What really is the 'India Stack'? Infosys top boss Nandan Nilekani explains in the simplest way possible

India Stack, the country's digital public infrastructure, is considered a significant driver of change and innovation across various sectors. But what exactly is the India Stack, Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and former Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), explains.

In a recent interaction with Morgan Stanley, Nilekani said, "India Stack is a set of layered capabilities that India has built over the last 15 years. Each of which is at population scale, at very low cost, accessible on your fingertips, on your phone, and all interoperating with each other."

Nilekani compared Indian Stack to Internet or GPS, and noted that it is the underlying foundation that facilitates innovation in different sectors in the country.

He further said the idea for India Stack emerged from his vision of a digital ID system, which he first mentioned in his book, "Imagining India." He noted that while the government had already set up a committee to develop a unique ID system in 2006, he and his team transformed it into a digital, cloud-based platform using application programming interfaces (APIs). Aadhaar, the resulting digital ID, has since become the cornerstone of India's public digital infrastructure.

Looking back at the early days of Aadhaar, Nilekani stated, "I had a vague idea of using digital ID as a foundation. Opening it up with APIs to build applications. Creating a KYC to accelerate financial inclusion, mobile inclusion. I think that was very clear."

The Infosys co- founder points out that India Stack is unique on a global scale, as it is the only public digital infrastructure catering to 1.3 billion people and offering open APIs for developers to build applications on top. This digitalisation has led to significant social change in India, driving financial inclusion through electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, which accelerated access to bank accounts and mobile connections for millions of citizens.

"Technology is the only way we can leapfrog in many of these areas," said Nilekani. India Stack has contributed to various sectors, including healthcare and education. Nilekani highlighted the government's Deep Shot program, which enabled millions of teachers to learn during the pandemic, and the Health Stack initiative, aimed at creating interoperable electronic health records.

Nandan Nilekani, who is the co- founder of India’s second largest IT services company, has been instrumental in building Aadhaar and laying the groundwork for the India Stack.

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