File No. 16-03/2019-Inspn.
Government of India
Ministry of Communications
Department of Posts
(Inspection Unit)

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-11001,
Dated: 07.02.2022

To

1. All Heads of Postal Circles,
2. Director RAKNPA,
3. APS Directorate, New Delhi,
4. Directors, All Postal Training Centres

Subject: Revision of Standard Inspection Questionnaire for Branch Post Office.

The Standard Inspection Questionnaire of Branch Post Office and supplementary questions thereon circulated vide this office letter No. 16-03/2019-Inspn. dated 09.08.2019 and letter No. 16-03/2019-Inspn. dated 15.04.2021 respectively with respect to Question No. 36 of Branch Post Office Inspection Questionnaire is ordered to be revised as under with immediate effect:-

Branch Post Office Inspection Questionnaire

2. Circles are requested to circulate the revised Ques. No. 36 to 118 subordinate units for using the same while inspecting Branch Post Offices. It is also requested that Circles may forward suggestions/ recommendation to further improve the Questionnaire.

Assistant Director (Inspection)

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NEP 2020 strives to guarantee that no child is denied the chance to study and achieve regardless of their birth circumstances or background. National Education Policy 2020 by the Union Minister of Education reply in the Lok Sabha.

Ministry of Education
National Education Policy, 2020

06 DEC 2021

The National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP 2020) has been finalised after detailed consultation process with all stakeholders including State/UT Governments, followed by the approval of Union Cabinet. Implementation of the spirit and intent of the Policy is the most critical matter. Comprehensiveness in implementation will be key; as this Policy is interconnected and holistic, which ensure that the desired objectives are achieved. Since education is a concurrent subject, it needs careful planning, joint monitoring, and collaborative implementation between the Centre and States. Accordingly, Ministry has written to all its implementing agencies, regulatory bodies, State/UT Governments, other stakeholder Ministries/Departments, etc for taking steps for implementation of NEP 2020.

National Education Policy 2020 proposes various measures to improve Gross Enrollment Ratio at all levels of education such as providing universal access and opportunity to all children, effective and sufficient infrastructure, safe conveyances and hostels, especially for the girl children, children who are dropping out of school are brought back into mainstream education, enhancing access by establishing more high-quality HEIs in aspirational districts, integration of vocational Education with School and Higher Education, Scholarship / Fellowships for SEDGs/Girls/Divyangs, etc. In the Policy, targets have been set to achieve 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio in preschool to secondary level by 2030 and 50% in higher education by 2035.

Improving the quality of education across all levels from primary to university level is a continuous and ongoing process. The policy provides different timelines as well as principles and methodology for its implementation. A series of workshops/VCs have been held with States/UTs to discuss innovative ideas for NEP implementation. States/UT Governments have also started taking initiatives towards implementation of NEP 2020.

Roles of Government of India and State / UT Governments have been clearly indicated in the NEP 2020 such as overall monitoring and policymaking for continual improvement of the public education system; educational operations and service provision for the public schooling system; effective quality self-regulation or accreditation system for all stages of education; setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA); transparent public self-disclosure of all the basic regulatory information; setting up of large, multidisciplinary universities and colleges, with at least one in or near every district; faculty and institutional autonomy; establishment of National Research Foundation; governance of HEIs by high qualified independent boards; “light but tight” regulation by a single regulator for higher education; scholarships to disadvantaged and underprivileged students; online education, and Open Distance Learning (ODL); and infrastructure and learning materials, etc. NEP 2020 proposes to have multiple mechanisms with checks and balances for different aspects of education sector. The policy unequivocally endorses and envisions a substantial increase in public investment in education by both the Central government and all State Governments. The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

NEP 2020 aims to ensure that no child loses any opportunity to learn and excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. It proposes special emphasis to be given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs). Details of equitable and inclusive education are given in Chapters 6 and 14 of NEP 2020.

