India, Jan. 30 -- India's digital public infrastructure is no longer a concept under construction. It is used every day, everywhere. Aadhaar has become the backbone of identity across banking, welfare, and travel.

UPI processes billions of transactions a month, placing the power of digital finance in the hands of both a roadside vendor and a national retailer.

DigiLocker has eased reliance on paper records. ONDC is providing micro and small enterprises with a path to digital commerce. Public Wi-Fi is steadily expanding, with more access points being added across the country.

This foundation has transformed lives, but the difficult question is what comes next. A nation of 1.4 billion cannot rely solely on scale. It requires infrastructu...