We at the Esya Centre greatly appreciate the opportunity given to us by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) to respond to the consultation whitepaper on the ‘Strategy for National Open Digital Ecosystems (NODE)’ (Whitepaper), which solicits public comments for developing a comprehensive national strategy on NODE. We appreciate that MEITy has identified design principles to develop a framework for digital governance through the Whitepaper, and that it has also identified key concerns that would need to be accounted for in developing the NODE framework. In answering the questions posed in the Whitepaper, we have focused our feedback on those relating to design principles, governance, and the potential risks of open digital ecosystems. We have approached this analysis from a broad, techno-legal perspective, and focusing on the rights and obligations of various stakeholders. Part I of this response will provide a brief snapshot of our recommendations under the relevant questions, which will thereafter be explored in detail in Part II. We hope that these discussions will prove instructive in a larger discourse about digital governance in India.