The information was given by the Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

PIB

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7th CPC recommended Disability Pension – Lok Sabha Q&A

6124. SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:
SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIKRAO GAWALI PATIL:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:

(a) whether concerns expressed by armed forces before Seventh Central Pay Commission regarding disability pension are being resolved and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the reasons for converting existing percentage based system of disability pension into slab based system;

(c) the steps taken by the Government to rectify the discrepancies that have emerged in disability pension system after Seventh Central Pay Commission;

(d) whether the Government is considering to bring disability pension of defence services equivalent to disability pension in civil sector in Seventh Central Pay Commission and make a review thereof; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)
IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(a) to (e): The 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommended the following on disability pension:-

The Commission is of the considered view that the regime implemented post 6th CPC needs to be discontinued, and recommended a return to the slab based system. The slab rates for disability element for 100 percent disability would be as follows:-

The above recommendation was accepted and Resolution dated 30.09.2016 issued accordingly.

The 6th CPC dispensation of the calculation of disability element on percentage basis, however, continued for civil side which resulted in an anomalous situation. The issue was accordingly referred to the Anomaly Committee. The Anomaly Committee recommended that parity with civilians for grant of disability element which was granted to the Defence Forces Personnel under 6th CPC may be maintained which was approved by the Cabinet. Government order in this regard has been issued on 4th September, 2017.

Source: http://loksabha.nic.in/

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1173

ANSWERED ON:09.02.2018

Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place

SUSHMITA DEV

(a) whether the number of complaints of sexual harassment of women at work places has increased in the country over the years;

(b) if so, the details thereof indicating the number of complaints received by the National Commission for Women (NCW) during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

(c) whether the Government has also launched SHe-Box online complaint management system to register complaints related to sexual harassment of women at work place and if so, the number of complaints registered in the system during the said period along with the action taken thereon;

(d) whether the NCW has stressed for setting up of an Internal Complaint Committee in each and every Government department/institution/ autonomous body in the country and if so, the details along with the compliance status thereof;

(e) the details of laws presently in force under which the complaints regarding sexual harassment of women at work places could be registered in the country; and

(f) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure protection of women from sexual harassment at work places in the country?

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENTbe pleased to state:-

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

(a) & (b) The details of number of complaints registered under the category of Sexual Harassment at Workplace, State/UT wise during last three years and current year i.e. 2015,2016, 2017 and 2018 (upto 5.2.2018) is at Annexure-I.

(c) In order to ensure the effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, the Ministry has launched an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic – Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace of all women employees in the country, including government and private employees. So far, 107 complaints have been received through portal ”SHe-box”. All concerned authorities have been requested for appropriate resolution.

(d) & (e)The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 mandates all the workplace which include any department, organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise, institution, office, branch or unit which is established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government or the local authority or a Government company or a corporation or a co¬operative society having more than 10 workers to constitute Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) for receiving complaints of sexual harassment.The Act cast an obligation upon all the employers to constitute Internal Complaint Committee. Section 23 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 casts responsibility on the appropriate Government to monitor the implementation of this Act.

(f) Ministry of Women and Child Development had issued advisories to all States/UTs Government to ensure effective implementation of the Act. The Ministries/Departments in Government of India have also been advised to ensure the compliance of the Act from time to time.Ministry of Corporate Affairs along with the industry bodies, Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Society, Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI), and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) have also been requested to ensure effective implementation of the Act amongst their members in private sectors.

Further, Department of Personnel and Training has notified the amendments to Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules 1964 and Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 align with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.

