Digital Public Infrastructure : Updates from the Global Community

Digital Global Compact 

 

What is the Global Digital Compact?

In September, 2021, the UN Secretary General released the ‘Our Common Agenda’ report which proposed a Global Digital Compact to be agreed at the Summit of the Future in September 2024 (UN). The Global Digital Compact aims to identify principles, objectives, and actions for advancing an open, free and secure digital future that is anchored in universal human rights and advances progress towards SDGs. The areas of focus in the Global Digital Compact include – digital public goods/infrastructure, digital divide, access and inclusivity, internet connectivity, data protection, protection of human rights online.
 

Need for a Global Digital Compact (UN)

  • Even though digitally deliverable services now account for almost two thirds of global services, unequal access to digital services remains high. 

  • Digital technology and innovation has resulted in gains in productivity and value, but these benefits do not result in shared prosperity. 

  • The new technologies are not subject to basic guardrails and the lack of governance facilitates misuse. 

  • Since most technologies are privately developed, there is an underinvestment in state capacities to assess and respond to digital challenges.

Multi stakeholder consultative process

 

With rise in digital for governance, it is important to create common frameworks and shared principles, build multi-stakeholder partnerships for scaling solutions, and ensure the availability of adequate skills to create value from digital technologies. UNSG Tech Envoy describes the Global Digital Compact as “the highest level capturing of political will so far, in terms of a comprehensive view of the digital world.” (ITU)

In the time leading up to the Summit of the Future in 2024, the UN Tech Envoy’s Office has organised a series of online and offline consultative sessions. The open ended and multi stakeholder consultative process invites expertise from The United Nations, governments, the private sector, academia, and civil society to agree on a Global Digital Compact.

The consultations include inputs on:

  • Potential of tech to advance progress towards SDGs

  • Challenges/ risks that digital technologies may pose to human rights

  • Inclusive solutions which improve access and reduce digital divide

  • Data and AI governance 

  • Safety, privacy and security

Policy Brief for Global Digital Compact 

 

The United Nations Secretary General issued a policy brief in May 2023 which includes actionable suggestions and common targets to advance multi stakeholder cooperation (digwatch). These include: 

  • Digital connectivity and capacity building – Universal connectivity and strengthened digital literacy to close the digital divide and improve participation in the digital economy. 

  • Digital cooperation to accelerate progress on SDGs – Common blueprint for digital transformation through – targeted investments in DPI; representative, accessible, interoperable data; and shared standards. 

  • Upholding Human Rights – Digital human rights advisory mechanism to make human rights the foundation of an open, safe and secure digital future. 

  • An inclusive, open and shared internet – Multi stakeholder governance to harness the potential of the internet and safeguard the free and shared nature of the internet. 

  • Digital trust and security – Common standards and industry codes of conduct to address harmful content on digital platforms and shared understanding of guidelines and principles on responsible use of technology. 

  • Data protection and empowerment- Govern data for the benefit of all, empower people to control their personal data, and develop interoperable standards for data quality.

  • Agile governance of AI and other emerging technologies – Advisory body for AI to build regulatory capacity in the public sector and to put transparency, fairness, and accountability at the core of AI governance.

  • Global Digital Commons- Enable regular and sustained exchanges across states, regions, and industry sectors; develop and govern technologies in ways that enable sustainable development, empower people, and address harms.

Relevance to Digital Public Infrastructure

 

  • DPIs harness huge amounts of data that if safely governed and effectively used, can help countries accelerate their development and advance the achievement of SDGs. 

  • As societies invest in DPIs, a wealth of knowledge, best practices and experience is being created. To harness the potential of DPI, it is necessary to invest in building capacities, have common shared principles and frameworks, maintain a global repository of experiences, and establish pooled financing mechanisms. 

  • Investments are needed in “data commons”, which pool data and digital infrastructure across borders, build flagship data sets and standards for interoperability and bring together data expertise from public and private institutions to build insights and applications for the SDGs.

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Prashanth Chandramouleeswaran

Associate Director – PFM Mission

Prashanth has close to 15 years of experience in the social sector where his work has spanned across program management, outreach, government and donor partnerships, marketing communications and capacity building. He has worked extensively in the urban service delivery, urban development, livelihoods, water supply and sanitation disciplines. Before eGov, Prashanth has worked with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) and helped build one of the largest urban development capacity building programs in the country, and the The/Nudge Foundation, where he led the operations for a transformational livelihoods program (Future Perfect) to help underprivileged youth secure employment in the service sector. Prashanth transitioned to the social sector after his MBA in Sustainable Business Practices from the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), and believes in the potential of technology to transform the lives of people and bring positive change in society. Prior to the MBA he has worked in the automobile, healthcare and manufacturing sectors.

