Jakarta, 6 August 2025 — In one of the most strategic sessions of the Jakarta Futures Forum (JFF) 2025, digital leaders from across the Global South gathered to address the urgent need to build Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a pathway toward equitable and sustainable transformation. The panel discussion titled “The DPI Dividend: Innovation for the Global South”, held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, served as a platform for India and Indonesia to reaffirm their central roles in driving inclusive digital development.

At the heart of the discussion was the vision and experience of T. Koshy, Founding MD & CEO of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), India, who emphasized that DPI is not merely a technological endeavor, but rather a civic infrastructure—fundamental to achieving digital equity.

“We are not just building a technology system. We are constructing a digital highway—public, open, and collectively owned,” Koshy asserted.

India’s Experience, a Blueprint for the Region

Drawing on India’s experience in establishing systems such as Aadhaar, UPI, and ONDC, Koshy illustrated how governments can enable innovation without monopolizing ecosystems. DPI, he argued, enables public services to reach communities long excluded from formal systems.

“If we want to resolve inequality, we must begin with how we design our digital systems. We need to build not for the market, but for the people,” he said.

While India’s model need not be replicated wholesale, Koshy underscored that its core principles—openness, inclusivity, and neutrality—could serve as a shared foundation for other countries in the Global South, including Indonesia.

Support from Indonesia and Global Stakeholders

Supporting Koshy’s perspective, Vikram Sinha, President and Chief Executive Officer of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Indonesia, emphasized the importance of pairing connectivity with inclusive systems, particularly in an archipelagic nation like Indonesia.

“Digitalization cannot stop in big cities. We must ensure that DPI reaches villages and the most remote communities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mallory Knodel, Executive Director of the Social Web Foundation, United States, highlighted the importance of good governance and justice-centered design in building DPI.

“Digital public infrastructure must be built on values of transparency, accountability, and the protection of human rights. Otherwise, we are simply creating a new form of exclusion,” she noted.

Toward Regional Leadership in Digital Transformation

This discussion reinforced the growing recognition that India and Indonesia—two leading forces in the Global South—are well-positioned to lead the development of a more equitable digital ecosystem. Through DPI, both countries can align their visions and resources to shape a sovereign and responsive digital architecture across the region.

“We’re not trying to replicate Silicon Valley. We’re building our own Jakarta Valley, our own New Delhi Valley—models that are just, open, and relevant,” Koshy declared.

Jakarta Futures Forum 2025 demonstrated that the India–Indonesia collaboration on digital public infrastructure is more than diplomatic rhetoric—it represents a concrete path toward systemic transformation in the region. With T. Koshy as a central voice in the dialogue, the session reinforced a key insight: the digital future of the Global South must be built on inclusive foundations.

“If we want strong democracies, we need digital infrastructure that is equally democratic,” Koshy concluded.