:16 - Tailoring approaches for each country
• 29:33 - Transferrable use of DPIs
• 33:58 - Value unlocked through DPIs
• 36:00 - Other opportunities and applications
• 41:45 - Accelerating adoption of DPIs
• 43:59 - Global tailwinds for adoption
• 45:07 - The DPI and DPG mental model
• 50:26 - The role of philanthropy
• 54:36 - Summary and thanks