“The next UPI is energy,” said Nilekani.
Nilekani, while addressing a crowd on entreprenuers and small businesses, said that while Indians are used to storing small amounts of essential commodities, including LPG cylinders and coal, the consumption of electricity works differently.
“We’re used to buying and storing energy in small amounts, when you are buying LPG cylinder, you’re buying packetized energy. But electricty we always thought of something coming from the grid. Or we buy a generator because we don’t get electricity or burn some oil,” Nilekani said.
According to Nilekani, India is set to create millions of small producers that will add value to the country’s energy generation.
“Every home will be an energy producer because they have rooftop solar. Every home will be a energy storer because they have a EV battery. SO, every home is a producer of energy, seller of energy and buyer of energy. So, you will buy and sell energy like UPI,” said Nilekani.
India to create millions of energy entreprenuers
Energy, as per Nilekami, will become the next revolution in India’s growth story as it will replicate UPI’s unprecedented success.
“It is going to be a huge thing (energy) which will create its own set of energy entreprenuers,” he added.
The billionaire industrialist delivered these remarks at the Arkam Annual Meet‘s “The Great Unlock: India in 2035” event.
During the event, Nilekani covered several topics, which were predominantly focused on India’s growth story and how the country has fared in the past decade.
How UPI has revolutionised India’s digital payments
UPI, launched less than a decade ago, now drives over 80% of India’s digital transactions, transforming the payment habits of both the wealthy and the underprivileged.
But UPI isn’t the only player reshaping the digital payment space.
Here’s how UPI is influencing personal finance:
- While UPI sees the highest transaction volume, its transaction value isn’t the largest.
- The significant gap in transaction value is due to UPI’s initial focus on person-to-person payments rather than person-to-merchant transactions.
- UPI payments are most frequently used for food, followed by retail and shopping.
- In India, credit cards have now surpassed debit cards in popularity.
India will reach one million startups by 2035: Nilekani
Currently, India has around 150,000 startups, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20%. He highlighted that out of the 2000 funded startups, 100 have already achieved unicorn status.
Previously, Nilekani had laid out a roadmap for India to attain an 8% annual growth rate and become an $8 trillion economy by 2035.
He emphasised that while a 6% growth rate is notable, more concerted efforts are required to improve living standards and accelerate progress.
Noting that 50% of India’s wealth is tied to land, he cautioned about challenges such as income inequality, regional imbalances, and low productivity that could hinder the nation’s growth. He pointed out that only 13 districts contribute half of India’s GDP, reflecting stark disparities across the country.
In response to these challenges, Nilekani proposed four critical “unlocks” for India’s growth: technology, capital, entrepreneurship, and formalisation.
