With an agreement to collaborate in the area of digital transformation and share India Stack, India and Trinidad and Tobago have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU was signed in the presence of officials from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, National E-Governance Division, MeitY and also from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Both the sides reached an agreement to collaborate through initiatives such as capacity building, training programmes, exchange of best practices, exchange of public officials and experts, development of pilot or demo solutions, etc.
This partnership follows a recent meeting between Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, and Senator Hassel Bacchus, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Digital Transformation. In their discussions, they explored opportunities for collaborative efforts in areas like IT, emerging technologies, and the India stack.
Highlighting the significance of the India Stack offerings, MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi who believes in the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam (the world is one family), has always encouraged the offering of India Stack to countries across the globe especially to those that have been left behind in their digitalisation efforts. With the help of India Stack, these countries can climb up the digitalisation ladder rapidly and transform their economies and governance.” The Minister added, “It shall create a robust ecosystem of startups, developers & system integrators working around it on Next-Gen innovation.”
India Stack’s global acceptance
Starting from June 2023, India has entered into MoUs with several countries including Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and Antigua & Barbuda to facilitate the sharing of India Stack. Additionally, countries like Mauritius and Saudi Arabia have displayed keen interest and are in advanced stages of solidifying cooperation in this regard. Last month, a similar MoU was signed with Papua New Guinea, underscoring the increasing global enthusiasm and adoption of this initiative.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which is a component of India Stack, has gained recognition and acceptance in countries such as France, the UAE, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.
What is India Stack?
India Stack is a collection of open Application Programming Interface (APIs) and digital public goods that aim to facilitate identity, data, and payment services on a large scale. These APIs serve as the foundation upon which external entities can construct software that taps into government identification, payment networks, and data.
This digital framework operates on the principle of interoperability, with various components seamlessly integrated. Consequently, private enterprises have the capability to develop applications that are linked with state services. This integration facilitates effortless consumer access to a wide spectrum of services, ranging from welfare disbursements to loan requests.
