A high-level symposium on digital public infrastructure (DPI) was held on Thursday, February 23, at the start of the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting.

The participants in the symposium included prominent leaders like Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Indonesia FM Dr Sri Mulyani Indrawati, International Monetary Fund MD Kristalina Georgieva, Governor of Central Bank of Brazil Roberto de Oliveira Campos Neto, and GM of Bank for International Settlements Agustin Carstens. The session was moderated by Nandan Nilekani.

During the symposium, FM Sitharaman discussed the success of India's Aadhaar-enabled DPI in transforming the country's economy and empowering billions of people. She highlighted the significance of UPI, CoWin, Account Aggregator, eKYC, and how they have contributed to the country's economic growth.

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The high-level symposium on DPI also saw insightful discussions on inclusive growth, resilience, and innovation. The participants discussed how the adoption of digital public infrastructure could lead to inclusive economic growth and enhance the resilience of financial systems.

Day 2 of the FMCBG meeting will have two primary activities in addition to the symposium — the route to policy consensus on crypto assets and utilising national payment systems to improve cross-border payment arrangements.

A preview of the RBI's e-currency was also presented in conjunction with the FMCBG meeting. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the digital rupee or India's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is a digital token that serves as legal tender and is regarded as fiat money. The denominations of digital rupee are the same as those of the present paper money and coins.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)