Infosys Co-Founder Nandan Nilekani on UPI’s Surge and Why AI Investment Is a Must
Infosys Co-Founder Nandan Nilekani on UPI's Surge and Why AI Investment Is a Must
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani recently shed light on the remarkable growth of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the essential role of artificial intelligence (AI) for businesses in a recent episode of Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, “People by WTF.”
Growth of UPI
Nilekani discussed the factors that have driven the success of UPI, a digital payment system launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016. According to Nilekani, two significant developments contributed to UPI’s rapid expansion. Firstly, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital payments as people sought contactless transactions. “The monetization gave the first boost to digital payments because people had to make payments and cash was not there. And then in the pandemic also people didn’t want to hand over money,” he explained. He further noted that the ease of use, likening it to sending an email or a WhatsApp message, made UPI increasingly popular.
Recent data reflects this growth, with UPI processing transactions worth nearly Rs 81 lakh crore between April and July this year, a 37% increase from the previous year. In response to the increasing use of UPI, NPCI has recently raised the transaction limit for tax payments via UPI to Rs 5 lakh, effective from August 24, 2024. This adjustment aims to accommodate the growing preference for UPI as a payment method.
The Role of AI
During the podcast, Nilekani also addressed the impact of AI on businesses. He argued that the cost of not investing in AI could be greater than the expense of the investment itself. “They can’t afford not to do it (investment in AI), so they rather spend $50 billion a year than not spend… if there’s a big platform shift and they don’t have it, then they are out of the game permanently,” he said. Nilekani highlighted the potential of large language models (LLMs), which are becoming increasingly valuable and commoditized. He emphasized their role in overcoming communication barriers, particularly in a diverse linguistic landscape like India’s.
Nilekani illustrated the importance of LLMs with an example, noting how such technology can make global knowledge accessible in local languages. “If a farmer in a village in UP can speak in Hindi to the computer, and the computer can go and get some information on planting techniques to him and tell him in real-time back, suddenly we have made the world’s knowledge accessible to that farmer in his or her language,” he stated.
Overall, Nilekani’s insights underline the transformative impact of both UPI and AI in shaping the future of digital transactions and technology-driven communication.
