India is at the forefront of the digital revolution and its journey in ensuring financial inclusion can serve as a role model for other developing countries. Senior UN officials and economists said this. India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj on Thursday said in ‘India’s Round Table Discussion on Financial Inclusion’ that India takes financial inclusion seriously and it has led to social and economic empowerment of the people.
“We believe that India’s journey in ensuring financial inclusion can serve as an example for other developing countries,” he said. The discussion, organized by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, aimed to highlight the role of financial inclusion in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Senior UN officials, ambassadors, diplomats and analysts participated in the discussion.
In his keynote address at the discussion, Arvind Panagariya, professor at Columbia University and former vice-chairman of NITI Aayog, said that India has played a “pioneering role” in shaping the idea of financial inclusion. “Financial inclusion, economic inclusion and growth – they all go hand in hand, and in turn affect things like health and SGD,” said Panagariya, formerly India’s G20 Sherpa. All these are very inter-related and interconnected elements and India today has a lot to offer to other developing countries on the basis of its experience.
At the same time, Kamboj said that the world is halfway towards achieving the goals set under Agenda-2030 and SDGs. He said, ‘Unfortunately, the report card so far is not good. The SGD progress report shows that only 12 per cent of the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goals are on track. Progress on 50 per cent target is very slow and inadequate.
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Kamboj claimed that in view of this, the importance of financial inclusion increases and it is very important to ensure inclusive growth and overall economic growth. “Financial inclusion is indispensable if we have to achieve the goals set under Agenda 2030 and SDGs. Financial inclusion is essential to meet the basic needs of the people and is imperative to accelerate socio-economic development.’
In the discussion, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator Usha Rao-Monari said that she is very encouraged by the ‘India story’. She said, ‘When you are talking about India, I want to proudly say that India is leading the digital revolution. Simply put, about 40 percent of real-time digital payments in the world happen in India.
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