India at forefront of digital revolution: RBI Deputy Governor
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra has said that India is at the forefront of the digital revolution and financial technology is speeding up digital payments. Vibrant e-markets are springing up and expanding their reach. He said it is estimated that the digital economy currently accounts for a tenth of India's GDP and added that going by growth rates observed over the past decade, it is poised to constitute a fifth of GDP by 2026.
RBI Deputy Governor said that India is uniquely positioned to unlock new growth avenues and optimise existing ones with its digital public infrastructure (DPI), a vibrant information technology sector and a burgeoning youth population, including one of the largest AI talent bases. On digitalisation of Indian finance, he said micro-level evidence from surveys of Indian banks shows that while all of them have implemented mobile and internet banking, 75 per cent offer online account opening, digital KYC and digitally-enabled doorstep banking.
Additionally, he further said 60 per cent provide digital lending, 50 per cent offer payment aggregator services, 41 per cent use chatbots, 24 per cent have adopted open banking, and 10 per cent have integrated Internet of Things (IoT) technology. As many as 19 private sector banks are leading the technology adoption. He noted that an AI-assisted review of the latest annual reports of Indian banks reveals various instances of productivity gains by SCBs (Schedule Commercial Banks) from digitalisation.
