India’s Digital Revolution: UPI and the ‘India Stack’ Changed the fate of 65 crore Indians, know how

India Stack Digital Public Infrastructure: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in India, i.e. ‘India Stack’ has made access to digital services easy and secure at every corner. Initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI, Bharat Connect, e-Rupi, Fastag and DigiLocker are bringing digital revolution in the everyday lives of citizens.

‘India Stack’ is an open-source digital framework. Its objective is to provide secure, fast and inclusive digital services to the citizens of the country. Services like Aadhaar, UPI, Bharat Connect (formerly BBPS), e-Rupi, Fastag and DigiLocker are part of this framework. These initiatives have played an important role in making government and private services widely accessible through digital medium.

PhonePe, a leading fintech platform based on this DPI model, has made digital payments a part of the everyday life of common people. Its core offering is UPI, which has promoted digital payments in more than 99 percent of pincodes in the country and changed the way millions of Indians transact.

UPI the backbone of digital payments

The main feature of this app, launched in 2016, is UPI based payments. Through this, users can send or receive money to any bank account instantly 24’7. The feature of linking multiple bank accounts in a single app makes it extremely simple and useful.

These facilities are also available in UPI

• UPI Autopay:- Facility to set auto-debit mandate for recurring payments like mobile bill, electricity bill, EMI, OTT subscription, insurance premium or mutual funds.
• UPI Lite:- Pin-free and faster payment solution for small transactions up to Rs 1,000, thereby reducing the burden on the banking system.
• UPI Circle:- The ability to allow a limited amount of payments to a trusted person (such as a parent or youth member), allowing even unbanked members to make secure transactions.
• UPI Wallet:- This wallet is completely interoperable with UPI. Users can make wallet payments on any UPI QR code or send money to any UPI ID.
• Bharat Connect Services:- This interoperable platform simplifies various bill payments. Many services like mobile and broadband recharge, insurance premium, loan and credit card payments, electricity-water-gas bills, Fastag recharge, school fees, municipal tax and donation are available on a single app.
• E-KYC:- Aadhaar based e-KYC makes identity verification instant and paperless. From this
• financial Services:- For example, the onboarding process for loans, insurance and investments has become easier and faster. It is also helpful for merchants in identity verification.
• RuPay Credit Card on UPI:- Credit payments have been simplified by linking the RuPay network to the UPI ID. With this, users get the benefit of digital credit and merchants also become part of the credit ecosystem through QR codes.

Also read:- MMRDA budget will increase the speed of Metro-5, Rs 4897 crore will change the picture of Kalyan’s transport

Strengths and extensions of the DPI model

Proof of the power of DPI is seen in its sheer breadth. This platform has reached 99.9 percent pin codes. As per the data till 30 September 2025, there are more than 657.56 million registered users and 47.19 million registered merchants. 90.27 billion customer transactions and 42.66 billion merchant transactions in FY2025.

According to Sensor Tower, PhonePe was India’s most downloaded Android finance app in H1FY26, recording 156 million daily active users.
The “India Stack” model exemplifies a strong public-private partnership by combining public digital goods and private innovation. This model is moving India towards an inclusive, secure and sustainable digital economy.