Digital-Led initiatives Like Proposal To Set Up Digital Banking Units By Commercial Banks Will Boost Inclusive Development: Accenture

“Digital led transformation will underpin India's sustained socio-economic growth. Great to see progressive measures including tech interventions for health, finance, education and skilling in #budget2022,” says Rekha M. Menon, Chairperson and Senior Managing Director, Accenture in India.

While Piyush N. Singh, Lead - India Market Unit, Accenture says that the Union Budget 2022 outlines some clear initiatives that will improve India’s competitiveness as an economy. The introduction of a sovereign digital currency is an important step. It could not only help in transparent and effective distribution of benefits but also promote the use of blockchain which combined with other infrastructural investments will lead to improved supply chain efficiency. The proposed 5G spectrum auction will boost digital transformation efforts of enterprises, and the policy focus on sustainability such as investments in building energy efficient transport, battery swapping infrastructure and renewable energy will help drive overall sustainable growth.

Sonali Kulkarni, Lead – Financial Services, Accenture in India remarks that digital-led initiatives such as bringing all post offices onto the core banking system, and the proposal to set up digital banking units by scheduled commercial banks will boost inclusive development and financial inclusion. Similarly, the government’s continued focus on enabling digital payments will ensure more broad-based adoption of digital payments across all consumer segments in India. 

Even though the exact shape and form of the proposal to introduce Central Bank Digital Currency (Digital Rupee) in 2022-23 is awaited, it is a welcome measure and a step in the right direction towards ushering in more efficiency, transparency and systemic resiliency. Central Bank Digital Currency has the potential to enable targeted welfare distribution as well as enable more precision in policy initiatives.

The extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) scheme till 2023 will be critical to continued economic recovery in industry sectors hit hard by the pandemic, and especially for MSMEs.”