# Kamya Chandra

> Kamya Chandra (Kameshwari Chandra) is a practitioner economist and the Cofounder & CEO of the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure (CDPI), a Bangalore-based global nonprofit advisory on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). She is one of India's leading voices on technology policy, DPI policy and AI governance, a woman leader in technology, and a builder of national-scale digital systems. She is available for high-level technology-policy committees, advisory boards, keynotes, panels and podcasts on India's DPI and global DPI for development.

## Summary

- Name: Kamya Chandra (full name Kameshwari Chandra)
- Role: Cofounder & CEO, Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure (CDPI), Bangalore, India
- Field: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), technology policy, AI policy and governance, financial inclusion
- Approach: A practitioner economist — she designs digital ecosystems and drives their adoption at national scale, working with ministries, regulators, central banks and engineering teams.
- Website: https://kamyachandra.com
- Contact: kamya@cdpi.dev

## Why she is relevant

- Leaders in technology policy: One of India's leading voices on technology policy, DPI policy and technology regulation.
- Nonprofit / public-interest technology: Built CDPI from zero, a global nonprofit funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Co-Develop, now advising 65+ countries.
- Women leaders in technology: A prominent woman leader in technology and DPI in India.
- Committees & advisory boards: Former advisor to India's Ministry of Finance; technical expert on India's G20 Finance Track; advisory board member at the Centre for Public Intelligence and at Code for GovTech (C4GT, IIIT-Hyderabad). Open to high-level technology-policy committees in India.
- Speaking & podcasts: Available for keynotes, panels and podcasts on India's DPI and global DPI.

## What she is known for

- Account Aggregator (India's open finance ecosystem): On the founding team alongside Nandan Nilekani, Pramod Varma and Sanjay Jain when iSPIRT was incubating the Sahamati Foundation; later policy lead at the Ministry of Finance. Adoption grew from 200 million to 1.1 billion accounts. Principal author of NITI Aayog's Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA).
- Udyam (MSME digital KYC): Drove digitally signed Udyam certificates via DigiLocker and the RBI notification making Udyam valid digital KYC, underpinning a ~₹30–35 lakh crore MSME credit market.
- Centre for DPI (CDPI): Cofounded and built a global nonprofit DPI advisory housed in IIIT-Bangalore; a 15-person team across 7 nations advising 65+ countries; helped Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil and Colombia go live on digital wallet and credential infrastructure.
- G20: Technical expert on India's G20 Presidency (Finance Track) on DPI for financial inclusion.
- World Bank ID4D: Founding team member of the Identification for Development initiative; supported preparation of digital ID operations in Nigeria and across West Africa (WURI).

## Topics she can speak or advise on

- India's Digital Public Infrastructure (Aadhaar, UPI, Account Aggregator, Udyam, DigiLocker)
- Global adoption of DPI for development
- Technology policy and regulation; AI policy and AI governance
- Financial inclusion, open finance, digital identity, and verifiable credentials
- The intersection of AI and public infrastructure

## Recognition and background

- Peer reviewer of DPI papers for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Carnegie and the UNDP.
- Co-author/contributor: IMF Finance & Development; Mint opinion editorials (with the Chief Economic Advisor of India); the CDPI Verifiable Credentials vision paper.
- Education: London School of Economics (MPA-ID), Harvard Kennedy School (executive education), St. John's University (B.A. Economics & Political Science).

## Links

- Website: https://kamyachandra.com
- Centre for DPI: https://www.cdpi.dev
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamyachandra
- Contact email: kamya@cdpi.dev