World Bank lauds India's digital infra impact: 'Five-decade journey in 6 years'
Lauding India’s DPI approach, the World Bank document noted that India has achieved in just six years what would have taken about five decades.
The World Bank has lauded the transformative impact of Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) in India in the past decade under the Narendra Modi-led government. The document, prepared by the World Bank as part of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, highlighted the measures taken by the Modi government and the pivotal role of government policy and regulation in shaping the DPI landscape.
One of the standout achievements highlighted in the report is India's rapid progress in financial inclusion. 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% in 2008 to over 80% 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.
The document notes, “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.”
India's DPI has not only transformed the public sector but has also enhanced efficiency for private organizations. Some Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) reported an 8% higher conversion rate in SME lending, a 65% reduction in depreciation costs, and a 66% decrease in costs related to fraud detection.
The report highlighted the phenomenal success of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with over 9.41 billion transactions valued at about ₹14.89 trillion taking place in May 2023 alone. For the fiscal year 2022–23, 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.
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