DigiPIN, DHRUVA, and Privacy: The Future and Limits of India’s Addressing System
DigiPIN, DHRUVA, and Privacy: The Future and Limits of India’s Addressing System India is building a new digital layer for address information. DigiPIN identifies a precise physical location, while DHRUVA is designed to provide a broader, consent-based ecosystem for representing and sharing addresses. In one sentence: DigiPIN answers “Where is this location?”; DHRUVA is intended to help answer “How can this address be represented and shared safely?” DigiPIN and DHRUVA Are Different Layers DigiPIN is a deterministic 10-character alphanumeric code generated from latitude and longitude. It identifies an approximately 3.8-metre-by-3.8-metre grid cell within India’s defined geographic and maritime extent. DHRUVA, or Digital Hub for Reference & Unique Virtual Address , is the broader proposed digital public infrastructure for creating, managing, sharing, and using address information. Layer Primary role DigiPIN Represents the physical geographic location. DHRUVA Digital Address Pr...