All Panchayats To Become UPI-Enabled By Independence Day, Says Govt

The letter dated June 16, 2023, said that states should "announce and inaugurate" the UPI-compliant panchayats in the presence of prominent dignitaries, like chief ministers, MPs, and MLAs. 

As part of the directives provided by the Ministry, panchayats have been instructed to conduct meetings with service providers and vendors on June 30.

Source : Getty

In a recent letter issued by the Panchayati Raj Ministry, all panchayats across the country have been asked to adopt digital payments for all development activities and revenue collection starting from Independence Day onwards. The letter dated June 16, 2023, said that states should "announce and inaugurate" the UPI-enabled panchayats in the presence of prominent dignitaries, like chief ministers, MPs, and MLAs. 

As part of the directives provided by the Ministry, panchayats have been instructed to conduct meetings with service providers and vendors on June 30. The ministry has shared a list containing contact details of representatives from various UPI platforms, including GPay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM, Mobikwik, WhatsApp Pay, Amazon Pay, and Bharat Pe. According to the ministry's guidelines, panchayats are required to select suitable service providers by July 15 and finalize vendors by July 30.

To achieve economies of scale, panchayats have been advised to opt for a single vendor that can cover the entire area. Furthermore, the ministry has recommended the establishment of a centralized dashboard to monitor transactions in real-time.

Based on government data, the BHIM platform facilitated a staggering 806.3 crore transactions amounting to Rs 12.98 lakh crore in January 2023 alone. Notably, approximately 50 percent of digital transactions originate from rural and peri-urban areas, as per the data.

As per a report by PTI, Secretary, Panchayati Raj Ministry, Sunil Kumar said that almost 98 per cent of panchayats have already started using UPI-based payments.

"Payments worth almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore have been made through the Public Financial Management System (PMFS). Payments to panchayats will now be made digitally. Payments in cheques and cash have almost been stopped. It has almost universal coverage now. We have already covered almost 98 per cent of panchayats," he said.

Training camps will be held at the district and block levels for officials. Minister of State for Panchayati Raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil said enabling digital transactions will help in checking corruption.

"Most panchayats are now using digital payments. It will help in checking corruption. From planning to payment, everything is happening digitally," Patil told PTI.

The Panchayati Raj Ministry also said that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been actively utilising the PFMS-eGram Swaraj interface for digital payments. Moreover, over 90 per cent of PRIs have undergone online audits, indicating a significant level of digital adoption and compliance within these institutions, the ministry said.