Initiatives taken to make feature phones UPI compatible: RBI chief Shaktikanta Das

In a recent address at Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das revealed significant initiatives aimed at enabling the UPI payment system on feature phones.

The RBI Governor acknowledged the global success of UPI and highlighted the pivotal role played by the government in its achievement, noting that UPI had become the world's largest payment system. Das reported that in August, UPI transactions surpassed 10 billion, emphasizing that this remarkable growth would continue.

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While promoting digital payments, Das acknowledged that a substantial portion of India's population still uses feature phones, posing a challenge for UPI adoption. To address this issue, the RBI has introduced products to enable UPI functionality on feature phones.

Additionally, measures have been implemented to facilitate UPI transactions in areas with poor connectivity by introducing wallet-like facilities.

Governor Das also mentioned India's pioneering effort in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with the e-rupee, a digital equivalent of paper currency. The pilot project for e-rupee is already underway, with various trials taking place.

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Regarding inflation, Das acknowledged the surprise of a high inflation rate of 7.4% for July, primarily driven by soaring vegetable prices, particularly tomatoes, which increased by over 200%. This spike in tomato prices had a cascading effect on other vegetables, resulting in an overall increase in vegetable inflation.