Chandar Muthukrishnan

Chief Operating Officer

Chandar has 25 years of experience in enterprise software application management across manufacturing, telecom and media domains. He has experience working in both start-up and mature environments and has taken a start-up team to a medium-sized enterprise of 2000 people. Chandar has played key roles in Business Enablement, Program management, Product Engineering, Consulting, Account Management, and Process Engineering. Before joining eGov, he was Senior Vice President of Client Solutions & Business Enablement at Prime Focus Technologies Limited. Before that, he had worked with Wipro for 10 years, where he worked in various roles in software delivery. He is an Electrical & Electronics Engineer from the College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University.

Government of Andhra Pradesh

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“Digitisation of Andhra Pradesh through eGov’s platform has really benefited govt employees by saving almost 19hrs of their time every week. Earlier the citizens used to run around to access municipal services. Today the ULB officers run around to deliver services to the citizens”

-Shri Kanna Babu, Ex. Director, CDMA

Ministry Of Defence

Till date we have seen that citizen services are made online either in a single ULB or at district, or state level. This is a beginning where multiple citizen services are simplified, standardised and launched at once pan-country across all 62 Cantonment Boards and eGov Foundation, BEL, NIC, DGDE and MoD teams have played a major role in the speedy implementation of this initiative. I congratulate all of them.

Shri Ajay Kumar, Defense Secretary, Government of India

Ministry Of Defence

Till date we have seen that citizen services are made online either in a single ULB or at district, or state level. This is a beginning where multiple citizen services are simplified, standardised and launched at once pan-country across all 62 Cantonment Boards and eGov Foundation, BEL, NIC, DGDE and MoD teams have played a major role in the speedy implementation of this initiative. I congratulate all of them.

Shri Ajay Kumar, Defense Secretary, Government of India

Ministry Of Defence

Till date we have seen that citizen services are made online either in a single ULB or at district, or state level. This is a beginning where multiple citizen services are simplified, standardised and launched at once pan-country across all 62 Cantonment Boards and eGov Foundation, BEL, NIC, DGDE and MoD teams have played a major role in the speedy implementation of this initiative. I congratulate all of them.

Shri Ajay Kumar, Defense Secretary, Government of India

eChhawani is an effort towards offering multiple citizen services in a simple and straightforward manner to citizens across all Cantonment Boards and is the result of efforts of eGov Foundation, BEL, NIC and 62 Cantt Board Administrators supervised by DGDE and MoD. It is a new start and a digital milestone for 62 Cantonment Boards across the country.

Smt Deepa Bajwa, Director General, DGDE

Ministry Of Defence

eChhawani is an effort towards offering multiple citizen services in a simple and straightforward manner to citizens across all Cantonment Boards and is the result of efforts of eGov Foundation, BEL, NIC and 62 Cantt Board Administrators supervised by DGDE and MoD. It is a new start and a digital milestone for 62 Cantonment Boards across the country.

Smt Deepa Bajwa, Director General, DGDE

Ministry Of Defence

eChhawani is inaugurated today with 8 municipal services and I’m confident that this will continue to enhance citizen centric services for residents of our Cantonment Boards. This is a great step towards ‘good governance’ and is a shining example of India’s emergence as a leader in various sectors offering ease of doing business and ease of living for citizens. I congratulate all stakeholders involved in this initiative and I expect that officers will continue to take feedback from the citizens on whether this initiative is fulfilling the aim of citizen centric governance.

