Lok Sabha Question No. 1157 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Target of Boosting Digital Payment Transactions
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Kuldeep Rai Sharma, R.K. Singh Patel, DNV Senthilkumar. S., Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Supriya Sadanand Sule

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1157

ANSWERED ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2023/AGRAHAYANA 20,1945 (SAKA)

## Target of Boosting Digital Payment Transactions

1157. SHRI KULDEEP RAI SHARMA: SHRI R.K. SINGH PATEL: DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR S.: DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE: DR. SUBHASH RAMRAO BHAMRE: SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has been able to achieve the target of boosting digital payment transactions in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the details of the progress made in the number of digital payment transactions during the last three years and current year along with the initiatives undertaken by the Government to promote digital transactions;
- (c) whether there is a growing concern among people to use online transactions, electronic payment and other internet based communications due to digital illiteracy  and whether the Government  has  conducted  any  comparative  study  with  other  countries  regarding  digital transaction and if not, the details thereof;

(d) the steps being taken by the Government to promote digital literacy;

- (e) the details of cybercrimes reported during the last three years in the country and the present status of the said crimes; and

(f) whether the Government has taken any concrete steps to protect various digital transaction platforms currently being operated in country and steps to tackle cyber crime incidents with stringent cyber laws to regulate transactions on the net and if so, the details thereof?

## Answer

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (DR BHAGWAT KARAD)

(a)  to  (d)  Digital  payments  have  significantly  increased  in  recent  years,  as  a  result  of coordinated  efforts  of  the  Government  with  all  stakeholders.  The  total  digital  payment transactions volume increased from 2,071 crore in FY 2017-18 to 13,462 crore in FY 2022-23

at a CAGR of 45% and crossed 10,998 crore during current financial year till 27.11.2023. The details of the progress made in the number of digital payment transactions during the last three years and current year are as below:

| Financial Year              | Target (in crore)   | Achievement (in crore)   | Value (in ₹ lakh crore)   |
|-----------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------|
| 2020-21                     | 5,500               | 5,554                    | 3,000                     |
| 2021-22                     | 6,000               | 8,839                    | 3,021                     |
| 2022-23                     | 13,233              | 13,462                   | 3,355                     |
| 2023-24 (till 27 th Nov'23) | 18,000              | 10,998                   | 2,290                     |

Source: Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) & DIGIDHAN Portal

The initiatives undertaken by the Government to promote digital transactions include, inter alia; (i) incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M), (ii) advisories by Government of India to various stakeholders to improve payment acceptance infrastructure, (iii) allocation and monitoring year-wise digital payment transaction & Merchant acquisition targets to the Public and Private Sector Banks (iv) Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA) to augment digital literacy in rural India and (v) other promotion activities conducted with digital payment stakeholders and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). In addition, RBI is also promoting digital literacy by holding financial literacy camps, sending financial awareness messages and carrying out multi-channel public awareness media campaigns.

The  Committee  on  Payments  and  Market  Infrastructures  (CPMI)  of  the  Bank  for International Settlements (BIS) publishes Red Book Statistics which can be accessed at: Digital payments  make  gains  but  cash  remains  (bis.org).  Further,  benchmarking  exercise  was undertaken by RBI for the year 2022 with progress measured. The exercise validated India's progress in Payments Ecosystem with India categorized as leader or strong in respect of 25 out of 40 indicators. BENCHMARKING INDIA's PAYMENT SYSTEMS (rbi.org.in).

(e) and (f) Ministry of Home Affairs has informed that 'Police' and 'public order' are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. States/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes including cyber frauds through their LEAs. The Central Government supplements the efforts of State Governments through advisories and financial assistance under various schemes for capacity building. To  strengthen  the  mechanism  to  deal  with  cybercrimes  in  a  comprehensive  and coordinated manner, the Central Government has taken steps for spreading awareness about cybercrime; issuance of alerts /advisories; capacity building/trainings of LEAs/Prosecutors/Judicial Officers; improving cyber forensic facilities etc. The Government has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to provide a framework and ecosystem for LEAs to deal with cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Government has also launched the National Cyber Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) to enable the public to report all types of cybercrimes, with special focus on cybercrimes against women and children. Further, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is also working in close coordination with service providers, regulators and LEAs to track and disable phishing websites and facilitate investigation of fraudulent activities; issues alerts and advisories; and operates an automated cyber threat exchange platform for proactively collecting, analysing and

sharing tailored alerts.

Further, RBI had issued instructions to banks regarding limiting the customer liabilities in  unauthorized/  fraudulent  electronic  transactions, vide circulars  dated  July  6,  2017  and December 14, 2017 for Commercial banks and Cooperative banks respectively, wherein, the criteria  for  determining  the  limited  liability  of  the  customer  in  various  types  of  digital transactions are outlined.

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