India Showcases Digital Transformation at UN WSIS+20 Review
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India has spotlighted its advancements in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the IndiaAI Mission during the United Nations General Assembly's high-level meeting on the WSIS+20 review held in New York on December 16, 2025. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Jitin Prasada, delivered the national statement, underscoring how these initiatives drive inclusive digital transformation at scale.
Context of the WSIS+20 Review
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) originated from a United Nations General Assembly mandate in 2001 aimed at harnessing knowledge and technology for universal development. The summit unfolded in two phases: Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005, establishing frameworks to ensure technology benefits reach all people and nations.
Progress on WSIS outcomes underwent review in 2015 through the WSIS+10 process. The 2025 WSIS+20 review marks a comprehensive assessment of two decades of achievements, emerging trends, advancements, and persistent challenges. It identifies priority areas to guide future global digital policy.
At the high-level meeting, Shri Prasada represented India, articulating the nation's contributions to these global objectives. His address emphasized digital technologies' role in promoting development, inclusion, and human dignity when aligned with shared values.
India's Digital Public Infrastructure as a Global Public Good
Shri Prasada described India's digital transformation as a practical reality serving its vast population. Central to this is Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), designed as an open, interoperable, secure, and affordable public good.
Key DPI platforms include systems for digital identity, instant payments, digital documentation, telemedicine, online education, and grievance redressal. These tools function across diverse geographies, languages, and income levels, extending technology's reach to remote and underserved areas.
India’s digital transformation has been a lived experience at population scale, driven by Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) built as a public good - open, interoperable, secure and affordable by design. Platforms enabling digital identity, instant payments, digital documentation, telemedicine, online education and grievance redressal today serve people across diverse geographies, languages and income levels, ensuring that technology empowers the last mile and the last person.
During India's G20 Presidency, the country launched the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository. This initiative embodies the view that digital public goods equalize opportunities rather than exacerbate divides.
India commits to sharing capacity, tools, and knowledge with partner nations, guided by the principle of “One Earth, One Family, One Future.” Such collaboration fosters global digital inclusion by enabling other countries to adapt proven DPI models to local contexts.
Advancements in Artificial Intelligence through the IndiaAI Mission
Shri Prasada positioned Artificial Intelligence (AI) as pivotal to sustainable development's next phase. The IndiaAI Mission invests in responsible AI ecosystems to support national and global progress.
Core components of the mission include expanding national compute capacity to handle AI workloads efficiently. It also develops repositories of reusable datasets via AI Kosh, facilitating data-driven innovation across sectors.
Bhashini, an AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP)-enabled real-time translation tool, makes content accessible in multiple Indian languages. This enhances digital inclusion for non-English speakers and promotes linguistic diversity in technology deployment.
India has proposed a Global Repository of AI Applications to accelerate AI adoption for social good. This repository would catalog and share AI solutions addressing challenges like healthcare, agriculture, and education.
Strengthening Semiconductor and Electronics Supply Chains
Resilient supply chains for semiconductors and electronics form the foundation for large-scale digital transformation and AI deployment. Shri Prasada highlighted India's efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing capabilities.
These initiatives involve enhancing production infrastructure and incentivizing investments in chip design and fabrication. Simultaneously, India pursues international partnerships to build global technology resilience.
Domestic strengthening reduces dependency on imports, ensures supply security, and supports the scaling of DPI and AI applications. Collaborative efforts mitigate risks from geopolitical disruptions, ensuring stable access to critical components.
Commitment to Multistakeholder Internet Governance
India reaffirms support for the multistakeholder model of Internet governance, with exceptions for national security matters. Shri Prasada advocated strengthening the Internet Governance Forum as a key platform for dialogue.
Priority areas include advancing Universal Acceptance and Multilingual Access to the Internet. Promoting Open Standards ensures interoperability, while prioritizing Domain Name System (DNS) stability maintains reliable online services.
Meaningful participation of the Global South remains essential to address digital divides. Enhanced involvement ensures policies reflect the needs of developing regions, promoting equitable Internet evolution.
Balancing Innovation with Trust and Safety
Trust underpins the digital future. Shri Prasada stressed balancing innovation with safeguards for safety, privacy, human rights, and sustainability.
This approach involves robust data protection frameworks, ethical AI guidelines, and environmentally conscious technology deployment. It ensures digital progress benefits society without compromising core values.
