Mobile wallet for government services will be a reality soon

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Mobile wallet for government services will be a reality soon
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If you think that it was only banks that are going the app way, the latest being SBI, you might be in for a happy surprise. If reports are to be believed, Indian government would soon be launching a mobile wallet service for government services.

As of now, most government payments and receipts are done either through cash or cheque. However, using this app, one would be able to electronically pay for all kind of government services. This is a step in the direction of Modi government’s plan of creating a cashless, or less cash, economy and making India a digitally savvy country.

"Our endeavour through this project is to ensure that at least 90%, if not more, of all government payments happen through some or the other electronic mode, be it through credit card, RTGS, DBT or mobile," a senior official aware of the project called 'epayment' told ET.

A report of a Task Force on Aadhaar-Enabled Unified Payment Infrastructure which was released in 2012 came out stating that the cost of cash transactions is equivalent to 5-7% of GDP, which can be reduced by one-third if payments are done electronically. The report also recommended electronic payments for a sum more than Rs 1,000 by the government and government institutions.

However, while several public services like state-owned telephone and power utilities accept epayments by citizens, there are many departments that don't have the apps or technology for such payments. This is why Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) is developing a common app with basic payments features that can be used by all government departments.
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