Harness existing digital infrastructure to tackle climate issues: Nandan Nilekani

Behavioural change in climate action is linked to financial incentives and since India has the largest Direct Benefit Transfer infrastructure in the world, it is time to reuse this for climate action payments, said Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys on Saturday. Nilekani was speaking at the inaugural edition of Beckn Node Zero 2024 held in Bengaluru on October 25 and 26. Beckn Node Zero brought together thought leaders and industry experts to discuss India's role in addressing the global climate crisis.

The event was organised by The Foundation for Interoperability in Digital Economy (FIDE), co-founded by Nilekani, and Sattva Knowledge Institute.

During his keynote address on Saturday, Nilekani said, "Climate is time bound, and we need to act with exponential scale and pace. India has dealt with complexity at scale and speed with digital infrastructure and we can now solve problems for the world. We need to harness existing digital infrastructure to layer new solutions."


He also mentioned that the other big idea is a work in progress.

"It is what we call 'Finternet', which is how you create tokenization of assets, and we think that is a big part of changing the financial system."

According to him, the idea of Beckn which is decentralised transactions infrastructure and the idea of Finternet, which is decentralized assets infrastructure can come together.

"We have the technology, capability, and the ability to make this work and will see examples of this in the coming year," he added.

The second day of the event also witnessed a panel discussion moderated by Sanjay Purohit, CEO and Chief Curator, Centre for Exponential Change, that deliberated on whether India is ready to build open networks.

According to Pramod Varma, another co-founder, FIDE said, "Open networks have the potential to revolutionise the way we address climate challenges by fostering collaboration, transparency, and efficiency."

He also said the two issues plaguing climate action is that while most of our everyday activity has an impact on climate change, the value of nature is not included in the economy of growth.

Sujith Nair, CEO and another co-founder of FIDE said, "Beckn Node Zero is a space for thinkers, solvers, investors, community representatives and farmers to listen, learn, contribute and experience the manifestation of open networks. The event provided a platform for stakeholders to come together and explore how open networks can accelerate climate action."