Panchayat Raj Minister Jupally Krishna Rao today urged officials to distribute ASARA pensions by cashless means by December 31, by opening accounts and giving bank ATM cards to the 17.81 lakh pensioners and women self help groups, and focus on to provide swiping machines at 8,691 village panchayats in the State.
Under government orders, Rao held a high-level review meeting with officials and asked them to take steps to see that ASARA pensions are given through cashless transactions.
He also said that pension payments should be done through Iris or Bio-metric technologies.
He directed them to hold a meeting with bankers and post offices, and see to that cashless transactions were being done at every village that did not have a bank and post office facility.