PM Modi to launch e-RUPI today: What is it and why is it being envisaged as an alternative to DBT?

In the first steps towards a digital voucher-based welfare distribution system in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch a contactless, prepaid, electronic prepaid system called e-RUPI on Monday. As per industry sources the new system can reinvent welfare delivery mechanisms in India and is being envisioned by the government as an alternative to the Direct Benefit Transfer based bank account distribution.

The new digital payments system has been developed over the existing Unified Payments Interface (UPI) rails by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in association with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Health Authority.

In essence e-RUPI is a digital payments mode which will be in the form of SMS strings or a Quick Response (QR) code delivered directly to beneficiaries of intended welfare schemes by both government agencies as well as corporates.