India Stack goes global: DigiLocker work starts in Kenya, Cuba

NEW DELHI: India has signed agreements with 24 countries to export its digital public infrastructure model, moving beyond broad cooperation pledges to begin work on DigiLocker systems in Kenya and Cuba and expand UPI-linked payments across 10 overseas markets. Discussions are also underway with Laos, Seychelles, Venezuela, Armenia, Fiji, Guyana and Colombia for possible adoption of platforms such as e-Sanjeevani, e-Office and e-Hospital.The electronics and information technology ministry told Lok Sabha on Wednesday that India had concluded an implementation framework agreement and a non-disclosure agreement with Kenya for deploying DigiLocker. Development of a foundational DigiLocker platform has also begun in Cuba.The agreements provide for capacity building, exchange of technical knowledge and best practices, expert consultations, joint workshops, feasibility studies and pilot projects. The partner countries include Kenya, Cuba, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Maldives, Mongolia, Seychelles, Armenia, Fiji, Venezuela, Ethiopia and Tanzania.The overseas push seeks to position India Stack — the ecosystem of interoperable identity, payments, document and service-delivery platforms — as a development tool, particularly for countries in the Global South.India conducted a specialised course on digital public infrastructure for a Cuban delegation in December 2025 under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme. Foreign delegations from Kenya, Rwanda, Nepal, Indonesia and South Africa have also interacted with agencies such as UIDAI, NPCI, the National Informatics Centre and C-DAC.UPI merchant payments are currently available in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UAE and Cambodia. Cross-border person-to-person payment links are operational with Singapore, Nepal and Greece.Among the latest additions, UPI merchant payments went live in Cambodia in June 2026, while a person-to-person link with Greece became operational in May. Nepal introduced cross-border person-to-person transfers in June, adding to merchant payments available there since March 2024.The government has also approved a Social Impact Fund to provide financial and technical assistance for pilot deployment of digital public infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries.