The World Bank stated that India’s digital public infrastructure has had a profound impact that goes well beyond financial inclusion. In a document, the international financial institution praised India, noting that the progress it has made in just six years would have otherwise taken about five decades of time.
The World Bank’s praises come as India has developed some of the best digital public goods infrastructure, which has the potential to transform lives all across the world. UPI, Jan Dhan, Aadhar, ONDC, and CoWin are some of the examples.
World Bank document hails Indian govt’s policy
The World Bank document, prepared ahead of the significant G20 Summit in New Delhi, emphasised the important steps taken by the Modi government as well as the crucial role that government policy and regulation play in determining the landscape of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). According to the World Bank, the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile) trinity, which consists of universal bank accounts, Aadhaar, and mobile connectivity, has sped up the rate of adult financial inclusion from 25 per cent in 2008 to over 80 per cent in the past six years — a journey which according to it shortened by up to 47 years, thanks to DPIs.
“While DPIs’ role in this leapfrogging is undoubtable, other ecosystem variables and policies that build on the availability of DPIs were critical. These included interventions to create a more enabling legal and regulatory framework, national policies to expand account ownership, and leveraging Aadhaar for identity verification,” the World Bank document noted.
PM Modi lauds country’s robust digital payment system
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi took to ‘X’ to compliment the country’s robust digital payment infrastructure and the spirit of people. “A G20 document prepared by the World Bank shared a very interesting point on India’s growth. India has achieved financial inclusion targets in just 6 years which would otherwise have taken at least 47 long years. Compliments to our robust digital payment infrastructure and the spirit of our people. It is equally a testament to rapid progress and innovation,” the Prime Minister stated.
‘PM Jan Dhan Yojana’ proved successful
The number of PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts has tripled since its launch in 2014, the first year of Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister. The number of PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts tripled from 147.2 million in March 2015 to 462 million by June 2022 and women own 56 per cent of these accounts, totalling more than 260 million. The national mission for financial inclusion and banking the unbanked, known as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), has completed nine years in operation. In 2014, PM Modi made the announcement during his first Independence Day address from the Red Fort. Later, on August 28, 2014, he officially launched the programme.
Almost every adult in India now has access to financial services thanks to PMJDY, which has also improved India’s financial infrastructure. In addition to adopting UPI for retail purchases, India used technology to directly deliver benefits to its residents, the World Bank noted. “The DPI in India has also enhanced efficiency for private organizations through reductions in the complexity, the cost and the time taken for business operations in India,” it said.
UPI payment mode thriving in India
It should be mentioned here that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly, using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer. In India, the UPI payment system has proven incredibly popular and is being used at an accelerated rate. The Indian government has placed a strong emphasis on ensuring that UPI’s benefits are not limited to India only, but to other nations as well. India has so far collaborated on cutting-edge fintech and payment solutions with Sri Lanka, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.
(With ANI inputs)
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