Union Cabinet Approves Rs 15 Billion Incentive for BHIM-UPI Growth
ECONOMY & POLICY

Union Cabinet Approves Rs 15 Billion Incentive for BHIM-UPI Growth

The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 15 billion scheme to promote low-value BHIM-UPI peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions for FY 2024-25. The initiative aims to drive digital payments and achieve a target of 200 billion transactions in the fiscal year. 

For the first time, the government has defined small and large merchants for BHIM-UPI incentives. Transactions up to Rs 2,000 made to small merchants will receive an incentive at a rate of 0.15%, while large merchants in the same bracket will receive no incentive. No incentives will be provided for transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the scheme a step towards enhancing digital payments and ‘Ease of Living’. However, industry players have raised concerns over the funding allocation. Vishwas Patel, Joint MD of Infibeam Avenues and Chairman of the Payments Council of India (PCI), argued that the Rs 15 billion allocation would be insufficient to sustain the ecosystem, which processed Rs 246.82 trillion in UPI transactions in 2024. He suggested introducing a controlled MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) of 25 bps for merchants with over Rs 4 million turnover, while maintaining zero MDR for smaller merchants. 

In FY24, the government provided Rs 32.68 billion in incentives for BHIM-UPI, compared to Rs 18.02 billion in FY23 and Rs 9.57 billion in FY22. Additional Rs 4.08 billion and Rs 4.32 billion were allocated for promoting RuPay debit cards in previous years. 

The government has set conditions for the disbursement of funds, ensuring that 80% of admitted claims by acquiring banks will be disbursed unconditionally, while the remaining 20% will be linked to factors such as maintaining technical declines below 0.75% and a system uptime of over 99.5%. 

(Business Standard) 
                      

The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 15 billion scheme to promote low-value BHIM-UPI peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions for FY 2024-25. The initiative aims to drive digital payments and achieve a target of 200 billion transactions in the fiscal year. For the first time, the government has defined small and large merchants for BHIM-UPI incentives. Transactions up to Rs 2,000 made to small merchants will receive an incentive at a rate of 0.15%, while large merchants in the same bracket will receive no incentive. No incentives will be provided for transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the scheme a step towards enhancing digital payments and ‘Ease of Living’. However, industry players have raised concerns over the funding allocation. Vishwas Patel, Joint MD of Infibeam Avenues and Chairman of the Payments Council of India (PCI), argued that the Rs 15 billion allocation would be insufficient to sustain the ecosystem, which processed Rs 246.82 trillion in UPI transactions in 2024. He suggested introducing a controlled MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) of 25 bps for merchants with over Rs 4 million turnover, while maintaining zero MDR for smaller merchants. In FY24, the government provided Rs 32.68 billion in incentives for BHIM-UPI, compared to Rs 18.02 billion in FY23 and Rs 9.57 billion in FY22. Additional Rs 4.08 billion and Rs 4.32 billion were allocated for promoting RuPay debit cards in previous years. The government has set conditions for the disbursement of funds, ensuring that 80% of admitted claims by acquiring banks will be disbursed unconditionally, while the remaining 20% will be linked to factors such as maintaining technical declines below 0.75% and a system uptime of over 99.5%. (Business Standard)                       

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

RVNL Shares Rise on Rs 1.15 Billion Central Railway Contract

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) shares rose by eleven per cent on May sixteen following the company’s announcement of a new contract win worth approximately Rs 1.15 billion. The letter of award was issued by Central Railway for overhead equipment (OHE) modification work in the Itarsi–Amla section under Nagpur Division.The project involves upgrading the existing 1×25 kilovolt electric traction system to 2×25 kilovolts to support a loading target of three thousand metric tonnes. The work is scheduled for completion within twenty-four months.At 11:47 AM on the Bombay Stock Exchange, RVNL wa..

Next Story
Building Material

India Sets Up First Carbon Capture Testbeds for Cement Industry

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) recently unveiled a pioneering national initiative: five Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) testbeds in the cement sector, forming a first-of-its-kind research and innovation cluster to combat industrial carbon emissions.This is a significant step towards India’s Climate Action for fostering National Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets and to achieve net zero decarbonisation pathways for Industry Transition., towards the Government’s goal to achieve a carbon-neutral economy by 2070.Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) holds significant impor..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train Set for 2028 Launch

India’s first bullet train service, connecting Mumbai and Ahmedabad, is scheduled to launch in 2028. The high-speed corridor spans five hundred eight Km and will reduce travel time between the two cities from nearly eight hours to three.The National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd is overseeing the project, with rapid progress reported in Gujarat. Initial delays in Maharashtra due to land acquisition and environmental clearances have been addressed, enabling construction of the underground terminal in Mumbai and other critical sections.The route includes twelve stations such as Thane, Virar,..

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?