MCA Tech for Professionals Workshop on Digital Infrastructure
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), with support from the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), organized a one-day "Tech for Professionals" Workshop on Building India's Digital Infrastructure for Professional Services at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi, on 27 August 2026. The workshop brought together policymakers, regulators, technology companies, professional services firms, professional institutes, Digital Public Infrastructure experts, and academics to deliberate on how shared digital infrastructure can strengthen technology adoption, capability, and competitiveness across India's professional services ecosystem.
Secretary of MCA, Dr. Pallavi Jain Govil, emphasized the importance of strengthening India's domestic professional services ecosystem in the context of the country's broader development ambitions and the increasing role of technology in delivering audit, compliance, consulting, and other professional services. Joint Secretary Rahul Jain highlighted the need to examine how technology, shared digital resources, and appropriate institutional mechanisms could enable professional services firms of different sizes to progressively strengthen their capabilities.
Sub-Committee Recommendations and DPG Framework
The workshop builds upon a series of consultations undertaken by MCA and IICA on strengthening India's domestic auditing and consulting ecosystem. In April 2026, MCA constituted a Sub-Committee on Digital Public Good to examine mechanisms for promoting technology adoption across Indian professional services. The Sub-Committee submitted its report in May 2026, recommending a government-backed shared digital ecosystem aimed at addressing uneven access to advanced technology, professional knowledge, and structured capability development.
The emerging Digital Public Good (DPG) framework envisages three broad layers: curated technology access; learning and capability development; and knowledge and practice infrastructure. This proposition is intended to provide professional services firms, particularly small and medium practices, greater access to appropriate technology solutions, structured learning, and professional knowledge resources without displacing existing institutional or market-based systems.
Technical Session Discussions
Four technical sessions were conducted during the workshop. The first session, "DPG & Technology Infrastructure for Audit, Compliance & Consulting," examined the purpose and possible contours of shared digital infrastructure for professional services, the gaps such infrastructure could address, and lessons from India's wider experience with Digital Public Infrastructure and comparable international initiatives. Moderated by Richard Rekhy, Vice Chairman of Grant Thornton Bharat, the session featured panelists including Prof. R. Srinivasan from IIM Bangalore, T. Koshy (former MD & CEO of ONDC), Sai Venkateshwaran (former Board Member of KPMG in India), and Vikas Kumar of T R Chadha & Co LLP.
The second session, "Role of Technology Firms in DPG Initiative," considered how technology companies could contribute to the design, development, and deployment of shared digital infrastructure for the profession. Discussions covered cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data analytics, cybersecurity, enterprise technology, and possible models for technology provider participation. Moderated by Dr. Pankaj Dikshit (former CTO of GeM and GSTN), the panel included Rajesh Ranjan from Google, Sonali Kulkarni of Dailoqa, Sunil Gupta from Yotta Data Services, and Sandeep Welling of Kirtane & Pandit.
The third session, "How India's SupTech Systems Can Adopt DPI/DPGs," extended the discussion beyond professional firms to the digital systems through which businesses interact with regulators. The session examined whether elements of India's supervisory technology landscape could benefit from greater interoperability, common standards, and reusable digital building blocks based on DPI and DPG principles. Moderated by Dr. Nisheeth Srivastava of IIT Kanpur, panelists included Savithri Parekh of Reliance Industries, Joseph Joshy C J from IFSCA, Gaurav Marwaha of ReBIT, and Puneet Narang from DWS India.
The fourth session, "Tech Implementation Insights," focused on the practical deployment of technology across professional services firms at different levels of digital readiness. The discussion considered available technology solutions, models for affordable access, implementation requirements, change-management needs, and sequencing of technology adoption for small and medium practices. Moderated by Dr. Pankaj Setia of IIM Ahmedabad, panelists included Eric Anklesaria from PSB Alliance, V. Easwaran of Protean eGov Technologies, Viswanathan Ravichandran from Deloitte South Asia, and Sarthak Jain of Fast-India.
Conclusion and Way Forward
The deliberations reflected broad recognition of the importance of improving access to technology and professional knowledge, strengthening digital capability among smaller firms, ensuring interoperability and security, and developing the initiative in a manner that remains responsive to firms at different stages of technological readiness. Participants emphasized building on existing systems and capabilities rather than duplicating them, while retaining openness, competition, and choice in the technology ecosystem. The workshop marked a further stage in MCA's ongoing consultations toward developing an enabling digital ecosystem for professional services and strengthening domestic firms' ability to participate effectively in an increasingly technology-intensive professional environment.