Source thehitavada.com

Higher education institutes across the city now geared up to introduce digital mode of payment and receipts in canteens, mess and tea vendors. Now students would be allowed to pay online even for a cup of tea in university and affiliated college campus.


University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities and affiliated colleges to run their canteens, agencies, vendors and other business establishment using digital mode. Institutes are directed to train their vendors, agencies and canteen, mess contractors for BHIM application linking their bank account number with the mobile number or Aadhaar number. Institutes are also directed to prepare an action plan on several points to identify all transactions being carried out in cash currently and find ways for replacing them with digital modes so that implementation can begin from the forthcoming academic year.


“We are trying to go completely cashless even in canteen. Our fees and other payments are compulsory cashless. At present, there is facility of digital payment in canteen for Rs 100 and above. But it is not available for all time. Now we have started preparation to allow online payment in canteen even for a single penny,” said Manju Mehta, Public Relations Officer (PRO), Bhopal School of Social Sciences (BSSS).


According to UGC notification released on August 28, institutes are suggested to plan points of financial transaction, total number of students, vendors and others in campus, number of likely transactions per month and total digital transactions to be achieved in year 2017. UGC asked colleges to appoint a nodal officer for achieving the target and all necessary action on planned activities would be initiated in a time bound manner.

The commission said all canteens, shops and business establishments in campus should be using only digital mode for their receipts and payments. However, many city vendors and local shopkeepers have adopted the digital payment mode and taking payment via Paytm, debit card, credit card, Point of Sale (PoS) machine but college campuses are yet to get the same. There is online transaction for fee, employee’s wages, contractors, agencies but in canteen, mess and vendors, students need to pay cash only.

UGC asked to digitalise all canteens, mess and vendors of college and university campuses. UGC said, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had desired to issue necessary advisory to all higher educational institutions (HEls) that all monetary transactions of the educational institutions may be done using digital modes of payment under the National Digital Payments Mission (NDPM)