On Thursday, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) announced a partnership with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) aimed at enhancing opportunities for India”s DeepTech innovators. This collaboration seeks to fortify the nation”s digital identity framework.
The initiative is framed around a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will back UIDAI”s Scheme for Innovation and Technology Association with Aadhaar (SITAA). This structured program is designed to foster open innovation, promote indigenization, and develop scalable ID technology solutions that will bolster the Aadhaar ecosystem as well as India”s Digital Public Infrastructure.
India currently boasts over 4,000 DeepTech startups, with more than 500 of these businesses addressing critical challenges across sectors such as healthtech, agriculture, and space. NASSCOM has been actively engaged with these startups and government entities to highlight the potential of DeepTech companies, showcasing their innovations and facilitating their global expansion.
The partnership with UIDAI is expected to further this mission by establishing a national dialogue around ID technology, a field that has the capability to transform service delivery, enhance trust in digital interactions, and foster inclusive growth for millions of people.
For startups, this collaboration creates pathways to UIDAI”s incubation sandbox, a platform where they can pilot their solutions in policy-linked environments. It allows them to gain visibility among key stakeholders and engage with real-world challenges that are pivotal to India”s digital future.
Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at NASSCOM, remarked, “The future of digital identity will be shaped by groundbreaking ideas and solutions that redefine what trust means in the digital age. With the convergence of AI, biometrics, and secure platforms, there is immense potential to make citizen services more accessible, reliable, and citizen-centric.” She emphasized that this partnership not only encourages innovation but also enhances how technology can empower governance with a foundation of transparency and trust.
The initiative will facilitate curated showcases, outreach to academic institutions, and structured exchanges with UIDAI, helping founders validate their ideas, establish credibility, and expedite their growth journey. The overarching goal is to strengthen India”s digital identity ecosystem by nurturing innovation, promoting local development, and fostering collaborative advancements in the identity technology sector.
Ultimately, this collaboration is set to pave new avenues for startups within the IDTech space, enabling them to conceive, experiment, and create solutions that can serve as the backbone of India”s digital identity infrastructure.
