Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched the BHIM-Aadhaar digital paymentsplatform to boost the digital payments revolution and also felicitated some of the winners of the Mega Draw. Joining the culmination of the DigiDhan Mela, Modi presented awards to the mega draw winners of Lucky Grahak Yojna and DigiDhan Vyapar Yojna.
Rs 1 crore, 50 lakh and 25 lakh Mega rewards were announced to small consumers for using Digital Payments Lucky Grahak Yojana. Daughter of small Kiran store owner from Latur District in Maharashtra, Shraddha received Rs 1 crore Mega reward by PM Modi.
Addressing the gathering at Nagpur, Modi said, Bhim app will give more power to the poor. “Soon the poor of the country will chant Digidhan, Nijidhan,” he added.
Stating that BHIM app will positively impact everyone’s lives, Modi added, “Your mobile phone will be your bank.”
The PM said that the world will study BHIM app’s success.
“This DigiDhan movement is a Safai Abhiyaan. It is to fight the menace of corruption. We are reaching a time when the mobiles phones will be where financial transactions will take place,” Modi added.
BHIM-Aadhaar, the merchant interface of the BHIM App will pave the way for digital payments by using the Aadhaar platform enabling each Indian to pay digitally using their biometric data on a merchant`s biometric-enabled device like a SmartPhone with a biometric reader.
Any Indian without access to smartphones, internet, debit or credit cards will be able to transact digitally through this platform, realising Ambedkar`s vision of social and financial empowerment for all.
Already, 27 major banks are now on board this platform with 300,000 merchants to start accepting digital payments.
Modi also launched two new incentive schemes for the BHIM-Cashback and Referral Bonus with an outlay of Rs 495 crore for a six-month period to ensure permeating digital payments culture to the grassroots.
Under the Referral Bonus Scheme, both the existing user who refers BHIM and the new user who adopts it would get a cash bonus credited directly to their accounts. Per referral, the government will deposit Rs 10 to the account holder. The scheme will run till October 14.
Under the Cashback scheme, the merchants will get a cashback on every transaction using BHIM.