Applying The Cil Framework To Dpis: Considerations, Challenges And Opportunities

Crucial towards making digital access more inclusive and public service deliveries more trustworthy, would be a well-rounded understanding of the concept of digital public infrastructure (DPI) on the part of policymakers. Such an understanding would need to be cognizant of the risk of questionable assertions of national security, and its inherent tensions with the developmental aspirations of DPI. This is particularly so for two reasons. First, DPIs are conceptually overlapping and often legally intertwined with critical information infrastructure (CII), a concept borne from national security policy. Second, there exists an inherent conceptual tension between DPI and CII wherein, the establishment and delivery of DPI values openness, interoperability, and efficiency on one hand, on the other hand CII leans in the opposite direction, towards emphasizing stricter restrictions, controls, and security measures. In light of this inherent tension between these two concepts that often concurrently provide designations and cause regulatory implications for the same assets, this policy brief provides an insight into what considerations, challenges and gains might arise for policymakers. It does so by citing the development and deployment of DPI and their designations as CII in India particularly. This focus is justified by India’s status as an emerging economy where such designations have recently occurred and by the Indian government being a major proponent of the DPI concept in recent years. The policy brief’s recommendations are aimed at the G20 forum and consensus amongst its members would be crucial for a global impact on the issue. However, its core arguments would be relevant to all states aiming to modernize their DPI policy frameworks.