The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented one of the shortest but impactful budget speeches of the year. In the 91 minutes of the budget, the minister laid emphasis on financial and digital inclusion with focus on EVs and drones.
It is announced that 100% of 1.5 lakh post offices will come under Core Banking System in 2022. This will enable financial inclusion for farmers, senior citizens in rural areas providing access to accounts through net/mobile banking, ATMs, online transfer of funds between post office account and bank account.
Digital banking, payments and fintech innovations have grown at a rapid pace in recent years.
To mark 75 years of Independence, 75 Digital banking units will be set up in 75 districts of the country by scheduled commercial banks: This will provide a further thrust to digital banking and financial innovation
Further, the Special Economic Zones Act will be replaced with new legislation which will help states to partner in developmental projects. Use of Kishan Drones will be promoted for crop assessment. Analysts expect that the implementation of drones in the agriculture sector can give the drones industry in India the much needed boost which currently stands at a market size of $120 Bn – $150 Bn.
Not only this, the government also announced Digital currency to boost the digital economy. The budget has proposed issuance of Digital Rupee by RBI starting 2022-23 using blockchain and other tech to give a big boost to India’s digital economy vision.
Also, to promote EV adoption, ‘Battery Swapping Policy‘ will be brought out and interoperability standards to be formulated, considering space constraints in urban areas, to set up battery charging stations at scale.
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