The Union government has formed a new committee, headed by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, to form a strategy to expedite the process of transforming India into a cashless economy.
The panel is tasked with identifying various bottlenecks affecting access of digital payments.
The committee will identify and operationalise in the earliest possible time frame user-friendly digital payment options in all sectors of the economy.
The aim is to identify various digital payment systems appropriate to different sectors of the economy and coordinate efforts to make them accessible.
The panel will engage regularly with Central ministries, regulators, state governments, district administration, local bodies, trade and industry associations to promote adoption of digital payment systems.
The committee will also attempt to estimate costs involved in various digital payments options and oversee implementation of measures to make such transactions between the government and citizens cheaper than cash transactions.
The Union government is working towards moving all government transactions to the cashless mode, through a new single window e-payment system that individuals or businesses can use to make payments to any central or state department.