NITI Aayog Forms A Panel To Frame Guidelines To Foster Digital Economy

Government’s policy think tank, NITI Aayog has reportedly established a committee to propose methods to promote digital payments. It has also invited comments and proposals from all the stakeholders in the Aayog by October 10, 2016.

According to an official statement, the committee was set up in August this year under the leadership of Ratan P Watal, Principal Advisor, NITI Aayog. The aim of the panel was to suggest reforms and framework in order to boost India’s cashless economy.

Under the instructions of the Aayog, the stakeholders are to submit suggestions regarding the legislative and regulatory facets of the digital payments sector, including suggestions to improve eKYC and payments history as well.

The panel is also to draft recommendations in order to aid the growth of India’s cashless and digital economy. It consists of 11 members currently and will work in areas including credit/debit cards, tax rebates/incentives/, cash-backs, and lottery among others. It has been mandated to submit its report within a year, said an official statement.

In another development, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog has also confirmed the participation of 6,000 applicants for its initiative, Tinkering Labs. Out of the 6,000, Tinkering Labs will support 500 to boost entrepreneurship and development in India’s youth.

Under this programme, schools with classes from the 6th to the 12th standard are eligible to apply this year. The selected applicants will be provided with a grant of $15K (INR 10 Lakhs) over a period of five years to be used for operational expenses.

Earlier this month, as a part of the Indian Government’s initiatives to foster the Digital India programme, it announced its plans to launch a mobile app, Umang, an e-governance academy and appoint a Chief IT officer across its departments.

In further attempts to aid digitisation in India, Indian Railways has also mandated Aadhaar card for booking train tickets throughout the country. Aadhaar card was already linked with LPG and passport services. The Government has also laid down a new set of rules and regulations to ensure data security and privacy for the Aadhaar project. Mcommerce platform Paytm has also introduced Aadhaar-based eKYC( Know Your Customer) to make customer verification a real-time, paperless process.

This development was first reported by ET.

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