Cabinet approves ₹1,300 cr reimbursement scheme for RuPay Debit Card, BHIM UPI transactions
1 min read 15 Dec 2021, 03:34 PM ISTThe cabinet also approved a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductor production
PremiumThe Union Cabinet announced on Wednesday that it has approved a scheme to provide incentives of small amounts for transactions done through the RuPay Debit Card and BHIM UPI.
This will incur an expense of around ₹1,300 crores, said Union minister Anurag Thakur.
Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government will reimburse transaction charges levied on digital payments made by persons to the merchant as part of the merchant discount rate (MDR).
He also informed that 423 crore digital transactions valued at ₹7.56 lakh crore took place in November.
The approved scheme will cover reimbursement on digital transactions of up to ₹2,000, using Rupay debit cards and BHIM-UPI.
"Under the scheme, the acquiring banks will be incentivised by the Government, by way of paying a percentage of the value of transactions (P2M) done through RuPay Debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI modes of payments, at an estimated financial outlay of ₹1,300 crore for a period of one-year w.e.f. April 01, 2021," an official statement said.
This scheme will facilitate acquiring banks in building a robust digital payment ecosystem and promoting Rupay debit card and BHIM-UPI digital transactions across all sectors and segments of the population and further deepening digital payments in the country, it added.
The scheme was formulated in compliance with the Budget announcements (FY2021-22) by the government to give a further boost to digital transactions in the country.
In addition to this, the cabinet also gave its nod to a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductor and display board production.
The scheme envisages investment of ₹76,000 crore in semiconductor production over the next five to six years, said Thakur.
Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the decision will help design, fabrication, packing and testing of the microchips and develop a complete ecosystem.
