SFLC.in is scheduled to host ‘DPI in Conversation,’ a Five-Day Virtual Dialogue on Digital Public Infrastructure, 7 – 11 July 2025
New Delhi, 5th July 2025: The Software Freedom Law Center, India (SFLC.in) is hosting ‘DPI in Conversation,’ a fully virtual, five-day programme scheduled from 7–11 July 2025. SFLC.in brings together economists, technologists, policy experts and civil-society leaders to examine the promises and perils of India’s rapidly expanding Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). The program is designed to facilitate a progressive conversation, with each day allowing participants to delve into a distinct dimension of DPI, tracing its local impact and global resonance.
The series opens on Monday, 7 July with a panel on DPI and the Digital Divide. Economist Reetika Khera (IIT Delhi), independent law researcher Usha Ramanathan and journalist Aditi Agrawal who will explore how large-scale digital systems can both bridge and widen existing inequalities, sometimes leading to ‘social-welfare paralysis’ when authentication fails or connectivity drops.
On Tuesday, 8 July, privacy-advocate and Open Knowledge Foundation CEO Renata Avila will deliver a keynote on DPI and Privacy. She will revisit Aadhaar’s foundational choices, assess the mounting wave of data breaches and discuss what true informed consent and legal recourse should look like in mass digital systems.
Mid-week, Wednesday, 9 July shifts the lens to Public-by-Design. Desire Kachenje of Co-Develop, Sai Rahul Poruri of FOSS United and Ashish Aggarwal of NASSCOM will discuss why DPI’s public character depends on genuine open-source, community-driven development rather than proprietary lock-in.
Global perspectives take centre stage on Thursday, 10 July in DPI Matrix Across the Global South, where Aarathi Ganesan (TQH) and Muthuri Kathure (Tech Global Institute) will weigh the opportunities, lessons and pitfalls as India seeks to export its DPI stack to partner nations.
The week culminates on Friday, 11 July with Governing Digital Public Infrastructure, featuring Carolina Rossini (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Soujanya Sridharan (Aapti Institute) and Disha Verma (Tech Global Institute) and Luca Belli, (FGV Law Schoool). This closing discussion will synthesise the week’s insights to outline rights-respecting legislative and policy frameworks for inclusive, secure and accountable DPI.
Participation is free and open to media, researchers, practitioners and the public, but advance registration is required at https://form.sflc.in/dpi-in-conversation/
SFLC.in (Software Freedom Law Center, India) is a New Delhi-based legal services organisation dedicated to protecting digital freedoms and promoting open, inclusive technology through legal aid, policy research and community engagement.