‘Energy is the next UPI’: Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s vision for India’s future

Speaking at the Arkam Annual Meet's 'The Great Unlock: India in 2035' event, Nilekani discussed his vision for decentralised energy production

Co-founder of Infosys and the creator of Aadhaar, Nandan Nilekani, shared a video of his address at the Arkam Annual Meet 2025 in Bengaluru. At the event, Nilekani discussed how energy could be India’s next significant revolutionary opportunity, on par with the impact of UPI. "Energy will be the next UPI," he said.

"Energy is the next UPI! Millions of small producers will join the Digital Energy Grid (DEG)," Nilekani shared in a social media post on platform X on March 28.

Addressing a crowd of entrepreneurs and small businesses, Nilekani pointed out that while Indians are used to storing small quantities of essential items such as LPG cylinders and coal, the way electricity is consumed is quite different.

He emphasized how daily energy usage, such as cooking with an LPG cylinder, reflects people's consumption patterns, referring to it as a form of "packetized energy."

Energy is the next UPI! Millions of small producers will participate in the Digital Energy Grid (DEG).Full video: https://t.co/NboKoiSIXh pic.twitter.com/o2MbSquesQ
Nandan Nilekani (@NandanNilekani) March 28, 2025

Speaking at the Arkam Annual Meet's 'The Great Unlock: India in 2035' event, Nilekani discussed his vision for decentralised energy production. "Every home will be an energy producer because they have rooftop solar. Every home will be an energy store because they have an EV battery. So, every home is a producer of energy, seller of energy, and buyer of energy. So, like UPI, you will now be able to buy and sell energy," he added. This approach is expected to reshape how energy is viewed and utilized in India.

Nilekani highlighted that this shift could lead to the emergence of millions of micro-energy entrepreneurs, driving both economic growth and technological innovation. "It is going to be a huge thing (energy) which will create its own set of energy entrepreneurs," he said. He compared this transformation to the success of UPI, known for its simplicity and widespread use.

Nilekani's insights into the success of UPI in the financial sector further support his predictions for the energy sector. UPI has proven highly successful, managing more than 80% of India's digital transactions and expanding to countries like the UAE and France. In January, UPI transactions exceeded 16.99 billion, valued at over Rs 23.48 lakh crore. This widespread use is attributed to UPI's simplicity and its seamless integration with banks and fintech platforms.

India is home to around 150,000 startups, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20%. Nilekani highlighted that out of the 2,000 startups that have received funding, 100 have already achieved unicorn status.

Earlier, Nilekani presented a roadmap for India to attain an 8% annual growth rate and become an $8 trillion economy by 2035.

He emphasized that although a 6% growth rate is commendable, greater efforts are needed to improve living standards and accelerate development.

Nilekani pointed out that 50% of India’s wealth is linked to land, and raised concerns about issues like income inequality, regional imbalances, and low productivity, which could hinder the country’s growth. He noted that only 13 districts contribute to half of India’s GDP, highlighting the stark disparities across the nation.

In response to these challenges, Nilekani proposed four critical "unlocks" for India's growth: technology, capital, entrepreneurship, and formalisation.

Some users on the social media platform X expressed support for Nilekani's vision, while others raised concerns about the practical implementation and potential challenges of the concept.

Nandan Nilekani is the co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd. He also served as the founding chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) with the rank of Cabinet Minister from 2009 to 2014.

In January 2023, Nilekani was appointed co-chair of the "G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion, and Development," according to official information from the Infosys website.