Parallels with the interface of unified payments (UPI), which reshaped digital transactions, the co-founder Infosys Nandan Nilekani predicted that the energy sector will create millions of micro-entrepreneurs.
“The next UPI is energy,” said the creator of Aadhaar by projecting a revolutionary change in the energy sector of India. He envisages a future where each household becomes a hub for producing energy, consumption and commerce.
Speaking at the event “The Great Unlock: India in 2035 of Arkam, Nilekani developed her vision of decentralized energy production.” Each house will be an energy producer because he has a solar on the roof. Each house will be an energy store because it has an EV battery. So each house is an energy producer, an energy seller and an energy buyer. So, like Upi, you can now buy and sell energy, “he added. This approach is ready to transform the way energy is perceived and used in India.
Stressing the potential impact, Nilekani suggested that this change could create millions of micro-energy entrepreneurs, stimulating economic growth and technological innovation. “It will be a huge thing (energy) that will create its own set of energy entrepreneurs,” he said. The potential of such a transformation reflects the success of the UPI, renowned for its ease of use and its generalized adoption.
“We are used to buying and storing energy in small quantities, when you buy a LPG cylinder, you buy broken energy. But electricity, we have always thought of something coming from the network,” he said highlighting the potential change towards decentralized energy solutions.
Nilekani’s information on the impact of the UPI on the financial sector adds weight to its predictions for the energy sector. The success of the UPI is well documented, it manages more than 80% of the digital transactions of India and extending its operations to countries such as water and France. In January alone, UPI transactions exceeded 16.99 billion, with a value greater than Rs 23.48 Lakh crosses. This generalized adoption is attributed to the user-friendly interfaces and integration of UPI with the banks and the fintech platforms.
Nilekani has addressed four essential critical areas to India’s continuous development: technology, capital, entrepreneurship and formalization. The India startup ecosystem is planned for significant growth, the Nilekani providing for the number of startups to reach one million by 2035. Currently, the country has around 150,000 startups.
