SCO members unanimously adopt India's proposal for digital infrastructure

New Delhi: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization members including China and Pakistan have unanimously adopted India's proposal for developing Digital Public Infrastructure. India's DPI - a unified payment interface and Aadhaar - are designed to make services convenient.

The SCO has eight member states - China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It also has four Observer States - Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia - that are interested in full membership. The intra-governmental body also has six Dialogue Partners - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.

"The Digital Ministers of SCO member states met today and unanimously adopted India's proposal for developing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as the right way for deploying digital technology among member states," said Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

"DPI is very important from the perspective of having completion, making sure that technology is democratised, and making sure of digitally inclusive growth among member states. There was also a need felt for interoperability between different systems being developed by the member states and the body recognized the need for setting up an organisation for setting common standards for interoperability of digital systems among member states," he added.

India has already signed a pact with over a dozen nations for UPI adoption. Now, as part of its G20 Presidency responsibility, the country is offering the technology to several countries without any fee. Indian startups and system integrators are expected to gain from this.

BHIM UPI QR is currently accepted in Singapore, UAE, Mauritius, Nepal, and Bhutan.