India begins implementation of DigiLocker in Kenya and Cuba as part of global digital infrastructure export

India has signed agreements with 24 countries to export its model of digital public infrastructure. As part of these steps, work has begun on DigiLocker systems in Kenya and Cuba, and the use of UPI-related payments is expanding to 10 foreign markets.

Agreements and Cooperation

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology informed Lok Sabha that India has completed signing an implementation agreement and a non-disclosure agreement with Kenya for the deployment of DigiLocker. Furthermore, the creation of the basic DigiLocker platform has started in Cuba.

These agreements involve capacity building, exchange of technical knowledge and best practices, expert consultations, joint seminars, feasibility studies, and pilot projects. Partner countries mentioned include Kenya, Cuba, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Maldives, Mongolia, Seychelles, Armenia, Fiji, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

India Stack Strategy

The goal of this international promotion is to position India Stack—an ecosystem of interconnected platforms for identification, payments, documents, and service delivery—as a development tool, especially for Global South countries.

In December 2025, India conducted a specialized course on digital public infrastructure for a Cuban delegation as part of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program. Delegations from Kenya, Rwanda, Nepal, Indonesia, and South Africa also interacted with agencies such as UIDAI, NPCI, National Informatics Centre, and C-DAC.

Expansion of UPI Payment Systems

UPI merchant payments are currently available in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, UAE, and Cambodia. Cross-border links for person-to-person transfers function with Singapore, Nepal, and Greece.

Among the latest additions, UPI merchant payments began operating in Cambodia in June 2026, and the person-to-person transfer link with Greece became active in May. Nepal introduced cross-border person-to-person transfers in June, supplementing the list of merchants available since March 2024.

Development Support

The government has also approved a Social Impact Fund, which is intended to provide financial and technical assistance for the pilot implementation of digital public infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries.

business-standard.comJuly 26, 13:26

Red Hat: India Rises to Top 5 Growth Markets, Key to Company's Global Strategy

India has secured a spot among the top five global growth markets for Red Hat and its parent company IBM. This growth is attributed to the deep adoption of open-source architecture in the country and its developing talent pool, noted a senior company executive.

Strategic Importance of India

Navtej Singh Bal, Vice President and General Manager of Red Hat for India and South Asia, emphasized that India is central to the company's global strategy, serving as both a critical market and a center of engineering excellence. He pointed out that the company, which started from scratch, has successfully scaled into one of the world's fastest-growing businesses, primarily because India embraced open-source software at its core.

Impact of AI on the Labor Market

Addressing concerns about job displacement in the IT sector due to artificial intelligence, Bal stated that while the technology will provide an annual efficiency boost of 2-5 percent, India's high economic growth rate is likely to offset potential employment risks. He suggested that in a high-growth market, whose nominal rate may exceed 10 percent, the country can absorb productivity gains while simultaneously expanding its employment base.

A shift in employment roles is expected: data processing and management tasks will decrease in favor of expertise and decision-making roles that combine human and machine intelligence.

The Role of Open Source in Indian Technology

Red Hat, the open-source enterprise solutions company acquired by IBM in 2019 for approximately $35 billion, maintains offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru. Bal highlighted the significance of open source in India's public technology stack, noting that central and state government bodies are actively implementing open architecture principles to avoid dependence on proprietary technologies.

He also mentioned that major digital public goods, such as UPI, Aadhaar, and the passport system, will be modernized as AI technologies advance. According to Bal, the government's focus will be on integrating AI technologies into these applications, as well as localizing and improving their usability. Furthermore, sovereign AI stacks developed in India are anticipated to emerge in the defense and paramilitary sectors.

Challenges in AI Adoption

Comparing India's current technological environment with the global industry, Bal stressed the influence of capital expenditure priorities on infrastructure and the pursuit of autonomous architectures. He added that Indian IT companies involved in large global digital transformations must adapt their processes and systems to effectively leverage these technologies. Global corporations are also viewing India as a platform for new processes, transforming it into a global innovation hub.

Nevertheless, Bal identified several hurdles slowing the transition of AI projects from pilot testing to full-scale production. He reported that currently only 30-40 percent of all AI pilot projects reach the production stage. Bal explained that production-ready systems require complete reliability and control, and not all teams have fully mapped out their DevSecOps pipeline.

Other significant barriers include the high cost of AI inference, talent shortages, and challenges in managing organizational change. He predicts that over the next year, enterprises will increasingly decide whether to budget AI as operational expenses or capital expenditures as they scale.