India Shares INDIA STACK with Papua New Guinea

• 31 Jul 2023

Source: PIB

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) of India and the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) of Papua New Guinea have taken a significant step towards digital transformation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share India Stack.

• Earlier in June 2023, India had already signed MoUs with four countries namely Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and Antigua & Barbuda to share India Stack, showcasing the growing interest and acceptance of the initiative on a global scale.

What are the key highlights of the MoU between India and Papua New Guinea?

• The MoU facilitates the sharing of India Stack, to support identity, data, and payment services on a large scale.
• The MoU focuses on the implementation of population-scale Digital Public Infrastructure and Transformational Platforms/projects to improve living standards and governance efficiency.
• The collaboration seeks to strengthen digital identity systems and digital payment mechanisms for seamless transactions.

What is India Stack?

• India Stack is a set of APIs (Application programming interface) that allows governments, businesses, startups, and developers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
• India Stack is a government-led initiative that focuses on building a robust digital infrastructure to enable various digital services across different sectors.
  • The components of this collection are owned and maintained by different agencies.
• INDIA STACK aims to streamline and enhance identity verification, data exchange, and digital payment processes to make them more accessible and efficient for citizens.
• It includes digital public goods, which are digital resources and tools made available to the public to support various digital services and initiatives.
• The key components of INDIA STACK include Aadhaar (unique biometric-based identification system), Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for instant digital payments, and Digital Locker for secure storage of personal documents.
• The vision of India Stack is not limited to one country (India); it can be applied to any nation, be it a developed one or an emerging one.

Papua New Guinea:

• Papua New Guinea is an island country located in the south-western Pacific. It shares land borders with Indonesia and water border with Australia, and the Solomon Islands.
• It includes the eastern half of New Guinea and many small offshore islands.
• The capital is Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea is mainly mountainous but has low-lying plains in southern New Guinea.
• Papua New Guinea gained self-government in 1973 and full independence in 1975.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. Consider the following statements: (2018)

1. Aadhaar card can be used as a proof of citizenship or domicile.
2. Once issued, Aadhaar number cannot be deactivated or omitted by the Issuing Authority.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans: (d)

Exp:

• The Aadhaar platform helps service providers authenticate identity of residents electronically, in a safe and quick manner, making service delivery more cost effective and efficient. According to the GoI and UIDAI, Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship.
• However, UIDAI has also published a set of contingencies when the Aadhaar issued by it is liable for rejection. An Aadhaar with mixed or anomalous biometric information or multiple names in a single name (like Urf or Alias) can be deactivated. Aadhaar can also get deactivated upon non-usage of the same for three consecutive years.