Ministry of Women and Child Development has formulated a Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM) in consultation of Ministry of Women and Child Development has also prepared a training module for the training of Internal Complaint Committee constituted under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

Apart from the above, the Ministry has empanelled Institutes/Organizations for imparting training programmes/workshops in different parts of the country under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

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UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 2045
ANSWERED ON: 29.12.2017

CPF Pensioners

SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNPURIA

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-

(a) the details of existing pension rates of Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) pensioners in the country;

(b) whether the Government proposes to increase the CPF rates;

(c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and

(d) whether the Government has any information regarding the number of CPF pensioners as on 31st March, 2016, and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance

(a) to (d) The Central Government employees who are covered by CPF Rules (India) 1962 and who retired on or after 01.01.1986 are not entitled to any monthly pension/ex-gratia amount. However, the Government employees under CPF who retired between 18.11.1960 and 31.12.1985 are entitled to monthly ex-gratia amount. Presently following ex-gratia payment is admissible to the CPF beneficiaries who had retired from service prior to 01.01.1986:

Dearness ex-gratia equal to 50% of the amount of ex-gratia and Dearness Relief, as notified from time to time as per 5th Central Pay Commission series, on the sums of amount of ex-gratia and dearness ex-gratia is being paid to them. There is no proposal to increase the aforesaid rates.

Source: Lok Sabha Q&A

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1355
TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, THE 22ND DECEMBER, 2017
01, PAUSHA, 1939 (SAKA)

AMEND INCOME TAX RATES

1355. SHRI DEVENDRA SINGH BHOLE:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government proposes to amend the present rates of income tax so that more people may pay income tax;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the benefits likely to accrue to common man and the Government by this step; and

(c) if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI SHIV PRATAP SHUKLA)

(a) to (b) No Madam. Currently, there is no such proposal under consideration.

(c) The rates of income tax are prescribed through the Finance Act every year

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UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 4987

ANSWERED ON: 31.03.2017

Pension Scheme for SSC Officers

KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE
BHAVANA GAWALI (PATIL)
HARIOM SINGH RATHORE

Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government proposes to start a pension scheme for the Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the defence sector;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government proposes to sanction pension for the defence personnels serving less than fifteen years and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government has received any representation from the Military Service Pensioners Association in this regard and if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard; and

(e) whether the Government proposes to launch any other welfare schemes for the military personnels who had served for less than fifteen years and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE) IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(a) & (b): At present, the Short Service Commissioned officers granted commission from other rank are entitled to pension on completion of 12 years of qualifying service. However, Short Service Commissioned officer who is granted commission from direct civil life is entitled to Terminal Gratuity only. There is no new proposal under consideration.

(c) Presently there is no such proposal.

(d) No, Madam.

(e) At present, there is no such proposal.

Source : Lok Sabha

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
(DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING)

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2229
(TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.03.2017)

SERVICE/RETIREMENT BENEFITS

2229. SHRI SULTAN AHMED:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has reviewed or proposed to review the service and retirement benefits of Government employees;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the changes made/proposed to be made in regard to deputation and early retirement policies?

ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office. (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

(a) to (b): The service and retirement benefits are decided and reviewed as per the recommendations of the Central Pay Commission (CPC) and acceptance/rejection of the same by the Government thereon. The recommendations of Seventh CPC have been considered by the Government and necessary resolutions have already been published in the Gazette of India.

(c): Vide DoPT’s O.M. No. 2/6/2016-Estt.Pay-II dated 17.02.2016, the Administrative Ministries/Departments and other borrowing organisations have been delegated powers to extend a deputation tenure upto seven years where absolutely necessary in public interest.This shall be subject to fulfilment of conditions prescribed in DoPT’s O.M. No. 6/8/2009- Estt.(Pay-II) dated 17.06.2010.

The voluntary retirement policy of AIS officers have also been aligned with other Central Government employees vide this Ministry’s Gazette Notification No.24012/04/2016.AIS-II(Pension) dated 27.02.2017.

