New Delhi: The government has directed all universities and higher learning institutes across the country to make necessary arrangements so that students should pay any payments on a digital mode. Further, these educational institutes should ensure that no fees payments are made by students in cash mode from the upcoming academic session.

The HRD Ministry has asked the University Grants Commission 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 (viz online IMPS/BHIM/Debit Cards/AEPS) under the National Digital Payments Mission (NDPM) of Ministry of HRD.

 The directive issued by the UGC to the Vice-Chancellors of all universities, all receipts and payments related to the functioning of the institutions – student fees, exam fees, vendor payments, salary/wage payments etc. – shall be made only through online or digital modes. For all students’ service in the hostel and otherwise digital mode should be used for all transactions.

The directive also clarified that all canteens and business establishments on the campus may be encouraged to use only digital modes for their receipts and payments. All the administrators and students in higher educational institutions, and the agencies/vendors running the canteens and other business establishments on the campuses, may be trained in using the BHIM app by linking their bank accounts with the mobile number/Aadhaar number.

To make this plan effective, the government has asked universities to appoint a nodal officer to initiate the above activities in a time bound manner while the nodal office institutions should send a monthly report to the UGC.