The document discusses two pilot projects that used digital transaction data and the India Stack framework to provide small, short-term loans to underserved populations. The projects found that digital loans addressed an important need and were more convenient than traditional options. However, some regulatory and operational challenges prevented full utilization of the India Stack. Lenders were able to access new customer segments at lower costs compared to traditional models. Customers were willing to share transaction data but may not fully understand implications. The pilots provide evidence that digital tools can expand access to financial services, but challenges around digital literacy, regulations and scaling remain.
India recently kicked off the Data Empowerment architecture, a framework for consented data sharing across the financial sector. This allows Nandini (Persona) to share data on her business’ regular invoices or GST payments seamlessly and securely.
Any bank or NBFC can now offer a regular stream of small-ticket working capital loans based on her demonstrated ability to repay. This is in sharp contrast to the status quo, where banks typically offer only larger loans backed by collateral. Using cash flows rather than collateral as the basis for credit is known as Flow-Based lending. Because producing collateral is a roadblock for the poorest Indians, Flow-Based lending may be their only opportunity to access the credit they sorely need for growth.
New digital lending architecture: As Indian consumers and business go from being data poor to data rich in next 3 years, a new lending architecture which is digital, based on data footprints and using algorithms can scale up rapidly to provide credit for the underserved. This includes P2P lending. The Electronic Consent layer of the India Stack will leverage this data tsunami.
India Stack - Towards Presence-less, paperless and cashless service delivery....ProductNation/iSPIRT
IndiaStack has the potential to revolutionize the way government services of the future are delivered in a large country like India. The nation is looking for “a transition from technology-poor to innovation-rich society” and entrepreneurs have a good role to play. The problems (read opportunities) in financial services, healthcare and education are all so large that only the right technology and entrepreneurial brainpower can cost-effectively solve them. Solving these scale problems should mean great business sense too.
India needs a strategic view on Data. This presentations outlines the triple threat represented by Data Domination : Privacy, Data Colonization and winner-take-all. It also explains why India has a unique opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world and establish a Data Democracy
iSPIRT Balloon Volunteering Open House Session #4 - Opportunities in Technolo...ProductNation/iSPIRT
In this fourth Open House Session, we have Dr Pramod Varma, Chief Architect - Aadhaar & India Stack, giving you an insight into what it takes to volunteer in iSPIRT. He describes our design principles for building digital public infrastructure and gives you a peek into the thought process of an architect in iSPIRT. Finally, he breaks down how we are redefining the approach towards solving societal problems. We are playground builders. We orchestrate or create a playground so that market players can bring out an array of solutions.
iSPIRT is addressing solvability. We have a multi-decade horizon as a mission-oriented volunteer-based Think-and-Do-Tank.
As part of this session, we have our volunteers explaining the technical challenges you can embrace as new volunteers. The problems that we are tackling require a thought process that is new and innovative. We use cutting-edge technology.
In addition to the new technical volunteering opportunities outlined in this session, other policy-related and ecosystem-building volunteer options also exist. Apply now on https://volunteers.ispirt.in
Do visit: https://youtu.be/KZngoIy-hZ0 to watch the recording of the fourth open house session on Youtube.
India recently kicked off the Data Empowerment architecture, a framework for consented data sharing across the financial sector. This allows Nandini (Persona) to share data on her business’ regular invoices or GST payments seamlessly and securely.
Any bank or NBFC can now offer a regular stream of small-ticket working capital loans based on her demonstrated ability to repay. This is in sharp contrast to the status quo, where banks typically offer only larger loans backed by collateral. Using cash flows rather than collateral as the basis for credit is known as Flow-Based lending. Because producing collateral is a roadblock for the poorest Indians, Flow-Based lending may be their only opportunity to access the credit they sorely need for growth.
New digital lending architecture: As Indian consumers and business go from being data poor to data rich in next 3 years, a new lending architecture which is digital, based on data footprints and using algorithms can scale up rapidly to provide credit for the underserved. This includes P2P lending. The Electronic Consent layer of the India Stack will leverage this data tsunami.
India Stack - Towards Presence-less, paperless and cashless service delivery....ProductNation/iSPIRT
IndiaStack has the potential to revolutionize the way government services of the future are delivered in a large country like India. The nation is looking for “a transition from technology-poor to innovation-rich society” and entrepreneurs have a good role to play. The problems (read opportunities) in financial services, healthcare and education are all so large that only the right technology and entrepreneurial brainpower can cost-effectively solve them. Solving these scale problems should mean great business sense too.
India needs a strategic view on Data. This presentations outlines the triple threat represented by Data Domination : Privacy, Data Colonization and winner-take-all. It also explains why India has a unique opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world and establish a Data Democracy
iSPIRT Balloon Volunteering Open House Session #4 - Opportunities in Technolo...ProductNation/iSPIRT
In this fourth Open House Session, we have Dr Pramod Varma, Chief Architect - Aadhaar & India Stack, giving you an insight into what it takes to volunteer in iSPIRT. He describes our design principles for building digital public infrastructure and gives you a peek into the thought process of an architect in iSPIRT. Finally, he breaks down how we are redefining the approach towards solving societal problems. We are playground builders. We orchestrate or create a playground so that market players can bring out an array of solutions.
iSPIRT is addressing solvability. We have a multi-decade horizon as a mission-oriented volunteer-based Think-and-Do-Tank.
As part of this session, we have our volunteers explaining the technical challenges you can embrace as new volunteers. The problems that we are tackling require a thought process that is new and innovative. We use cutting-edge technology.
In addition to the new technical volunteering opportunities outlined in this session, other policy-related and ecosystem-building volunteer options also exist. Apply now on https://volunteers.ispirt.in
Do visit: https://youtu.be/KZngoIy-hZ0 to watch the recording of the fourth open house session on Youtube.
Platforms help create more open platforms. Indian entrepreneurs will address the scale and diversity of India by building smart solutions on top of these DIGITAL PLATFORMS!
India needs highly scalable solutions and ‘public goods’ should act as a key enabler for building such solutions. IndiaStack is one such emerging system, which entrepreneurs and startups should embrace.
