Digital Payments Have Resulted in Saving Rs 90,000 Crore of Government: Amitabh Kant

Advocating digital payments and digital transactions, Niti Aayog's CEO have unleashed positive results for the Government from the implementation fo digital transactions. The Centre has saved Rs 90,000 crore by digitally transferring money to beneficiaries of 440 government schemes, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. Kant further said India will be the first country in the world which will make debit/credit cards redundant.

Digital payments have become a major priority of government policies and since last few years, a lot of action has been taken up towards ensuring a vast level acceptance of digital transactions among the common public.

"(The) government is ahead of the private sector in financial inclusion. We have digitized our economy. Unlike the USA, in India data is publicly owned," he said at an event organized by CII.

Kant said India has pole-vaulted in the top 5 FinTech countries globally.

"There are more than 1,200 FinTech companies operating in India," he said, adding that the sector saw USD 3 billion investment in 2017 with a number of deals jumping from 26 in 2014 to more than 200 in 2017.

Observing that challenges India faces are very unique, Kant said, "We need to find solutions that lie with the lower strata of society, of moving from poverty to middle-income group."