Amid the jump seen in unified payment interface (UPI) transactions, a digital economy professor closely aligned with the ruling BJP on Wednesday claimed that the shift to this mode has helped India save over 0.10 per cent of GDP from going out of the country. The uptick in transactions, which touched 1.8 billion in September, has also helped the economy from an “enablement” perspective, Arvind Gupta, a professor of digital economy who spearheaded BJP’s national technology department for three consecutive terms, told reporters.
The comments come amid a 10 per cent surge in UPI transactions by quantum of money transacted to Rs 3.29 lakh crore in September as against August this year, as more people switch to digital payments amid the pandemic.
“From the research hat that I wear, I can tell you that the initial study suggests that just by using UPI payments, we have saved upwards of 0.10 per cent of GDP which remains back in the country,” Gupta said at an event organised by the fintech Earlysalary.