India lifted 800 million people out of poverty “by use of smartphone”

India has lifted 800 million people out of poverty over the past five or six years through rapid development, especially digitalisation, said Dennis Francis, President of the United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA.

Francis spoke of India as a nation that provided “the basis to rapid development, such as through digitalisation”, while addressing the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and delivering a speech on the subject ‘Accelerating Progress Towards Zero Hunger For The Current And Future Generations’.

“Take, for example, the case of India... India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the last 5-6 years simply by the use of smartphone,” Francis said, adding that high internet penetration all across India was a reason that the country has drawn major advantages.

The UNGA President also praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the success of his government’s JAM initiative, which translates to Jan Dhan, Aadhar, and Mobile. The initiative has made it easy for millions to open bank accounts and link their accounts with their Aadhar number. Digitalisation, which has been the focus of the Modi government over the past decade, and the advent of the smartphone and UPI have been a tremendous boon for rural India.

“Rural farmers in India who never had a relationship with the banking system are now able to transact all their businesses on their smartphone. They pay their bills, they receive payments for orders… 800 million people lifted out of poverty. There is a high level of internet penetration in India. Almost everyone has a cellphone. That is not the case in many parts of the Global South,” Francis said in his address.

Apart from making banking convenient for people in rural India, rapid digitalisation has also made it easier for the government to successfully launch various schemes over the past decade and ensure that social benefits payments reach directly into the accounts of the common people.