SME Times News Bureau | 26 Jul, 2019
The
Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur said
that Government has left behind the “Chalta Hai Attitude” and
adopted “Badal Sakta Hai” Vision.
The
launch of Digital India and Digital Payments is to ensure more people can
benefit from technology, especially in rural areas. He said that the Government
has ensured that the advantages of technology are not restricted to a select
few but are there for all sections of society.
Addressing
the Conference on Digital & Cashless Economy – “The Future of India’s Digital
Payments” here today, Thakur shared a small incident where the Hon’ble Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi went to Sri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur, Kerala
last month and paid temple ceremonies in advance, through a “Digital
Transaction”.
He
said, “through his action, he inspired the idea that, “Temple,
Tradition and Technology” can co - exist together in New India. His
actions inspired millions of temple visitors across India to go Digital. This
is how Tradition Meets Technology”.
Shri
Thakur further said that by applying Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and
Aadhaar-linked Payments (ALP), the government has reduced delays in the payment
of wages, curbed corruption and plugged up any leakages in the system.
He
said to ensure digital literacy in every house-hold, government has initiated
the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) to make 60
million adults digitally literate in rural India of which more than 10 million
people have already been trained.
The
Minister mentioned that Reserve Bank of India has released the ‘Payment
And Settlement Systems In India: Vision – 2019-2021 which aims to
transform India into a cash-lite economy and ensure that the country has a
‘state-of-the-art’ payment and settlement systems that are safe and secure.
He
said that “the west transitioned from Paper currency to Plastic card currency.
India will transition from Paper currency to Digital currency, much faster and
with more volume anywhere seen in the world”.
He
also cautioned that with these disruptive transformations, comes immense
challenges of integrity and security of digital payment systems which is where
there is a need to partner together, as government and industry.