Sharad Sharma On India’s Digital Playbook, UPI’s Rise & AI’s Future
Mar 15, 2025
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Sharad Sharma, founder of iSPIRT and a key player in India's digital innovation, dives into the future of India's digital landscape. He discusses the rise of UPI, its transformative effect on transactions, and the necessity for strategic autonomy in tech. Sharma highlights the challenges of maintaining first-mover advantages and critiques reliance on foreign payment systems. He also underscores the importance of collaboration in building effective AI ecosystems and the need for robust regulatory frameworks to secure India’s leadership in global technology.
India's 'David vs. Goliath' mindset is crucial for surpassing global challenges and nurturing innovation against larger powers.
The India Stack initiative, a revolutionary digital public infrastructure, democratizes access to services for underrepresented groups, transforming financial transactions.
Globalization of India's digital public infrastructure, particularly through tools like MOSIP, highlights the country's potential to shape identity management worldwide.
Dynamic regulatory frameworks in India aim to balance innovation with consumer protection, paving the way for sustainable growth in emerging sectors like AI.
Deep dives
The Need for a David vs. Goliath Mindset
A cultural shift towards embracing a 'David vs. Goliath' mindset is essential for India to thrive in the face of global challenges. Historically, narratives such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata depict battles of equal strength rather than one-sided confrontations, indicating that India must view itself as capable of overcoming larger powers. Recognizing that victory in significant engagements, like Afghanistan or against colonial powers, stems from the ability to harness resources competently can empower the nation. By internalizing this narrative, a sense of humility and determination can foster resilience and drive towards innovation and success.
India Stack as an Innovation Enabler
India's approach to digital public infrastructure, exemplified by the India Stack initiative, has transformed how financial transactions and identity verification occur in the country. Originally aimed at facilitating basic identity, transaction, and personal information flow, this innovative framework has garnered global attention and has started being adopted by numerous other countries. By allowing individuals access to services such as e-signatures and interbank payments through UPI, the ecosystem supports the underrepresented groups like street vendors in accessing financial products. The success of this innovation serves as a vital framework for other nations, demonstrating the importance of a democratic approach to digital transactions.
Globalization of Digital Public Infrastructure
The globalization of India's digital public infrastructure is evident in the proliferation of tools like MOSIP, which serves as a foundational ID system now utilized in 26 countries. This system enables the efficient management of identities and secure access to services, with nearly a billion users already registered. The potential for expansion is immense, driven by India's unique ability to offer a data-centric approach that prioritizes user ownership and privacy. With other countries keen on emulating India's model, the conversation around digital public infrastructure is gaining momentum on a global scale.
The Importance of Regulation in Shaping Innovation
Regulatory frameworks are pivotal in fostering innovation while ensuring that businesses operate ethically and protect customers. India adopts a dynamic regulatory architecture that allows for flexibility in intervention levels, aiming to adapt as the technology landscape evolves. By learning from both European and American regulatory approaches, India seeks to strike a balance that prioritizes safety and consumer protection without stifling innovation. This proactive and adaptable regulatory stance can safeguard against potential pitfalls and contribute to the sustainable growth of industries like AI and fintech.
Cultural Challenges in Innovation
India faces unique cultural challenges in embracing a lasting innovative spirit, often marked by underconfidence and a lack of urgency. Comparatively, nations like Vietnam embody a resilient underdog mentality that drives them to compete fiercely against larger and more established powers. To combat a complacent mindset, India must cultivate narratives that celebrate perseverance and creativity, inspiring citizens to remain vigilant against emerging threats. By fostering an environment that encourages this proactive approach to challenges, the nation can harness its potential and position itself as a leader in emerging sectors.
Strategic Autonomy through R&D and Collaboration
Strategic autonomy is crucial for India's economic independence, requiring investments in research and development as well as fostering international collaboration. Public and private sectors must engage in creating a robust R&D infrastructure that addresses the nation’s core needs, particularly in technology and sustainable solutions. Building strong partnerships with academic institutions and industries facilitates the innovation needed to support this autonomy, ensuring self-sufficiency in critical areas like AI and renewable energy technologies. Through assertive investments in R&D, India can bolster its position in the global landscape, driving progress in adapted technology tailored to local needs.
Creating a Supportive Ecosystem for Talent
In today's competitive global market, attracting and retaining top talent is paramount for sustaining innovation and growth in India. Establishing cutting-edge research centers and collaborating with Indian professionals abroad could set the stage for a thriving ecosystem. Programs designed to incentivize these experts to return, such as providing compelling opportunities and funding for startups, are vital. By integrating Indian-origin talent into the national narrative, the country can accelerate growth and encourage a trajectory toward becoming a leading product nation in technology and innovation.
In this episode of The Neon Show, we have Sharad Sharma, founder of iSPIRT, the technology think tank behind India Stack, Health Stack, and other digital public goods.
If you want to understand where India’s digital space is headed, how AI can shape its future, and why strategic autonomy is critical, this episode is a must-watch!
0:00 – Introduction 03:12 – India’s aim to prevent digital colonization 05:00 – Democratising digital infrastructure 07:09 – UPI’s 2012 vision: intraday loan for Rajni 12:50 – The origin of ‘DPI’ & misconceptions in India 14:46 – Can India keep its first-mover advantage in DPI? 16:15 – How UPI lost to Brazil’s PIX 17:49 – Introduction to MOSIP & DEPA 19:22 – Did UPI fail to detach from government control? 20:33 – The world evaluates DPI with India’s 5 sutras 22:48 – DPI interoperability & India’s global leadership 25:23 – Managing $2-3 billion funding in India’s DPI ecosystem 27:03 – Why India must stay paranoid: The David vs. Goliath mindset 30:09 – Sam Altman doubted India’s AI, now wants in 33:25 – Facebook opposed net neutrality in India, backed it in the U.S. 36:46 – Regulatory Innovations: Cable TV, mutual funds & OTAs 40:19 – Did GST replace 4 tax filings with 36? 44:05 – Does India have a regulatory framework for digital? 51:06 – Scaling 10-100 with help from educational institutions 53:02 – Breaking away from Visa & Mastercard 55:47 – The ‘Stay in India’ checklist to bring back talent 59:58 – Grading India on DPI globalization 01:00:57 – U.S. antitrust battles & how they shaped big tech 01:08:25 – Building India’s AI ecosystem using its data advantage 01:12:50 – Picking India’s battles in AI: healthcare as an opportunity 01:15:00 – Can India build its own AI assistants? 01:17:56 – Why India must update academia & build industrial labs 01:22:18 – DEPA: Enabling Low-Cost Access to Non-Public Data 01:27:55 – UPI was age & color blind, DEPA won’t be 01:31:06 – How will India approach AI regulation? 01:39:05 – Creating ‘landing spots’ for Indian AI talent 01:41:53 – Five key actions for India’s AI success 01:45:01 – Hiring call for India’s AI & DPI visionaries 01:51:55 – Building Co’s for India’s strategic autonomy ---- Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys.
Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.
We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings. ---- Check us out on: Website: https://neon.fund/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/ Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/ Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7 ---- This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.
