Government launches new app DigiVAARTA to increase awareness on digital payments

To increase awareness on digital payments, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad today announced the launch of "DigiVAARTA app based on SAMWAD platform.

The initial phase of DIGIVAARTA will help and promote learning in digital payments and empower users to draw content on topics as per their choice.

The new app will initially be in Hindi and English languages and engage with users through multiple channels - over Mobile App, SMS and OBD (Outbound Dialler).

DigiVAARTA is an easy way to educate citizens on the use of digital tools for banking and payments," said Prasad.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the NIC Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics in Delhi, which also saw the launch of the initial phase of the DigiVAARTA programme in Delhi and is focussed on increasing awareness on digital payments.

The app focuses on to increase awareness and familiarity of individuals on various financial products and services and to educate the unbanked and under-banked individuals, SAMWAD provides enabling engagement across multiple channels in the form of stories, images, and videos in any chosen language.

Krishnan Dharmarajan, Executive Director, CDFI said, "We learned from a pilot in rural Karnataka, that while the poor were happy to engage on the platform, they were worried about the money that was getting deducted as SMS charges. So MeitY decided that such exchanges be kept toll-free so that people could engage, learn and get empowered at zero cost."