In the sixth episode of the Talking DPIs podcast series, I talk to Shankar Maruwada from Ekstep Foundation about India’s DPI journey in education (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing - DIKSHA). We discuss the importance of people and institutions in any DPI journey, and how a combination of policy, technology, and +1 thinking came together in building DIKSHA. 

This episode is special as my formative understanding of DPIs comes from my experiences implementing DIKSHA across India. Conversations with Shankar are always insightful, and I come out learning something new.  

Shankar is the CEO of Ekstep Foundation, which addresses social problems at scale through societal platforms. He pioneered data analytics in India by co-founding Marketics and was also the Head of Demand Generation for India’s national identity program, Aadhar. 

Shankar's writings on DPI -
Fast-Tracking Development: A Building Blocks Approach for Digital Public Goods
Digital Public Goods for Education: The Indian Experience
From Seed to a Forest: The EkStep origin story