Meet Raju Patel, India's new age beggar who accepts alms online

India has been through a digital revolution and people have slowly starting integrating this change within their lives. Raju Patel, a beggar from Bihar, is one of them. Recently,  ANI reported that Raju Patel has shed the traditional method of asking for alms and started using PhonePe, a digital wallet and an online payment app.Some people, who are amused by Patel’s innovation, have labelled him as “India’s first digital beggar”. Meanwhile, a few people pointed out how technology and digital literacy has done little to eliminate poverty. “Its both good and bad. Good that digitisation has reached the masses. Bad that govt is not doing enough to reduce beggary, giving jobs and these people themselves feel content with begging and not doing something for themselves to get out of it and brighten their future,” a Twitter user commented.

Bihar | Raju Patel, a beggar in Bettiah, goes digital; accepts PhonePe & puts a QR code around his neck

"I accept digital payments, it's enough to get the work done & fill my stomach," said Raju Patel

Visuals from Bettiah railway station pic.twitter.com/nbw83uXop6

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2022

Speaking to ANI, Raju 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." "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 added.He also claimed that while most people continue to give him cash, he also receives payments in his e-wallets. He informed that the bank wanted his Aadhaar and PAN card for opening the bank account, so he got himself a PAN made as well to set the ball rolling. He has is account open in the State Bank of India.