India’s digital economy is accelerating at breakneck speed, with the Reserve Bank of India’s Digital Payments Index (DPI) crossing the 500 mark for the first time, reaching 516.76 as of September 2025. This marks a significant jump from 493.22 in March 2025, underscoring the nation’s rapid shift towards cashless transactions.
The RBI attributes this surge primarily to robust growth in payment performance and supportive infrastructure across the country. Launched on January 1, 2021, with March 2018 as the base period set at 100 points, the index has shown remarkable progression. By March 2019, it had climbed to 153.47, and since then, biannual updates have revealed consistent upward momentum.
The DPI encompasses five core parameters to gauge the spread and depth of digital payments over time. Payment performance carries the heaviest weight at 45%, followed by payment enablers at 25%. Supply-side and demand-side payment infrastructure each account for 10%, while consumer-centricity holds 5%. Each parameter includes sub-indicators for precise measurement.
At the heart of this transformation is the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has revolutionized retail transactions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently recognized UPI as the world’s largest real-time retail payments system by volume in its June 2025 report, ‘Growing Retail Digital Payments (The Value of Interoperability)’.
Global rankings further highlight UPI’s dominance. According to ACI Worldwide’s ‘Prime Time for Real-Time’ 2024 report, UPI commands 49% of the global real-time payments market with 129.3 billion transactions. Brazil trails with 14% share and 37.4 billion transactions, Thailand holds 8% with 20.4 billion, and China secures 6% with 17.2 billion.
This milestone reflects India’s strategic push towards financial inclusion and digital innovation. As UPI continues to expand internationally, the RBI’s DPI signals a future where digital payments are not just convenient but ubiquitous. Policymakers and businesses alike are watching closely, as this growth promises to reshape commerce, banking, and everyday life in the world’s most populous nation.