New Delhi: Highlighting India as an example, Dennis Francis, President of the 78th UN General Assembly session, addressed a global audience in Rome, stating that digitalization has been instrumental in lifting millions out of poverty in the country.
Emphasizing the importance of a foundation for swift development through digitalization, Francis praised India’s achievements, remarking, “Consider India’s case… In the past five or six years, India has managed to elevate 800 million people out of poverty, primarily through smartphone usage.”
While speaking at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome on “Accelerating progress towards Zero Hunger for current and future generations,” Francis answered questions from UN diplomats, officials, and policy experts. He highlighted that rural farmers in India, previously unbanked, now conduct all their business transactions via smartphones, including bill payments and receiving payments for orders.
Francis underscored the significant reduction of poverty in India, noting the widespread internet access and the ubiquity of cell phones.
He observed that such progress is not mirrored in many regions of the Global South, stating, “Equity requires some effort, some initiative to tackle this disparity as a preliminary step in formulating the Global Framework for Digitalization.”
Back in 2009, a mere 17 per cent of Indian adults had bank accounts, 15 per cent engaged in digital payments, only one in 25 possessed a unique ID document, and roughly 37 per cent owned mobile phones.
These figures have surged dramatically; today, teledensity is at 93 per cent, over a billion individuals possess a digital ID, and more than 80 per cent hold bank accounts. As of 2022, over 600 crore digital payment transactions are processed monthly.
