ATM cards, POS machines will become redundant by 2020, says Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa will jointly inaugurate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas – tauted as the largest convergence of Indian diaspora – in the country's IT hub, Bengaluru, on Sunday.

PM Modi at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: World Looking at India with 'Immense Hope And Optimism'

The convention is seen as a platform to engage the Central and state governments with overseas Indian community. 

On the first leg of the event on Saturday, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, while speaking at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, said all ATM cards and point-of-sale (POS) machines would become redundant by 2020, given the disruption taking place in the digital payment space. 

"India is in the midst of huge disruption in the world of both financial technology and in terms of social innovation. In my view, within the next two-and-half years India will make all its debit cards, credit cards, ATM machines and POS machines totally irrelevant," Kant said. 

He said a time would come when almost every Indian will do transactions just by using his thumb and mobile phones. 

Kant also stressed how start-ups working on various issues and social innovation can create jobs and empower the weaker section of the society.

President Pranab Mukherjee will award the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman on Monday.

Meanwhile, after demonetisation, the government is now taking steps to weed out corruption from official transactions. Think tank Niti Aayog has constituted a committee to enable 100 percent conversion of government-citizen transactions to the digital platform. 

The committee, led by Amitabh Kant, will identify and operationalise user-friendly digital payment options across the sectors. The committee will also identify and address infrastructural and other bottlenecks affecting the access and utility of digital payment options.