India has been using its G20 leadership to aggressively push its digital public infrastructure, such as UPI and Aadhaar, onto other countries, but the G7 states are cautious in adopting these goods, the Hindustan Times reported on April 13. The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Some of these developed nations are less willing to adopt India's digital public goods for a variety of reasons including pushback from payment giants Visa and Mastercard, as well as issues pertaining to internet and data governance, the report stated. Developing countries in G20, however, have shown more interest in these digital public goods, the report added. “It’s very clear developing countries are more enthusiastic about India’s digital products because they feel these can drive financial inclusion and economic activity, especially in countries where many people don’t have bank accounts or even identity documents," an unnamed source told the news outlet. Why does this matter: Pushing India's digital public infrastructure is one of the key focus areas for the Indian government as part of its G20 presidency. Last month, the government set up a task force dedicated to "globalizing India’s stack." The reluctance shown by the G7 countries might slow down or hamper India's efforts. Why are Visa and Mastercard opposing India's UPI push: The dominance of Visa and Mastercard in India's payments landscape has diminished ever since the launch of UPI and Rupay, with the former now being the most popular digital payments…
