New Delhi: India’s experience with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) emerged as a central case study to develop a model of development for the Global South at a session convened by The Global Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (GIWEH) on the sidelines at the 61st meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva, according to an article.
The UN session was held to examine how digital innovation and South–South cooperation can serve as catalysts for realising the Right to Development.
In the article in the UK’s Parliament Politics magazine, columnist and global trading expert Surya Kanegaonkar presented how India’s JAM Trinity, combining Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar digital identity, and mobile connectivity, has created foundational digital rails reaching approximately 97 per cent of the population. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed over 228 billion transactions in 2025, enabling street vendors, rickshaw drivers, and small entrepreneurs to participate in the formal economy. With 55.8 per cent of Jan Dhan accounts held by women and 78.2 per cent located in rural and semi-urban areas, the system directly addresses inclusion gaps.
The article highlights that the Ayushman Bharat health protection scheme now covers 55 crore beneficiaries across 12 crore families, providing cashless hospitalisation and reducing the financial burden of catastrophic health expenses. The e-Sanjeevani telemedicine platform and the e-Shram portal for informal worker registration were cited as further examples of how digital tools expand access to healthcare and social protection for the most vulnerable. Panellists noted that these platforms are conceived as open, interoperable public infrastructure—designed as shared goods rather than proprietary assets—offering a replicable model for other developing nations.
Prashant Sharma, representing the Dharma Alliance, a tax-exempt, non-profit organisation based in Geneva and the world’s only pan-Dharmic institution dedicated to integrating Dharmic perspectives into global governance, offered an ethical lens for the discussion. He emphasised that technology alone does not guarantee inclusion; values determine whether innovation empowers or excludes. Drawing on principles of service (seva), compassion (karuna), truth (satya), non-harm (ahimsa), and openness to multiple perspectives (anekantavada), he argued that South–South cooperation reflects an ethic in which knowledge is shared for the welfare of all rather than hoarded for competitive advantage.
He also highlighted how digital platforms are being used to preserve and transmit civilizational knowledge through the digitisation of manuscripts and AI-powered translation of classical texts, demonstrating that development need not require a choice between tradition and modernity. Citing Japan’s value-driven approach to digital health and disaster resilience, Sharma called for a global culture of cooperation grounded in equality and mutual respect across North and South, East and West.
Moustapha Kamal Gueye, Director of the ILO’s Priority Action Programme on Just Transitions towards Environmentally Sustainable Economies and Societies, presented findings on how combined investments in green and digital economies could generate up to 57.6 million additional jobs by 2030. Investments in universal broadband coverage alone could create approximately 23.5 million jobs, while climate and energy policies aligned with the 1.5-degree target could yield around 37.2 million additional positions.
(IANS)
