The Hindu 07.10.2013
Soon, e-payment for government services
Bills can be paid through at least 70 banks
Presumably by October end, netizens in Kerala can remit their electricity and water bills and even traffic fines and university fee from the relative comfort of their homes or offices, thanks to a State government-sponsored electronic payment gateway that authorises credit/debit card payments for a whole range of government services.
Principal Secretary, Information Technology and Industries, K.S. Sreenivas told The Hindu that the e-payment gateway is currently integrated with the State government’s e-district governance programme and can be accessed only through Akshaya centres.
However, this is set to change with the State readying to launch an online web portal this month to enable citizens to access its e-commerce application service through computers, tablets, and smart phones with Internet connectivity.
Till recently, only citizens with credit/debit cards issued by two public sector banks could avail themselves of the e-payment facility.
The government has accorded a wider choice to citizens by authorising e-payments, including online banking transactions, through at least 70 private and public sector banks for its various services.
The service will be extended to all government departments, including the Motor Vehicle, Revenue, and Commercial Taxes departments.
Director, Kerala State Information Technology Mission, P. Balakiran, said the State, in association with the National Data Base Management Ltd, a Union government entity, has created the e-payment service platform, which would empower citizens to make all types of payments to the government, including various licence fee, taxes, and utility bill payments, without having to queue up in front of crowded counters at government offices.
Internet usage and computer literacy in Kerala were growing at an exponential rate and in a matter of a few years, they would become universal in the State.
He said that in one stroke, the State has also bypassed the need for its citizens to rely on “costly” private electronic payment gateways in availing themselves of public services that are transactional in nature by ensuring that its e-payment service charges are the lowest in the global e-commerce market.
Simultaneously, in a bid to enhance transparency and efficiency in all forms of government procurement, the State government has ordered all its departments to go in for e-tendering.
The Industries Department, for one, has ordered that for any procurement above Rs.1 lakh, the tender should be published online and only online bids in the prescribed digital format be entertained.
Mr. Sreenivas said the compliance level to the order has been very high, thereby negating, to a great extent, allegations of nepotism and corruption.
