All panchayats in India will be required to adopt digital payments for development projects and revenue collection starting this Independence Day, according to a letter issued by the Panchayati Raj Ministry.
Panchayats have also been asked to hold meetings with service providers and vendors on June 30. A list with details of contact persons from UPI platforms GPay, PhonePay, PayTm, BHIM, Mobikwik, WhatsApp Pay, Amazon Pay and Bharat Pe has been shared by the ministry.
By July 15, panchayats have to choose appropriate service providers and finalise vendors by July 30, as per guidelines by the ministry.
Panchayats have also been asked to choose a single vendor which covers the whole area so as to allow economies of scale. It has also been recommended to create a centralised dashboard for monitoring transactions in real time.
Training camps will be held at the district and block levels for officials.