Presence-less, paperless, cashless Service Delivery for a Billion people is a very big task. The large-scale systems needed to cost-effectively deliver such a solution would only be built with the combined participation of all parties, including government bodies and private companies or startups. The government systems will enable critical capabilities made available to entrepreneurs who could build diverse set of Apps useful in reaching the services to a wide mass of people through mobile phones.
Slides of the talk titled - "India's Data Dilemma with India Stack" at the Strata Data Conference, London 2019.
Video Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfonMXjfw8M
Increasing penetration of smartphones, Aadhaar-linked bank accounts and a host of powerful open and programmable capabilities is set to create the ‘WhatsApp moment’ for Indian banking.
IndiaStack is a set of APIs that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilise an unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
Digital lending is quickly growing among the 'thin file' borrowers i.e. the borrowers with no or negligible credit history. These borrowers can be both consumers or businesses.
But, in recent months the digital lenders are struggling with liquidity crises due to the pandemic. As RBI extended loan moratorium to borrowers, the Digital Lenders are in a catch-22 situation. While their borrowers expect them to extend the moratorium, financial institutions they borrow from (Banks and large NBFCs) are either refusing to or delaying to extend the moratorium to the digital lenders. digital lenders Association of India (DLAI) has already approached the RBI to get the moratorium benefits.
It is quite expected that many digital lenders (especially ones with weaker balance sheets) will not survive not only because of the liquidity crisis but also exposure to less creditworthy borrowers who are often small businesses and less creditworthy individuals. The economic repercussions of the lockdown may leave many of the borrowers unable to repay as small businesses shut down and people lose employment.
Although, the lockdowns have caused rapid digital adoption which is beneficial for the industry in the long-term. This indicates that the industry is expected to go through a lot of consolidation as cash strapped players look to be acquired to get some exit.
Let us understand this industry.
The presentation involves about Fintech industry, the technologies involved, various UPI's, regulators of Fintech Industry in India and Payment Sytstem in India
iSPIRT’s Response- White Paper on Data Protection Framework for IndiaProductNation/iSPIRT
It is widely known that the amount of data generated daily worldwide is rising at an incredibly exponential rate. Yet, what remains shrouded is how this data, particularly those data types concerning or generated by us, as individuals, are being used and stored by both the public and private sector. As we move into a data-driven world, it is crucial that the laws developed around Data center on the premise of both empowering and protecting the individual. In fact, the main purpose of the 4th layer of India Stack, the “consent layer”, is just this: to provide for a set of tools and utilities, as part of the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA), that empower citizens to assert control over their data.
The Justice Srikrishna led committee of experts has released a White Paper articulating their provisional thoughts on the Data Protection Framework, and are seeking public comments on the subject. iSPIRT has submitted a formal response to the White Paper. You can also read the blog post lays out our current views regarding Data Protection here: http://pn.ispirt.in/india-in-a-digital-world/
We held a somewhat impromptu Open Session on Balloon Volunteering yesterday. Watch this to learn if iSPIRT volunteering is right for you. This session will cover some of the available volunteer opportunities and tell you how to engage with us.
In case you want to explore Balloon Volunteering with iSPIRT, do fill out the form here: bit.ly/iSPIRTForm
Payments Market in India, Mobile Wallet, Mobile Payments , Evolving Payments Ecosystem, Payments Industry , Payments Bank , Payment Gateways , Mobile Market, Payment Methods
iSPIRT's Response on Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act (DISHA)ProductNation/iSPIRT
We believe that India is at a unique tipping point where only a fraction of its users have gone online, and a majority are yet to do so. Therefore, it is critical that we build the right set of protections and empowerments for these users as they enter the digital world.
It is equally important not to limit our thinking to simply “protection” of data. We must also question how we can “empower” individuals, who will be data rich before they are economically rich, with better access to their own healthcare data such that they can become more engaged participants and managers of their health care.
We welcome the proposed DISHA Act that seeks to Protect and Empower Individuals in regards to their electronic health data - we have provided our feedback on the DISHA Act and have also proposed technological approaches in this response
What animates us? Why do we do what we do? What sets us apart? Why are we a force for good? These are some questions that we tackle in this Annual Letter.
Problem solvers, responsible builders of companies, communities and ecosystems are the foundation for progress and growth of any nation. What drives all of them is a sense of challenge, ownership of problems, allegiance to autonomy, demonstration of personal accountability and the thrill of finding a solution. This energy is fueling a growing product movement in India. iSPIRT is proud to be part of this movement.
There are thirteen technologies growing up quickly.
1) Blockchain
2) 5G Network
3) Autonomous Driving
4) Human Augmentation
5) Distributed Cloud
6) DARQ Age
7) Personal Profiling
8) AI Products
9) Data Policing
10) Momentary Markets
11) Automation
12) Reskilling Human Workforce
13) Medical Upgrade
Digitalization and its impact on financial transactions in IndiaRaja Sarkar
Digitalalization is the adoption of various existing and developing technologies by organizations in consonance
with the changes in internal operations as well as external relationship to provide better customer services and
experiences efficiently and effectively. Projects such as Make in India and Digital India are now the buzzwords
to a better and sustainable industrial and financial growth of our nation. Government is encouraging technology
adoption/upgradation while providing connectivity with high speed bandwidth to bring together every nook and
corner of the country. This has opened up the vast untapped market in India for digital connectivity. Digital
payment services by banks like Unified Payments Infrastructure (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM),
mobile money, e-wallets have created a revolution of sorts in the Indian financial market. Adaptation and
implementation of highly capital intensive global technologies, infrastructure and processes are vital in order to
remain ahead of the curve. Transition in financial transactions such as data integrity, authentication (including
third party authentication) and trust factors are gaining importance as a measure of customer safeguarding.
Enhanced customer satisfaction and value through unified customer experiences, faster output, infinite banking
volumes, financial inclusion, operational efficiencies, scale of economy etc. are being sought after, by
leveraging digital technologies. Digitalization has improved the efficiency and customer experience in several
fields including the financial transaction areas. The present paper will try to explore the impact of digitalization
on financial transactions in India.
