BackCommon service centres in villages to collect utility payments: IT ministry
Common Service Centres, will work as part of Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit, in villages will now be able to collect payments for utility services, says IT ministry
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New Delhi: Common Service Centres (CSCs), the access points for various electronic services in villages, will now be able to collect recurring payments for services of utility providers such as power, water, gas and telecom, the ministry of information technology said on Monday.
The centres will work as part of Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit, an authorized operational network working as per standards set by BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System). They will onboard billers, aggregators and payment gateways to handle bill payments through different delivery channels.
“Bill collection will increase the footfall at these CSCs; it will also lead to increased level of trust and credibility in their community. This will lead to greater employment opportunities at each CSC and VLE," said Dinesh Tyagi, chief executive of CSC SPV (special purpose vehicle) in the ministry of electronics and information technology.
The announcement was made during a workshop “CSCs as GST Suvidha Provider" which was organized by CSC SPV to train top performing village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) and state level representatives of CSC SPV to enable implementation of the GST scheme, especially in rural India through CSC.
CSCs are largely access points that have a basic computing infrastructure run and operated by a local entrepreneur who lives within the community. It is an integral part of the ‘Digital India’ initiative of the government to foster financial inclusion in the country.
Union minister for electronics & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad, who inaugurated the event, appreciated the efforts of the enterprising VLEs in providing key services to the grassroots.
“GST means one nation, one tax. GST Suvidha Provider service that is being rolled out today, is a big opportunity for VLEs…. 140 different types of bills can be paid through CSCs as it starts operating as BBPOU," said Prasad.
CSCs will help merchants with registration, filing returns and support them in fulfilling various requirements under GST. They will mobilize, conduct training and create advocacy of GST implementation across the country.
The IT ministry also launched a website to mark the completion of three years of the Narendra Modi government. This micro-site is a one-stop platform serving as a repository of information pertaining to the initiatives and achievements of the last three years categorized under various heads.
‘New India Championship’, a contest will be available for the next 55 days on the website. It will entail activities such as sharing media and referring BHIM app to more extensive tasks such as Swachh Bharat, blogging and designing. The Championship will last until the 3rd anniversary of MyGov on 26 July.
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