India's first cashless and contactless instrument for digital payments — e-RUPI, is set to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 4:30 PM later today.
Defined by the government as a " person-specific and purpose-specific payments system," e-RUPI will be delivered to mobile phones of beneficiaries in 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.
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 pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without involvement of any intermediary."
"It [e-RUPI] can also be used for delivering services under schemes meant for providing drugs and nutritional support under Mother and Child welfare schemes, TB eradication programmes, drugs & diagnostics under schemes like Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, fertilizer subsidies etc. Even the private sector can leverage these digital vouchers as part of their employee welfare and corporate social responsibility programmes," the statement adds.
