The Narendra Modi government on Sunday announced that it will give out “digital payment champion” awards to 15 Indian districts, as part of its efforts to promote a “cashless economy”. The awards will go to the “best performing districts in India”, the NITI Aayog said as part of a series of tweets. Additionally, it claimed that the first 50 panchayats to go cashless will receive a “digital payment award of honour”.
Among other measures to boost its “cashless” drive, the agency said it will provide Rs 10 to district collectors for every citizen who performs at least two cashless transactions, and upto Rs 5 lakh for every district in India to promote digital transactions.
It added that the department has asked district collectors across India to make most of their transactions, disbursements or procurements through digital payment. The digital payment methods under the scheme include those done through Aadhaar, e-wallets and net banking, as well as Unified Payment Interface and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data.
“Incentives will be used for creating awareness, organising camps and imparting training to ensure that all citizens use digital payments,” the NITI Aayog said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been vigorously promoting a “cashless economy” since the government on demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8. On Friday, Modi had said, “Today we live in an era of mobile banking and mobile wallets. Ordering food, buying and selling furniture, ordering a taxi...all of this and lot more is possible through your mobiles. Technology has brought speed and convenience in our lives.”
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