: Digital Public Infrastructure for Cross-Border Inclusion: Insights from India–UK Collaboration

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has emerged as a transformative tool for governance, inclusion, and economic growth, with India and the United Kingdom serving as frontrunners in shaping global digital ecosystems. This paper aims to examine the role of DPI in fostering digital inclusion, enhancing remittances, and creating cross-border collaboration opportunities between India and the UK, while highlighting their joint potential in setting global benchmarks for secure and interoperable digital systems. The study employed a review-based methodology, drawing on policy reports, government documents, and international frameworks to analyze DPI’s design principles, inclusivity frameworks, and case insights across sectors such as payments, identity systems, data governance, and healthcare. Findings reveal that India’s innovations, such as Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker, have achieved massive scalability and affordability, while the UK’s strengths lie in its regulatory expertise, fintech ecosystem, and remittance networks. Together, they illustrate how DPI can reduce remittance costs, promote financial inclusion, and strengthen citizen trust in digital services. The discussion underscores that while significant progress has been made, challenges remain in areas such as cybersecurity, digital literacy, and equitable rural access. The paper concludes that India–UK collaboration has the potential to reduce global remittance costs, expand digital inclusion, and empower developing nations with adaptable DPI models. It recommends deepening bilateral cooperation in regulatory frameworks, promoting interoperable cross-border payment systems, investing in digital literacy, and supporting research-driven innovation to ensure that DPI contributes sustainably to achieving global development goals and fostering a digitally inclusive global economy.