Niti Aayog to rank states on digital metrics, seeks data

To foster competition among states, Niti Aayog has sought data on digital transactions from them within 10 days so that they can be ranked on the basis of initiatives taken to promote less-cash economy.

"Niti Aayog will soon rank states on the basis of digital transactions. Aayog has asked the states to submit their digital transaction data within next 10 days," a senior government official said.

Post demonetisation announced on November 8, the government has taken several initiatives to promote digital payments.

Last month, to give a big push to cashless transactions, the government had announced daily, weekly and mega awards worth Rs 340 crore for consumers and merchants on small digital payments from December 25.

As of October 2015, there were 61.5 crore debit card users and 2.3 crore credit card holders in the country.

Digital payment channels like mobile wallets, USSD and RuPay have seen a massive uptake and rise in transactions in the wake of the note ban.

According to government data, the number of USSD transactions saw a whopping 5,135 per cent jump to 5,078 deals a day on December 25, from a mere 97 on November 8.

The value of transactions on USSD — mobile short code message used mainly for banking services on feature phones — during the same period grew 4,061 per cent to Rs 46 crore on December 25, from the earlier Rs 1 crore a day.

UPI transaction — which allows users to transfer funds from one bank account to another using a smartphone — grew 1,342 per cent to 53,648 a day on December 25. This stood at 3,721 on November 8.

In value terms, it grew 647 per cent to Rs 14 crore a day, from Rs 1.93 crore earlier.

For good measure, on December 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled an indigenous digital payment app BHIM for fast and secure cashless transactions on mobiles.

BHIM is a payment platform designed to make UPI and USSD payment modes simpler and usable across feature phones and smartphones.