Examine how India's Digital Public Infrastructure model is being exported abroad, with reference to the Indonesia Open Network.

Q. Examine how India's Digital Public Infrastructure model is being exported abroad, with reference to the Indonesia Open Network. (15 marks, 250 words)

India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — open, interoperable, population-scale digital rails like UPI, Aadhaar and ONDC — has evolved from a domestic governance tool into a flagship instrument of foreign policy, with the Indonesia Open Network marking its latest export.

The ION case — replicating the model - During PM Modi's State Visit to Indonesia (6–8 July 2026), Indonesia launched the Indonesia Open Network (ION), built on India's ONDC architecture to bring Indonesian MSMEs into the digital economy [1]. - Complementary payment integration links UPI with Indonesia's national payment system, easing cross-border trade and travel [1].

Mechanisms of export - Open-source, non-proprietary stack — India offers the protocol as a shareable "digital public good," lowering adoption cost for partner states. - Government-to-government diplomacy — DPI is embedded in bilateral outcomes and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, giving it strategic weight [2]. - South-South solidarity — positions India as a leader for the Global South, extending earlier deployments across ASEAN, Africa and West Asia.

Implications and challenges - Deepens India's soft power and Act East footprint; builds interoperable digital corridors. - Yet risks arise: data-localisation and sovereignty concerns, cybersecurity, and the need for local capacity so the model is genuinely adopted, not merely transplanted.

DPI export, exemplified by ION, is transforming India into a norm-setter in the global digital order. Anchored in the "digital public good" ethos India championed at the G20, it advances inclusive growth aligned with SDG-9, provided partner-country trust and data-governance safeguards keep pace.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. List of Outcomes: Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia (PIB, 07 Jul 2026) — ION launch based on ONDC; UPI–Indonesia payment integration 2. India–Indonesia Joint Statement on the State Visit (PIB, Jul 2026) — Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and bilateral digital cooperation