Telcos told to push digital payments

Tirupati: The telecom operators have a key role in bridging the digital divide by facilitating a reliable platform for digital transactions to the public to reap the benefit of IT revolution sweeping the country, said Srikant Panda, principal controller, ministry of communications. 

Speaking after inaugurating a ‘Digital Payment Mela’ here on Friday, Panda said the onus of providing a reliable, credible and secure facilities for digital transactions lies with telecom operator as well as banks to encourage public to opt digital mode of transactions.

He said a large number of facilities in vogue now were creating confusion among the public, he said while urging the telecom operators, retailers and others to do their best to ensure providing an acceptable and affordable digital payment system to the public, the end users to popularise digital payments.

Stating that digital transactions had increased by 360 per cent owing to the availability of data at cheaper rates, Panda said that the rates in the country were very cheap compared with other countries while asking the telecom operators to exploit it to push forward the digital transactions.  

The digital transactions penetrated even in remote rural areas which is evident with people in interiors also opting for e-commerce methods to get products delivered at their door steps, he said observing that nobody can stop the surge of the IT revolution and we should push forward it for the benefit of the public.