BENEFITS OF DEBIT CARD ACTIVATION – FAQ

BENEFITS OF DEBIT CARD ACTIVATION – FAQ

QUESTION 1. Why it is important to have active debit cards?

ANSWER: Debit Card makes your payments much more convenient and secure through an
electronic payment facility directly from your bank account. Debit card can be used for purchases online or at shops by directly debiting your Bank account. Debit cards can also be used to withdraw cash from an ATM.

QUESTION 2: How is a customer benefited by debit cards?

ANSWER: Major benefits to customers are

• It is more convenient to carry a small, plastic card instead of a bulky Cheque book or a large amount of cash.
• Easy to obtain: Once you open an account most institutions will issue you a debit card upon request.
• Convenience: Purchases can be made using a chip-enabled terminal or by swiping the card rather than filling out a paper cheque.
• Safety: You don’t have to carry cash or a Cheque book. Debit cards are protected by a four digit pin number that you set yourself. This pin is needed to make any purchase with your debit card.
• Readily accepted: When out of town (or out of the country), debit cards are usually widely accepted (make sure to tell your financial institution you’re leaving your city; to not have an interruption in service).
• It’s a Cash Card Too: Debit cards still have the ability to give you cash, you can take them to an ATM and use them there to withdraw the cash.

Insurance: National Payment Corporation of India has introduced Insurance cover in case of accidental death or permanent disablement of Rs 1 Lac for NonPremium cards (RuPay Classic) and Rs 2 Lac for Premium cards (RuPay Platinum) to eligible RuPay card holders. The RuPay Insurance programme will continue for financial year 2016-17, i.e. from April 01, 2016 to March 31, 2017.

QUESTION 3: Can I use my debit card if I have not used it for long?

ANSWER: Yes. It may however require activation. Please check the forwarding letter that came with your debit card. Please check your Bank website.

QUESTION 4: How do I generate a PIN ?

ANSWER: Banks provide PIN by mail, which is either dispatched by bank to the cardholder address. Some banks also offer Green Pin facility online. Banks also facilitate change of PIN to suit your requirements.

QUESTION 5: What are the recent steps taken for promoting debit card payments?

ANSWER: Some of the recent initiatives towards popularizing Debit card usage are:

• MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) which a merchant (Shopkeeper) pays the Bank for POS transaction are reduced to zero on debit cards till 31th, December 2016.
• Excise duty payable on acquisition of POS machine which was earlier 16.5% has been waived till 31st March 2017.

QUESTION 6: What should you do if a shop asks you for an additional amount for use of your debit card?

Answer: As per the norms prescribed by card networks, shops should not ask for any additional amount called surcharge or convenience fee. You can refuse to pay an additional amount for use of your card and register complaint to your bank on its website or otherwise.

QUESTION 7: Can one refuse to pay additional amount as banks have waived their charges on one of debit cards till 31st December 2016.

Answer: Although all banks have waived MDR up to Dec 31, 2016, customers are not required to pay additional amount even after that if demanded by the shopkeeper, as this is to be paid by the shopkeeper.

QUESTION 8: Why should Merchant encourage card use?

ANSWER: Merchant are benefitted to encourage debit card transaction as:

• Cost of Digital transaction is lower than handling Cash.
• Deposition of cash in bank is not required as the amount will be automatically credited to account.
• Credit History is created for the merchant which will help him in taking more support from banks and other financial initiatives of government time to time.
• Manual reconciliation is not required at merchant side. He can always refer to his account.
• Accepting payment cards can enable merchants to increase their revenues
• Increased sales: Cards enable consumers to make quicker and easier payments.
• Better customer service: Electronic payments offer customers more flexible payment options – faster checkout times for customers and a more efficient way of paying. Also, innovations such as Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI) payments, allow consumers the ability to purchase and take possession.

Source: http://financialservices.gov.in

NFIR writes to PM to withdraw of Budget proposal to levy Income Tax on Provident Fund

NFIR writes to PM to withdraw of Budget proposal to levy Income Tax on Provident Fund

Serious resentment among employees against Budget proposal to levy Income Tax on withdrawal of 60% of provident Fund

NFIR

National Federation of Indian Railwaymen

3, CHELMSFORD ROAD, NEW DELHI – 110 055

Dated: 05/03/2016

Shri Narendra Modiji

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,

152, South Block,

Raisina Hill

New Delhi – 110011

Sub: Serious resentment among employees against Budget proposal to levy Income Tax on withdrawal of 60% of provident Fund – reg.

The employees in general and Rail Workforce in particular are extremely unhappy over the Budget proposal presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister to impose Income Tax on 60% of Provident Fund withdrawals. This proposal if enforced would cause harm to the workers at their fag end of service on superannuation.

Hon’ble Prime Minister may please appreciate that the employee withdraws his/her legitimate Provident Fund for meeting the requirements of Children Education, Construction of house or for the purpose of performing marriages of children. Levying Income Tax on these

withdrawals that too when the Provident Fund amount is recognized to be the property of the worker, would be unethical. The employees are deeply disappointed over the Budget proposal to impose Income Tax on P.F. withdrawal.

NFIR, therefore appeals to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to kindly intervene and see that the above proposal is reconsidered and withdrawn in the interest of industrial peace in the Country.

Yours sincerely,

sd/-

(Dr.M.Raghavaiah)

General Secretary

Source: NFIR

Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

A citizen friendly and accountable administration is the focus of the government. A series of steps to achieve this goal have been initiated. These include simplification of procedures, identification and repeal of obsolete/archaic laws/rules, identification and shortening of various forms, leveraging technology to bring in transparency in public interface and a robust public grievance redress system.

Doing away with the practice of submitting Affidavits for small level executive jobs in the Government and allowing Self-Certification of certificates is one important step in this regard. This has greatly led to the reduction in time and effort on the part of both the citizen as well as the officials in many Government offices.

Leveraging the power of information technology brings with it the advantage of transparency and speed for the benefit of the citizens. In this regard the Government has embarked upon a time bound Digital India Plan. The details of this plan are available on the Website of the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (www.deity.nic.in). As a part of Digital India Plan, the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances has been made the nodal ministry for implementation of e-Office in Central Ministries/Departments. The Department is regularly monitoring implementation of the e-Office project. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has moved into 100% e-Office platform.

The Central Secretariat Manual of Office (CSMOP) has been revised and the 14th Edition of the CSMOP was brought in the form of e-Book form on 22nd May, 2015, which is available on the website www.darpg.nic.in. This is a much reduced and simplified version of the manual in comparison to the earlier editions. A number of redundant and repetitive literatures and words have been removed.

The Government of India has also taken a number of initiatives for improving ‘Ease of Doing Business’. The emphasis has been on simplification and rationalization of the existing rules and introduction of information technology to make governance more efficient and effective.

One of the focus areas of Government is to reduce the decision making layers to the minimum while allowing for faster means of information sharing/dissemination. The Government has launched a website mygov@nic.in and india.gov.in for this purpose. This is a citizen centric platform to empower people to connect with the Government and contribute towards good governance. Suggestions are also received on the PMO website. It also seeks expert advice from the people, thoughts and ideas on various topics that concern India. Citizens can join the discussion to share, debate and add value.

This was stated by Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in Lok Sabha today in a written reply to a question by Shri Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shri B.N. Chandrappa, Shri D.K. Suresh and Shri R.K. Bharati Mohan.

Source: PIB News

No more direct interviews from January 1, 2016 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi

No more direct interviews from January 1, 2016 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi

“Cancelling the direct interview process will be of tremendous relief to the poor people who desperately look for recommendations, and will reduce the instances of frauds committed by brokers who promise jobs on payment of money.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the system of direct interviews for the Group B, C and D posts in Central Government offices shall be cancelled from January 1, 2016 onwards. Henceforth, clearing the written round is all it takes for qualifying. Direct interviews shall not be held anymore. The news has brought great relief to job seekers all over the country.

Here are excerpts from the Prime Minister’s Sunday weekly address to the nation, ‘Mann ki Baat,’ on the radio:

“On my Independence Day address, I had presented a suggestion that the direct interview round for entry-level employees in central government services should be cancelled. Following this, the Central Government has completed all the tasks required to remove the direct interview rounds for lower-level employments. Henceforth, there shall be no direct interview round for jobs of the Group B, C, and D categories in Central Government services. This shall come into force from January 1, 2016 onwards.

Direct interviews encourage irregularities and corruption. The system also leads to the exploitation of the poor by those in power. Money is being looted from the poor in the name of finding jobs for them. Most often, they don’t get the jobs even after paying money.

While pondering over it, I wondered why direct interviews have to be conducted for these recruitments. I have never heard anyone claim that they can completely analyze the behaviour and mindset of a person by simply talking to him or her for a few minutes. Cancelling the process of direct interviews will stop the people of the economically weaker sections from spending huge sums of money for recommendations and bribes to get the jobs. This will save them from the traps of brokers who con them and loot money from them.

Source: 90Paisa Blog

One Rank One Pension – Modi may announce Ex-servicemen’s long-pending demand later this month

One Rank One Pension – Modi may announce Ex-servicemen’s long-pending demand later this month

‘Narendra Modi may announce one-rank one-pension later this month’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make an announcement later this month on ex-servicemen’s long-pending demand of one-rank one-pension.

Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Defence on Tuesday told media persons that since coming to power in May last year the National Democratic Alliance consulted all stakeholders on the issue and then arrived at a decision.

“We came to power in May last year. Over the past one year we have consulted political parties, all stakeholders on one-rank one-pension, whether they are servicemen or ex-servicemen ,” he said.

Read more at www.indiatoday.intoday.in