All government apps have two to three layers of security to ensure that there will be no cyber security breaches. “Several applications including the BHIM application go through a testing process and we ensure that they are fully secured. Given the volume of financial transactions online, the total number of cyber security breaches are minimal,” said V. Raghunandan, of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) on the sidelines of Financial Inclusion Global Initiative (FIGI) symposium held in Bengaluru.
Experts from the DoT pointed out that the BharatNet scheme would enable broadband connectivity in the rural areas of the country and would ensure that there is good internet connectivity across the country.
“India with close to 1.2 billion mobile connections and nearly half of them being in the rural areas will give a boost to the Jan-Dhan Yojana. We can see robust expansion of financial systems and financial inclusion across the country in the next couple of years. We are also trying to address socio-economic issues, so that it becomes easier for even rural people across the country to come under the fold of financial inclusion,” explained Padma Iyer Kaul, from the DoT.
Interestingly, Bilel Jamoussi, Chief of the Study Groups Department, ITU Standardization Bureau, observed the fact that an estimated 2 billion adults worldwide are still without a bank account but 1.6 billion of them have a mobile phone. “India's experience will make a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge being developed by FIGI. Mobile money (M-Pesa) started in Kenya just ten 10 years ago and digital channels have since come to form a cornerstone of financial inclusion strategies worldwide,” explained Jamoussi.
The FIGI is led by the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. FIGI aims at enabling different authorities in developing and emerging markets to harness the potential of digital technologies for financial inclusion and to manage associated risks. FIGI aims at hosting three annual symposiums to share insights into the progress of FIGI's work streams as well as to provide a platform for developing countries to highlight their innovations supporting financial inclusions. At its first symposium in Bengaluru, India got an opportunity to showcase its innovations aimed at financial inclusion such as Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM).
