THE Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is looking to collaborate with foreign countries and international organisations to build digital identity systems across the world, a top official said on Friday.

UIDAI CEO Saurabh Garg during a panel discussion with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma at the Infinity Forum said, the authority is also exploring emerging technology to enhance security and increase the number of transactions that can be done by using Aadhaar.

“We think going forward we will be happy to collaborate with other nations... We would like to collaborate with international organisations also in building international institutions for standards for national identity. We look forward to future years to collaborate with different nations and see that digital identity, which becomes a means of empowerment, is available across the world,” Garg said.

He said, 99.5 per cent of the population in India now has Aadhaar and 50 million authentication is done on a daily basis for verifying various transactions.

Garg in a different event on Thursday had said UIDAI is working with the World Bank and the United Nations to replicate the Aadhaar architecture in other countries.

When asked about technology work at UIDAI, Garg in the Infinity Forum event said, “We want to look at quantum computing on how to strengthen security, blockchain and we are also looking at artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning(ML).”

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India’s digital public infrastructure solutions can improve the lives of citizens around the world. Speaking at the Infinity Forum organised by Bloomberg and IFSCA, he said via video link: “We believe in sharing our experiences and expertise with the world and learning from them as well.”

“Tools like ‘UPI’ and ‘RuPay’ provide an unparalleled opportunity for every country. An opportunity to provide a low cost and reliable ‘real time payment system’ as well as a ‘domestic card scheme’ and ‘fund remittance system’.” According to the Prime Minister, India has proved to the world that it is second to none when it comes to adopting technology or innovating around it.

“Transformational initiatives under Digital India have opened doors for innovative Fintech solutions to be applied in governance.

PM Modi cited successes achieved with ‘Jan Dhan’ Accounts, ‘Rupay’, ‘FastTag’, and other such initiatives taken by the Centre.

He mentioned that last year, in India, mobile payments exceeded ATM cash withdrawals for the first time. The Prime Minister said that fully digital banks, without any physical branch offices, are already a reality and may become commonplace in less than a decade.

Besides, he said, the time has come to convert these “FinTech initiatives into a FinTech revolution”. “A revolution that helps to achieve financial empowerment of every single citizen of the country.” Furthermore, he emphasised on FinTech security.

“Common Indian has shown immense trust in our FinTech ecosystem by embracing digital payments and such technologies,” he said.

“This trust is a responsibility. Trust means that you need to ensure that the interests of the people are secured.”

In addition, PM Modi said that finance combined with technology would be an important part of India’s future development.

“Our aim is to provide the best international financial services not just for Indians, but for the world,” he added.

FINANCE Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called for a “collective global action” for effective regulation of ever-changing technology and tech-driven payment systems.

So far, regulators are only “catching-up” in regulating ever-evolving technology and hence there is no one point formula with which it can be regulated, she said.

Her comments also come against the backdrop of the Government preparing to come out with legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. “Even as we are thinking about at a national level, there should simultaneously be a global mechanism through which we are constantly monitoring the movement of technology, so that whether it is your cryptocurrency, whether it is tech-driven payment system, data privacy, whether it is ensuring that data is used ethically...

“When you are looking at data as one of the revenue generating options, to regulate it will have to be a collective effort,” Sitharaman said.

Speaking at the InFinity Forum 2021, she said technology respects no physical borders and has the power to sweep through borders. “... It means that global action is the only way with which you can regulate effectively.”