World Bank Hails India's Digital Public Infrastructure Approach, Cites Rapid Financial Inclusion Progress

New Delhi: Lauding India’s Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) approach, the World Bank (WB) has stated that India has achieved in just six years under the Narendra Modi-led government what would have otherwise taken about five decades. The document was prepared by the World Bank as part of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.

One of the significant achievements that standout in the report is India's rapid progress in financial inclusion, it said. The Jan Dhan Yojana (JAM) Trinity, comprising the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Aadhaar, and mobile numbers, has played a pivotal role in increasing financial inclusion rates.

"In just six years, India has catapulted its financial inclusion rate from 25 per cent in 2008 to over 80 per cent of adults, according to the report. This monumental leap shortened the journey towards financial inclusion by up to 47 years, a feat primarily attributed to the influence of DPIs," it said.

"India's DPI has not only transformed the public sector but has also enhanced efficiency for private organisations. Some non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) reported an 8 per cent higher conversion rate in SME lending, a 65 per cent reduction in depreciation costs, and a 66 per cent decrease in costs related to fraud detection," the document stated.

The document also stated that while DPIs’ role in this leapfrogging is undoubtable, other ecosystem variables and policies that build on the availability of DPIs were critical. "These included interventions to create a more enabling legal and regulatory framework, national policies to expand account ownership, and leveraging Aadhaar for identity verification," it said.

The report also highlighted the phenomenal success of India's Unified Payments Interface  or UPI with over 9.41 billion transactions valued at about Rs 14.89 trillion taking place in May 2023 alone. For the fiscal year 2022-2023, the total value of UPI transactions nearly reached 50 per cent of India's nominal GDP.  "The UPI-PayNow interlinking between India and Singapore, operationalized in February 2023, has facilitated faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments in line with the G20's financial inclusion priorities," it said.