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December 12, 2016Cheaper Fuel, Train Tickets on Digital Transaction, Says Arun Jaitley
Today its one month since PM announced demonetisation decision and in last 30 days we have seen major changes in economy,” said Jaitley while talking to media.
To promote cashless transaction, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced various discounts on digital payments on purchase of fuel and train tickets. Suggesting that transaction through cash has economic as well as in-built cost in a democratic set-up, the finance minister said the government is promoting payment by credit, debit cards and e-wallets. Speaking to media on the completion of one month of the demonetisation decision, Jaitley said the country has seen many changes in last mone month. “Today its one month since PM announced demonetisation decision and in last 30 days we have seen major changes in economy,” said Jaitley adding that the aim of demonetisation has been to move towards digital transactions. He also said that the RBI is releasing currency as per schedule.
Discounts on Digital Payments
In a bid to promote a less-cash economy, the government today announced discounts on an array of services from petrol to insurance and railway tickets that are bought through the digital mode and even waived service tax on card transactions of up to Rs 2,000.
1. Discount On Fuel Purchase : A discount of 0.75 per cent has been offered on purchase of petrol and diesel through either credit/debit cards, e-wallets or mobile wallets. So if petrol price in Delhi is Rs 63.47/L the price on digital payment will be Rs 62.99/L. So if you make a transaction of Rs 1,000 for buying petrol, you will get 15.87 litres as against 15.75 litres on cash payment, saving of .12 litres. Similarly, diesel costs Rs 54.28 per litre in Delhi. On card payment, it will cost Rs 53.879 per litre. So if you make a payment of Rs 1,000 on diesel purchase you get 18.56 litres as against 18.42 litres on cash transaction, saving of .14 litres.
2. PoS Machine in Villages : Every village will get two point-of-sale machines, promises finance minister in bid to ease anger at sudden removal of 500- and 1,000-rupee notes. In a bid to push the cashless payment mode in rural areas of the country, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has said it will provide a grant of Rs 228 crore for deployment of two lakh point-of-sale (PoS) machines in one lakh villages and procurement of EMV-based debit cards for farmers.
3. Rupay Cards to Farmers : The government, through the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI), had introduced the domestic card scheme, RuPay, to rival Visa and Mastercard. The NCPI then went on to work with major banks to get them on board to launch the RuPay Kisan Card and the first to launch it was the Bank of Maharashtra, which has issued it to farmers who have accounts with the bank. “We have issued more than 30,000 RuPay-enabled cards. The cards will ensure judicious use of cash limits by farmers. Once the loan is credited to the account of farmers, they can purchase things using the card as per the requirement,” said Balasaheb Tavhare, assistant general manager, information technology and management information systems, Bank of Maharashtra.
4. Discount on Sub-Urban Rail Passes :Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday listed several central government initiatives to minimise cash transactions in the country, including a 0.5% discount on digital payments for suburban railway ticket bookings, ANI reported. People paying through cards for petrol or diesel will also enjoy 0.75% discount. While the discount on the seasonal ticket booking will be in affect from January 1, 2017, with Mumbai’s suburban railways being the first sector where it will be implemented, the Union minister did not give a timeline for the discounts on fuel purchase.
5. Insurance Cover for Rail Travellers : 10 per cent and 8 per cent discount will be offered in case of general and life insurance for buying new policy or paying premium online via PSUs websites.
Similarly, 10% and 8% discount will be offered in case of general and life insurance for buying a new policy or paying premium online via the PSU websites.Announcing 11 decisions to promote digital transactions, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that monthly and seasonal suburban railway tickets purchased through digital mode will get 0.5.
He also announced insurance cover worth Rs 10 lakh for those buying tickets online. A 5% discount will be made available to those who opt for digital payments when using railway services including catering and retiring rooms. Commuters who opt for digital payments or use Smart TAGs and Radio-Frequency Identification facilities at toll plazas on national highways will get a 10% discount.
6. Discount on Rail Utilities :Online booking of railway tickets will get Rs 10 lakh accident insurance. Those using digital mode to pay for railway catering, accommodation, retiring room will be entitled to a discount of 5 per cent. Monthly and seasonal suburban railway tickets purchased through digital mode will get 0.5 per cent discount. So if you are booking a ticket in Third AC for Delhi to Patna Rajdhani, you pay Rs 1660 at the counter and Rs 1651.7 though online or card payment. You also get the Rs 10 lakh accident insurance. If the pantry car in the train has a POS machine you save five per cent on your orders with card payments.
7. Discount on Insurance Premiums : Buying general life insurance policies from PSU insurers’ websites will attract a 10% discount. The measures were announced as the Centre’s demonetisation drive against black money completed a month on Thursday. Jaitley praised Narendra Modi for having “broad shoulders” to take such a huge decision, NDTV reported. Jaitley said cash transactions were a huge burden on the economy.
8. Ceiling on Monthly Charge on PoS Machines : This covers the terminals provided to the existing clients and new accounts sourced through the Branches. Bank will be paying monthly rent to the service provider for these terminals. In this model, there will be monthly charges if the terminals are not used for the transactions above Rs. 75000/- per month and the slab wise charges are as follows:
| Monthly Turnover through POS Terminal | Monthly Charges to be levied |
|---|---|
| 0 – 25,000 | Rs.500 |
| 25,001 – 50,000 | Rs.450 |
| 50,001 – 75,000 | Rs.400 |
| 75,001 and above | Nil |
9. Service Tax Exemption : Jaitley said that public dealings with government departments and PSUs through digital mode will be free of transaction fee and MDR charges. Also, credit and debit card transactions up to Rs 2,000 will be exempt from service tax. The minister further said that a 10% discount will be available on the use of digital mode for paying for RFID or fast-tags for highway toll. “We were using an excessive amount of cash and very, very limited amount of digital transactions till November 8,” he said, adding there is a cost of transacting in cash which has to be borne by the economy.
10. Discount on Highway Toll : A 10 per cent discount will be available on use of digital mode for paying for RFID or fast-tags for highway toll. So if you are using a two-wheeler on Yamuna Expressway till Agra exit, you pay Rs 175 through cash as toll and Rs 157.50 through card. For car or jeep, the toll charge for digital payment will be Rs 369 against Rs 410 for cash payment, a saving of 41 Rs.
