BENGALURU: Digital India did not mean providing debit and credit cards and payment gateways for all, but to unveil products to the poor with negligible transaction costs, Union Minister of state for Communication Manoj Sinha said on Thursday.
Addressing a Symposium organised by International Telecom Union here, he said telecom services will be the core for financial inclusion and digital economy of India and the country would bank on its own ICT and IT services expertise to create payment applications, especially Aadhaar and biometric payment authorisation systems.
”We have to do away with using plastic cards with cryptic passwords,” he stressed.
He said the core of digital India was to create Internet access to every citizen and BharatNet aimed to connect all 6 lakh villages with this.
”India is aiming to be a USD 10 trillion economy and only this technology will enable it. Financial inclusion will be bigger than industrial revolution,” he asserted.
Mr Sinha also said the Union Government led by Mr Narendra Modi was committed to eradicate cyber threats to the maximum extent.
He said Internet connection to every village was the key and Internet accessability at 35 percent or 460 million users as of now as on the lower side.
”The digital economy pushed by the Modi Government has seen all round increase and disbursal of benefits to the poor through digital means to their bank accounts.
Since January 1, 2017, about 26.7 billion digital transactions have been completed. This number is still significant as there are only 460 million internet users in the country amounting to 35 per cent of internet penetration.
”Every single person should become online, whether he pays for it or not, this is our aim. This possibility is exciting,” he said. (AGENCIES)
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