Parliament Question: Promotion of digital payments

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2774 ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, 17 MARCH, 2026/ 26 PHALGUNA, 1947 (SAKA) PROMOTION OF DIGITAL PAYMENTS 2774#. SHRI TEJVEER SINGH:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) the recently announced policy measures to promote digital payments and the current trend of expansion of UPI based transactions;

(b) the current achievement of financial inclusion through Jan Dhan Yojana, Direct Benefit Transfer and digital banking services and the status of active accounts; and

(c) the current status of the incentives and schemes being provided to strengthen digital payment infrastructure for small businesses and in rural areas? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a) Digital payment transactions have grown exponentially in recent years due to the coordinated efforts of the Government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Recently, several initiatives have been taken up to promote adoption of digital payments, which inter-

alia include: i. Introduced UPI circle to enable individuals without bank accounts or those who are wary of using digital payment channels, to make UPI transactions upto a defined limit using a primary user’s account ii. Enabled credit line on UPI which offers small ticket pre-approved loan to UPI users iii. Permitted UPI to be used for cash withdrawal through Business Correspondents iv. Rolling out agentic commerce through UPI.

The volume of digital payment transactions increased from 7,198 crore in FY 2021-22 to 22,198 crores in FY 2024-25 with a CAGR of around 45%. During the same period, the total value of transactions grew from ₹1,744 lakh crore to ₹2,863 lakh crore.

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) accounts for around 81% of total digital payment transactions. The volume of UPI transactions increased from 4,597 crore in FY 2021‑22 to 18,587 crores in FY 2024‑25, with a CAGR of around 59%. The value of UPI transactions increased from ₹41 lakh crore to ₹261 lakh crore during the same period.

(b) The current achievement of financial inclusion through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) framework and other digital banking services, is as follows:PMJDY Accounts ▪ Cumulative No. of PMJDY accounts opened: 57.78 crore ▪ Cumulative No. of Accounts in rural and semi-urban centres: 45.17 crore ▪ Cumulative No. of Accounts held by women: 32.21 crore ▪ Cumulative Deposit in accounts: ₹2,94,702 crore Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) ▪ Total amount transferred directly to beneficiaries since inception (FY2019-20): ₹49.69 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) ▪ Cumulative enrolment: 57.11 crore ▪ Cumulative No. of Claims received: 2,40,226 ▪ Cumulative No. of Claims disbursed: 1,76,859 Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) ▪ Cumulative enrolment: 26.88 crore ▪ Cumulative No. of Claims received: 10,78,972 ▪ Cumulative No. of Claims disbursed: 10,45,450 Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) ▪ Cumulative No. of accounts sanctioned: 57.27 crore ▪ Cumulative Sanctioned Amount: ₹ 39.48 lakh crore ▪ Cumulative Disbursed Amount: ₹ 38.59 lakh crore Stand Up India Scheme (SUPI) ▪ Cumulative No. of Accounts sanctioned: 2.75 lakh ▪ Cumulative Amount Sanctioned: ₹ 62,790.47 crore

(c) To promote the use of digital payments across the country, the Government has implemented the Incentive Scheme for Promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and Low‑Value BHIM‑UPI Transactions. This scheme supports small‑ticket digital payments of up to ₹2,000 by providing incentives to banks and Fintechs. Between FY 2021‑22 and FY 2024‑25, a total of ₹8,276 crore has been disbursed under this scheme.

In order to promote the deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure, the RBI has set up the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). Under this scheme, grant was provided to banks and fintech for deploying PoS devices, QR codes, and soundboxes, especially in Tier‑3 to Tier‑6 centres, Northeastern States, Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir, including rural and interior areas. Through the PIDF, about 5.80 crore digital touch points and 56.86 crore QR codes have been deployed.

*****