On March 2, 2021, the Government of India (GoI), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and United Nations (UN) based Better Than Cash Alliance hosted ‘Merchant Digitization Summit 2021: Towards AatmaNirbhar (Self Reliance) Bharat with special focus on Himalayan Regions, North East Regions and Aspirational Districts of India’.
- It was a part of the series of Learning Exchange amongst all States and Union Territories.
- It was organized with technical assistance from Intellecap.
Why was it organized?
It was organized to bring together leaders from the public and private sectors to accelerate responsible digitization of merchants in India’s North-Eastern and Himalayan regions, and Aspirational districts, and to empower women merchants serving their communities.
India set a target of 1bn digital transactions per day
India has set an ambitious target for 1 billion digital transactions per day from an average of 2-3 billion digital transactions monthly as a part of Digital India initiative. Also, Person to merchant (P2M) digital payment transactions will be increased to 10-12 billion transactions every month.
Key Decisions taken during the Summit:
i.During the summit it was decided to address the challenges faced by merchants inclusive of gender, location, connectivity and access to smart through various merchant focused initiatives.
ii.To make merchants digitally literate, it was also decided to use the National Language Translation Mission to disseminate digital payments information, privacy clauses and consent in local languages.
- In this regard, GoI, FICCI, and the Better Than Cash Alliance will continue their partnership for this year.
About Better Than Cash Alliance:
Imitated in 2012, it is a partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations to boost the transition from cash to digital payments to help in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- It was launched by the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the United States Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Citigroup, the Ford Foundation, the Omidyar Network, and Visa Inc.
- Members– 75
- Headquarter– New York, United States (US)
Recent Related News:
i.Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare inaugurated the 7th Edition of ‘MASCRADE 2021’ –Movement against Smuggled & Counterfeit Trade organized by FICCI Cascade (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy).
ii.The 15th Edition of India Digital Summit 2021 (IDS 2021) organized by Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) took place virtually from January 19-20, 2021. It was inaugurated by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology.Theme – ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat – Start of New Decade’
About Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI):
It is a non-government, not-for-profit ISO 9001 : 2015 Certified organisation. ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.
Establishment– 1927
Headquarter– New Delhi
Secretary General– Dilip Chenoy
President– Uday Shankar
