India is a market with high potential for digital service providers, with 50 crore internet users, of which 45 crore are accessing the web via smartphones. This has also translated into rapid adoption of digital payments as the country registered digital transactions worth Rs 38 lakh crore in the third quarter of 2022. With Google Pay crossing the 150 million active user mark this year, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has hailed India’s implementation of UPI, Aadhar and India Stack as a shining example.
India’s digital architecture
While UPI is an interface to help online transactions to flow through, Aadhar has acted as a mechanism for swift data verification. India Stack is a set of digital products integrated into one software platform for digitisation of financial services. Pichai said that Google Pay was built in India over the UPI stack infrastructure, and that the firm is now taking the service to other countries.
Penalties could affect privacy and security
As for the penalties imposed on Google and the action it faced because of unfair trade practices, Pichai said that the ruling could affect user data privacy and security. The Madurai born IITian who now runs one of the world’s biggest tech firms, also met India’s Prime Minister, President and IT Minister, during his visit to the country. He also highlighted the need for regulations that preserve core elements.
Collaborations with both Jio and Airtel
Speaking of other digital collaborations and investments in Inida, Pichai mentioned that Google has been working with Reliance Jio and Airtel. Talking about the development of the JioPhone, he added that similar projects are in the works with other partners as well. In the post pandemic era when work from home is fading away, Pichai said that trends such as online consultations with doctors and online transactions are the ones that will stay.
