BENGALURU: India stands prepared to lead in global climate action through technology and open networks, emphasised experts at the inaugural edition of the Beckn Node Zero 2024 conference.
Organised by FIDE and Sattva Knowledge Institute, the event gathered industry leaders to discuss India’s role in combating climate challenges. Speakers highlighted India’s capability to reduce its climate impact while offering scalable solutions to the world.
In his keynote, Infosys Non-Executive Chairman and FIDE co-founder Nandan Nilekani underscored the urgency of rapid, large-scale action. “The world has moved into an execution mode on the global climate crisis, and it is time for us to step up,” he said.
Nilekani proposed leveraging India’s Direct Benefit Transfer system to incentivise climate action, linking behavioural change to financial support. Further, he also highlighted the concept of ‘Finternet’, a decentralised system to tokenise assets for climate finance. “We have the technology and capability to make this work,” he said, stressing that while data to predict climate extremes exist, high coordination costs hinder its accessibility—a challenge he argued can be resolved through open networks. He pointed out that in the circular economy, only 7% of materials are recycled, which open networks could help improve by reducing logistical complexities.
During the event, a panel discussion examined whether India’s technological capability matches its climate goals. Panellists noted that for open networks to truly impact the ecosystem, they must be implemented with contextual understanding.
Dr Pramod Varma, FIDE co-founder, highlighted open networks’ potential to tackle climate issues through transparency, collaboration, and efficiency and urged a shift towards a sustainable economy that integrates nature’s value, emphasising that solutions must evolve from user-centric thinking to foster trust and lower coordination costs.