Challenges remain amid govt's push for digital economy

Parliamentary panel has again summoned RBI governor Urjit Patel

As the central government pushes for a cashless economy, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) says it's still a long way for an Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS).

According to a note it has sent to Parliament's standing committee on finance, of around 480 million people who have linked Aadhaar, the citizen identification, to their bank accounts, only 25 mn have access to AEPS.

UIDAI says if all post offices, ration shops, offices of state electricity boards and the Centre's telephone network migrate to AEPS, there would be a little over 1.5 mn delivery points offering financial services.

The parliamentary panel, headed by