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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Sharp surge in number of rural women able to do online banking, UPI a key enabler
More women in rural areas are able to conduct online banking transactions, with a new survey by the statistics ministry showing that the proportion of females that could perform them surged to 30.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, sharply higher than 17.1 per cent in 2022-23. According to the results of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025, released Friday, there has been a marked increase in the number of Indians in rural areas who have been engaging in online banking, with the rise being particularly noteworthy among young women. As per the survey's results, 51.4 per cent of females in rural areas in the 15-24 years age bracket reported the ability to perform online banking transactions, more than double the 19.6 per cent in 2022-23 as per the ministry's Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey for 2022-23 (July-June), released in October 2024. To be sure, a higher proportion of rural men, too, said they could do online banking, with the figure for those in the 15-24 years age bracket rising to 73.3 per cent from 40.2 per cent in 2022-23. The statistics ministry did not test or check the skills reported by the respondents while conducting the survey. In urban areas, where online banking penetration levels were higher to begin with, the increase was of a smaller magnitude, with 62.4 per cent of respondents aged 15 years and above saying they engaged in online banking, up from 50.6 per cent in 2022-23. At the all-India level, 48.9 per cent of persons aged 15 years and above said they could conduct online banking transactions, up from 37.8 per cent in 2022-23. The survey, part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), was conducted in the first three months of 2025 and covered the entire country except for some villages in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The total number of households surveyed was 34,950 – 19,071 in rural areas and 15,879 in urban areas – while the total number of persons contacted was 1.42 lakh, with 82,573 in rural areas and 59,492 in urban areas. The increased adoption of online banking, especially in rural areas, will be a boost to the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with the authorities having pushed heavily on financial inclusion over the last couple of decades. In its annual report for 2024-25 (April-March) released on Thursday, the RBI said it will conduct a survey on the usage of digital payments in the current fiscal. Findings from the survey will be used to further enhance financial inclusion and make payment systems more effective, the central bank said. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was the clear leader when it came to the channel through which Indians are conducting online banking, with 86.7 per cent of those in rural areas and 74.4 per cent in urban using only UPI for the same. Only 18.0 per cent of Indians aged 15 years or more used UPI, internet banking., and other channels. The statistics ministry also sought responses on households' online purchases, specifically for goods. As per the survey, 24.5 per cent of Indian households bought something online in the previous 30 days, with the figure being 16.0 per cent for rural households and 39.4 per cent for urban. Among those urban households which did make online purchases in the prior month, 52.4 per cent bought both food and non-food items, while 37.6 per cent bought only non-food goods. In rural areas, the purchase of non-food items was more prevalent, with 75.7 per cent of respondents buying only them. Underpinning the growth in online banking and purchases has been the prevalence of mobile phones and access to internet, with as many as 85.7 per cent of respondents aged 15 years or more having used a mobile phone in the three months prior to the survey, with 70.2 per cent of respondents owning a mobile phone at the time the survey was conducted. Mobile phone ownership was higher in urban areas (81.2 per cent versus 64.6 per cent in rural) and among men. In January-March 2025, 83.9 per cent of males surveyed owned a mobile phone compared to 56.2 per cent females. At 79.9 per cent, most mobile phone owners possessed a smartphone, with more than 90 per cent of Indians in both rural and urban areas under the age of 29 owning a smartphone. As would be expected from the wider adoption of online banking and purchases, the use of internet has also increased in the last couple of years, especially in rural areas: 57.6 per cent of females and 72.1 per cent of males, respectively, used the internet in the three months before the survey, up from 42.6 per cent and 59.5 per cent in 2022-23. Almost 93 per cent of respondents who used the internet in the three months prior to the survey did so at least once a day, with mobile phones overwhelmingly favoured.
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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Almost-universal UPI usability in 15-29 age group in India, finds survey
Nearly all individuals aged 15 to 29 are capable of using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for online banking via mobile phones, according to a recent survey. "Among the persons in the age group 15–29 years who reported the ability to perform online banking transactions, about 99.5 per cent of persons reported to have the ability to perform online banking transactions through UPI," found the 'Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025', released by the statistics ministry on Thursday. Additionally, 97.1 per cent of people in the 15–29 age group had used a mobile phone — either a basic phone or a smartphone — within the three months before they were surveyed. Smartphone ownership is also high among young mobile phone users: 95.5 per cent in rural areas and 97.6 per cent in urban areas of those aged 15–29 reported owning a smartphone. At the national level, the study found that about 85.5 per cent of Indian households have at least one smartphone, while 86.3 per cent have access to the internet within the home. Conducted as part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), the Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom (CMS:T) ran from January to March 2025. The total number of households surveyed was 34,950 (19,071 in rural areas and 15,879 in urban areas) and the total number of persons enumerated was 1,42,065 (82,573 in rural areas and 59,492 in urban areas).
