Watal digital payments panel submits report to FM Jaitley

A committee, which was set up to suggest ways to make India a digital payment economy, on Friday submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

With an eye on nudging India faster towards a cashless and ruled-based economy, the government has set up a committee to overhaul the digital payments framework. The panel, headed by former finance secretary Ratan P Watal, was set up in August. It was entrusted with the task of recommending steps to promote card payments through incentives like tax rebates and cash back schemes.

The panel, sources said, reviewed the payments system in the country and recommended medium-term measures for encouraging digital payments, in line with global best practices.

It also studied the feasibility of creating a payments history of all card/digital payments and ensure that merchants/consumers can leverage the data to access “instant, low-cost micro-credit” through digital means and create necessary linkage between the payment history and credit information.

It has also recommended need for changes in the regulatory mechanism under various laws, relevant for the purpose of promotion of payments by digital modes. 

It also suggested ways for leveraging Aadhaar, or any other proof of identity for authentication of card/digital transactions and setting up of a centralised KYC Registry.

The committee also delved into the scope of integration of all government systems like Public Finance Management System, PayGov, Bharatkosh and eKuber. 

The 11-member committee included former RBI Deputy Governor H R Khan, CBDT and UIDAI Chairperson and heads of Indian Banks’ Association, Nasscom, Internet and Mobile Association of India.