Payments made by Indian government offices will soon be processed via an online payment gateway, The Hindu reports. Author: Elizabeth Smythe
Payments made by Indian government offices will soon be processed via an online payment gateway, The Hindu reports.
The system, developed by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), part of the governments’ finance ministry, will ensure that salaries, pensions, benefits and dividends will all credit beneficiaries’ accounts electronically.
Known as the Government e-Payment Gateway (GePG), the “fully secure” system will be inaugurated by finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee. The portal will run on “digitally signed electronic advice.”
The move has been made not only to make payments more transparent but to minimise corruption. Additionally, it has been hailed as a step towards ‘green’ banking, by reducing paper transactions.
Traditional government payment methods involved raising cheques, demand drafts or cash. The new system will eliminate the related manual processing, saving costs and improving efficiencies.
It is hoped that the system will inspire the adoption of other e-services across the government for other online payment processes.
It should also assist in the achievement of one of the government’s goals, as CR Sundaramurti of the CGA told the Indian Express: “This system will bring transparency and expedite direct payments from central paying units relating to subsidies to the users and consumers of fertiliser, kerosene and cooking gas, which is already a declared objective of the government.”
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