Over the last decade, India's government have poured a world of effort into something called the India Stack: A set of core, open APIs that will facilitate universal payments, data sharing and identity. This level of interoperability on a societal level has given startups the ability to build things conceived impossible in many countries. Let's take a look at some of their fascinating innovations:
UPI - Instant, seamless payments for all
UPI, or the Unified Payments Interface, is by far one of, if not the most transformative part of the India Stack. It allows for 24/7, seamless, instant payments that are entirely digital, and protects users by using a Virtual Payment Address instead of traditional bank details. The service is inclusive to all, with low fees, local translations and even UPI Lite - a version of the system built to facilitate offline transactions. The service also boasts minimal fees for merchants selling with UPI, and a fully open, standardized API means it's all secure and interoperable. According to TechCrunch, UPI processes over 11 million transactions a month. That's more than any other credit card issuer.
Namma Yatri - Shaking up the rideshare industry
Namma Yatri is a new, direct competition to Uber, that have completed over 73.1 million rides since their launch in 2022, and attracted funding from Google and other major investors due to their bold business model:
Drivers keep 100% of the ride price.
The way this model works is drivers pay a small monthly fee to drive, and then keep exactly what the user paid for the ride. No sneaky tactics, just an open, transparent, integrated system.
The platform is also 100% open source by design. You can view their source code here and public statistics here
As you can see this model - as risky as it is - has lead them to immense success. They are more than profitable, they have the support of a massive user base, and drivers have earned almost 150 million USD, or ₹1175.74Cr.
Blinkit - Revolutionizing delivery
Blinkit is a Zomato -founded grocery and essentials delivery company that offers you the ability to get groceries, medications, documents, and even electronics - all in under 10 minutes. This is done with world class in house systems that connect you a local micro warehouse or "dark store". These stores are placed among dense areas and are built to serve close range neighborhoods, stocking frequently purchased items based on shopping trends. These stock algorithms are purpose built to ensure the highest chance of the closest warehouse having what you want, strategically stocking their shelves with what people are most likely to order. Orders are then usually picked and packed in under 2 minutes, after which an intelligent load balancer distributes the order to either a cyclist or driver, depending on the order size, taking into account weight, distance and real time traffic data to best optimise the delivery.