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Grassroots Power: New Perspectives (compiled by Qila)

In New Delhi, Brij Kishore Agarwal runs a shop specialising in sari, the traditional Indian dress. In the past, customers left with bundles of brightly coloured embroidered garments and paid in cash. However, the 79-year-old shopkeeper's constant fear that someone would break into the shop and steal the cash before he could bank it kept him awake at night.

Thanks to technology, these concerns are now a thing of the past. Almost all customers now use electronic payments for their purchases. This method, which allows users to transfer money instantly by scanning a QR code, has become ubiquitous in the world's most populous country, transforming people's daily lives.

In Delhi, tea vendors collect rupees through mobile apps, while electric tricycle drivers stop to buy steaming hot Indian cheese parathas and pay with their mobile phones. The e-payment revolution is also likely to play an important role in India's journey to become an economic powerhouse. As the world's fifth-largest economy, current Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in his third consecutive term) wants India to be recognised as a "developed" country by 2047.

Image source: (schematic image 123rf)

India began its digitisation drive about 15 years ago, but the uptake of electronic payments has been slow. in 2016, 96% of transactions were still conducted in cash. That year, the government abruptly scrapped two high-denomination notes, which accounted for 86% of the currency in circulation, in a bid to fight corruption and spur a surge in e-payment usage.

"We had no choice," said Ramesh Kumar, 52, owner of a towel shop in Delhi's Sarojini Nagar market, which has been accepting digital payments since 2016. Indians now use UPI for a variety of transactions, from vegetable vendors to paying medical bills. According to the Indian government, the country conducts more digital transactions than any other country. By 2023, UPI transactions exceeded 100 billion.

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and while it is difficult to quantify the exact impact of UPI adoption on the country's GDP, the effects are evident at the micro level. Digital payments have improved business efficiency and transparency and made the process of filing tax returns simpler.

Kapil Sharma, 42, sells flowers for as little as $0.12 outside temples in Old Delhi. He told CNN that he used to lose business because potential customers didn't want to wait for change. About a year ago, he started using UPI and has seen an increase in sales. "It's much simpler for them to buy, pay and leave," he said.

Source : https://edition.cnn.com/