Platforms help create more open platforms. Indian entrepreneurs will address the scale and diversity of India by building smart solutions on top of these DIGITAL PLATFORMS!
India needs highly scalable solutions and ‘public goods’ should act as a key enabler for building such solutions. IndiaStack is one such emerging system, which entrepreneurs and startups should embrace.
Presence-less, paperless, cashless Service Delivery for a Billion people is a very big task. The large-scale systems needed to cost-effectively deliver such a solution would only be built with the combined participation of all parties, including government bodies and private companies or startups. The government systems will enable critical capabilities made available to entrepreneurs who could build diverse set of Apps useful in reaching the services to a wide mass of people through mobile phones.
Slides of the talk titled - "India's Data Dilemma with India Stack" at the Strata Data Conference, London 2019.
Video Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfonMXjfw8M
Increasing penetration of smartphones, Aadhaar-linked bank accounts and a host of powerful open and programmable capabilities is set to create the ‘WhatsApp moment’ for Indian banking.
IndiaStack is a set of APIs that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilise an unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
Digital lending is quickly growing among the 'thin file' borrowers i.e. the borrowers with no or negligible credit history. These borrowers can be both consumers or businesses.
But, in recent months the digital lenders are struggling with liquidity crises due to the pandemic. As RBI extended loan moratorium to borrowers, the Digital Lenders are in a catch-22 situation. While their borrowers expect them to extend the moratorium, financial institutions they borrow from (Banks and large NBFCs) are either refusing to or delaying to extend the moratorium to the digital lenders. digital lenders Association of India (DLAI) has already approached the RBI to get the moratorium benefits.
It is quite expected that many digital lenders (especially ones with weaker balance sheets) will not survive not only because of the liquidity crisis but also exposure to less creditworthy borrowers who are often small businesses and less creditworthy individuals. The economic repercussions of the lockdown may leave many of the borrowers unable to repay as small businesses shut down and people lose employment.
Although, the lockdowns have caused rapid digital adoption which is beneficial for the industry in the long-term. This indicates that the industry is expected to go through a lot of consolidation as cash strapped players look to be acquired to get some exit.
Let us understand this industry.
The presentation involves about Fintech industry, the technologies involved, various UPI's, regulators of Fintech Industry in India and Payment Sytstem in India
iSPIRT’s Response- White Paper on Data Protection Framework for IndiaProductNation/iSPIRT
It is widely known that the amount of data generated daily worldwide is rising at an incredibly exponential rate. Yet, what remains shrouded is how this data, particularly those data types concerning or generated by us, as individuals, are being used and stored by both the public and private sector. As we move into a data-driven world, it is crucial that the laws developed around Data center on the premise of both empowering and protecting the individual. In fact, the main purpose of the 4th layer of India Stack, the “consent layer”, is just this: to provide for a set of tools and utilities, as part of the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA), that empower citizens to assert control over their data.
The Justice Srikrishna led committee of experts has released a White Paper articulating their provisional thoughts on the Data Protection Framework, and are seeking public comments on the subject. iSPIRT has submitted a formal response to the White Paper. You can also read the blog post lays out our current views regarding Data Protection here: http://pn.ispirt.in/india-in-a-digital-world/
We held a somewhat impromptu Open Session on Balloon Volunteering yesterday. Watch this to learn if iSPIRT volunteering is right for you. This session will cover some of the available volunteer opportunities and tell you how to engage with us.
In case you want to explore Balloon Volunteering with iSPIRT, do fill out the form here: bit.ly/iSPIRTForm
Payments Market in India, Mobile Wallet, Mobile Payments , Evolving Payments Ecosystem, Payments Industry , Payments Bank , Payment Gateways , Mobile Market, Payment Methods
iSPIRT's Response on Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act (DISHA)ProductNation/iSPIRT
We believe that India is at a unique tipping point where only a fraction of its users have gone online, and a majority are yet to do so. Therefore, it is critical that we build the right set of protections and empowerments for these users as they enter the digital world.
It is equally important not to limit our thinking to simply “protection” of data. We must also question how we can “empower” individuals, who will be data rich before they are economically rich, with better access to their own healthcare data such that they can become more engaged participants and managers of their health care.
We welcome the proposed DISHA Act that seeks to Protect and Empower Individuals in regards to their electronic health data - we have provided our feedback on the DISHA Act and have also proposed technological approaches in this response
What animates us? Why do we do what we do? What sets us apart? Why are we a force for good? These are some questions that we tackle in this Annual Letter.
Problem solvers, responsible builders of companies, communities and ecosystems are the foundation for progress and growth of any nation. What drives all of them is a sense of challenge, ownership of problems, allegiance to autonomy, demonstration of personal accountability and the thrill of finding a solution. This energy is fueling a growing product movement in India. iSPIRT is proud to be part of this movement.
There are thirteen technologies growing up quickly.
1) Blockchain
2) 5G Network
3) Autonomous Driving
4) Human Augmentation
5) Distributed Cloud
6) DARQ Age
7) Personal Profiling
8) AI Products
9) Data Policing
10) Momentary Markets
11) Automation
12) Reskilling Human Workforce
13) Medical Upgrade
Digitalization and its impact on financial transactions in IndiaRaja Sarkar
Digitalalization is the adoption of various existing and developing technologies by organizations in consonance
with the changes in internal operations as well as external relationship to provide better customer services and
experiences efficiently and effectively. Projects such as Make in India and Digital India are now the buzzwords
to a better and sustainable industrial and financial growth of our nation. Government is encouraging technology
adoption/upgradation while providing connectivity with high speed bandwidth to bring together every nook and
corner of the country. This has opened up the vast untapped market in India for digital connectivity. Digital
payment services by banks like Unified Payments Infrastructure (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM),
mobile money, e-wallets have created a revolution of sorts in the Indian financial market. Adaptation and
implementation of highly capital intensive global technologies, infrastructure and processes are vital in order to
remain ahead of the curve. Transition in financial transactions such as data integrity, authentication (including
third party authentication) and trust factors are gaining importance as a measure of customer safeguarding.
