From Kenya to the Maldives, India Moves to Export Its Digital Architecture

NEW DELHI — India has entered into agreements with 24 countries, including the Maldives, to export its digital public infrastructure model, moving beyond general pledges of bilateral cooperation into concrete technical implementation.

The initiative, aimed at establishing India’s homegrown digital architecture across the Global South, is already under way in several partner nations. A “DigiLocker” system for digital document verification is currently being set up in Kenya and Cuba, whilst efforts to expand India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) across 10 overseas markets are ongoing.

According to details provided by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, India has signed an implementation framework and a non-disclosure agreement with Kenya for the DigiLocker project. Work has also commenced on developing a foundational platform for Cuba following a technical training programme conducted for a Cuban delegation in December 2025 under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation scheme.

“The objective is to position the ‘India Stack’—comprising identity, payment, and service delivery platforms—as a viable development tool for emerging economies,” the ministry noted in its submission.

Beyond identity systems, New Delhi is in discussions with countries including Armenia, Colombia, Fiji, Guyana, Laos, Seychelles, and Venezuela to introduce platforms such as e-Sanjeevani, e-Office, and e-Hospital. Other partner nations involved in the broader infrastructure push include Brazil, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.

India’s digital payment ecosystem has already secured a footprint abroad. Merchants in Bhutan, Cambodia, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates currently accept UPI payments, with Cambodia integrating the system most recently in June 2026. Furthermore, person-to-person cross-border payment links have been established with Singapore, Nepal, and Greece.

Officials added that delegation visits from Indonesia, Nepal, Rwanda, and South Africa have recently taken place to consult with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) as more nations evaluate the framework.