India lifted 800 million people out of poverty ‘simply by smartphone’: UNGA
- In Reports
- 11:35 AM, Aug 02, 2024
- Myind Staff
India has lifted 800 million people out of poverty in the last five to six years through the use of smartphones, said United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis on Thursday. Emphasising the role of digitisation in rapid development, Dennis Francis, President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, praised India for its efforts in this area.
Francis highlighted that people in the rural stretches of India who did not have any access to banking or payment were now able to pay bills and receive payments for orders just by using a smartphone.
"Providing the basis to rapid development, such as through digitalisation. Take, for example, the case of India...India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the last 5-6 years simply by the use of smartphones," Francis said during his lecture at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN on the topic of 'Accelerating progress towards Zero Hunger for the current and future generations.'
Francis highlighted India's rapid and widespread internet penetration, noting that even the most remote areas have good reception signals. He added that other Global South countries should follow India's example and embrace digitalisation.
"Rural farmers in India who never had a relationship with the banking system, are now able to transact all their businesses on their smartphone. They pay their bills they receive payments for orders. 800 million people lifted out of poverty. Because there is a high level of internet penetration in India, almost everyone has a cell phone," he said.
"That is not the case in many parts of the Global South. So, there has to be equity demands, there has to be some effort, initiative to address this inequality as an initial step in negotiating the global framework for digitalisation," the UNGA President added.
Digitisation has been a key focus of the Narendra Modi government over the past 10 years. There has been a significant increase in digital payment transactions in India, with UPI playing a major role. PM Modi has promoted digitisation through the JAM initiative—Jan Dhan, Aadhar, and Mobile. This initiative encourages people to open bank accounts, which are then linked with Aadhar.
This initiative has helped connect people across the country, including those in rural areas, by ensuring that government schemes and social benefit payments are directly deposited into their bank accounts.
Image source: ET Telecom
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