“Digital innovations have emerged as great leveller, enabler of growth”: Secretary Ajay Seth

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 24 (ANI): Ajay Seth, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, has highlighted how digital innovations have emerged as a great leveller and enabler of growth and through the experiences of many countries, including India, it is evident that digital public infrastructure (DPI) is one of the most transformational digital innovations.

On the sidelines of the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under G20 India Presidency, Seth was making a speech at the opening of a high-level symposium on digital public infrastructure (DPI) Bengaluru on Friday.

The symposium saw a panel discussion on DPI for innovative, resilient, inclusive growth and efficient governance with the participation of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman; the Republic of Indonesia Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati; Central Bank of Brazil Governor Roberto de Oliveira Campos Neto; International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva; and Bank for International Settlements General Manager Agustin Carstens, the ministry informed through a statement on Friday.

The discussions were moderated by Nandan Nilekani, co-chair of India’s G20 Task Force on DPI for economic transformation, financial inclusion and development and former chairman, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Nilekani dwelt on the roles and examples of DPI and brought out India’s success story in developing a new approach to solving societal and service delivery problems using DPI which led to cost savings for governments, increased transparency and accountability while encouraging access to finance and innovations.

The panellists discussed their experiences and noted the potential of DPI for leading to the growth and empowerment of people through increased accessibility, inclusion, accountability and productivity gains.

The contribution of DPI for expanding the reach of the government and private sector to the last mile, particularly in the time of the pandemic was underscored by the panellists.

Leveraging DPI for inclusive growth and development is being steered by the G20 India Presidency as a key priority, the finance ministry’s statement said. The discussions in the symposium threw light on the potential of DPI for leading to innovative, resilient, and inclusive growth while providing a means for efficient governance.

To steer the work under this priority, the G20 India Presidency has also constituted a task force on DPI for economic transformation, financial inclusion and development.
The task force is co-chaired by Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa of India, and Nilekani and is constituted to guide the work during the G20 India Presidency.