In a recent development, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in India and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) of Papua New Guinea have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share the digital initiative, India Stack. This follows the earlier signing of similar MoUs with Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and Antigua & Barbuda, underlining the rising global interest and adoption of India Stack.
Details of the MoU between India and Papua New Guinea
The MoU facilitates the sharing of India Stack, which supports identity, data, and payment services on a macro scale. It emphasizes the implementation of population-scale Digital Public Infrastructure as well as Transformational Platforms/projects meant to enhance living conditions and improve governance efficiency.
Another critical aspect of the collaboration is the strengthening of digital identity systems and digital payment mechanisms to facilitate seamless transactions.
Overview of India Stack
India Stack is simply a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that enables governments, businesses, startups, and developers to utilize digital Infrastructure to address India’s critical issues regarding presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
A government-led initiative, India Stack focuses on building a sturdy digital infrastructure to support various digital services across multiple sectors. Its components are owned and managed by different agencies and aim to streamline and enhance identity verification, data exchange, and digital payment processes for citizens.
Within India Stack, there are digital public goods- these are digital resources and tools that are publicly available to support numerous digital services and initiatives. Integral to India Stack are Aadhaar (a unique biometric-based identification system), Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for instantaneous digital payments, and Digital Locker for the secure storage of personal documents.
India Stack’s vision, however, is not confined to India only. It is applicable and beneficial to any country, whether developed or emerging.
About Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is an island nation situated in the south-western Pacific. It shares land borders with Indonesia, a water border with Australia, and the Solomon Islands. Its geographical makeup is mainly mountainous, with low-lying plains in southern New Guinea. Port Moresby serves as its capital.
Papua New Guinea gained self-governance in 1973 and attained full independence in 1975.
Relevant Questions from Previous Year UPSC Civil Services Examination
Consider these statements from 2018 examination: Is Aadhaar card a proof of citizenship or domicile? Can the Aadhaar number issued be deactivated or omitted by the Issuing Authority?
According to the Government of India and UIDAI, Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship. It merely helps service providers authenticate residents’ identity electronically, making service delivery more cost-effective and efficient. However, an Aadhaar can be deactivated under certain conditions, like if it has mixed or anomalous biometric information or multiple names in a single name (like Urf or Alias), or if not used for three consecutive years.