RBI forms panel led by Nandan Nilekani to deepen digital payments

Mumbai, Jan 8 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday appointed Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani as the Chairman of a five-member committee to accelerate digitisation of the economy and boost financial inclusion.

The committee will submit its report within 90 days from the date of its first meeting.

"With a view to encouraging digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation, the Reserve Bank of India has decided to constitute a high-level committee on deepening digital payments," the RBI said in a statement.

Apart from Nilekani, other members are RBI former Deputy Governor H.R. Khan, Vijaya Bank former MD and CEO Kishore Sansi, former Secretary at Ministries of Information Technology and Steel Aruna Sharma and IIM Ahmedabad Chief Innovation Officer Sanjay Jain.

Nilekani, who is also a former Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) or Aadhaar, will head the panel to "review the existing status of digitisation of payments in the country, identify the current gaps in the ecosystem and suggest ways to bridge them".

It will also assess the current levels of digital payments in financial inclusion and undertake cross-country analyses to identify best practices that can be adopted to accelerate digitisation of the economy and financial inclusion through greater use of digital payments.

Citing other terms of reference, RBI said the panel will "provide a road map for increasing customer confidence and trust while accessing financial services through digital modes" and "suggest a medium-term strategy for deepening of digital payments".

The panel will also suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments, the banking regulator said.