India Urges WTO Push For Secure Global Digital Public Infrastructure To Support MSMEs & E-Commerce

New Delhi, Nov 1 (KNN) India has called for intensified discussions at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on promoting secure and interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI) to support e-commerce and prevent market dominance by major technology companies. 

In a communication submitted to the WTO, India said such an approach would help foster competition, expand opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and bridge the digital divide affecting developing and least developed countries.

India urged member countries to explore how the WTO and the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) could support global adoption of DPI frameworks and technology exchange, PTI reported. 

It argued that DPI — including systems such as digital identity platforms, secure payment rails and open commerce networks — can provide scalable and interoperable foundations for online commerce, enabling wider participation in the global digital economy.

India said international cooperation on DPI would help address gaps in digital infrastructure and technology access that constrain developing economies, and suggested that the TRIPS Council consider developing an online platform to facilitate technology sharing. 

It stressed that a renewed focus on the intersection of digital public infrastructure, intellectual property and e-commerce rules is timely, noting that discussions on digital trade issues under the WTO’s existing e-commerce work programme have seen limited progress in recent years.

Highlighting its own experience, India pointed to Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) as examples of DPI models that have supported digital transformation domestically and are being replicated in countries such as Singapore, the UAE, Brazil and Estonia. 

A robust digital architecture, India said, would be key to enabling developing nations to participate more meaningfully in international e-commerce markets.

(KNN Bureau)