Shri Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister, Government of India

PMIDC

During mSeva WhatsApp Launch- Public grievance redressal in a time bound manner is of paramount importance for the Govt of Punjab. As a part of the “Digital Citizen Services First” approach, we digitized citizen-centric municipal services since 2018 and more than 8 modules can be accessed via web portal and mobile app. Extending the services , we now aim at the resolution of civic complaints with the widely used messaging platform, WhatsApp. Driving a paradigm shift from clicks to personalized seamless conversations will result in improved citizen experience and foster belongingness among citizens with speedy resolution of issues

Shri Ajoy Sharma, CEO, PMIDC

Government of Puducherry

The success of this initiative is driven by how the citizens of the state are enabled to access the services of the Planning Authorities anytime, anywhere. These services will also have a direct impact on the Ease of Doing Business ranking for the state which has been one of our priority focus areas. We believe that DIGIT open platform will be a key enabler in the areas of online building permission system and help Planning Authorities to create a citizen-centric urban governance

Shri.A.Namassivayam, Hon’ble Minister for Town Planning, Govt of Puducherry

Viraj Tyagi

Chief Executive Officer

Viraj Tyagi is the CEO of eGov Foundation. He is passionate about the impact of a jugalbandi of Digital Public Goods, policies, and ecosystems in solving complex societal problems at scale and speed. Before joining the impact sector, Viraj was an entrepreneur and corporate leader with wide-ranging experience in building large businesses in Europe and India. He is a serial entrepreneur, an active investor in start-ups, and a mentor to entrepreneurs. Viraj was the CEO and co-founder of NettPositive – one of the first Big Data and Analytics companies in India. He is also a co-founder of the fintech start-up – Finnable. He is on the board of several start-ups and companies. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore (IIM-B) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT – BHU).

Elzan Mathew

Director – Engineering

Elzan is the head of software implementation at eGov with 19 years of industry experience handling various state implementations and partner-led deliveries. She has been an integral part of the organisation for the past 15 years where her contribution extends from product management, development, and delivery of the product suits. She is instrumental in the success of eGov’s presence in various locations like Chennai Corporation, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and many more.

Aveek De

VP – Sanitation Mission

Aveek is passionate about sustainable transformation in the social impact space. He has held leadership roles at the intersection of solving complex societal challenges and technology. He has successfully led large-scale transformational programs in education in rural India and Africa, ecosystem development for small and medium entrepreneurs, natural resource management, and groundwater management by influencing governments and communities.
Before he transitioned to the development sector, he spent 15 years in the corporate sector with DEC, Bharti, Gallup, and IBM in sales and marketing, strategic consulting, and business operations. He enjoys setting up green field operations and was instrumental in opening opportunities in the Middle East and West Africa.
He has a BTech in Electronics Engineering from UVCE, Bangalore, and an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila. He is a Salzburg Global Fellow.

Jojo Mehra

Chief Product Officer

Jojo Mehra leads product management eGov. He is a digital innovation professional with experience in leading product development, business model innovation, and digital strategy. He is passionate about the role that digital technologies and innovation can play in addressing some of the most pressing societal challenges we face. He believes that we have entered a new techno-economic paradigm that is changing our work, our cities, and our societies and that it is incumbent upon us to ensure that this change works for the many and not just a few. He was part of the early team at some of the pioneering digital start-ups like rediff.com and Yoomedia Plc. and also co-founded a shared accommodation platform and an HRtech startup. Jojo holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Loyola College (Chennai, India), a postgraduate degree in Creative and Media Enterprises from the University of Warwick (UK), and recently attended a Master’s programme in Technology Governance and Digital Transformation from the Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance at Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia).

Pradipta Kundu

Director – Health Mission

Pradipta leads the Health Mission at eGov. A software professional with over 23 years of experience, Pradipta, in the last five years co-founded Samanvay Foundation a nonprofit focussed on technology-heavy lifting; worked on service delivery improvement by the govt hospitals in tribal, underserved areas of eastern Madhya Pradesh; and led an open source software community. A strong supporter of open source technologies, she has led and anchored two popular open-source projects focussed on the social sector. Before that, in her last job at ThoughtWorks, India (a global IT consultancy) she played various roles from managing large software delivery projects to exploring the possibility of IT to improve the health of the underserved working with large and small, international and local NGOs, and governments in multiple countries.

Poornima Muniswamy

Program Director

Poornima has spent most of her career working on projects and programs in management consulting and technology. She thoroughly enjoys conceptualizing, designing, and delivering programmes to solve complex problems.
She has worked on complex transformation programs across multiple countries, connecting the content of business transformation with technology and change management requirements. Over the last few years of her career, she worked on large multi-stream, IT-based organisation transformation programmes.

Manish Srivastava

Chief Technology Officer

Manish has 25 years of experience in creating enterprise-scale software. He has experience working in both start-up and mature environments and has set up two startups from the ground up in Enterprise Customer Experience Management and the other one in Wind Energy Scheduling & Forecasting. Manish has played key roles in Technology and Innovation Management. Before that, he was with Infosys for 17 years, where he worked in various roles as a technology consultant and solution architect with various Global 2000 companies. He is a ‘96 batch, B.Tech. graduate of IIT-BHU. Manish is passionate about technology and deeply vested in the societal good that it can bring. He also mentors a few startups.

