Summary of this article
Macron praises UPI as global digital benchmark.
India Stack highlighted for inclusive transformation.
UPI processes billions of monthly transactions.
The AI Impact Summit 2026, taking place in New Delhi, has unveiled some eventful insights into the digital landscape. One such insight was into India’s own Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which received praise from the visiting French President Emmanuel Macron who applauded India’s digital infrastructure and landscape. He also spoke on the broader concept of India Stack, which he described as an incomparable example of technology, which is transforming the everyday lifestyle for millions of Indian citizens.
No Country Has Built A System Like India, Says Macron
In his keynote address, Macron emphasised that what India has achieved is a unique development. It is a digital identity system that covers and caters to approximately 1.40 billion people. It is a dependable payment infrastructure that processes billions of transactions every month. He said the scale and integration are globally unmatched.
He said India’s digital transformation handles nearly 20 billion transactions on a monthly basis. This shows how digital payments have penetrated the everyday lifestyle of people as well as how it shapes the economic activity in the country.
Macron described the system as open, interoperable and sovereign, which are the key characteristics that allowed this innovation to unfold while maintaining national control.
He also termed India’s success as an example for the world, suggesting that the combination of digital identity, payments and health infrastructure shows how technology has served Indian society on a large scale.
To explain this further, Macron shared how a street vendor a decade ago would struggle to open a bank account due to a lack of documents or a permanent address. Today, the same vendor can receive a payment instantly through a smartphone without any fees or further complicating the procedures. This transformation, he said, reflected the true promise of technology and the growth of one and all. The success of UPI and the India Stack has enabled millions of people to participate in the formal economic framework, he added.
Macron also went on to highlight the health of India’s digital ecosystem, noting that hundreds of millions of digital health IDs have already been issued. These initiatives act as a part of a broader shift towards data-driven public services, which improve efficiency and accessibility.
The four day AI summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi focuses on discussing the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation. As the world continues to evolve and develop the digital ecosystem, India’s experience offers a compelling case study. The success of UPI and Indian Stack is indicative that technology can reshape entire economies and societies, when it is designed for accessibility and development.
