The next DPI — how India can commoditise AI

The evolution of the India Stack represents a paradigm shift in how the state delivers services and empowers citizens. By building a foundational Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), India moved away from siloed, proprietary systems toward open, interoperable platforms. This started with Aadhaar, which drastically reduced the cost of identity verification through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), enabling efficient rollout of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) under the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile). The subsequent development of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) democratized digital payments, fostering financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale. Finally, the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and the Account Aggregator framework shifted control of financial data back to the user, allowing them to leverage their digital footprint for credit access. This integrated approach to DPI is unique globally, contrasting with isolated successes like Estonia's e-identity or Brazil's Pix, and serves as a model for leveraging technology for robust, scalable governance.

The economic impact of India's DPI has been transformative, driven by the dramatic reduction in the cost of internet access (the "Jio effect"). The resulting surge in internet penetration—bringing hundreds of millions online—created a massive new market for digital services. The near-zero cost of transactions on UPI spurred explosive growth in digital payments, formalizing large segments of the informal economy and significantly boosting the startup ecosystem. By lowering friction and transaction costs, these public digital rails have enhanced the efficiency of capital allocation. The article suggests that if AI can be similarly commoditized—made accessible and affordable as a public good—it could unlock a new wave of economic productivity. However, this transition requires addressing the significant fixed costs associated with AI development, such as computing power and data infrastructure, potentially through a model similar to how telecom infrastructure investments democratized internet access.

From a technological perspective, India's DPI is built on principles of open APIs, interoperability, and scalability. This architecture allows private players to build innovative solutions on top of the public rails, fostering a vibrant ecosystem. The challenge now lies in extending this DPI model to Artificial Intelligence. Commoditizing AI involves democratizing access to the fundamental building blocks of AI: compute, data sets, and foundational models. If India can establish an "AI stack" as a public good, it could enable widespread adoption of AI across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education, tailoring solutions to specific local needs and languages (like the Bhashini initiative). This would shift the focus from merely consuming AI technologies developed elsewhere to actively shaping and deploying AI solutions that address domestic challenges and contribute to inclusive national development.