Source: LOK SABHA

Lok Sabha Q&A, Retirement AGE

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 672
ANSWERED ON: 06.02.2017

Maternity Leave

SHASHI THAROOR
Will the Minister of

LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:-

(a)whether the Government proposes to extend the time span of the compulsory paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks in private organizations;
(b)if so, the details thereof;
(c)whether the Government also proposes to amend section 4 of the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961, to ensure that women employed in various public sector undertakings receive the same benefit; and
(d)if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)

(a) & (b): Yes, Madam. The Government has decided to enhance the paid maternity leave from existing 12 weeks to 26 weeks and an Amendment Bill in this regard was introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has already passed the Bill on 11.08.2016. With regard to women workers covered under Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948, such enhancement has already been effected by amending the ESI (Central) Rules,1950.

(c) & (d): There is no proposal to amend Section 4 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The benefits under this Act are already applicable and available to women employed in various public sector undertakings.

Authority: www.Loksabha.nic.in

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 324
ANSWERED ON: 03.02.2017

E-Payments in Government Offices
K. GOPAL
A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN
VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-

(a). Whether the Government has asked its departments/offices of public sector firms and autonomous bodies to encourage their employees to use e-payments/debit cards for personal transactions to boost digital payment economy and if so, the details thereof;

(b)Whether the Government has instructed its departments/offices to stop cash payments to vendors and contractors for amounts above Rs.5000 and if so, the details thereof;

(c) Whether the Government has asked banks to promote digital banking in mission mode to boost digital economy and if so, the details thereof; and

(d). The steps taken/being taken by Government to promote e-payment in this regard?
ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)

(a). Yes, the Department of Expenditure has issued an advisory to all Ministries/Departments to encourage its employees to make use of Debit Cards for personal transactions instead of cash vide OM No. 25 (30)/E.Coord/2016 dated 1st December 2016. Given the progress made in banking technology, it is assumed that each employee would be in possession of a Debit/ATM card linked to his/her bank account. Ensuring and encouraging government employees to maximise the usage of Debit cards for personal related transactions instead of cash would go a long way serving with the employees serving as ‘ambassadors’ for the digital push and also motivate, encourage the general public in taking up the cause. All Ministries/Departments have been requested to encourage their employees to make use of Debit Cards for personal related transactions instead of cash. Ministries/Departments should liaise with their accredited banks and set up special camps to facilitate obtaining of and ensure that all its employees are in possession of Debit Cards. Ministries/Departments may also issue similar advisories to their attached/subordinate offices, PSUs, Autonomous Bodies etc.

(b). Yes, the Controller General of Accounts, Department of Expenditure has issued instructions to all Ministries/Departments vide OM. No. 3 (2) (1)/2016/ R&P Rules/Amendments/649 dated 5th December 2016. Rs. 10, 000/- was the earlier threshold limit beyond which all payments to suppliers, contractors etc.were made through e-payment mode. In order to attain the goal of complete digitization of Government payments the existing limit of Rs. 10, 000/- has been lowered to Rs. 5,000/- beyond which all Ministries/Departments shall make payment to suppliers, contractors etc. through e-payment mode only.

(c) & (d): The steps initiated by the Government to encourage digital banking in mission mode and the other measures taken to promote e-payment is provided in Annexure – I.
ANNEXURE – I

Incentives to promote digital transactions:

To further accelerate the process of cashless transaction, the Central Government has decided on a package of incentives and measures for promotion of digital and cashless economy in the country. These include:

(A) Petroleum:
Nearly 4.5 crore customers buy petrol or diesel at such petrol pumps per day. It is estimated that petrol/diesel worth Rs.1800 crore is sold per day to the customers, out of which nearly 20% was being paid through digital means. In the month of November 2016 it has increased to 40% and the cash transaction of Rs. 360 crore per day have got shifted to cashless transaction methods.

Incentive on digital payment:

•  The Central Government petroleum PSUs shall give incentive by offering a discount rate of 0.75% of the sale price to consumers on purchase of petrol/diesel, if payment is made through digital means.
• The incentive scheme has the potential of shifting at least 30% more customer to digital means which will further reduce the cash requirement of nearly Rs. 2 Lakh crore per year at the petrol pumps.

