Budget 2022 Will Play A Major Role In Boosting Digital Economy: Experts

Budget 2022 News: FM mentioned the word digital more than 30 times in her Budget Speech. She proposed a Digital University, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and a National Digital Health Mission among other steps.

New Delhi: Budget 2022 took giant leaps to boost the digital economy in India. From setting up 75 digital banking units in 75 districts to proposing a ‘Digital University’, the annual financial statement has ‘Digital’ written all over it. Besides this, the government has also proposed digitisation of land records and DESH-stack e-portal for the skill development of the youth.

While reading the visions of the government, the Finance Minister read, “Promoting digital economy & fintech, technology enabled development, energy transition, and climate action.” This brought forth the objective of the government to make India, a digital powerhouse.

Digitisation To Boost Digital Economy

After presenting the vision of the government, the FM mentioned the word, digital, more than 30 times in her Budget Speech. She proposed a Digital University, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and a National Digital Health Mission among other steps.

According to Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-Founder, Cashfree Payments, the Budget 2022 shows the digital-first approach of the government. He said, “Budget 2022 is a reflection of consumers’ trust in digital-first approach to banking & finance. Economic Survey 2022 highlighted that UPI is currently the single most extensive retail payment system by volume, reiterating its wide acceptance. This has contributed immensely towards driving digital transformation in the country. Additionally, the idea of setting up digital banking units in multiple districts will help in the homogenisation of the financial services in rural and semi-urban geographies.”

He continued, “The launch of digital currency by RBI is both encouraging and critical in empowering the digital native youth to take a transformational leap from the conventional currency tools. We have witnessed an increasing use of blockchain technology to simplify and secure the consumer’s journey, and this push was required to encourage innovation in this domain. Fintechs and startups must help stakeholders establish connections with remote locations and provide value-added services to the underserved and unbanked segments.”

‘Government Realizing The Importance Of The Digital Financial Ecosystem’

Vishal Bhatia, CFO, True Balance, believes that the government is finally realising the importance of the fintech sector in the economy. “With a clear focus on fintech, digitization and lowering the transaction cost, Union Budget 2022 comes on a positive note for the fintech sector. The government is realizing the importance of the digital financial ecosystem as setting up 75 digital banking units will most definitely encourage digital payments”, he said.

Bhatia also noted that the integration of 1.5 post offices in the core banking network will help in increasing the penetration of money. He added, “The direct transfer of funds from the post-office to bank accounts will mirror our goal to have capital and funds available to every person no matter the financial background. In addition to that, the introduction of digital currency will also be a push for the digital ecosystem of the country by enabling more consumers to go online with their finances.”