Panel set up to encourage digitisation of payments in J-K

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has constituted a 10-member sub-committee to suggest measures to encourage digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion.

As per an order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD), the committee will be headed by financial commissioner and its terms of reference include mapping financial institutions and evolving measures for streamlining of government schemes to facilitate direct benefit transfer.

The panel will identify shadow areas and realignment of banking correspondents, recommend dedicated financial literacy initiatives to promote digital payments and suggest measures to leverage reach and technical expertise of payments banks to cover the gap of provision of basic banking facilities, the order issued by the secretary to the governor, GAD, Farooq Ahmad Lone, on Thursday said.

The order said the panel will also suggest a mechanism for monitoring of P2P points, debit card floats and points of sale positioning to enhance effectiveness of digital financial architecture, outline steps for monitoring of Government to Merchant (G2M), Government to Person (G2P), Person to Government (P2G) and Merchant to Government (M2G) transactions, assess levels of digitisation and find solutions to increase the same.

The terms of reference of the sub-committee also include ensuring the availability of adequate digital infrastructure at all wholesale grain 'mandis' and village haats so as to introduce digital transactions for benefit of rural customers, and any other area(s) as may be identified by the committee or prescribed at state level bankers committee (SLBC) or Union Territory Level Bankers Committee (UTLBC) level.

The sub-committee would furnish its report to SLBC in its next meeting, the order read.

Members of the committee include principal secretary to the government, information technology (IT) department; secretary, agriculture production department, president J&K Bank (who is also convenor SLBC); deputy general manager SBI, J&K; circle heads of HDFC Bank and Punjab National Bank, J&K; managing director, State Cooperative Bank, J&K; chairman, J&K Grameen Bank and vice president (IT), J&K Bank.