The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
75th anniversary of National Sample Survey celebrated in Krishnankoil
National Statistics Office (NSO) Sub-Regional Office at Virudhunagar installed a bilingual standee at Krishnankoil Bus Stop on Wednesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of National Sample Survey. The standee was inaugurated by Deputy Director, Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES), G. Sundari in the presence of Assistant Director of NSO, Virudhunagar, V. Rethinam, and Assistant Director of Agriculture G. Dhanalakshmi. Besides the staff of NSO, students and members of the general public also took part in the event. The standee would display 17 sustainable development goals formulated by the United Nations. The theme for the 75th anniversary celebration is 'From the Glorious Past to the Promising Future of Viksit Bharat.' The Assistant Director sought cooperation from the local officials and members of general public for the smooth conduct of NSS surveys.
Mint
15-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
India's unemployment rate at 5.1% in April; labour force participation at 55.6%
New Delhi: India's unemployment rate for people aged 15 years and above stood at 5.1% in April 2025 , according to the latest data released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (Mospi) on Thursday. The unemployment rate was 5.2% among males and 5% among females. The data, based on the current weekly status (CWS) approach, showed India's labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 55.6% in April. Typically, the CWS captures a person's employment status over the seven days preceding the survey, while the usual status reflects their activity over a 365-day reference period. LFPR is the percentage of people who are either working or actively seeking work. During April, rural areas saw a higher LFPR of 58%, compared to 50.7% in urban areas, while male participation remained significantly higher than female participation. LFPR for males stood at 79% in rural areas and 75.3% in urban areas, while female LFPR was 38.2% in rural areas during the month. Mint reported on Wednesday that key indicators from the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) — the LFPR, worker population ratio (WPR), and unemployment rate (UR) — would now be released monthly, rather than quarterly, starting with the April 2025 bulletin that's published in May. India's WPR, which measures the percentage of people who are employed, was 52.8% in April for people aged 15 and above. It was 55.4% in rural areas and 47.4% in urban areas. Notably, the WPR for women was considerably lower than that for men. In rural areas, only 36.8% of women aged 15 and above were working, while in urban areas the figure dropped to just 23.5%. The overall female WPR stood at 32.5% in April. The latest data highlights persistent gender and rural-urban gaps in labour market indicators, even as headline unemployment figures remain stable. On Wednesday, the ministry said the PLFS sampling design had been revamped from January 2025 to provide high-frequency labour market indicators with expanded coverage as part of strengthening the National Sample Survey (NSS) system. A monthly rotational panel scheme has been introduced across rural and urban areas, with each selected household now surveyed four times over four consecutive months, it added. Key changes implemented by the ministry include a revised multistage stratified sampling method, updated definitions of sampling units and strata, and an increase in surveyed households per unit from 8 to 12. The Schedule of Inquiry has also been modified. The ministry also advised users to account for the latest changes when comparing post-January 2025 data with previous PLFS estimates. The revamped PLFS aims to deliver monthly CWS-based labour market indicators at the national level, extend quarterly estimates to rural areas, and provide annual indicators in both usual status and CWS for rural and urban areas, it added.
Mint
14-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Govt will now publish key labour force survey data monthly, not quarterly
New Delhi: Key indicators from the periodic labour force survey (PLFS), previously released quarterly, will now be published monthly starting with the April 2025 bulletin due in May, the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) announced on Wednesday. The update will enable monthly estimation of key labour market indicators—the labour force participation rate (LFPR), worker population ratio (WPR), and unemployement rate(UR)—at the all-India level using the current weekly status (CWS) approach, thus providing timely data to support policy interventions, it said. These indicators provide key insights into the health of the labour market. LFPR measures the percentage of the working-age population that's either employed or seeking work, WPR shows the proportion employed, and UR measures the percentage of the labour force that's actively seeking work but is unemployed. The PLFS quarterly results will also be extended to cover rural areas, providing a more comprehensive view of employment and unemployment trends across the country, with the April-June 2025 data set to be released in August, the ministry said. Typically, the CWS captures a person's employment status over the seven days preceding the survey, while the usual status reflects their activity over a 365-day reference period. The ministry said as part of strengthening the National Sample Survey (NSS) system, the PLFS sampling design has been revamped from January 2025 to provide high-frequency labour market indicators with expanded coverage. The revamped PLFS aims to deliver monthly CWS-based labour market indicators at the national level, extend quarterly estimates to rural areas, and provide annual indicators in both usual status and CWS for rural and urban areas, it added. The ministry also announced a shift to a calendar-year format for annual employment data from the previous July-June cycle. Starting this year, PLFS results will follow the calendar year, it said. To improve data reliability, the PLFS sample size will increase significantly from 102,400 to 272,304 households, with the new methodology enabling district-level representation in employment statistics for the first time, it added.
