Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch India’s first cashless and contactless digital payment instrument, e-RuPI, at 4:30 PM today.
According to the government, e-RUPI will be delivered to mobile phones of beneficiaries in the form of an SMS string or a QR code.
The instrument, co-developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Health Authority, will function akin to a redeemable prepaid gift-voucher. e-RUPI will be soon be seen being accepted at specific centres without the need of a credit or debit card, a mobile app or internet banking.
Digital technology is transforming lives in a major way and is furthering ‘Ease of Living.’ At 4:30 PM tomorrow, 2nd August, will launch e-RUPI, a futuristic digital payment solution which offers several benefits for its users. https://t.co/UpLgtBl1K3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 1, 2021
The government Press Information Bureau (PIB), in a statement, says that “e-RUPI will connect the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface. It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed. Being prepaid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without involvement of any intermediary.”
“e-RUPI can also be used for providing services under schemes meant for providing drugs and nutritional support under TB eradication programmes, Mother and Child welfare schemes, drugs & diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat, fertilizer subsidies, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana etc. The private sector can also use these digital vouchers for employee welfare and CSR,” the statement adds.