(B). Expand digital payment infrastructure in rural areas:

i. To expand digital payment infrastructure in rural areas, the Central Government through NABARD will extend financial support to eligible banks for deployment of 2 POS devices each in 1 Lakh villages with population of less than 10,000. These POS machines are intended to be deployed at primary cooperative societies/milk societies/agricultural input dealers to facilitate agri-related transactions through digital means. This will benefit farmers of 1 Lakh villages covering a total population of nearly 75 crore who will have facility to transact cashlessly in their village for their agri needs.

ii. The Central Government through NABARD will also support Rural regional Banks and Cooperative Banks to issue ‘RuPay Kisan Cards’ to 4.32 crore Kisan Card holders to enable them to make digital transactions at POS machines/Micro ATMs/ATMs.

(C). Railways:

i. Seasonal or Monthly Tickets: Nearly 80 Lakh passengers use seasonal or monthly ticket on suburban railways, largely in cash spending nearly Rs. 2,000 crore per year. As more and more passengers shift to digital means, the cash requirement may get reduced by Rs.1, 000 crore per year in near future.
Incentive on digital payment:

Railways through its suburban railway network shall provide incentive by way of discount upto 0.5% to customers for monthly or seasonal tickets from January 2017, if payment is made through digital means.

ii. Free Accidental Insurance: Nearly 14 Lakh railway passengers are buying tickets everyday, out of which 58% tickets are bought online through digital means. It is expected that another 20% passengers may shift to digital payment methods of buying railway tickets.

Incentive on digital payment:

All railway passengers buying online ticket shall be given free accidental insurance cover upto Rs. 10 Lakh. Nearly 11 Lakh passengers per day will be covered under the accidental insurance scheme.

iii. Paid Services: For paid services e.g. catering, accommodation, retiring rooms etc. being offered by railways through its affiliated entities/corporations to passengers, it will provide a discount of 5% for payment of these services through digital means. All the passengers travelling on railways availing these services may avail the benefit.

(D). General Insurance Policies:

Incentive on digital payment:
Public Sector Insurance Companies will provide incentive by way of discount or credit upto 10% of the premium in general insurance policies and 8% in new life policies of Life Insurance Corporation sold through the customer portals, in case payment is made through digital means.

(E). MDR Charges
The Central Government Departments and Central Public Sector Undertakings will ensure that transaction fee/MDR charges associated with payment through digital means shall not be passed on to the consumers and all such expenses shall be borne by them. State Governments are being advised that the State Governments and its organizations should also consider to absorb the transaction fee/MDR charges related to digital payment to them and consumer should not be asked to bear it.

(F). Ceiling on monthly rental for POS
i. Public Sector banks are being advised that merchant should not be required to pay more than Rs. 100 per month as monthly rental for POS terminals/Micro ATMs/mobile POS from the merchants to bring small merchants on board the digital payment ecosystem.
ii. Neary 6.5 Lakh machines by Public Sector banks have been issued to merchants who will be benefitted by the lower rentals and promote digital transactions. With lower rentals, more merchants will install such machines and promote digital transactions.

(G). Waiver of Service Tax
No Service Tax will be charged on digital transaction charges/MDR for transactions upto Rs. 2000 per transaction.

(H). Digital Payment Incentives for Toll payments
For the payment of toll at Toll Plazas on National Highways using RFID card/Fast Tags, a discount of 10% will be available to users in year 2016-17.

Major initiatives taken for promoting digital/cashless payments so far include the following:

(A). Rationalizing MDR/Transaction Fees:
i. To encourage digital payments by citizens, Government departments have been advised to absorb transaction fees/MDR associated with such transactions to ensure that no extra burden is put on those choosing to make payments by cashless means.

ii. For purchase of fuel and petroleum products, consumers are not required to pay any transaction charge/fee for payment using Debit Card/digital means at CPSU fuel stations.

iii. Discoms and State Governments have been persuaded to facilitate payment of electricity charges by consumers through digital means without any convenience fee/charge to consumers.

iv. Merchant Discount Rate on Debit Card has been waived till 31/12/2016 in public interest. This is expected to encourage small merchants to deploy infrastructure (POS terminals) to accept digital payments.

v. Customers are not required to pay Service Charges on purchase of railway tickets through cards at railway ticketing counters for a limited period.

