GPFI meet lays focus on bridging digital divide

Hyderabad: The 2nd Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) of G20 is taking place against the backdrop of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said - deep global divisions- on account of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, Ukraine crisis, recession and shortage of food, fuel and fertilizers.

Addressing the opening day of the GPFI G20 here on Saturday, Chief Coordinator G20 India, Harsh V Shringla said the main focus of the meeting is to bridge the digital divide for the financial inclusion of the most vulnerable by using the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for financial inclusion.

He said, "We also look at developing countries and partners, and the issues that matter for them." The focus would be on emerging economies of the south, collective strategies to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the geopolitical tensions, the threat of recession. Besides, food, fuel and fertiliser shortages.

Though the developing world was facing problems, Shringla said he was optimistic that 'our time is coming.' Thus, he said the Finance Ministers and the Central Bank Governors' meeting should focus on most vulnerable people and not any private monopolies. The meeting, he said, will discuss interoperability among the digital public infrastructure and address the ecosystem's need to reduce the digital divide.

"For the past seven to eight years, India's top priority has been delivery to the services to the last mile." Adding to it, now the focus of the inclusive finance strategy has been shifted from the household to every adult.

Reserve Bank of India Chief General Manager Sonali Sen Gupta, Economic Advisor for Ministry of Finance and GPFI India Finance lead Chanchal C Sarkar, Senior Digital Payments expert and India lead, Better than Cash Alliance Prerna Savena were among those who spoke.

Ministry of Finance and Central Bank representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Malawi, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam as well as from Regional Organizations, namely, the Asian Development Bank, the African Union Commission, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Arab Monetary Fund, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Gates Foundation, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Smart Africa were among those who participated in the meeting.