Jamshedpur, Nov. 23: A nondescript village in East Singhbhum, 27km from here, today took its first step towards becoming cashless, a big accomplishment amid pangs of demonetisation.
Deputy commissioner Amit Kumar launched a pilot mobile banking registration camp under a central scheme at Nuagram in Potka block and Day One saw 25 villagers, including gram pradhan Saroj Pradhan, enrolling for the service.
The National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) is a mobile banking service provided by National Payment Corporation of India (NCPI) using the unstructured supplementary service data or USSD, a technology wherein customers can avail of the service by dialling a short code - *99# in this case - from their cellphone irrespective of their telecom service provider and without an Internet plan.
Explaining how the service would help villagers, district public relations officer Sanjay Kumar said an amount of up to Rs 1,000 could be transferred under the scheme while one could check balance and get a mini-statement using the interactive voice response system after dialling the short code free of cost.
Gram pradhan Suraj, a retired schoolteacher, said he was glad to become tech-savvy. "Funds transfer will help us deal with wholesalers," he said.
Kumar said they had selected Nuagram for the cashless village pilot project for several reasons. "Around 90 per cent of the male population in the village is literate and mobile-savvy. Nuagram boasts better road connectivity and five bank branches within a 2km radius. Also, mukhiya Savitri Sardar is a diploma holder in information technology," he said.
According to the 2011 Census, Nuagram has a population of 552, 42.57 per cent of them hailing from the ST category and 3 per cent from the SC category. The camp on Nuagram Prathmik Vidyalaya campus is being organised by Bank of India (the lead bank in the district).
Deputy commissioner Kumar said lead bank manager Phalguni Roy had been directed to continue the camp for a month to sensitise and train villagers. "Directives have also been issued to distribute point of sale machines and enable disbursement of pensions among the elderly, widows and the physically challenged," he added.
Lead bank manager Roy said PoS machines would be distributed among retailers, physicians and vendors.
