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 20285, sharply higher than 17.1 per cent in 2022-23.

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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.Rising penetration 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 ce