Deep Dive

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | April 07, 2026 Focus Layer: L2 Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) Coverage Period: March 31 - April 07, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L2 Payments layer witnessed significant policy shifts and infrastructure enhancements. NPCI reduced UPI fees for RuPay credit card transactions, while the BHIM app introduced biometric authentication for payments up to ₹5,000. New RBI security mandates took effect April 1, requiring additional authentication beyond OTP. However, infrastructure resilience remains a concern following the fourth UPI outage in March. Meanwhile, toll collections via UPI hit a record ₹82,900 crore, with cash payments set to be eliminated from April 10. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Monday | April 06, 2026 Focus Layer: L1 Identity & Authentication (UIDAI, Aadhaar, eKYC) Coverage Period: March 31 - April 06, 2026 Executive Summary India’s Digital Public Infrastructure saw significant movement in the Identity & Authentication layer this week, dominated by the launch of Census 2027’s self-enumeration portal. The landmark digital initiative leverages Aadhaar-based authentication for citizen verification, marking a pivotal moment for India’s first fully digital census. Senior government officials including the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary completed their self-enumeration, setting an example for nationwide participation. As Phase-I kicks off across states, the convergence of UIDAI’s identity infrastructure with the census apparatus signals increasingly tight integration between Aadhaar and government service delivery. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Sunday | April 05, 2026 Focus Layer: L7 Security, Privacy & Trust Coverage Period: March 29 – April 05, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L7 Security, Privacy & Trust developments centre on two major vectors: the operationalisation of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and ongoing cybersecurity capacity building by CERT-In. The DPDP Rules, notified in November 2025, entered their 18-month compliance transition period, with the Data Protection Board of India now being established in the National Capital Territory. Meanwhile, CERT-In’s 2026 cybersecurity directives have introduced new obligations including mandatory security auditing, enhanced incident reporting timelines, and a space systems cybersecurity framework — reflecting the government’s expanding conception of critical digital infrastructure. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Saturday | April 04, 2026 Focus Layer: L6 Governance & Grievance (DARPG, CPGRAMS, eOffice) Coverage Period: March 29 – April 04, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s governance and grievance layer sees significant activity across India’s Digital Public Infrastructure. CPGRAMS continues its high-volume grievance resolution with 15,319 cases resolved on March 30 and 11,325 on April 1, maintaining an average disposal time of 14 days across central ministries. DARPG announces Sadhana Saptah (April 2-8), a week-long learning initiative for civil servants focused on governance innovation. The Census 2027 self-enumeration portal goes live, representing a major digitization milestone in administrative data collection. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) systems show deeper integration with digital payment infrastructure, while state-level digital governance platforms continue expanding citizen service delivery. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Friday | April 03, 2026 Focus Layer: L5 Sectoral Infrastructure (ABHA, AgriStack, eCourts) Coverage Period: March 27 - April 03, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L5 Sectoral Infrastructure developments showcase India’s accelerating digital health and agriculture integration. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission crossed a significant milestone with 43.52 crore cards created, while the Union Budget 2026-27 announced “Bharat-VISTAAR” — a multilingual AI platform connecting AgriStack with ICAR’s database. The Digital Crop Survey initiative advanced with 19 states initiating Farmer ID generation, and e-Courts Phase 3 continues its judicial modernization journey. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Thursday | April 02, 2026 Focus Layer: L4 Commerce & Logistics (ONDC, GeM) Coverage Period: March 26 - April 02, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L4 Commerce & Logistics layer sees significant momentum as ONDC’s seller network crosses 6 lakh milestones, the WTO e-commerce moratorium expires creating global trade uncertainties, and IMF officially recognises India’s DPI as a global benchmark. Meanwhile, GeM continues expanding MSME participation in government procurement, with over 3 lakh artisans set to benefit from SFURTI-ONDC integration. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Wednesday | April 01, 2026 Focus Layer: L3 Documents & Data Exchange Coverage Period: March 25 - April 01, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L3 Documents & Data Exchange layer sees significant momentum as DigiLocker crosses 67 crore users and approaches 950 crore documents issued. The RBI’s integration of DigiLocker into payment safety protocols marks a pivotal shift in fraud prevention, while CKYC 2.0 and APAAR ID expansions signal deeper ecosystem convergence. Gujarat’s Sugam initiative demonstrates state-level digitization at scale, leveraging DigiLocker, eSign, and API Setu for faceless service delivery. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | March 31, 2026 Focus Layer: L2 Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) Coverage Period: March 24-31, 2026 Executive Summary India’s UPI ecosystem continues its unprecedented growth trajectory, crossing 800 million daily transactions in early March 2026. While PhonePe maintains market leadership, the company has shelved its IPO plans citing geopolitical tensions. International players are circling the Indian market—Apple Pay is reportedly launching mid-2026, while Revolut is betting big on India as a global tech hub. This week’s developments highlight both the resilience of India’s digital payments infrastructure and the intensifying competitive landscape. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Monday | March 30, 2026 Focus Layer: L1 Identity & Authentication (UIDAI, Aadhaar, eKYC) Coverage Period: March 23-30, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s identity layer developments highlight India’s growing role as a global hub for digital identity innovation, with video-based KYC systems developed domestically now being exported to international markets. Meanwhile, the upcoming Census 2027 introduces self-enumeration capabilities, and state-level cybersecurity infrastructure continues expanding with district-level cyber police stations now covering all 75 UP districts. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Sunday | March 29, 2026 Focus Layer: L7 Security, Privacy & Trust (CERT-In, DPDP, TRAI) Coverage Period: March 23-29, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L7 Security, Privacy & Trust layer witnessed India’s most significant cybersecurity development in 2026: CERT-In’s release of the country’s first comprehensive Space Cyber Security Framework at DefSat 2026, formally treating satellite systems as critical national infrastructure. The guidelines mandate Zero Trust architecture, six-hour incident reporting, and quantum-safe cryptography for the space ecosystem. Meanwhile, global supply chain attacks escalated with the Trivy vulnerability compromising CI/CD pipelines, and international debate continues over India’s VPN data logging mandates. CERT-In also conducted cybersecurity training for Delhi government officials, reinforcing domestic capacity building. ...