World Bank Appreciates Digital India: The World Bank has said that the impact of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) framework goes beyond financial inclusion. In a document praising India, the International Financial Institute said that what the country has achieved in six years would have otherwise taken nearly five decades. India has developed some of the best digital public goods infrastructure that can transform lives around the world. Some examples of these are UPI, Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, ONDC and Cowin.
India’s digital infrastructure is strong
A World Bank document prepared ahead of the G20 summit highlights key steps taken by the Modi government and the important role of government policy and regulation in shaping the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) landscape.
New Trinity of India
The World Bank said the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) trinity – combining bank accounts, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity for all – has increased financial inclusion rates from 25% in 2008 to 80% of adults. has reached six years, which has been reduced to 47 years due to DPI.
“The role of DPIs in this leap is undeniable, but other ecosystem variables and policies that depend on the availability of DPIs are important,” the World Bank document said. This includes creating a more enabling legal and regulatory framework, national policies to expand account ownership and use of Aadhaar for identity verification.”
Women benefited from Jan Dhan
Since its launch in 2014, Narendra Modi’s first year as Prime Minister, the number of PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts has grown from 14.72 crore to 46.2 crore by June 2022; 56% of these accounts belong to women, which is over 26 crores.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – a national mission for financial inclusion and connecting the unbanked – has completed nine years of implementation. The initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort in 2014. Later he launched the program on 28 August 2014.
Working to connect banks
PMJDY has brought the unbanked into the banking system, broadened India’s financial architecture and brought financial inclusion to almost every adult.
Additionally, the World Bank also noted that India has leveraged the technology for direct transfers to beneficiaries in addition to using UPI for retail payments.
“DPI in India has also increased efficiency for private entities by reducing the complexity, cost and time involved in conducting business operations in India,” the World Bank papers said.
UPI gives speed
United Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s mobile-based instant payment system, which enables customers to make payments 24 hours a day using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA), which is created by the customer. The UPI payment system for retail digital payments has become extremely popular in India, and its usage is growing rapidly.
Other countries also benefit
An important burden of the Government of India is to ensure that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India alone, but to other countries as well. So far, Sri Lanka, France, UAE and Singapore have joined hands with India on emerging fintech and payment solutions.