NITI Aayog has
constituted a Committee of Chief Ministers representing different political
parties to examine and promote the use of digital payment systems across the
country. The move is in line with the Government’s thinking to promote
transparency, financial inclusion and a healthy financial ecosystem nationwide
and to give a boost to the adoption of digital payments systems by people at
the grass root levels and small businesses.
The Committee will also
include Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; CEO, NITI Aayog; and experts. The
composition of the Committee is as follows:
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(i)
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Shri Chandrababu Naidu, Hon’ble Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh;
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Convener
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(ii)
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Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble
Chief Minister of Odisha
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Member
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(iii)
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Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hon’ble Chief
Minister of Madhya Pradesh
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Member
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(iv)
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Member
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(v)
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Shri V. Narayanasamy, Hon’ble Chief
Minister of Puducherry
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Member
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(vi)
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Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Chief
Minister of Maharashtra
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Member
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(vii)
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Shri Arvind Panagariya, Vice- Chairman,
NITI Aayog
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Member
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(viii)
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Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog
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Member Secretary
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(ix)
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Shri Nandan Nilekani, former Chairman,
UIDAI
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Special invitee
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(x)
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Shri Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman, Boston
Consulting Group
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Special invitee
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(xi)
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Shri Rajesh Jain, Managing Director,
netCORE
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Special invitee
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(xii)
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Shri Sharad Sharma, Co-founder, iSPIRIT
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Special invitee
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(xiii)
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Dr. Jayant Varma, Professor (Finance),
IIM (Ahmedabad)
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Special invitee
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The Terms of Reference of the Committee shall be as under:
(i)
The Committee shall identify the global best
practices for implementing an economy primarily based on digital payment and
examine the possibility of adoption of these global standards in the Indian
context;
(ii)
The Committee shall identify and outline
measures for rapid expansion and adoption of the system of digital payments
like cards (Debit, Credit and pre-paid), Digital-wallets/ E-wallets, internet
banking, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), banking apps etc. and shall broadly
indicate the road map to be implemented in one year;
(iii)
It shall evolve an action plan to reach out to
the public at large with the objective to create awareness and help them
understand the benefits of such a switchover to digital economy;
(iv)
It shall prepare a roadmap for the
administrative machineries in the States to facilitate adoption of digital
modes of financial transactions;
(v)
Identify and address bottlenecks and indicate
solutions pertaining to adoption of the steps required to move towards a
digital payments economy;
(vi)
Associate the key stakeholders for
implementation of the suggested steps towards a digital payments economy;
(vii) Delineate
and adopt measures evolved by the Committee of Officers constituted for the
purpose;
(viii) Examine
and address any other associated issues which are not specifically mentioned
herein. The Committee may devise its own procedures for conducting business/
meetings/ constitution of sub-groups, etc.
BACKGROUND:
Economic growth with financial inclusion and equity is a key
priority of the Government. By enabling broader access and participation in the
financial system, the Government aims to reduce income inequality, boost job
creation, accelerate consumption, increase investments in human capital and
help the poor families to manage risk and absorb financial shocks. Digitization
of payments would significantly enhance financial inclusion by overcoming
physical barriers and would thus enhance access to financial services rapidly.
In addition, it would also enable formalization of all financial transactions
thus increasing transparency and plugging leakages from the system.
NITI Aayog was entrusted with the task of undertaking a
campaign to implement digital payments systems and it has been working on an
awareness campaign to popularize the different modes of digital payment which
are currently available viz. Cards, USSD, digital wallets, Aadhar Enabled
Payment System (AEPS) and Unified Payment Interface (UPI). There is also an
urgent need to spread awareness about the above initiatives in the form of a
mission-mode, including sensitization of field level functionaries about the
same. As NITI Aayog is mandated to act for promotion of co-operative federalism
and recognizing the crucial role of State Governments in this endeavor for
nation building NITI Aayog has been carrying forward its mandate in close
association with the States and the respective state administrations.
Keeping the above aspect in mind and to give a boost to the
adoption of digital payment systems by people at the grass root level and small
businesses, the above Committee has been set up.