Decoding Digital Public Goods & Digital Public Infrastructure with Dr. Pramod Varma
Jun 16, 2023
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Dr. Pramod Varma, expert in digital public infrastructure and digital public goods, discusses the importance of unlocking value from DPIs and DPGs in various social sectors in India. He highlights the success of Aadhar and UPI as examples of DPIs and explores advancements in digital infrastructure. The podcast also explores the concept of a 'bus list' and the factors necessary for the digital public goods movement to gain momentum.
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) and digital public goods (DPGs) can solve systemic problems at scale by providing accessible and simple solutions.
Infrastructure builders focus on creating reusable building blocks to enable problem solvers and entrepreneurs to succeed.
Success of digital public infrastructure (DPIs) is measured by adoption and diverse usage, requiring patience and demonstrating innovative use cases.
Deep dives
The Importance of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Digital Public Goods (DPGs)
The podcast episode discusses the significance of digital public infrastructure (DPI) and digital public goods (DPGs) in solving systemic problems at scale. The speaker highlights that the challenge lies in imagining the right DPGs that can unlock population-scale value for many people. They emphasize the need to architect solutions that can work at scale. Examples of successful DPIs such as Aadhaar, E-Sign, Digital Locker, and UPI are mentioned, showcasing the power of simplicity and accessibility. The emergence of DPGs and DPIs in various sectors like identity, financial inclusion, education, health, agriculture, skilling, and livelihoods is also highlighted.
The Mindset Shift from Solution Builders to Infrastructure Builders
The podcast explores the difference in mental models between solution builders and infrastructure builders in the context of DPIs. It emphasizes that infrastructure builders focus on creating reusable building blocks that enable problem solvers and entrepreneurs to succeed. The concept of building roads rather than driving cars is discussed, highlighting that infrastructure builders provide the necessary foundation for innovation and problem-solving. The importance of having more individuals thinking in terms of DPIs to unlock value and create ramps for entrepreneurs is emphasized.
Measuring Success and Adoption of DPIs
The podcast delves into the metrics and challenges of measuring the success and adoption of DPIs. It highlights that success of DPIs is not solely determined by impact, but by adoption and diverse usage. The importance of early adopters and demonstrating adoption through innovative use cases is discussed. The need for patience, as it takes time for infrastructure to gain traction and scale, is emphasized. The role of philanthropy in funding both solutions and infrastructure, and the need for separate funding approaches and metrics for infrastructure, are also mentioned.
Unbundling the problem and analyzing common factors
To successfully build digital infrastructure, it is crucial to first unbundled the problem and identify common factors that are generalizable. This involves understanding the key components of the problem and finding the most impactful use case. For example, in agriculture, the focus is on factors like credit, climate disasters, and productivity improvements. By identifying the unit of analysis, such as land quality and agro-climatic conditions, and creating a digital public infrastructure to gather and analyze this data, it becomes possible to address various use cases. The key is to start with the necessary building blocks that are essential for progress and economic growth.
Aligning with political leadership and leveraging government as an innovator
It is important to align with political leadership to drive change and ensure success. One strategy is to ensure that every country has a tangible success story to build belief and momentum. Success breeds success and can change societal and political beliefs. Additionally, government can play a significant role as an innovator, leveraging their power and influence to implement infrastructure and accelerate adoption. By aligning with the intent of the political leadership, it becomes possible to drive change, push for necessary conditions like widespread identity and bank accounts, and create a conducive environment for innovation and progress.
Digitalisation has already been a significant game changer for India's economy and society. Digital public infrastructure and digital public goods, or DPIs and DPGs,have emerged in the development ecosystem as a means to achieve population-scale social impact.
We have already seen the potential of DPIs with the success of Aadhar and UPI, solving for identity and payment transfer problems. While we will continue to hear about how additional value gets unlocked, there are 5+ DPIs brewing across the social development sector of education, health, skilling and livelihoods. So what does it take to unlock value from DPIs and DPGs as they emerge in other important and complex social sectors in India?
To discuss this in detail with us today, we have with us Dr. Pramod Varma who is the CTO of EkStep, a not-for-profit creating learner-centric, technology enabled platform aiming to provide learning opportunities to 200 million children in India. He was also the Chief Architect of Aadhaar, and various India stack layers such as eSign, Digital Locker, and Unified Payment Interface (UPI). He is a co-founder of FIDE and the genesis author of the open source Beckn protocol. Pramod is an adjunct faculty, he is the Co-Chair at the global Center for Digital Public Infrastructure at the IIIT-B helping other countries design and architect their own DPIs. He regularly speaks at technology conferences and is part of advisory groups of various national and international projects.
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