ProductNation/iSPIRT

Volunteering Opportunities are live for our DEPA Room!!! Head to the link below and apply!! https://lnkd.in/gdpsgnRV

*New Blog Post: FAQs & Facts on Techno-Legal Regulation 2.0* Many mistake techno-legal regulation as rigid and innovation-limiting. In this second blog post on the topic, @iSPIRT explains why techno-legal regulation is, in fact, adaptive and fundamental to effective #AI governance — it balances innovation with accountability using outcome-based design, flexible compliance, and continuous monitoring. Read here: https://lnkd.in/g9adqKbY Abhishek Singh Dr. Preeti Banzal Rahul Matthan Debjani Ghosh Kavita Bhatia Amlan Mohanty Rudra Chaudhuri

‼️Volunteering Opportunity Alert‼️ If you’re passionate about making India a #ProductNation head to our website to see if volunteering at iSPIRT is right for you. Last date to apply 30th September! https://lnkd.in/gdpsgnRV

We are immensely proud & excited to share the launch of the DPI Handbook: Foundations of Digital Public Infrastructure. Published on RIS, it captures how India has redefined nations can harness tech for public good. From Aadhar, UPI, Account Aggregator to OCEN, ONDC, India has shown the world how open, interoperable & inclusive systems that scale fast can spark innovation & empower millions. The Handbook is a practical guide for practitioners who want to build their own inclusive DPI. This Handbook is the culmination of years of dedicated volunteerism at iSPIRT, where technologists, policymakers, entrepreneurs & thinkers came together to exchange ideas, build prototypes & debate design choices; and we take this moment to extend our deepest gratitude to them. We hope the DPI Handbook becomes a guide & inspiration for nations building their own DPI & for those who believe that tech when designed for public good can change the course of societies. https://lnkd.in/g7tx_Gzc Arun Iyer Sharad Sharma Sachin Chaturvedi Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) United Nations Rajeev Chawla IAS Ministry of External Affairs, India Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India Indian Ministry of Finance Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology PFRDA- Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

OCEN becomes the next choice to solve for smaller businesses with small ticket loan requirements who are beyond the formal credit net and do not fit in the TReDS window. OCEN is growing fast with 30% MoM increase in number of loans due to the framework capabilities. Read more on our blog post: https://lnkd.in/gCsdyCsc Sharad Sharma Sagar Parikh Rahul Bhaik Aditya Mishra Ravi Tyagi SIDBI(Small Industries Development Bank of India) 121 Finance Pvt. Ltd. OPLinnovate GetVantage Perfios OCEN Finarkein Government e Marketplace (GeM)

Please beware of any emails that you might receive in Sharad Sharma’s name - there is an ongoing phishing attempt. Attached are a few screenshots of emails that our volunteers have received.

What if Microsoft just shut you down? That’s what happened to Nayara Energy this week. No system failure or a technical glitch. Just a decision—triggered by geopolitics, executed by a U.S. software giant. One of India’s largest private refineries had its Microsoft services suspended. Outlook, Teams—cut off. Employees locked out of their systems. Years of operational data—unreachable. The company had to file a case in the Delhi High Court. Their immediate fallback? Rediff. Read that again. I’m not getting into the morality of it as the U.S. and European Union has been ranting. That’s a separate debate. A critical piece of India’s energy infrastructure. Switched off. No warning. The question isn’t what happened to Nayara. The question is: who’s next? What happens if your city’s power grid runs on software licensed in Redmond? What happens when healthcare records, port logistics, or public transportation systems suddenly go dark—because someone thousands of miles away decides it’s time? India is OpenAI’s largest user base. What happens when that API stops responding? Still think this is an edge case? We’ve spent the last two decades outsourcing the very foundation of our digital infrastructure. Productivity. Communication. Navigation. Intelligence. Even national security. All resting on systems we don’t control. No fallback. No plan B. This isn’t about nationalism. It’s about sovereignty. It’s about whether India can function—really function—when things go wrong. That’s why Zoho matters. Why Tejas Networks matters. Why companies building homegrown software, cloud, and core infrastructure—away from the noise and funding cycles—matter more than ever. They’re not louder. But they’re still standing when others pull the plug. You can judge Sarvam and many others as you like, but folks like Pratyush Kumar, Umakant Soni Sharad Sharma are fighting for India as a product nation. It’s not a narrative gimmick. It’s necessity. Open Source Products like Frappe and crazy outliers such as Rushabh Mehta and his team matter too. Must add Soomanna MM Matt Chitharanjan and several others who’re on a crusade to help find dignity for homegrown coffee. If we don’t build the systems we depend on, we don’t own our future. And in a crisis, we don’t even get to complain. So what are you building? And can India’s powers that be start looking at local status and innovation ecosystems beyond just the tax notices and events? https://lnkd.in/gtcB3GAB

OCEN’s growth numbers for June are out! The continued upward trend is a reflection of steady credit access to the MSME segment. Read more on our blog at: https://lnkd.in/gsNtDuKc Sharad Sharma Sagar Parikh Rahul Bhaik Aditya Mishra Ravi Tyagi Priyashmita G. SIDBI(Small Industries Development Bank of India) 121 Finance Pvt. Ltd. OPLinnovate GetVantage Aditya Birla Capital Perfios Rajiv Malhan OCEN Finarkein PSL Association of India

Big milestone alert!!! After 2 years of effort & collaborative work with key stakeholders, we’re proud & excited to see GOI launch the RDI Fund — a bold step under our Vishvamitra Economic Policy Initiative. One of VEPI’s 3 core pillars, this fund powers public funding for private innovation — propelling India toward Strategic Autonomy and true Atmanirbharta in critical sectors. Time to back our innovators to build world-class products and lead on the global stage. #StrategicAutonomy #AtmanirbharBharat #Innovation #VEPI #VishvamitraInitiative #RDIFund #IndiaTech https://lnkd.in/gYtMGRWi Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Ministry of Finance Ajai Chowdhry vallabh bhanshali Sanjay Nayak Sharad Sharma Neelkanth Mishra Saurabh Srivastava Kris Gopalakrishnan India DST Cabinet Secretariat