Panel Discussion: India’s Digital Public Infrastructure: The Blueprint for Population-Scale Governance

Panelists in this video:
• Dr Ravi Kumar Surpur, Secretary, Department of Information Technology & Communications, Rajasthan
• Lt. Col. Sudharsan B, Director (Tech) & Admin – Technology Development Division, UIDAI, Government of India
• Kumar Rahul, Principal Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Punjab
• Dr. Sourav Kumar Dutta, Chief Technology Officer, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
• Gautam Chatterjee, Country Manager, Select Horizon Government Leader, IBM India and South Asia
• Srikanth RP, Editor, Express Computer, The Indian Express Group (Moderator)

Key Highlights:
[1] Dr Ravi Kumar Surpur, Secretary, Department of Information Technology & Communications, Rajasthan:
+ Rajasthan’s key lesson is that DPI becomes transformative when it moves beyond infrastructure to proactive service delivery, where life events automatically trigger relevant government services without repeated applications.

[2] Lt. Col. Sudharsan B, Director (Tech) & Admin – Technology Development Division, UIDAI, Government of India:
+ The next phase of DPI must focus on trusted, interoperable identities and seamless data exchange, while ensuring that digital services translate into actual benefits for citizens—not just online access.

[3] Kumar Rahul, Principal Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Punjab:
+ AI can shift healthcare from reactive to preventive by using longitudinal data to predict risks and enable timely, personalised interventions.

[4] Dr Sourav Kumar Dutta, Chief Technology Officer, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India:
+ ESIC can leverage its vast data with AI to enable predictive, preventive care and deliver more personalised services to beneficiaries.

[5] Gautam Chatterjee, Country Manager, Select Horizon Government Leader, IBM India and South Asia:
+ DPI at scale needs trusted identities, interoperable databases, strong telecom infrastructure, and a focus on actual citizen outcomes.