VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched digital payment services through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the village and ward secretariats for safe and speedy transactions. 
The services, launched in association with the National Payment Corporation of India (NCPI) and Canara Bank, will be available in 15,004 village and ward secretariats. 

Launching the service from his camp office at Tadepalle on Monday, the Chief Minister said that taking governance to the doorstep of people is the prime objective of his government and towards that, village/ward secretariat system was introduced. 

“Through them, over 545 services are being provided to people. Village/ward secretaries have been set up for every village/ward with around 2,000 population. Further for every 50 families, one village/ward volunteer was appointed. Today, taking another step, we have brought in digital payment mode in the secretariats. I congratulate Canara Bank and greet the people on the occasion,” Jagan said. 

Canara Bank MD and CEO LV Prabahakar said the bank has always remained at the forefront in the implementation of digital initiatives in tune with the ‘Digital India’ initiative. “The State government, in its visionary mission of digitising the government payments, has announced this dream project, which is aimed at extending digital payment facility to the common man,” he said. 

National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) MD and CEO Dilp Asbe said they are pleased to collaborate with the Andhra Pradesh government and Canara bank in furthering the technological innovations in the digital payments ecosystem. 

“The launch of UPI in over 15,000 village and ward secretariats is a historic move by the AP government and we, at NPCI, are glad to be a part of it. We believe, equipping rural India with digital infrastructure and technology will create last mile penetration and help in evolution of the digital payment space,” he observed. The first-of-its-kind initiative will not only reduce the time spent by villagers waiting in serpentine queues but also ensure secure, instant and contactless payments, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Panchayat Raj and Rural Development minister Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy and Principal Secretary Ajay Jain were present at the Camp office while Canara Bank MD and CEO LV Prabhakar and NPCI CEO Dilip Asbe participated in the programme through video conference.