Financial TimesFinancial Times

India’s big idea to bring the digital marketplace to the masses

By Chris Campbell, Benjamin Parkin, John Reed

20 Apr 2023 · 10 min read

Editor's Note

India’s digital infrastructure has been described as a world-beating solution for bringing the poor online. But as the scope and ambition of the push grow, so too do concerns, reports FT.

A decade ago, Tej Pal signed up for India’s Aadhaar biometric identity scheme, acquiring his first national ID card.

A few years later the 44-year-old, who sells fruit near Delhi, used it to open his first bank account. Last year he took a loan to buy his first smartphone to sign up for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s digital money system.

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