New Delhi: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has witnessed an exponential rise in adoption, with transaction volumes leaping from 92 crore in FY 2017-18 to 18,587 crore in FY 2024-25, clocking a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 114 per cent, the Parliament was informed on Monday.
The value of UPI transactions soared from Rs 1.10 lakh crore to Rs 261 lakh crore over the same period. July 2024 marked a significant milestone as UPI recorded 1,946.79 crore transactions in a single month for the first time, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Overall, digital payments in the country also registered robust growth, with transaction volumes climbing from 2,071 crore in FY 2017-18 to 22,831 crore in FY 2024-25 at a CAGR of 41 per cent. Their total value rose from Rs 1,962 lakh crore to Rs 3,509 lakh crore during this period.
Chaudhary outlined a series of government and Reserve Bank of India initiatives aimed at strengthening the financial ecosystem, including reforms in governance, technology adoption and regulation of cooperative banks.
Public sector banks (PSBs) have seen changes such as arms-length selection of top executives through the Financial Services Institutions Bureau, appointment of non-executive chairpersons in nationalised banks, broadening of the talent pool and performance-linked tenure extensions for managing directors.
The Enhanced Access and Service Excellence (EASE) programme has further improved governance, risk management and technology-driven banking in PSBs. For Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), schemes like the Mutual Credit Guarantee Scheme (MCGS-MSME) and the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) have been rolled out.
Following the Union Budget 2024-25, a New Credit Assessment Model for MSMEs was launched to enable automated loan appraisals using digitally verifiable data.
Additionally, the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) provides up to 85 per cent guarantee cover on loans of up to Rs 10 crore, offering a significant boost to credit availability for small businesses.
