Powering lives gained a whole new meaning in the state on Thursday, with the chief minister launching an online gateway enabling consumers of Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) to pay their monthly energy bills from the comfort of their homes.

Paynimo - a next generation mobile-first payment platform - created by Mumbai-based TechProcess is empowering JBVNL customers to pay bills securely anytime, anywhere through debit or credit cards. They would, however, continue to enjoy the physical payment option at the 70-odd ATP machines in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Dumka, Dhanbad and Medininagar (Palamau).

"It is a great initiative by JBVNL and TechProcess to solve real-world problems, such as paying utility bills, by leveraging the high penetration of Internet and smartphones in India," chief minister Raghubar Das said after launching Paynimo at a function at Project Building in Ranchi.

Rahul Purwar, the managing director of JBVNL, underscored that they intended to reduce the hassle of long queues, save time, and provide accessibility and transparency to consumers. "We have taken a small step towards cashless economy and Digital India," Purwar said.

Kumar Karpe, CEO of TechProcess, said his company was committed to provide secure payment options nationwide. "We are confident that Paynimo will offer residents of Jharkhand a more advanced, convenient and secured way of online bill payment," he added.

Energy secretary S.K.G. Rahate pointed out that revenue collections would improve following the introduction of the online payment gateway.

Chief postmaster-general A.S. Prasad said the online facility would be made available in all the 434 post offices in the state soon.

Sunil Kumar Barnawal, IT secretary, maintained that the payment gateway would be extended to all the 4,017 Pragya Kendras in the state as well.

Power citizens are upbeat. Minni Sinha, a homemaker from Ratu Road, heaved a sigh of relief. "In this e-age, this facility should have been available to us years ago. Though ATP machines were there, one had to go there physically. The two at Morabadi and Kanke Road are miles away from my home. Also, there was always the issue of long queues. My special thanks to the chief minister for relieving me of this burden," Sinha said.

PSU employee Sanat Mukherjee echoed her. "The queues used to be so long that I had to bunk office once every month to pay my power bill. Now, I can pay at my convenience," he said.

Kalim Khan, an elderly Tharpakhna resident who had to go to Kokar to pay his bill, also gave a thumbs up to Paynimo.