Invitation to IndiaAI Impact Summit
Shri Prasada extended an invitation to all UN Member States for the IndiaAI Impact Summit in February 2026. The event aligns with the principle “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay”—Welfare of All, Happiness for All.
The summit will showcase AI applications' societal impacts and foster international collaboration on responsible AI development.
Appreciation and Forward Outlook
Concluding his remarks, Shri Prasada thanked Mr. Ekitela Lokaale, Permanent Representative of Kenya, and Ms. Suela Janina, Permanent Representative of Albania, for facilitating the WSIS+20 outcome document.
WSIS+20 offers a defining opportunity to ensure that digital progress bridges divides, empowers societies and reinforces human dignity, and reaffirmed India’s readiness to work with all nations to build an inclusive digital future where no one is left behind.
Administrative and Public Impacts in India
India's DPI stack has revolutionized public administration. Aadhaar-enabled digital identity streamlines service delivery, reducing leakages and enabling direct benefit transfers worth billions annually.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) powers instant transactions, integrating over 500 million users into the formal economy. This boosts financial inclusion, with transaction volumes exceeding 100 billion yearly.
Digital documentation via DigiLocker eliminates paperwork, allowing citizens to store and access official documents securely. Telemedicine platforms like eSanjeevani have delivered over 200 million consultations, expanding healthcare access in rural areas.
Online education through DIKSHA and SWAYAM platforms supports millions of students, bridging urban-rural gaps. Grievance redressal via CPGRAMS and UMANG apps enhances government accountability, processing lakhs of complaints monthly.
These infrastructures lower administrative costs, improve efficiency, and empower citizens with transparent access to services. Scalability at population level sets a benchmark for other nations.
IndiaAI Mission's Broader Implications
The IndiaAI Mission allocates substantial resources—over INR 10,000 crore—to build AI capabilities. It funds compute infrastructure with 10,000 GPUs initially, scaling to meet demand.
AI Kosh curates datasets for sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and governance, enabling startups and researchers. Bhashini supports 22 official languages plus dialects, democratizing AI tools.
Public impacts include AI-driven crop yield predictions aiding farmers, diagnostic tools improving healthcare outcomes, and language models enhancing education. Compute access via public clouds lowers entry barriers for innovators.
Administratively, AI optimizes resource allocation, predictive analytics for disaster management, and automated governance processes. The mission creates jobs in AI development, fostering a skilled workforce.
Global Repository Initiatives and Knowledge Sharing
The Global DPI Repository, launched during G20, hosts blueprints of India's stack. Over 50 countries have explored adoption, customizing elements like payment systems or identity platforms.
The proposed Global AI Applications Repository would similarly share vetted solutions. This accelerates development in low-resource settings, promoting South-South cooperation.
India's capacity-building programs train officials from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America on DPI implementation. Such transfers enhance global administrative efficiency and public service delivery.
Supply Chain Resilience and Economic Effects
India's semiconductor push includes three new fabrication plants under construction, targeting 20% global capacity share by 2030. Incentives like the INR 76,000 crore scheme attract investments from global leaders.
Electronics manufacturing has grown fivefold since 2014, with mobile production now fully domestic. This creates millions of jobs, reduces import bills, and stabilizes prices for consumers.
Resilient chains support DPI uptime and AI model training, minimizing disruptions. International partnerships with Japan, US, and EU ensure technology transfer and joint R&D.
Internet Governance Contributions
India actively participates in IGF, hosting national chapters and contributing to global agendas. Universal Acceptance efforts make Internet resources accessible in local scripts.
Open Standards adoption in DPI ensures vendor neutrality and cost savings. DNS stability initiatives align with ICANN reforms, safeguarding critical infrastructure.
Global South advocacy secures funding for digital capacity building, narrowing participation gaps in governance forums.
Challenges and Future Priorities
Despite progress, challenges persist in cybersecurity, digital literacy, and equitable access. India's focus on privacy via the Digital Personal Data Protection Act addresses these.
Sustainability efforts include green data centers powering DPI. Future priorities encompass quantum-safe encryption and 6G readiness for next-gen infrastructure.
The WSIS+20 participation reinforces India's role as a digital leader, committed to collaborative solutions for an inclusive future.
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