New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS): In a move to digitally empower millions of Indians in rural areas and educate them about how to do cashless transactions, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday launched a TV channel named 'DigiShala'.

"DigiShala" is a free-to-air channel which is broadcast nationally on DD free-DTH service with a potential viewership of two crore across the country.

To achieve the objective of educating, enabling and informing citizens about cashless economy, the government has also initiated 'Digi Dhan Abhiyan'. 

"DigiShala will enable and empower every citizen of the country, especially farmers, students, Dalits and women in rural areas to learn the usefulness and benefits of digital payment in our everyday life," Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Electronics and IT, told reporters here while launching the TV channel.

Prasad said that as digital payment increases, the tax base of the nation will also increase. "It will make the whole nation honest as tax will be paid and the country's GDP will go up," Prasad added.

On "DigiShala", citizens will be informed and educated about various digital payment options through step by step demos of digital payments using UPI, USSD, Aadhar-enabled payment systems, e-Wallets and cards. 

Linking demonetisation to Digital India, the government intends to boost digital payments through credit and debit cards, internet banking, e-Wallets and mobile apps.

The government is in favour of moving towards an economy where 'cashless transactions' outweigh the 'cash transactions'. In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently urged people to "embrace e-banking, mobile banking and more such technology".

Whether India was prepared on the cyber security front, Prasad said that the government will take all measures to secure the digital transactions. 

The minister said people have already adopted e-commerce to a large extent. 

The central government through Nabard will also support 'Rural Regional Banks' and 'Cooperative Banks' to issue "Rupay Kisan Cards" to 4.32 crore 'Kisan Credit Card' holders to enable them to make digital transactions at POS machines, micro ATMs and ATMs.