Demonetization of high denomination currency notes was an earthshaking development on the front of combating black money and dismantle network of the corrupt. Along with this revolutionary initiatives, it required government resolve to remain on high vigil and not allow re-generation of spurious wealth in future, because even if demonetization drive might be successful, it alone is not enough to check the infusion of dirty money in the system by black sheep, through manipulative maneuvers until effective preventive mechanism is put in place to discourage the trend. So what was required was the carrot and stick policy from the government to promote the clean habits in financial transactions.
As the government expected citizens to be part of its digital cashless economic campaign certain institutional measures in form of incentives, package and schemes have been launched. The Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers is one such step which is yielding positive results by drawing more and more people towards adopting digital instruments in transactions.
NITI Aayog, along with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been vested with onerous task of making Lucky Grahak Yojana for consumers. With a clear objective of digitally empowering citizenry, technology has been leveraged to undertake transactions through digital provisions such as UPI, USSD, RuPay cards and Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) and intends to provide monetary rewards for undertaking Digital Transactions made with these tools.
The scheme – Lucky Grahak Yojana – envisioned organizing DigiDhan Mela in 100 different cities across the country over 100 days till March 2017 in which people were invited to participate. Among the participants a large numbers of winners were to be selected under 4 broad categories viz, USSD, UPI, AEPS, RuPay from the 8 crore digital transactions done between 9th November 2016 to 21st December 2016. As per the scheme, winners were to be selected on the basis of lucky draw, and reward money credited to their bank accounts over the next 24 hours. The scheme was launched in campaign mode.
The scheme provided for Daily reward of Rs 1000 to Rs 15,000 to lucky Consumers for a period of 100 days; and Weekly prizes worth Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10,000 and Rs. 5000 for Consumers who used the alternate modes of digital Payments. The selection of the winners covered all kinds of transactions viz. UPI, USSD, AEPS and RuPay Cards excluding transactions through Private Credit Cards and Digital Wallets. The more the masses become conscious and aware of the benefits of the scheme, the larger numbers of people are likely to adopt these digital mediums and consequently country will move towards the cashless and digitalized system.
National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has been entrusted with the role of implementing agency for the scheme of Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digidhan Vyapar Yojana, as it being a non profit company, gives it more credence and credibility to the sense of earnestness, the government attaches to creating cashless society. The background for the success for these new initiatives like Lucky Grahak Yojana had already been prepared by the present government at the outset of its tenure with the launch of such ambitious mega schemes as Digital India, Startup India, Stand Up India and a number of other path breaking projects to fill the environment with digital fervor.
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