Enhanced customer satisfaction and value through unified customer experiences, faster output, infinite banking
volumes, financial inclusion, operational efficiencies, scale of economy etc. are being sought after, by
leveraging digital technologies. Digitalization has improved the efficiency and customer experience in several
fields including the financial transaction areas. The present paper will try to explore the impact of digitalization
on financial transactions in India.
Market Research: Consumer Behavior and Satisfaction Level on use of Digital W...Prinson Rodrigues
Digital Wallet Vs. traditional mode of payment
Consumer preference
Survey to know the consumer behavior and satisfaction level of digital wallet over other modes
Digital wallet companies Paytm, Phonepe, Jio, M-pesa, Tez, Freecharge, Mobikwik
Security concerns on digital wallet system
Hindrances and benefits of digital wallet
A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS DIGITAL FINANCE AND ITS IMPACT ON FIN...IAEME Publication
With today’s world progressing at a lightning pace, finance cannot afford to lag behind. Finance must become inclusive, dynamic and buoyant. In other words, finance must becomedigital. The genesis and rise of digital financial services is a remarkable global phenomenon. There is little doubt that the financial services industry, today, is one of the most digitized industries. This paper throws light on the adoption and perceptions of the urban Indian consumers, in the context of digitized financial services. The study focuses on the extent of acceptability, usage, beliefs, deterrents and incentive patterns among the Indians. Itsuggeststhat although the popularity of financial services provided digitally is growing in absolute terms in India, but the rate of growth is painfully slow, considering the huge potential that the country possesses.
India’s financial technology (fintech) sector may be young but is growing rapidly, fueled by a large market base, an innovation-driven startup landscape, and friendly government policies and regulations. Several startups populate this emerging and dynamic sector, while both traditional banking institutions and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are playing catch up.
Earlier this year, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) reported that around 400 fintech firms operated in India, boosted in large part by foreign investments in fintech-focused startup accelerators and incubators. NASSCOM predicts that India’s fintech software market alone could touch US$ 2.4 billion by 2020, doubling on the current rate of growth
Fintech is abbreviation of Finance technology. It's new sector in Finance service. Basically it's combination of Finance and technology......A digitalization of banking
FinTech will revolutionize investment banking in many ways. It uses innovation to dramatically increase efficiency and leverage advanced technologies like The Cloud and AI. As a result, investment institutions must adapt to technological advances to remain competitive.
The rise of digital financial inclusion is an important global phenomenon. Today, financial services is probably the most digitized industry, as well as the most globalized, in addition to being for at least the past two decades the single largest component of global technology spending. Financial Inclusion is a relatively new socio-economic concept in India that aims to change the position where a majority of the country’s population is unbanked. Developing country governments are exploring ways to encourage their populations to use the four key instruments of financial inclusion: payment system, credit, insurance, and investment. By creating such an ecosystem, they can help expand access to affordable financial services to the financially excluded. The emergence of new digital technology, including Fintech, can ensure financial inclusion and improve financial well-being.
The Role of RBI on Implementation of Digital Currencies in Indiaijtsrd
In the present technological world, technology provided many advances and the widespread use of the Internet, various digital currencies have emerged. In most cases, Internet platforms such as Face book and Amazon restrict the functionality of their digital currencies to enhance the business model and maximize their profits. While platform based digital currencies would increase the efficiency of retail payments, they could also raise some important policy issues if they were to become widely used outside of the platform. Thus, it is important to closely monitor the evolution of these digital currencies. Dr. Rajendra Prasad G R "The Role of RBI on Implementation of Digital Currencies in India" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-6 , October 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd52108.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/accounting-and-finance/52108/the-role-of-rbi-on-implementation-of-digital-currencies-in-india/dr-rajendra-prasad-g-r
How is Kissht simplifying the Lending Process with Technology.pptxKissht reviews
It believes in keeping all users updated with the latest industry trends, authentic Kissht news, and ways to improve their credit profile to become eligible for larger personal loans.
How is Kissht simplifying the Lending Process with Technology.pdfKissht reviews
It believes in keeping all users updated with the latest industry trends, authentic Kissht news, and ways to improve their credit profile to become eligible for larger personal loans.
How is Kissht simplifying the Lending Process with Technology.pdfKissht reviews
It believes in keeping all users updated with the latest industry trends, authentic Kissht news, and ways to improve their credit profile to become eligible for larger personal loans.
MTBiz is for you if you are looking for contemporary information on business, economy and especially on banking industry of Bangladesh. You would also find periodical information on Global Economy and Commodity Markets.
Similar to India Stack pilot - commercialization of techno-creative innovations (20)
PM WANI 3.0: Unleashing Business Innovation and Open Wireless Network Growth ...ProductNation/iSPIRT
PM-WANI has allowed sachetised access to WiFi connectivity. However, the true vision of WANI standard, where small business owners can participate as network service providers resulting in fast network growth, has not been realised. We propose the next version of the WANI standard where a more open ecosystem can be enabled to facilitate business interactions such as delegated payments and roaming, which in turn can catalyse increased user base, rapid network growth, and business innovations.
The PM-WANI framework is revised periodically, taking into account the new developments, security updates, etc. Version 1.0 was released in 2020 and this was used for the pilot deployments. The updated 2.0 specification was released in 2021 and is the current version in use. You could read more about these versions here: https://github.com/iSPIRT/PM-WANI-App-Provider/wiki/PM-WANI-Specification-1.0-vs-2.0
This whitepaper defines iSPIRT’s vision for the PM-WANI Version 3.0 specification
WANI 3.0: Unleashing Business Innovation and Open Wireless Network Growth for...ProductNation/iSPIRT
PM-WANI has allowed sachetised access to WiFi connectivity. However, the true vision of WANI standard, where small business owners can participate as network service providers resulting in fast network growth, has not been realised. We propose the next version of the WANI standard where a more open ecosystem can be enabled to facilitate business interactions such as delegated payments and roaming, which in turn can catalyse increased user base, rapid network growth, and business innovations.
The PM-WANI framework is revised periodically, taking into account the new developments, security updates, etc. Version 1.0 was released in 2020 and this was used for the pilot deployments. The updated 2.0 specification was released in 2021 and is the current version in use. You could read more about these versions here: https://github.com/iSPIRT/PM-WANI-App-Provider/wiki/PM-WANI-Specification-1.0-vs-2.0
This whitepaper defines iSPIRT’s vision for the PM-WANI Version 3.0 specification
WANI 3.0: Unleashing Business Innovation and Open Wireless Network Growth for...ProductNation/iSPIRT
PM-WANI has allowed sachetised access to WiFi connectivity. However, the true vision of WANI standard, where small business owners can participate as network service providers resulting in fast network growth, has not been realised.
iSPIRT Foundation proposes the next version of the WANI standard where a more open ecosystem can be enabled to facilitate business interactions such as delegated payments and roaming, which in turn can catalyse increased user base, rapid network growth, and business innovations.
Civil aviation has, traditionally, been based on the notion of a pilot operating the aircraft from within the aircraft itself and more often than not with passengers on board. Rapid technological innovations have enabled pilotless aircraft which can be designed for specific applications that require precision or long duration which have been considered near impossible hitherto.
These aircraft also enable applications considered dull, dirty or dangerous, in other words, tasks that entail monotony or hazard for the pilot of a manned aircraft. Such pilotless aircraft make use of a ground-based or pre-programmed automatic controllers to manoeuvre the aircraft in flight and are generally termed as drones, although a better term is Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).
Traditionally, drones had been limited to military use due to high costs and technical sophistication. However, there is a far broader scope for UAS use, including, inter alia, commercial, scientific and security applications. These potential applications have driven innovations in UAS technology; especially in areas of control, navigation and energy storage; which have provided consumers with suitably small-sized cutting-edge products that are easy to operate and maintain at affordable prices. Today, due to economies of scale, consumers can purchase drones for less than a thousand rupees. Even sophisticated drones with advanced cameras and sensors are available for under fifty thousand rupees. Large aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, on the other hand, are investing billions of dollars in building pilotless aircraft that are regarded safe enough for passenger long-distance intercontinental trips.
The main goal of building a Concept of Operations for India on the way to a thriving drone ecosystem in India was to allow consistent policymaking that would guide technological standards in the near future. We intend to establish a discussion with stakeholders and continue to improve our vision by holding Open House Sessions.
Guiding Principles, Specs, Key Resources: https://sayandeep-ai.github.io/pushpaka/work-items/i01/
Entire Playlist of the Open House Recordings: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9dBcOUIsjz8FNN_FesZiD2WlFAQW-I01
This is our response to the Draft Drone Rules 2021 published by the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 14 July 2021.
(Draft Drone Rules 2021: https://www.civilaviation.gov.in/sites/default/files/Draft_Drones_Rules_14_Jul_2021.pdf)
The Global Leadership Seminar is back with its second seminar on "Full Spectrum Thinking" with noted futurist Bob Johansen of The Institute for the Future.
In this video, Bob explains how Full-Spectrum Thinking provides leaders with the ability to seek clarity across gradients of possibility—while resisting the temptations of certainty. For example, medical doctors used to label people as “autistic.” Now, they say people are on the spectrum of autism disorders.
Full-spectrum thinking offers an alternative to sloppy categorical thinking that is so common today. It unlocks clarity while challenging certainty.
Bob Johansen is a distinguished fellow with the Institute for the Future in Silicon Valley. For more than 30 years, Bob has helped organizations around the world prepare for and shape the future, including corporations such as Nestle and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as major universities and nonprofits. He holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois, which he attended on a basketball scholarship, and a PhD from Northwestern University—as well as a master’s degree that focused on world religions.
The seminar was moderated by Prof. Vasanthi Srinivasan of IIM Bangalore. Prof. Srinivasan is a Professor in the Organizational Behaviour and HRM at IIMB. Her work over the last decade in the field of leadership development has focussed on building future-ready competencies.
Charles Assissi, veteran journalist, and co-founder of Founding Fuel, also joined to share his perspectives on Full Spectrum Thinking.
Please note: The seminar was organized by iSPIRT Foundation in association with NSRCEL of IIM Bangalore. This seminar series aims to bring the best of management wisdom to Indian companies and startups.
Watch the entire recording of the session published on iSPIRT Foundation's official Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydesUdu2CkA
For more information, please write to community@ispirt.in
We are publishing a draft of the technical standards of the Personal Health Records (PHR) component of the National Health Stack (NHS)!
As a refresher, these standards govern the consented sharing of health information between Health Information Providers (HIPs) - like hospitals, pathology labs, and clinics - and Health Information Users (HIUs) like pharmacies, medical consultants, doctors, and so on. The user’s consent to share their health data is issued via a new entity called a Health Data Consent Manager (HDCM).
The problem today is that the electronic health records listed in one app or ecosystem are not easily portable to other systems. There is no common standard that can be used to discover, share, and authenticate data between different networks or ecosystems. This means that the electronic medical records generated by users end up being confined to many different isolated silos, which can result in frustrating and complex experiences for patients wishing to manage data lying across different providers.
With the PHR system, a user is able to generate a longitudinal view of their health data across providers. The interoperability and security of the PHR architecture allows users to securely discover, share, and manage their health data in a safe, convenient, and universally acceptable manner. For instance, a user could use a HDCM to discover their account at one hospital or diagnostic lab, and then select certain electronic reports to share with a doctor from another hospital or clinic. The flow of data would be safe, and the user would have granular control over who can access their data and for how long. Here is a small demo of the PHR system in action.
The standards in the draft released today offers a high-level description of the architecture and flows that make this possible.
In July 2018, NITI Aayog published a Strategy and Approach document on the National Health Stack. The document underscored the need for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and laid down the technology framework for implementing the Ayushman Bharat programme which is meant to provide UHC to the bottom 500 million of the country. While the Health Stack provides a technological backbone for delivering affordable healthcare to all Indians, we, at iSPIRT, believe that it has the potential to go beyond that and to completely transform the healthcare ecosystem in the country. We are indeed headed for a health leapfrog in India! Over the last few months, we have worked extensively to understand the current challenges in the industry as well as the role and design of individual components of the Health Stack. In this post, we elaborate on the leapfrog that will be enabled by blending this technology with care delivery.
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India Stack pilot - commercialization of techno-creative innovations
1.
2. Foreword
In November 2015, the Government of India (GoI) and USAID formalized an exciting partnership to
promote interoperable digital payment solutions in India, with the objective to expand merchant
acceptance and build consumer confidence towards greater adoption and use of such solutions.
Over the past year, this partnership has sponsored a program, which has implemented a set of
insightful and innovative experiments with various payment stakeholders.
While our focus has been on consumer-to-business (C2B) payments, these ground level experiments
have underscored access to working capital as a critical need for merchants, and potential precursor
for digital payment acceptance. The hypothesis here is that easier availability of capital through
online lending will be a catalyst to drive adoption of digital payments, both as a way to repay the loan,
and accept consumer money. If merchants are required to repay loans digitally (and perhaps also
pay their distributors digitally), will this induce them to accept digital money so they don’t have to
convert cash received from customers to electronic value?
These specific experiments conducted with iSpirt are a first step in answering this question. Yet,
they have generated powerful and actionable insights. First, they validate the enormous potential of
India Stack in digitizing small businesses and opening economic opportunities to the poor. Second,
they highlight the need for greater merchant awareness and compelling value propositions to drive
merchant adoption. Third, they suggest further regulatory changes and policy-based incentives will
be needed to harness the full potential of the “India Stack” and unleash financial inclusion at scale.
More work needs to be done to tie these experiments to other parts of the ecosystem and use
online lending as a driver for C2B digital payments. Leveraging state-of-the-art technologies like
UPI in partnership with NPCI will be one such promising direction to explore in the future. We’re
grateful to the ISpirt team for pioneering this important study and look forward to a continued
collaboration to test, learn and scale merchant centric payment innovation. We are also indebted to
all the participants – namely, Capital Float, Eko, Axis Bank, Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Suvidhaa,
ZestMoney, eMudhra and Khosla Labs – for contributing to these learnings by being responsive
and transparent on their experience. I’d also like to thank Dalberg for their exceptional strategic
leadership in making this possible.
Finally, I am thrilled to announce the next phase of the GoI & USAID partnership by introducing
CATALYST: Inclusive Cashless Payment Partnership. CATALYST is an operational initiative, housed
in IFMR LEAD, focused on identifying business models and incentives for transitioning merchants
and consumers to digital. Given numerous stakeholders in the payments chain, scaling new digital
solutions requires solving multiple coordination problems, which in turn necessitates a holistic,
ecosystem-based approach. We intend to follow this path and coordinate multiple technology, policy
and institutional experiments to move the needle on digital payments.
Badal Malick
CEO, CATALYST
New Delhi
3. 1
iSPIRT is a “think tank” dedicated to counseling and endorsing existing Indian software product companies
1.0 Summary
It is well acknowledged that access to formal credit remains an important unmet financing need in
India. On the borrower’s side, there are two key issues – (i) their inability to meet banks’ traditional
lending criteria, and (ii) a mismatch of available credit products with the financing need. On the
lenders’ side the high cost of lending (driven by high customer acquisition/ onboarding cost), and
low revenues (e.g. through interest payments on small ticket loans) lower the overall profitability of
serving the low income segment, limiting the value proposition for traditional financial institutions.
Broadly speaking, there are two levers that can help unlock credit for low income customers (and
broader financial inclusion in the country) – (i) using proxies to assess credit worthiness, and (ii)
using technology to reduce the costs to serve the financially excluded. The emergence of digital
payments, and the creation of digital data trails (e.g., transaction histories) provide a unique new
source of information to unblock credit services for this segment. Secondly, replacing costly, and time
consuming procedures such as collection and storage of paper records (bank statements, ITR, KYC,
etc.), scrutiny of “wet signatures”, and secure handling of physical cash, can reduce the overall costs
to acquire and serve low income customers. This is where the India Stack project is relevant.
2.0 About India Stack
The genesis of India Stack can be traced back to the Government of India’s Open API Policy (2015).
The policy stated that the Government envisaged making its services digitally accessible to citizens
through multiple channels, such as web, mobile and common service delivery outlets. Further, the
Digital India campaign launched by the Prime Minister in 2015 reinforced India’s focus on digitization
and build-out of digital infrastructure as a key strategic priority. In order to facilitate this process, the
iSPIRT1
team conceptualized the “India Stack,” a set of powerful open and programmable capabilities.
It is designed to have 4 distinct layers
„„ A presence-less layer where a universal biometric digital identity allows people to
participate in any service from anywhere in the country;
„„ A paper-less layer where digital records move with an individual’s digital identity,
eliminating the need for massive amount of paper collection and storage;
„„ A cashless layer where a single interface to all the country’s bank accounts and wallets
democratizes payments; and
„„ A consent layer which allows user data to move efficiently and securely based on user
consent and control;
Each layer of the India Stack has a specific technology - Aadhaar authentication and eKYC, eSign and
Digilocker, Unified Payments Interface, and consent architecture - with corresponding public APIs,
under India’s Open API policy.
4. 3.0 Overview of Pilots
This note captures the learnings from two proof of concept projects focused on disbursing small
ticket size loans to financially underserved communities by using digital data trails as proxies for
credit appraisal. Both these projects leveraged one or more layers of the India Stack, which, makes
it easier for digital pioneers to run faster, reach more people by enabling a paperless, presence-less,
cashless transaction experience. These projects thus take the first step in achieving the vision of
providing small ticket, collateral free, low interest institutional credit to the financially underserved in
India, thus building on the JAM trinity (i.e., functionalities enabled by the consolidation of Jan Dhan,
Aadhaar and mobile phone), the vision of Digital India and India Stack.
Figure 1: Base model on which the projects were built
a) Consumers carry out digital transactions which are stored/archived by the data provider
b) Data providers may share this data trail with data aggregators
1. Consumers approach the market place to request for a loan and provide informed consent to share data with lenders
2. The market place player relays this request immediately to lenders
3. Lenders request the data aggregator to share consumers data
4. The data aggregator shares consumers data for processing (processing may be done by lenders or third parties)
5. Processed data reaches lenders who can now underwrite loans after assessing credit worthiness
6. Lenders provide consumers with laon offers through the market palce
7. Consumer receives the loan (digitally)
Independent parallel process that
takes place regardless of the loan
disbursal process
5. The first study referred to as Project A throughout this document brought together Capital Float
(marketplace/lender), Aditya Birla Finance Limited (lender) and Eko (remittance data provider). Eko
merchants who carried out remittance based transactions through the Eko wallet received small ticket
size loans within minutes of applying for the loan on a mobile-based app created by Capital Float. By
using eKYC (for verification), eSign (for the loan agreement) and Aadhaar (for authentication), Capital
Float’s objective was to enable a presence-less, paperless and cashless loan application experience
for the merchant using the India Stack platform, which included using remittance based transaction
data consensually as a proxy for credit appraisal.
Figure 2: Project A Workflow
6. The second study (Project B), was based on the partnership between Suvidhaa and Axis bank, where
Suvidhaa customers (comprising the financially underserved segment) received short-term, small
ticket size loans at Suvidhaa retail outlets. Even though this was an assisted model where retailers
carried out the eKYC process and eventually handed over a prepaid card (PPC) to the customer, the
entire process was cashless and the customer was able to access the money within 24 hours. In this
project too, Suvidhaa used the customer’s transaction based digital trail to assess credit worthiness.
Figure 3: Project B Workflow
4.0 Key Findings
An overview of the key findings from both projects covering the borrower, lender and the ecosystem
perspective is presented below. Broadly, these studies provide clear evidence that the India Stack
can transform the way in which financial services such as credit are made available to scores of
financially underserved consumers. However, fully realizing the benefit of the India Stack requires
overcoming a range of roadblocks which are regulatory, technical, operational and behavioral in
nature.
Customer comes to the Suvidhaa retail
outlet to avail the loan
Retailer feeds the customer’s mobile
number on the Suvidhaa portal to check
for loan eligibility
If eligible, the retailer asks the customer
to scan his finger for biometric
Aadhar based eKYC
On verification, an online form
(undertaking) gets displayed which is
downloaded by the retailer and printed out
Retailer asks the customer to sign (thumb print)
the form if he agrees to the terms of the loan and
also fill in an OTP number (that the customer
receives) to confirm consent of loan terms
Customer can withdraw money from the
ATM or use it at a POS machine
If approved, the money is transferred to
the PPC that the customer receives
(within 12 hours)
Axis Bank calls the customer to confirm his
credit need and lets him know if he will
receive the loan (within 2 hours)
Retailer uploads the form with the customer’s
signature, OTP number and PPC (given to the
customer) number on the platform
This form is accessed by Axis Bank
which performs a few preliminary CIBIL
checks before approving the loan
7. 4.1 User Experience
a) The loan addressed a significant unmet need. Across both studies, the credit product addressed
an important existing financing need of the customer. For Eko merchants under project A,
the loan provided by Capital Float was a novel, hassle-free product, which they could access
without going through traditional bank processes considered complicated and time consuming.
Likewise, for Suvidhaa customers under project B, who received “nano” loans from Axis Bank,
the loan replaced a very inconvenient informal channel of credit. Most of these customers
were daily-wage construction workers, tailors and roadside vendors, with absolutely no access
to formal credit. They often experienced the need for working capital (small ticket sizes for
lesser time durations), which they meet through informal borrowing at interest rates of 36% to
60% per annum. Further, they were often forced to borrow additional loans to repay the interest
accumulated from a previous one, putting them into an endless debt cycle.
b) The loan access channel worked efficiently compared to traditional mechanisms, but there
were key operational and regulatory challenges that, if solved, could make the process even
more seamless. In both studies, beneficiaries were able to access loans far more conveniently
(i.e., without submitting extensive paperwork) and quickly (i.e., under 10 minutes through a
mobile interface) than loans accessible via traditional avenues. However, a few operational
and regulatory challenges prevented the activation of all the layers of the India Stack. For
instance, project participants had to collect physical documents from merchants because it
is believed that RBI2
explicitly recognizes only biometric based Aadhaar eKYC and has not
clarified its stance on the OTP linked Aadhaar eKYC. Similarly, a successful OTP-based eKYC
process requires that the Aadhaar database be updated with the Aadhaar holders’ current and
operational mobile number. Therefore, merchants who did not have their Aadhaar card linked
to their mobile numbers could not complete eKYC seamlessly.
c) Customers were willing to give consent and did not seem concerned about data security and
privacy issues. In both the studies, customers were informed that their remittance transaction
history was being used as an indicator to offer loans. However, customers did not have any
concerns around misuse or privacy of their data, and seemed content sharing it to access
credit. Given the low level of digital literacy in this customer segment, whether the real potential
implications of sharing data were actually interpreted by customers will have to be explored
further.
4.2 Lender Experience
a) Lenders were able to access a new segment of customers. The project enabled lenders and
merchants to test out new value propositions, in terms of:
„„ channel of activity (offline vs. online): Lenders were able to tap into net new customer
segments. For instance: from catering to online merchants, Capital float was able to
provide small ticket size loans to off-line merchants,
„„ size (low vs. high turnover): Lenders were able to underwrite loans for businesses
which reported lower turnovers compared to their traditional customers
2
https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=8357&Mode=0
8. „„ level of financing need (small vs. large ticket size): Beneficiaries were able to access
loan amounts as low as INR7500,
„„ tenure preference (short vs. long term credit): Lenders were able to give out loans for
tenures ranging from 6 to 18 months.
Overall, lenders were able to service consumers from much lower income segments (vs. their
traditional customers), providing small-sized “nano” loans compared to typical MFI loans.
b) Lenders were optimistic that the India Stack would bring down their cost of lending over
time3
, thus allowing them to offer borrowers more favorable terms. However, the full potential
of these cost savings will be realized once all India Stack layers are utilized. As described
above, certain operational and regulatory challenges prevented this.
