Now, Aadhaar-based digital payments at post offices in the country

HYDERABAD: Taking a step towards Digital India, India Post is mulling over a proposal to provide Aadhaar-based payment services at post offices in the country. “The aim is to facilitate digital transactions,” said BV Sudhakar, secretary in the postal department (Hyderabad circle), here on Monday.

The enabling software for Aadhaar-based payment developed by AP Technology Services was tested at the General Post Office at Hyderabad successfully, said Sudhakar while showcasing progress on initiatives taken by the postal service in last nine months.

India Post has also tied up with UIDAI to facilitate issuance of Aadhaar cards through post offices. The service is expected to begin in June. The department has come up with many new initiatives aimed at optimising and cutting down operational costs. “We now have a core system integration software that will integrate different softwares that have been grounded. We tested the software at the General Post Office in Hyderabad.” Earlier this month the department extended the Speed Post booking facility to all branch post offices across the country. Through this move the department hopes to rake in an additional 10 pc profit, he added.

Under the Centre’s Rural Information and Communication Technology initiative, post offices will be supplied with hand-held devices that perform postal and savings bank operations. The devices have a solar power backup and are expected to reach all branch post offices by this year. The department is also trying to provide inter-operability of these hand-held devices, which also operate as micro ATMs, in a couple of months.

On the amendments made to the Indian Post Office Act 1898 in the 2017 finance bill, he said the amendment would now allow the postal department to set the tariff rates for postcards, envelopes, sample packets, registered newspapers and others. “The amendment now allows us to rationalise the prices but we will not unfairly hike the prices,” Sudhakar said.