Gautham Ravichander

Director – Policy & Advocacy

Gautham leads eGov’s policy initiatives with the Government of India and partner states. He started his career at Janaagraha where he led the Ward Infrastructure Index Program and was a founding team member of The Education Alliance. Gautham has a MIB degree from The Fletcher School at Tufts University where his studies focussed on social enterprises and leveraging business models to reach underserved populations. At Fletcher, Gautham organized and co-chaired the first Tufts Innovation Symposium on Scaling Innovation in Emerging Markets.

Krishnakumar Thyagarajan

VP – GTM & Advisory

Krishnakumar is focussed on creating and deploying solutions seeking profound outcomes in urban governance. Effectiveness of Citizen Services and governance. He has 22 years of experience spanning leadership roles in Tech Mahindra where he spearheaded new practises in the company. He began his career as a strategic consultant. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and holds an MBA from SP Jain University.

Ameya Ashok Naik

Head of Policy & Advocacy

Ameya leads the policy partnerships, advocacy, and monitoring-evaluation-research portfolios at eGov. He started his career as a speechwriter with Dr. Shashi Tharoor in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, followed by stints as a researcher with the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the World Peace Foundation, and the International Peace Institute, and most recently worked with the Macroeconomics and Policy Advocacy team at Tata Sons. A psychologist and lawyer by training, Ameya holds MA & LLM degrees from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy; he also serves as a Faculty Fellow with the Takshashila Institution, where he teaches policy analysis.

P.R. Krishnamoorthy

VP – Delivery

As VP of Service Delivery, with a Master’s in Engineering, he leads the Operations and Support Team and manages our major client for the last 9 years with result-based Operational Support. He has extensive experience in driving product/technology strategy in Municipal and Government business environments with strong expertise in Technical consulting, New product commercialisation, Product innovation, Quality systems, and leading-edge Citizen-Centric technologies. He demonstrated strong acumen in spotting emerging Need-of-the-hour technology opportunities and developing niche product capabilities aligned to business plans.

Varun Basu

VP – Growth and Partnerships

Varun has 18+ years of global experience spanning software development, product management, business development, partnerships, and strategy. He has worked in a diverse range of fields from software to spirits to food & beverages. He has significant experience working with early-stage startups and has successfully helped them grow and scale their businesses.

A techie at heart, he started as a developer, and he moved on to Product Management & Sales for a data security startup where he led business development & partnerships. He then went on to manage Diageo’s strategy for emerging markets (LMICs) including Latin America, Africa & South East Asia to focus on the growth of the mainstream spirits category. 

In his last role, he was Global Head of Sales & Product at LitmusWorld, a SaaS Customer Experience platform. Varun holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Calcutta University, a Master’s in Computer Application from Vellore Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Gp. Capt. Sudheer Gattu (Retd)

Vice President – Program Management

Sudheer is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and SPJIMR Mumbai, and a proficient veteran officer having years of corporate leadership experience including a stint as an SBU head at a listed EPC company. At eGov, Sudheer leads the Urban mission and the Program management function. Previously, he provided delivery and operations leadership for a 1500 crore greenfield infrastructure project for the govt of Maharashtra including P&L management of a business (800+ team) with 300 crore in annual revenue. Before joining the corporate world, he was a key member of the 500 crore R&D programme at DRDO for the development of indigenous light combat helicopters. At the Indian Air Force, he oversaw large-scale aircraft operations & maintenance, and steered production planning, material planning, and aviation safety management.

Government Of Andhra Pradesh

The AP govt recently rolled out the prestigious Ward Secretariat Program for doorstep delivery of 24 urban services. This was rapidly enabled on the Core Municipal Platform, ensuring easy roll out and consistency of operations.”

Shri GSRKR Vijay Kumar, IAS Commissioner, and Director – Municipal Administration, Andhra Pradesh

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Nagpur Municipal Corporation

In 2008, as a part of the comprehensive eGovernance initiative that was meant to provide efficient services to citizens, administrators and corporators by implementing integrated governance solutions, NMC revamped the entire legacy system with eGov’s integrated e-governance system based on open technologies for over 60 functions of the ULB.