New Delhi: In a move that underscores India’s growing role as a digital partner to the Global South, Sri Lanka is set to launch its India-funded digital ID system by April 2026.
This milestone reflects a broader pattern of India exporting its digital public infrastructure model — rooted in its own Aadhaar experience — to neighbouring and developing countries, reinforcing its soft power while enabling partner nations to leapfrog legacy systems and build inclusive, tech-driven governance.
According to a report in The Island news website, the project in Sri Lanka, implemented under the Ministry of Digital Economy, is funded by a grant of approximately LKR10.4 billion from the Government of India.
“This will minimise the financial burden on the Sri Lankan government,” the report quoted the Ministry as stating.
This initiative in Sri Lanka is part of a wider phenomenon of India exporting its successful digital public infrastructure (DPI) model to fellow nations in the Global South. From digital identity to payments and governance, India’s transformative journey in digitisation is increasingly serving as a blueprint for other countries seeking inclusive, scalable, and cost-effective solutions.
India’s digital transformation story began in earnest with the launch of the Aadhaar programme in 2009. Designed as a biometric-based unique identification system, Aadhaar rapidly expanded to cover over 1.3 billion people, making it the largest digital ID programme in the world. What began as a tool for identity verification soon evolved into the backbone of India’s digital governance, enabling direct benefit transfers (DBTs), mobile number verification, and access to welfare schemes for millions.
This was followed by the development of the India Stack – a set of interoperable and open-source application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable seamless digital transactions and data exchange. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched in 2016, built on this stack to revolutionise payments by enabling real-time, low-cost, mobile-based transactions. By 2025, UPI has processed over 15 billion transactions a month, with even micro-merchants and rural users relying on QR codes for day-to-day payments.
India’s model differs fundamentally from Western tech platforms in that it is public and inclusive by design, with a strong focus on interoperability, affordability, and empowerment rather than profit. It is this philosophy that makes it so attractive to countries in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and particularly in India’s neighbourhood.
According to the Sri Lankan media report, the Ministry of Digital Economy had considered three options: a locally developed system, proprietary commercial solutions, and international open-source platforms. Eventually, the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), a globally recognised, open-source digital ID framework already in use in countries such as the Philippines, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Togo was chosen. MOSIP emerged as the most cost-effective, secure, and sovereign-friendly option, the Ministry added.
The Ministry, however, clarified that MOSIP is not India’s Aadhaar system. Though inspired by Aadhaar’s model, MOSIP is an international, open-source platform developed by a consortium of global experts in digital identity and cybersecurity, it stated.
The Ministry also stated that a certified Indian system integrator will customise MOSIP for Sri Lanka, while local IT professionals will be trained for full operation, maintenance, and future development of the system.
India’s DPI model has been gradually internationalised through strategic development partnerships, technical consultancy, and capacity building. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Bank have lauded India’s DPI ecosystem for its transformative potential and scalability. In 2022, India launched the India Stack Global initiative, aimed at helping countries adopt and adapt India’s digital infrastructure components.
Countries such as the Philippines, Mauritius, and Tunisia have already shown interest in elements of India Stack. But it is in South Asia where India’s digital diplomacy is having its most immediate impact.
Apart from Sri Lanka, Bhutan has been collaborating with India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to integrate the RuPay card system and UPI. Since 2021, Indian tourists in Bhutan have been able to use UPI for local payments, helping the tourism-dependent economy while enhancing cross-border payment connectivity.
Nepal too has adopted the RuPay card and has initiated cooperation with India for potential UPI integration. Given the large volume of remittances and economic linkages with India, such platforms can greatly simplify financial flows and benefit informal sector workers.
The Maldives and Bangladesh have engaged with India in exploring DPI components for digital governance, particularly for improving public service delivery and financial inclusion in remote islands or rural regions.
These developments are bolstered by India’s growing role in multilateral forums. During its G20 Presidency in 2023, India successfully pushed for the inclusion of DPI as a global public good, winning consensus among diverse economies. The Digital Public Infrastructure Repository, launched at the G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ Meeting, has since become a hub for sharing open-source DPI tools and best practices.
“India has the expertise,” former Sri Lankan diplomat Sugeeswara Senadhira who served as media advisor to four former presidents and one prime minister told ETV Bharat over phone from Colombo. “It will be an advantage for Sri Lanka.”
Senadhira explained that India has extended a soft loan to Sri Lanka for the digital ID project.
“I think it will be good for Sri Lanka in terms of digitalisation of the economy,” he said. “It will help in the elimination of corruption.”
According to Amol Kulkarni, Director (Research) in the CUTS International think tank and a specialist on digital economy and cybersecurity, India’s soft diplomacy in the Global South is a step in the right direction.
“It is a position that India has taken as leader of the Global South,” Kulkarni said. “However, India should look into local realities that it itself faced while adopting digital technologies.”
He said that it is important to provide a customised solution to a partner country while looking at the legal framework.
“Lawful digital ID and protection of digital privacy are very important,” Kulkarni said.
To sum up, India’s growing role in helping Global South nations harness this model is not only advancing digital equity but also recasting India’s role in the 21st century as a global leader.
Source: Aroonim Bhuyan/www.etvbharat.com
