DPI Brief — March 17, 2026
Today’s DPI Updates (7 Layers)
L1: Identity & Authentication
Aadhaar Maintains Record Authentication Volume
Aadhaar, India’s foundational digital identity infrastructure, continues to demonstrate robust growth in authentication volumes. As of March 2025, the platform processed over 247 crore authentication transactions in a single month, contributing to a cumulative total exceeding 2,707 crore transactions throughout FY 2024-25. 1 Face authentication has emerged as a particularly dynamic segment, with 12.54 crore transactions recorded in February 2025, bringing the cumulative face authentication count to 115 crore. 2 The UIDAI-led initiative received the Prime Minister’s Award for Innovation, highlighting its growing adoption across banking, government services, and financial inclusion programs. The Aadhaar e-KYC framework processed 44.63 crore transactions in March 2025, facilitating streamlined identity verification for banking, telecom, and financial services sectors. 3
L2: Payments & Financial Rails
PhonePe Leads UPI Ecosystem as IPO Plans Take Backseat
PhonePe, India’s largest digital payments platform, has temporarily shelved its Initial Public Offering (IPO) plans due to geopolitical tensions and volatile market conditions, according to reports from TechCrunch. 4 Despite this, PhonePe continues to dominate the UPI landscape, processing approximately 9.3 billion transactions worth roughly ₹13.1 trillion (about $141.9 billion) in February 2026, ahead of Google Pay’s 6.8 billion transactions worth around ₹9 trillion. 4 The broader UPI ecosystem processed 20,394.18 million transactions worth ₹26,84,229.29 crore in February 2026, with 694 banks now live on the platform. 5 The government’s push for digital payments in rural areas received a boost with the Union Cabinet approving a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for FY 2024-25 to promote low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M), offering zero MDR on UPI transactions and 0.15% incentive for transactions up to ₹2,000 for small merchants in underserved regions. 6
L3: Documents & Data Exchange
DigiLocker Continues as Digital Document Backbone
DigiLocker remains a critical component of India’s digital document infrastructure, enabling secure storage and sharing of official documents. The platform integrates with various government departments and service providers to facilitate paperless service delivery. As part of the broader DPI stack, DigiLocker works in conjunction with Aadhaar to provide seamless identity verification and document authentication capabilities. The government has emphasized DigiLocker’s role in enabling paperless governance and facilitating real-time verification for services ranging from education to healthcare.
L4: Commerce & Logistics
ONDC Scales to 616+ Cities with 16 Million Orders
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has achieved significant scale expansion, now live across 616+ cities with 26 domains operational on the network. 7 The platform currently has 306 active network participants and 7.64+ lakh sellers/service providers onboarded. 7 ONDC has processed over 16 million total orders since inception, demonstrating growing adoption across retail, food delivery, mobility, and other sectors. 7 The network recently expanded into the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors through an MoU with FICCI. 8 ONDC’s zero-commission SaaS model is charting a path for inclusive growth in India’s mobility ecosystem, as outlined in a whitepaper released earlier. 9
L5: Sectoral Infrastructure
ABHA Gains Momentum in Healthcare Digitalization
The Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) continues to gain momentum as India’s unified health ID system. Integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), ABHA enables citizens to create unique health IDs to access and share medical records across healthcare providers. The platform supports longitudinal health data management, enabling better clinical outcomes and streamlined healthcare delivery. ABHA works in conjunction with DigiLocker for document storage and Aadhaar for identity verification, creating a comprehensive healthcare DPI stack.
L6: Governance & Grievance
Digital Governance Infrastructure Expands
India’s digital governance infrastructure continues to evolve with platforms like CPGRAMS (Central Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System) and eOffice facilitating paperless government operations. The JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) remains foundational for direct benefit transfers and welfare delivery. Digital service delivery has expanded across multiple government touchpoints, with state governments increasingly adopting DPI components for efficient citizen services.
L7: Security, Privacy & Trust
India Outlines AI-Driven Telecom Vision at MWC 2026
At the Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, India’s Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined a comprehensive vision for AI-driven telecom transformation. 10 The minister highlighted that India increased broadband subscribers from 60 million to over 1 billion in a decade while mobile data prices fell from $3 to $0.09 per GB. 10 Programs such as BharatNet and the Bharat 6G Alliance aim to expand fiber access and position India in the development of future wireless technologies. 10 The Bharat 6G Alliance focuses on research into secure, interoperable, and integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. 10 The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) continues to shape India’s data privacy landscape, with implementation frameworks being developed to ensure compliance across digital platforms handling personal data.