In this brief, Aarushi Gupta and Aman Nair discuss how most of the existing definitions of 'Digital Public Infrastructure' are either normative or inductive in nature. The first group of normative definitions only focuses on ‘what should be’ and is, therefore, not without ideological undercurrents. The norms they put forth are not necessarily universal or achievable in certain contexts — raising questions about whose vision counts and which voices are being excluded from framings or imaginations of DPI. While the second group of definitions focuses on 'what is', it, unfortunately, lacks the desired objectivity due to an inherent bias in the way the examples are chosen. Inductive definitions rely on a set of cherry-picked functionalities for which implementation of all-encompassing digital technologies is either already underway or has supposedly been effective in select contexts.

They also note that there is a certain degree of disjointedness in the arguments being made in favour of DPI, specifically in their visualisations of the private sector's role. While a few arguments call for exercising caution vis-à-vis the involvement of private actors in infrastructural services and goods provision, other arguments embrace their intensifying role in the same. Notably, both types of arguments co-exist in India. While on one hand, the Indian narrative seeks to encourage and engage homegrown tech evangelists to either co-develop DPI (as in the case of Aadhaar) and/or innovate using government-built DPI, on the other, it signals the need for caution vis-à-vis foreign technology companies, with DPI envisaged as the key lever for lowering market entry barriers for private domestic firms.

Aarushi and Aman also articulate the various policy implications an uncritical discourse around DPI may lead to or has already led to. These include, (i) leapfrogging questions around applicability, (ii) subverting empiricism, (iii) sidestepping questions around risks, and (iv) fundamental shifting responsibility for service delivery from public to private.

The brief concludes by highlighting the role a forum such as the G20 can play in shaping the DPI discourse. Such efforts should go above and beyond popularising the concept of DPI and should ideally include the incubation of diverse stakeholder groups that critically assess the benefits of DPI.

You can download the brief from the top-left corner or read it online on the T20 website here.