DPI Brief — April 22, 2026

Today’s DPI Updates (7 Layers)

L1: Identity & Authentication

IT Ministry rules out mandatory Aadhaar app pre-installation on smartphones
In a significant policy reversal, India’s Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has rejected UIDAI’s proposal to mandate pre-installation of the Aadhaar authentication app on smartphones. UIDAI had in January 2026 asked MeitY to engage with Apple, Samsung, Google, and other manufacturers on making the Aadhaar app a mandatory preload. This was the sixth such government push in two years. Citing device security concerns, compatibility issues, and higher production costs (manufacturers would have needed separate production lines for India and export markets), MeitY declined. The decision comes amid ongoing global scrutiny of mandatory ID app requirements on personal devices. Reuters | Developing Telecoms

Census 2027 self-enumeration portal goes live in Haryana, Chandigarh, and other states
The self-enumeration phase of Census 2027 house-listing began on April 16, 2026, in Haryana (including Gurgaon and Faridabad), Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Citizens can register and complete the process online via se.census.gov.in. The digital enumeration exercise is expected to integrate with India’s DPI stack for identity verification and data deduplication. Economic Times

L2: Payments & Financial Rails

UPI crosses 22.6 billion transactions in March 2026; 691 banks live
NPCI data shows UPI processed 22,641.11 million transactions worth ₹29,52,542.05 crore in March 2026 — the highest volume figure recorded. The number of banks live on UPI reached 691, up from 216 in 2021. This represents ~50x growth in five years. The ecosystem continues to see rapid merchant QR adoption and P2M (person-to-merchant) transaction growth. February 2026 recorded 20,394.18 million transactions (₹26,84,229.29 crore), showing month-over-month growth momentum. NPCI | PIB Press Note

India’s credit-invisible workforce: 40–50 crore individuals lack formal credit access
An Economic Times analysis highlights that over 90% of India’s workforce is in the informal sector, with 40–50 crore individuals classified as credit-invisible or thin-file. The article argues that India’s digital financial infrastructure — UPI transaction history, bill payments, and recharge patterns — captures sufficient behavioral data to assess creditworthiness of this excluded population. The piece advocates for leveraging UPI’s open data rails to build alternative credit scoring, reducing dependence on traditional banking footprints. Economic Times

L3: Documents & Data Exchange

No major DigiLocker or eSign announcements this week
DigiLocker and eSign saw no significant policy or product updates in the past 24 hours. The infrastructure remains operational for document exchange and digital signature workflows across various government services.

L4: Commerce & Logistics

Union Budget 2026-27 signals crop-specific DPI approach for agriculture
The Union Budget 2026-27 marked a strategic shift toward crop-specific and regionally aligned strategies for agriculture. The government noted that India’s agricultural sector grew at a record 4.45% annually over the last decade. The coconut sector was highlighted specifically — supporting 30 million people including 10 million farmers — with India ranking second globally in coconut production. This aligns with the broader AgriStack initiative to digitize farm data and provide farmers with DPI-backed services. GeM (Government e-Marketplace) continues to serve as the procurement backbone for government purchases. Lokmat Times

L5: Sectoral Infrastructure

No significant ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) or eCourts updates this cycle
Health stack and court digitization initiatives remain in ongoing operation without major new announcements in the past 24 hours. The ABHA ecosystem covers over 700 million health accounts as of recent disclosures.

L6: Governance & Grievance

No significant CPGRAMS or eOffice announcements this cycle
The Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and eOffice digitisation initiatives continue without new updates in this period.

L7: Security, Privacy & Trust

Microsoft patches 169 vulnerabilities including actively exploited SharePoint zero-day
Microsoft’s April 2026 Patch Tuesday addressed a record 169 security flaws, including one actively exploited zero-day dubbed “BlueHammer” that was publicly released on GitHub on April 3 by a disgruntled security researcher. The vulnerability allows privilege escalation via Microsoft Defender update process through Volume Shadow Copy abuse. CISA has added it to the known exploited vulnerabilities catalog. The Hacker News

IBM, OpenAI release AI-native cybersecurity tools as agentic attack threats emerge
IBM announced “Autonomous Security” — a suite of AI agents that automate vulnerability remediation at machine speed — to counter threats from frontier AI models capable of vulnerability discovery and autonomous attacks. Separately, OpenAI launched GPT-5.4-Cyber, optimised for defensive cybersecurity, and expanded its Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC) program to thousands of defenders. The developments signal a new phase in the cybersecurity arms race as AI lowers the barrier for both attackers and defenders. IBM | The Hacker News

India moves to attract $150 billion in data center investments
India is offering new tax breaks to accelerate data center development, with industry players announcing over $150 billion in investments. Despite having over 650 million smartphone users and 1 billion internet subscribers, India has lagged in data center capacity relative to global peers. The push aligns with the government’s digital infrastructure goals and data sovereignty objectives under DPDP Act compliance frameworks. Bloomberg Law

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