Lok Sabha Question No. 4614 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: Promotion of Digital Transaction
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Nishikant  Dubey, Guman Singh Damor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4614

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 29.03.2023

## PROMOTION OF DIGITAL TRANSACTION

4614:   SHRI MANOJ TIWARI: DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY: SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of digital transactions in the country during the last three years;
- (b) the increase in value of these digital transaction over the last three years;
- (c) the details of the benefits of these rising digital transactions and the steps taken by the Government to promote digital transactions in the country;
- (d) the time by which  paperless system  in Government  offices  is targeted to be implemented; and
- (e) the efforts being made to provide reliable internet services in all gram panchayats?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a):  During the last three  years, digital payment transactions have registered unprecedented growth in India. Easy and convenient modes of digital payment, such as Bharat Interface for Money-Unified Payments Interface (BHIM-UPI), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), prepaid  payment  instruments  (PPIs)  and  National  Electronic  Toll  Collection  (NETC)  system have  registered  substantial  growth  and  have  transformed  digital  payment  ecosystem  by increasing  person-to-person  (P2P)  as  well  as  person-to-merchant  (P2M)  payments.  At  the same time pre-existing payment modes such as debit cards, credit cards, National  Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) have also grown at a fast pace. BHIM-UPI has emerged as the preferred payment mode of users. The total number of digital payment transactions undertaken during the last three financial years and the current financial year are as under:

| Financial year (FY)                  | Total number of digital transactions (in crore) #   |
|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| FY 2019-20                           | 4,572                                               |
| FY 2020-21                           | 5,554                                               |
| FY 2021-22                           | 8,840                                               |
| FY 2022-23 *(till 23 rd March, 2023) | 12,735                                              |

#  Note:  Digital  payment  modes  considered  are  BHIM-UPI,  IMPS,  NACH,  AePS, NETC, debit cards, credit cards, NEFT, RTGS, PPI and others.

* Provisional data

Source: RBI, NPCI and banks

- (b): The total value of digital payments during the last three financial years and in the current financial year is as under:

| Financial year (FY)   | Total value of digital transactions (in Rs lakh crore) #   |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| FY2019-20             | 2,953                                                      |
| FY2020-21             | 3,000                                                      |
| FY2021-22             | 3,021                                                      |
| FY2022-23             | 2,812                                                      |

#  Note:  Digital  payment  modes  considered  are  BHIM-UPI,  IMPS,  NACH,  AePS, NETC, debit cards, credit cards, NEFT, RTGS, PPI and others.

* Provisional data

Source: RBI, NPCI and Banks

- (c):  The  digital  payment  landscape  in  India  has  been  transformed.  Indian  consumers  have displayed  great  affinity  to  digital  technology,  leading  to  rapid  growth  in  digital  payment infrastructure. The benefits of using digital payments are as follows:
- (i) Instant and convenient mode of payment : Unlike cash, money can be instantaneously transferred to the beneficiary account using digital modes like  BHIM-UPI and IMPS. Moreover, using the BHIM-UPI mode, one can effect a digital transaction via mobile phone using easy-to-remember email-like address, called virtual payment address.
- (ii) Increased  financial  inclusion :  Digital  payments  offer  anytime,  anywhere  access  to accounts, thus making it easy for persons to receive payments in their accounts and to also  make  payments  using  their  phone.  People  who  may  have  been  deterred  by  the time, travelling cost and opportunity cost involved in physically accessing a bank outlet for  transactions  can  now  conveniently  access  the  same  digitally  by  using  an  account and in the process various benefits of being part of the banking system and becoming financially included.
- (iii) Increased acceptance during COVID-19 pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the benefits of digital payments in enabling healthcare. Contactless modes of digital payments like UPI QR code and Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled cards enable observance of social distancing.
- (iv) Fostering innovation in payments : India's indigenously developed BHIM-UPI, which enables digital payments using mobile apps, is directly linked to achieving the goals of universal electronic payments, a less-cash society and financial inclusion. BHIM-UPI utilises a set of standard Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to facilitate next generation online real-time payments by leveraging trends such as increasing smartphone adoption, Indian language interfaces and universal access to  Internet and data.
- (v) NETC system: NETC system enables  the  customer  to  make  electronic  payments  at NETC-enabled  toll  plazas  on  the  highway  without  stopping  at  the  toll,  using  Radio Frequency Identification technology.
- (vi) Faster  adoption  of  QR  code  technology :  Post  demonetisation,  the  acceptance infrastructure  for  QR  codes  has  seen  tremendous  growth.  As  a  result,  QR  based payments are increasing rapidly. One can simply scan a QR code to pay for utility bills, fuel, grocery, food and travel as well as to merchants offering various other goods and services.
- (vii) Improved speed and timely delivery: In contrast to a cash payment that travels at the speed  of  its  carrier,  digital  payments  can  be  virtually  instantaneous,  regardless  of whether the sender and receiver are in the same town, district or country.
- (viii) Increased transparency in government system :  Earlier  cash payments were subject to  'leakage'  (payments  that  do  not  reach  the  recipient  in  full)  and  'ghost'  (fake) recipients,  particularly  in  the  context  of  social  security  benefits  by  government transfers.  Now,  benefits  are  directly  transferred  to  target  beneficiary  (direct  benefit transfer) account through digital modes of payments.
- (ix) Safe  and  secure : Recipients of cash payments  not  only  often have  to travel considerable distances to receive their payments, but are also particularly vulnerable to theft, digital payments across India are very secure as multiple levels of authentication are required for making transactions.
- (x) Bharat  Bill  Payment  System: Bharat  Bill  Payment  System  (BBPS)  provides  an interoperable and easily accessible recurring and bill payment service to consumers via multiple channels like Internet banking, mobile banking, mobile apps, BHIM-UPI etc.
- (xi) Lending: Unlikecash  payments,  digital  payments  automatically  establish  a  user's financial  footprint,  thereby  increasing  access  to  formal  financial  services,  including credit.  Banks  and  other  lending  institutions  can  utilise  digital  transaction  histories  to take cashflow-based lending decisions for both retail lending and lending to businesses, including small businesses who may face difficulty in getting credit in the absence of verifiable cashflows.
- (xii) Promotion of Fintechs :  Fintechs play a key role in the growth of digital transactions by  enabling  transparent,  secure,  swift  and  cost-effective  mechanisms  benefiting  the entire  digital  payments  ecosystem.  Fintechs  have  transformed  the  digital  payments ecosystem by increasing P2P and P2M payments.

(d): NIC (National Informatics Centre), an attached office to Ministry of Electronics & IT has designed and developed eOffice Product (A Digital Workplace Solution) in accordance with Central  Secretariat  Manual  of  Office  Procedure  (CSMOP)  formulated  by  Department  of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG), the Line Department responsible for implementation of eOffice in Central Government Ministries / Departments. At present, eOffice has been rolled-out in all 84 Central Government Ministries / Departments.

(e):  BharatNet  Project  is  being  implemented  by  Department  of  Telecommunications  in  a phased  manner  to  create  network  to  connect  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)/  Villages  with broadband in the country. This infrastructure is leased to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)/ Internet Services Providers (ISPs) for provision of internet connectivity in GPs /rural areas including  villages/  Government  institutions,  schools  and  private  areas.  As  of  Feb  2023, 189256 GPs have been made service ready for providing broadband connectivity in rural area under BharatNet Project. On 30.06.2021, Union Cabinet has accorded in principle approval for extending BharatNet beyond GPs upto villages in the country. The target for completion of BharatNet project is 2025.

******