DPI 2.0 Can Offset Energy Disruption Impact via Productivity: CEA Nageswaran

Speaking at the launch of the DPI 2047 Roadmap Report by NITI Aayog and the Frontier Technology Hub, Nageswaran highlighted that global energy market volatility has brought into focus a key vulnerability in India's growth story and its dependence on imported fossil fuels.

He said that disruptions in West Asia have sharpened concerns for a country of 1.4 billion people, where energy demand is already three times the global average and supply chains pass through some of the most contested regions.

The resulting fiscal and inflationary pressures, he noted, disproportionately affect vulnerable sections such as small farmers, micro entrepreneurs and daily wage workers.

"We are navigating a period of acute energy market volatility. Disruptions in West Asia have sharpened the question that has always sat uncomfortably at the center of India's growth story.... we have to compensate for these significant economic ill effects of the energy price shock with productivity and competitiveness gains elsewhere in the economy and that is where the DPI 2.0 roadmap will be extremely useful for policy makers," he said, adding that the DPI 2.0 roadmap will be extremely useful for policymakers in this regard.

Nageswaran explained that the next phase of digital public infrastructure aims to shift from a welfare-focused architecture to a productivity-driven framework.

He said that while the first decade of DPI focused on identity, inclusion and delivery through Aadhaar, UPI and the JAM trinity, the next phase must focus on enhancing economic productivity and resilience.

He added that DPI 2.0 is designed as a "total factor productivity engine," linking digital infrastructure with broader macroeconomic goals such as escaping the middle-income trap and accelerating growth.

The roadmap proposes eight sectoral transformations covering MSMEs, agriculture, education, health, credit access, energy and social protection.

These, he said, are not standalone initiatives but part of an integrated system aimed at lowering the cost of trust, democratizing data, and enabling wider access to markets through open and interoperable networks.

He further noted that enabling artificial intelligence in local languages and improving access to digital tools can help compress decades of economic catch-up into a shorter period of accelerated growth.

Highlighting the importance of resilience, Nageswaran said DPI 2.0 can help build a more robust and distributed economic system. "A billion citizens with verified digital identities, portable credentials, AI-assisted market access and locally produced energy are not just more prosperous, they are also more resilient," he said.

He also emphasised that policy must prioritise resilience and buffer-building over the next two decades, especially in the context of global uncertainties.

Referring to implementation, Nageswaran said the roadmap proposes a state-led, district-executed and iteratively scaled approach, beginning with pilots in MSMEs and agriculture in 2026-27.

He added that while India has strong design capabilities, success will depend on sustained institutional will to move from strategy to execution and ecosystem development.

The DPI 2047 roadmap outlined a two-phase strategy--DPI 2.0 and DPI 3.0--aimed at supporting India's transition to a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047.

- ANI