The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) announced a new partnership with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) aimed at fostering innovation within India”s DeepTech startup sector. This collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), seeks to expand opportunities for innovators in the country while strengthening the digital identity framework.
India boasts a burgeoning landscape of over 4,000 DeepTech startups, with more than 500 companies actively addressing challenges in key areas such as health technology, agriculture, and space exploration. NASSCOM has been instrumental in promoting these startups, working closely with both the ecosystem and government to highlight their innovations and facilitate their global expansion.
The partnership with UIDAI will support the Scheme for Innovation and Technology Association with Aadhaar (SITAA), a structured initiative designed to spur open innovation, indigenization, and scalable identity technology solutions. This initiative aims to enhance the Aadhaar ecosystem and contribute to the broader Digital Public Infrastructure in India.
According to Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at NASSCOM, “The future of digital identity will be shaped by groundbreaking ideas and solutions that redefine what trust means in the digital age.” She emphasized the potential of artificial intelligence, biometrics, and secure platforms to make citizen services more accessible and reliable.
Through this collaboration, the partnership will provide startups with access to UIDAI”s incubation sandbox. This platform will allow them to pilot their solutions within policy-linked environments, gain visibility among key stakeholders, and address real-world challenges that are critical to India”s digital landscape.
Gupta further noted that this initiative not only enables innovation but also plays a critical role in enhancing governance through technology that is built on transparency and trust. The collaboration will facilitate curated showcases and structured exchanges with UIDAI, helping founders validate their concepts, establish credibility, and expedite their growth trajectories.
The overarching aim of this initiative is to fortify India”s digital identity ecosystem by promoting innovation and collaborative development in identity technology. It opens new avenues for startups in the IDTech space to conceptualize, experiment, and create solutions that will underpin the framework of India”s digital identity infrastructure.
