India and Australia have a strategic opportunity to collaborate in helping Pacific Island countries build their Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Such a partnership could leverage the complementary strengths of all partners and align with the Quad Principles for Development and Deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure. It would be a pragmatic initiative rooted in shared interests in fostering stability and prosperity in the region.
The success of India’s DPI has generated considerable interest globally. The India Stack—comprising identity, payments and data exchange layers—has been instrumental in advancing financial inclusion, expanding markets, improving the delivery of government services, and increasing the efficiency of public expenditure. DPIs can be powerful tools for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to address many of their developmental goals. For instance, a UNDP report finds that financial inclusion and lower leakages from social programmes are expected to boost GDP growth between 1-1.4% in LMICs. Further, an IMF report estimates that it would have taken 47 years for 80% of Indian adults to have a bank account had the country relied on conventional methods.