Telecom regulatory Authority of India is taking necessary steps to support Central Government move to make India as Cashless Nation and boost digital payments.
Now, as a part of that, TRAI has put two strong suggestions in front of the Government to boost cashless transactions.
TRAI urged the Government to offer Free Internet in rural areas and remove the convenience fee for digital transactions to achieve the goal. It said, free internet in rural areas will boost digital services and Removal of accessibility fees for Digital payments will encourage more participation in the campaign for making the country the cashless.However, will Government listen to these suggestions or not is the million dollar question.
Providing Free Internet in Rural Areas
To promote the move of cashless economy in the country, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has suggested that a fixed amount of free or reasonable internet should be provided to every national those who are staying in rural areas.
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The reasonable amount of data suggested by TRAI is nearly 100 MB per month, per user. TRAI has issued a notice yesterday and said, “In order to build the reasonable gap for the persons staying in rural areas and to support Government’s move towards cashless economy, the authority suggests a scheme under which a reasonable amount of data say 100 MB per month per person may be made available to rural subscribers for free.”
Moreover, TRAI has made three very effective themes while suggesting this initiative. They are
1. Free Internet in Rural Areas must be delivered in association with local ISPs, with Government supporting the initiative. Hence, all the practical and after-sale support has to be provided by the concerned ISP.
2. The sponsorships allotted should be derived and funded from Government’s Universal Service obligatory Fund (USOF), which allows saturation of telecom and internet services in the country.
3. Remove Convenience Fees from Digital Payments
During the event of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), TRAI chairman RS Sharma has strongly mentioned the removal of convenience fee on digital payments.
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Sharma said, “It is vibrant to remove convenience charge by the banks to create a well-operated and bearable digital and cashless economy.”Government recenty announced that it has removed service tax on all digital payments which are below RS 2000.
TRAI Chairman Said, “The Aadhar Card Mobile Jan Dhan Accounts has involved a massive user base of 1.1 billion Indians into the cashless mode and now all we need is to parallel the cash payments with cashless payments to bring a huge change in the country.”