Figure 4: Cost comparison across projects (in INR)4
c) Certain lenders had to deploy physical staff to coach customers on the functionality and
usability of the mobile based app. This is an additional effort component to be factored in
when envisaging the scale-up of such initiatives. This points to a major digital literacy gap
in the country especially amongst the low income users and could be a significant challenge
to rapid scaling. However, stakeholders interviewed were convinced and remained enthusiastic
that the level of effort required for onboarding customers would come down as users develop
more trust and comfort in accessing such digitally channeled loans.
d) Remittance data, where used (Project A), proved a good enough proxy to underwrite small
ticket-size unsecured loans; however, there is potential to use other forms of data like online
transaction history, POS data, etc.) for lending. For example, Suvidhaa loans (under Project B)
were disbursed on the basis of a more layered and nuanced dataset (with a 12-month vintage),
which in turn comprised ~85 parameters including remittance based transaction history.
3
Subject to technology adoption and scale-up
4
These costs are indicative
130
55
30
The largest cost component here is the PPC
provided by Axis Bank - Suvidhaa (INR 50)
Project A Project B
Only the costs of eKYC and eSign add up,
making this the most cost effective model
If all the layers
of the stack are
activated
9. 4.3 Technology Integrators
a) Although there were no major operational issues in technology integration, some technology
readiness from Application Service Providers (ASP) is recommended. The experience of
Capital Float & Suvidhaa suggests that there is a need for technology readiness from
the conception stage to facilitate ease of integration. Both KUAs5
recommend the use of the
pre-production platform for testing purposes before deploying a real-time enterprise level
platform6
. Designing an application which factors in integration at the conception stage can
help speed up the integration process and subsequent deployment
4.4 Broader Impact on Financial Inclusion
Digital trails can serve as sufficient data points for lenders to assess credit worthiness of customers
and offer credit; however, customers seem unable to establish a link between digital payments
(which create digital trails) and access to financial services. More education and awareness around
this at the time of loan marketing will be helpful to drive adoption of digital payments and to create
richer data trails. All the Eko merchants interviewed were online banking users and used their debit
cards for online shopping. Some of these merchants also used multiple platforms such as Demo (for
mobile recharge) and Suvidhaa (for online bill payments). These merchants were fairly comfortable
with “digital” in general, however they explicitly mentioned a preference for cash for their personal
transactions. This highlights the need for more education around the benefits of digital payments and
the linkages between daily digital transactions and creation of data trails. Suvidhaa customers who
were interviewed were not as tech savvy – neither did they own smart phones nor did they use debit
cards for purchases. In fact, they used their bank accounts solely to remit money to their families.
These customers too are unlikely to truly understand the implications of data trails and would require
awareness and capacity building efforts to be influenced to transact digitally.
5
KUA is a KYC user agency that enables providers to carry out Aadhaar based eKYC via the UIDAI server
6
eMudhra mandates the use of a pre-production platform to test the platform and carry out 50 iterations of eSign before
deploying a real-time platform. Khosla labs is not prescriptive in this regard and allows the sub KUA to make the choice
based on their self-assessment of technology readiness
10. 5.0 Recommendations to Unlock Full Potential and Scale
Based on the learning of the two studies, we have outlined a set of high level recommendations for
key ecosystem players below:
Relevant stakeholder High-level policy recommendation
Regulators and
policy makers
a) Provide clarity in regulations around Aadhaar based eKYC
b) Provide clarity around applicability of authentication and
verification (eKYC) processes in the lending business
c) Streamline auto debit (ECS, NACH and Postdated cheques) methods
d) Promote concerted efforts to drive consumers to update Aadhaar
records
e) Promote market competitiveness to drive down cost of eSign
Lenders and
marketplaces
a) Educate customers (with low levels of awareness) on the creation and
import of data trails and its true implication for financial inclusion
b) Invest in promoting technology adoption and building user friendly
platforms to gain end user trust and comfort
c) Experiment with different business models to find the market “sweet
spot”
Technology
Integrators
a) Streamline access and integration of eKYC and eSign
b) Collaborate more effectively with all stakeholders to educate
consumers and ease adoption of key services like eKYC and eSign
11. An iSPIRTed Acknowledgement
iSPIRT foundation connects and guides software product entrepreneurs and catalyzes business
growth. It aims to be an enabler of a stronger software ecosystem. We are a not-for-profit industry
think-tank founded by key participants of the Indian software product industry. One of our key
activities is to evangelize and drive the adoption of the “India Stack”.
Ever since the Government of India launched the Open API policy in 2015, iSPIRT has worked as
a pro-bono partner with various departments in the development, evolution and evangelization of
Open APIs. Around February 2015, we felt that the India Stack had become capable of rolling out a
cashless, presence-less, paperless loan while being fully compliant with regulatory requirements.
We felt the most compelling way to showcase the potential of the stack was to show it in action in
the real world. On March 3rd, 2015 we called an ecosystem workshop where we invited the relevant
stakeholders from lenders to technology players decided to launch the pilot. What followed was one
of the most intense and insightful periods in the development of the India Stack.
The team went from concept to go live in just two months, and ran the pilot for another 90 days.
What had begun as a small sampling of concept documents and bold ideas, blossomed into an entire
ecosystem that demonstrated it’s utility in the real India to real Indians. We’re confident that the
model that was deployed during the pilot will serve as the bedrock of financial services innovation
going forward.
This journey would not have been possible without the support of the extended iSPIRT family who
responded to our call with speed and a spirit of adventure. In particular we’d like to thank the
following: Khosla Labs for providing AUA, KUA services for free. eMudhra for being our eSign service
provider, and for generously waiving fees while working to onboard all the partners in a compressed
timeframe for the pilot. All our partners, namely Capital Float, Eko, Axis Bank, and Suvidhaa for
enthusiastically supporting us, while setting aside their competitive instincts to collaborate and
sharing learnings. And finally, to the volunteers of iSPIRT, who despite having full-time jobs, worked
tirelessly to ensure the success of the pilot and became the glue that bound all the players together
to ensure success.
Sanjay Jain
iSPIRT
Bangalore