Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a futuristic digital payment solution by the name of e-RUPI on Monday.
It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and National Health Authority.
In his address at the launch, PM said, “Today the country is giving a new dimension to digital governance. eRUPI voucher is going to play a huge role in making DBT more effective in digital transactions in the country. This will help everyone in targeted, transparent and leakage-free delivery.”
Note that e-RUPI is one of the several programmes launched by the Modi government to ensure leak-proof transfer of government benefits to the target users. A cashless and contactless digital payment instrument, e-RUPI is a QR code/e-Voucher that is delivered to the cell phones of beneficiaries.
“Not only the government, if any general organization or organization wants to help someone in their treatment, in their education or for any other work, then they will be able to give eRUPI instead of cash. This will ensure that the money given by him is used for the same work for which that amount has been given,” PM added.
E-Rupi vouchers are like e-gift cards, which are prepaid in nature. e-RUPI will ensure timely payment without the requirement for intermediaries. The code of the cards can be shared either via SMS or the OR code can be shared. These e-vouchers will be person and purpose-specific. For example, if you have an e-RUPI voucher for Covid-19 vaccine, then it has to be redeemed for vaccines only.
E-RUPI is not any platform. Even if one does not have a bank account or a digital payment app or a smartphone can benefit from these vouchers. For instance, corporates can issue these vouchers for their employees. Eg: one can buy an e-voucher for vaccination in a private hospital and can gift it to another.
No card or hard copy of the voucher is needed for redeeming these. The QR code received via message is enough. According to National Health Authority, eight banks are already live with e-RUPI, including State Bank of Inia, HDFC, Axis, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank.
e-RUPI is expected to revolutionise the delivery of welfare services such as nutritional support (Mother and Child welfare schemes), TB eradication schemes, drugs and diagnostics (Ayushman Bharat), fertiliser subsidies, employee welfare in the private sector and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
It is worth adding that e-RUPI connects 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 the involvement of any intermediary. It is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.
It 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.
