Consider the following statements regarding the Payments Infrastructur...
Introduction:
The Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme is an initiative aimed at promoting the deployment of Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and northeastern states in India. It is important to understand the objectives and funding of the scheme to determine the correctness of the given statements.
Explanation:
Let's evaluate each statement individually:
Statement 1: It aims to encourage the deployment of Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and northeastern states.
This statement is correct. The PIDF Scheme is specifically designed to promote the deployment of PoS infrastructure in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and northeastern states. These areas generally have limited access to digital payment infrastructure, and the scheme intends to bridge this gap by incentivizing the establishment of PoS devices in these regions.
Statement 2: It is completely funded by the Reserve Bank of India from its surplus capital.
This statement is incorrect. The PIDF Scheme is not funded by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from its surplus capital. Instead, it is funded through contributions from card-issuing banks and card networks. The RBI does play a role in the scheme by administering and managing the fund, but its funding does not come from the RBI's surplus capital.
Conclusion:
Based on the evaluation of the given statements, we can conclude that only Statement 1 is correct. The PIDF Scheme aims to encourage the deployment of PoS infrastructure in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and northeastern states. However, Statement 2 is incorrect as the scheme is not funded by the RBI from its surplus capital.
Consider the following statements regarding the Payments Infrastructur...
Recent context: The RBI has decided to extend the coverage of Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme by including street vendors identified as part of the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi Scheme) in tier-1 and tier-2 centres as beneficiaries.
Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF):
- The Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme was announced by the Reserve Bank on January 5, 2021. The objective of the scheme was to encourage deployment of Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure (both physical and digital modes) in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and north eastern states. Hence statement 1 is correct.
- The objective of PIDF is to increase the number of acceptance devices multi-fold in the country. The Scheme is expected to benefit the acquiring banks / non-banks and merchants by lowering overall acceptance infrastructure costs.
- It envisages creating 30 lakh new touchpoints every year for digital payments
- The Validity Period of PIDF is three years from January 01, 2021, extendable by two further years, if necessary.
- PIDF is governed by an ex-officio Advisory Council (AC). § The composition of the AC consists of members like Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Chief Executive, Indian Banks’ Association, Chief General Manager, DFIBT, NABARD etc.
- The primary focus shall be to create payment acceptance infrastructure in Tier-3 to Tier-6 centres o Contributions to the PIDF shall be mandatory for banks and card networks. RBI shall contribute ₹250 crores to the corpus; the authorised card networks shall contribute in all ₹100 crores
- The card-issuing banks shall also contribute to the corpus based on the card issuance volume (covering both debit cards and credit cards) at the rate of ₹1 and ₹3 per debit and credit card issued by them, respectively. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
The PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on June 01, 2020 for providing affordable Working Capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown.