Your Aadhar card will be replacing all your cashless transaction methods very soon, here’s how

India, post demonitisation, is planning to become a cashless economy and soon you will be able to have transactions with your 12-digit Aadhar number. The move is being driven by NITI Aayog and government is looking forward to launch a clear-cut defined policy so as to make India get over cash transactions.

"The Aadhaar-enabled transactions are card-less and pin-less. This would enable mobile android phones users to digitally transact using their Aadhaar number and fingerprint/iris authentication," Ajay Pandey, director general of the UIDAI told ET.

He also feel that this would require a multi-pronged strategy, including talking to mobile manufacturers, merchants and banks, and the government has already started working in different directions to help achieve this.

"We are asking mobile manufacturers to see if all mobiles made in India should be inbuilt with iris or thumb identification system to as to help Aadhaar-enabled transactions," NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.

Kant is part of the chief ministers committee and the committee will be laying out a roadmap for implementation of digital payments over the next one year.

Kant said the government is creating a system of incentives/disincentives so that cash transactions become more expensive and people are incentivised enough to pay digitally, in parallel.

IT secretary Aruna Sundarajan said that the ministry has kept aside Rs 100 crore to incentivise enrollment of merchants on to the digital platform to help push the drive.

"IT department is providing incentive of Rs 100 for every merchant enrolled through over two lakh common service centres across India. The ministry will undertake a major outreach communication campaign starting from Monday to ensure that every segment of population is enables to use one of other mode of digital payment." she said.