Page 54 - Mann Ki Baat - English, February,2023

increasingly being recognised
as a means of achieving
financial inclusion and ensuring
that economic benefits reach
the bottom of the pyramid, thus
ensuring ease of living. Areas
that, till a few years ago, did not
have a stable internet facility are
today reaping the benefits of
UPI. From flourishing businesses
to modest street vendors and
kirana stores across the country,
UPI is helping everyone with
payments and transactions.
The JAM trinity of Jan Dhan,
Aadhaar, and Mobile, coupled
with UPI, has helped India make
rapid strides towards digital
payments. In March 2022, RBI
introduced UPI for feature
phones, UPI123Pay, which is
expected to connect 400 million
users in distant rural areas.
Services such as UPI Lite (for
faster and simpler low-value
transactions without the need of
a PIN or internet), the move to link
credit cards with UPI, allowing
the use of UPI ID as a payment
option for IPO, NPCI guidelines
allowing NRIs in ten countries to
access UPI services using their
international mobile numbers,
and the proposal to permit
all inbound travellers to India
to use UPI for their merchant
payments, have made India’s
digital payment ecosystem a
truly inclusive space.
The Prime Minister
recognises the potential of
digital progress as being central
to a fair and inclusive future.
Thus, a key emphasis of the
Prime Minister has been on

50
50