India ready to share experience of bridging gender divide through digital public infrastructure: Union Minister Annapurna Devi

United Nations: India has voiced its willingness to share with the world its experiences of using digital public infrastructure to bridge the gender digital divide, as top UN leaders lauded measures taken by the country towards scaling digital financial inclusion.

“India is moving ahead with women-led development, building a country where women lead the way as active architects by participating from conceptualisation to design, implementation and monitoring the measure that shapes India's development trajectory toward a developed nation,” Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi said.

She was at the UN headquarters on Wednesday to attend an event organised on the sidelines of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Devi addressed the Ministerial-level roundtable organised by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN and UN Women on ‘Digital & Financial Inclusion for women’s empowerment’ and ‘Financing for Women empowerment - criticality of core resources’.

Underscoring the transformative power of digital public infrastructure to bridge the gender digital divide and build a resilient government system, Devi said “India is happy to share its experience with the world” and highlighted the critical need for resources to realise the vision of women-led development.

The Ministerial roundtable provided a platform to share experiences of Member States, especially from the Global South and hear their views on how UN Women can better leverage its mandate to provide effective and strategic support to Member States in delivering on their commitments on gender equality and women’s rights and empowerment.

Devi is leading India’s delegation at CSW, the world’s largest annual conference focused on women’s issues currently underway at the UN Headquarters. The 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women kicked off on March 10 and will run through March 21.

Devi highlighted that the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) developed in India has transformed the system of routine transactions, completely digitalised the field of full data protection, with 87.35 million transactions growing 147% in terms of volume. 

“This has transcended barriers of gender, urban, rural, rich and poor and women are increasingly taking ownership of digital payment interface,” she said.

Devi stressed that nations have to be mindful of the fact that while promotion of digital inclusion of women is of paramount importance, at the same time, protection of security and privacy of data must be ensured.

“Hence, in today's technologically advanced world, there is a need for balancing regulation for the safe and responsible use of technology, especially in leveraging e-governance for social protection system. Digital public infrastructure should be a bridge, not a barrier,” she said.

She added that the Indian government is seized of the fact that a safe digital environment is a must for ensuring women's dignity and participation in nation building.

She highlighted that in India, women are at the centre of cutting-edge technological innovations, leading from the forefront in fields varying from space exploration, artificial intelligence to renewable energy and piloting initiatives such as ‘Drone Didi’ in rural areas.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador P Harish emphasised how 'Aadhaar', India’s unique foundational ID system and the Unified Payments Interface have benefited over 250 million Indian women through seamless transactions.

He also noted that during India's G20 presidency, the country established a Women’s Empowerment Working Group to advance this important agenda.  UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous lauded India's leadership in developing the India stack and unified payments interface.

"We must dismantle the barriers that keep women from the digital and financial systems that hold them back. That is where solutions must meet ambitions. Governments must invest in public digital infrastructure that puts women first," Bahous said.

"India's leadership in developing the India stack and unified payments interface (UPI) proves what is possible when inclusion is at the core of innovation,” Bahous added.

The UN official further said that in India, “we have seen the power of digital financial inclusion through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,” adding that digital payments have increased women's employment and autonomy.  She stressed that it must be ensured that women's economic empowerment is at the centre of discussions on reforming the international financial architecture.

“This is not an optional agenda. This is the blueprint for a better world. Let us be bold. Let us be restless. Let us refuse to accept a world where half the population is held back. The future is digital. The future must be financially inclusive. And if we get this right, the future won't just promise equality, it will guarantee it,” she said.