Meet Raju Patel, a "digital beggar" with an e-wallet and QR code around his neck

Raju Patel, a man from Bihar may well be the country's first "digital beggar". Raju sits at the corner of Bettiah railway station in Bihar with a QR code hanging around his neck to accept alms digitally. In a rather amusing fact, Raju identifies himself as a staunch follower of the State's former CM and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. While speaking to ANI he mentions that he is inspired by Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's idea of Digital India. The "digital beggar" also added that he never misses the Prime Minister's radio programme "Mann ki Baat"

India's first digital beggar

Speaking to news agency ANI Patel said, "I accept digital payments, and it's enough to get the work done and fill my stomach. I have been begging here since my childhood but I have changed the way of begging in this digital age."

Raju Patel also narrated his struggles in his chat with ANI reporters about how people used to refuse to have cash in smaller denominations and that was the spark that started this digital innovation. 

"After begging, I sleep at the station itself. I could not find any other way of livelihood. Many times, people refused to give alms saying that they did not have cash in smaller denominations. Many travellers said that in the era of e-wallets like pay-phones etc., there is no need to carry cash anymore. Due to this, I opened a bank account, and an e-wallet," he said.

Raju Patel also added that he had an Aadhaar card but no PAN. Bank requires a PAN card and an Aadhaar card to open an account so he got himself a PAN card to keep up with changing times. According to Patel, he has a bank account in the main branch of the State bank of India and he uses the e-banking feature to beg around Bettiah railway station.

Union MoS for Finance Dr Bhagwat Karad noted that digital payments have grown multi-folds in recent years.,"88% growth in the volume of digital transactions during last three years since 2018-19. With over 22 billion transactions in FY 2020-21, UPI emerges as the favourite digital payment choice"

(With ANI inputs)