Nandan Nilekani to head RBI committee on digitisation of payments

Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani will head a high-level committee assessing digitisation of payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Tuesday.

The committee is being constituted with a view to encourage digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.

In addition to Nilekani, the committee will comprise of H.R. Khan, former RBI deputy governor Former Deputy Governor, Kishore Sansi, former managing director and Chief Executive Officer, Vijaya Bank, Aruna Sharma, former secretary of Ministry of Information Technology and Steel, Sanjay Jain, Chief Innovation Officer, Center for Innovation, and Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad.

The committee will be responsible for reviewing the existing status of digitisation of payments in the country, identifying the current gaps in the ecosystem and suggest ways to bridge them. Moreover, it will assess the current levels of digital payments in financial inclusion.

The panel will also undertake cross country analyses with a view to identify best practices that can be adopted in our country to accelerate digitisation of the economy and financial inclusion through greater use of digital payments, suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments.

The committee has also been tasked with chalking out a road map for increasing customer confidence and trust while accessing financial services through digital modes, suggest a medium-term strategy for deepening of digital payments; and any other related item of importance.

The RBI stated that the committee has been directed to submit a report within a period of 90 days from the date of its first meeting.