NEW DELHI, SEPT 01, 2015: THE Government of India is joining the UN-based Better Than Cash Alliance. The announcement comes on the First Anniversary of the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi's flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

Under PMJDY, in one year, about 180 million new accounts have been opened , with deposits totaling more than USD 3.4 billion (223 billion Rupees).

The new partnership with the Better Than Cash Alliance, made up of Governments, companies, and international organizations, is an extension of Indian Government's commitment to reduce cash in its economy. Digital financial services lower the cost of providing financial services and make it more convenient for poor people to access their accounts.

The Union Finance Minister of India Mr Arun Jaitley said: “The scale of ambition of Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana has been much higher than for any other financial inclusion initiative in the past. The project has been instrumental in bringing almost all families of the country into the formal financial system and enabling citizens at grassroots level to perform financial transactions and keep their hard-earned money safe.”

India's announcement comes ahead of next month's United Nations Special Summit in New York, when Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi and other world leaders will launch the adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Digital financial services are a key tool for the implementation of the goals, and advocates hope India's leadership inspires other governments to harness the power of digital payments as a strategy for achieving the SDGs.