Digital Public goods – key drivers of governance and compliance

In both – Government and Corporate Bharat – SEBI and Microsoft concur on this common theme

On 5 Jan 2023, the Microsoft Chief met the Prime Minister in Delhi and tweeted, “Thank you, Narendra Modi, for an insightful meeting. It is inspiring to see how the government’s deep focus on sustainable and inclusive economic growth has led to digital transformation. We anticipate helping India realize the Digital India vision and be a light for the world.”

“What is happening with digital public goods in India is phenomenal,” he remarked, adding that it is fantastic for India to lead and then contribute back to the world. “I have not seen such mature use cases between the technology and the policies anywhere else in the world, like in India,” he summarized. He continued, “I think the orchestration between the policies and technology is perhaps the greatest contribution India can make to the world. The idea that there is a digital public good is nifty, but there are new ways to use them as India is showing for every society and economy to be more inclusive.” Further, he said, “what is it that I learn every time I come to India?… it is the common man able to use modern technology to do something helpful to them, and not just for the sake of technology. For me, it is what India can contribute to – it is the age of celebration for its a transdifferentiated technology.”
Nadella emphasized that India has created a “virtuous cycle of digital public goods that raises the bar on private enterprises, increases competition, reduces transaction costs of the citizens of the country, and a set of governance, principles, and policies that reinforces all these.” He appreciatively added, “Whether it is about financial inclusion or whether it is about anything else. And so, I feel this is India’s moment.”
Then, he talks about how Government of India is using digitalization to bring about better governance. He talks about the conjugality of technology and policy to create an environment of better government.
While digitization converts analog information into digital, digitalization moves existing processes into digital technologies. Thus, with digitalization, corporate Bharat too can take leadership, in consonance with Government, and move processes into higher gear to obtain a higher quality of compliance and governance, to create more sustainable and better-governed enterprises.
For example, the Tata Group will make Air India an excellent example of how good governance can effect a massive, positive and sustainable turnaround, especially on the background of some unhappy recent news about the airline.
On October 28, 2022, in her Foundation Day speech at IIM Bangalore, SEBI Chairperson, Ms Madhabi Puri Buch, said that her peers from other countries’ Securities Market Regulators regularly remark at her good fortune in that she lives in ‘a culture of data and technology use’. She mentioned many ‘first in the world’ digitalization initiatives that SEBI has taken to make our securities markets safer and more attractive for investors.
A major digitalization initiative by SEBI is the PIT Compliance SDD requirement – another first in the world. Listed entities that ensure proper compliance here can ensure access to funds both locally and internationally. BSE and NSE are leading the charge with inspection teams visiting listed companies to ensure proper compliance. Why do our companies need policing though? Can we make good governance – beginning with excellent compliance – a routine expectation from listed companies in Bharat? So SEBI and other regulators can be content with test checking rather than comprehensive inspections.
Axar Digital Services takes cognizance of regulations and helps corporates ensure they are adhered to, so Compliance penalties are ab initio eliminated.

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