NITI Aayog Unveils Roadmap for Next Phase of India's Digital Public Infrastructure

The 'DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat' marks an important evolution in India's digital journey - from digital inclusion alone to enabling capability, productivity, and opportunity at scale.

According to a NITI Aayog statement, the roadmap, developed in partnership with EkStep Foundation and Deloitte, sets out a two-phase path for India's digital transformation: DPI 2.0 (2025-2035) to drive livelihood-led growth at scale, followed by DPI 3.0 (2035-2047) to enable broad-based prosperity. The immediate focus is DPI 2.0.

Under DPI 2.0, the roadmap identifies eight sectoral transformations to address structural bottlenecks across MSMEs, agriculture, education, and health, while strengthening systemic enablers such as credit, decentralised energy, and benefit delivery.

To translate intent into outcomes, it outlines four execution imperatives: district-led demand aggregation, scaling technology entrepreneurship, leveraging AI, and deploying cross-sector unlocks through better data use, digital transactions, stronger human capacity, and the democratisation of AI, said the statement.

At its core, DPI 2.0 is about extending India's digital rails beyond identity, payments, and welfare into the engines of livelihoods, productivity, and market access.

It reflects a larger shift in how growth will be created in the years ahead: not simply by inventing new technologies, but by building the connective infrastructure that allows innovation to work together, travel faster, and reach more people. By combining open digital infrastructure with trusted data flows and ecosystem-led innovation, the roadmap creates the conditions for technologies such as AI to diffuse at scale across citizens and small enterprises.

Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government, highlighted that technology leadership will increasingly be defined by our ability to translate science and innovation into scalable, trusted public outcomes.

"India's DPI has demonstrated the power of open, interoperable systems at population scale. The next phase must build on this foundation, integrating frontier technologies with strong scientific rigour and safeguards. This roadmap reflects that direction, focusing on responsible deployment and real-world impact. India has the scientific depth and digital foundations to lead by example," he mentioned.

Suman Bery, outgoing Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, said the focus has shifted from GDP to productivity.

Higher quality employment, stronger incomes, and better living standards depend on rising productivity. DPI 1.0 has shown that harnessing networks is the secret of where we have reached.

"This roadmap makes that shift clear. The next phase of India's development will be shaped by how AI and DPI raise productivity at scale, placing it at the centre of India's development journey and helping lay the foundation for Viksit Bharat 2047," he noted.

Nidhi Chhibber, CEO, NITI Aayog, said our perspective is simple: when states grow fast, India grows faster.

DPI can become a significant enabler in accelerating inclusive growth for states, said Chhibber.

Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, remarked that the roadmap sets out how DPI 2.0 can move India from digital inclusion to productivity-led, livelihood-centred growth on the road to Viksit Bharat 2047.

- IANS