(B). Strengthening Acceptance Infrastructure:

i. Digital payments being accepted by over 70 Central Government departments through various electronic modes viz., netbanking, debit/credit cards, prepaid cards, Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS) recording more than 1.4 crore transactions worth Rs. 3250 crores.

ii. Mobile Banking through interoperable ATMs has been launched; 81,000 ATMs of 12 Banks are already live and another 15,000 machines are expected to go live shortly.

iii. All major 45 archaeological sites having maximum footfalls/tourists have started accepting digital payments covering more than 80% of the visitors.

iv. To popularise digital payments, the acceptance infrastructure is substantially expanded by increasing deployment of POS/mobile POS machines from 14 Lakh to 25 Lakh by March 2017. A separate Task Force is closely monitoring the progress in this regard.

v. To expedite card less and pin less banking RBI has notified mandatory Aadhar Enablement of all new Point of Sale terminals.
vi. 5.5 Lakh Fair Price Shops are being equipped with micro-ATMs/POS for undertaking digital payment transactions.

vii. Electronic Toll collection system has been implemented in all Toll Plazas along with the facility to pay by credit/debit/prepaid cards. It shall be expanded to cover more lanes and wider network for distribution of Tags.

viii. For the benefit of commuters, standardized interoperable National Common Mobility card is being developed.
ix. 1000 ATMs installed in Post Offices have been permitted to be interoperable with the banks.

x. State Mission Directors of 33 identified smart cities have been issued advisories to provide for adequate deployment of digital payment infrastructure while designing smart cities.

(C). Digital Payments in Govt Departments:

i. To enable all Central Government Departments to accept digital payments without passing associated charges to citizens a separate head of expenditure has been approved.

ii. A Non-Tax Receipt Portal (bharatkosh.gov.in) has been created to enable users/citizens to make non-tax payments for as many as 237 categories of payments such as spectrum charges, RTI application fee, purchase of forms and magazines etc. online without going to banks or Government Offices.

iii. All Government organizations, Public Sector Undertakings, Authorities have been advised to review rules and regulations to support digital payments, adopt cashless payment solutions and activate payment facility through the pay.gov platform if they do not have such facility.

iv. Salary disbursal in all Central Government departments is being done through PFMS and the platform is also used for disbursal of other funds/payments.

(D). Rationalization of USSD charges

To enable mobile banking on feature phones, USSD charges have been rationalized and reduced from Rs. 1.50 per SMS to Rs. 0.50; an application for mobile phone payments (*99#) in four languages has been developed and the service providers have completely waived the charges for limited time.

(E). Rolling out of UPI

To facilitate mobile banking on smart phones, NPCI has rolled out Unified Payment Interface (UPI) application and 27 banks have already released the application to their customers.

(F). Strengthening Business Correspondents Network

i. More than 1,10,000 Business Correspondents (BCs) have been engaged by the Banks and Corporates in the country. These BCs are providing services at the door steps of the people in rural as well as in remote areas.

ii. In a major fillip to rural banking 1,25,000 Gramin Dak Sewaks of Post Offices to work as Business Correspondents of Banks.

iii. All geographical areas across the country have been mapped with Banks/Bank Mitras and dark/grey spots identified. Possibility of providing connectivity through VSAT and other means is being explored on priority.

iv. For ease of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), long pending issue of incentive compatible payments to Business Correspondents settled.

Besides above, the Hon’ble Prime Minister has also announced certain incentives on 31st December 2016. The proposals have also been announced in the Union Budget by the Hon’ble Finance Minister.

Source: Loksabha.nic.in

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