G20 Summit 2023: World Bank lauds transformative impact of digital public infrastructure in India

G20 Summit 2023: The G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion document prepared by the World Bank has lauded the transformative impact of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPIs) in India ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi – saying that the country has achieved in six years that would have otherwise taken five decades.
According to the document, the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) Trinity has propelled financial inclusion rate in India from 25% in 2008 to over 80% of adults in the last six years, shortening the journey by a huge 47 years owing to DPIs.
The World Bank also lauded the Modi government’s policies and interventions to create a legal and regulatory framework and expansion of account ownership. Since its launch, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts have tripled from 147.2 million in 2015 to 462 million in 2022.
Role of UPI, cross-border payments
Additionally, India has managed to build one of the largest digital Government-to-Person (G2P) payment infrastructure in the world by efficiently levaraging DPIs across the nation – noting over $360 billion in direct transfers to beneficiaries from 53 central government ministries.
The Bank also noted the contribution of United Payments Interface (UPI) – which has witnessed over 9.41 billion transactions valued around Rs 14.89 trillion in May 2023 alone. The total value of UPI transaction was nearly half of India’s nominal GDP in 2022-23.
The UPI-PayNow mechanism between India and Singapore has facilitated faster, transparent and less costly cross-border payments and aligns with G20’s financial inclusion priorities. The DPI has also enhanced efficiency for private organisations and business operations in India.
India’s Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) grants “individuals’ control over their data, enabling them to share it across providers. This promotes tailored product and service access without requiring new entrants to invest heavily in pre-existing client relationships, fostering innovation and competition”, says the World Bank.
G20 Summit in India
India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.
Over 40 eminent world leaders including Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Anthony Albanese, Sheikh Hasina and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the high-profile summit in New Delhi.
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