Yesterday, I booked an appointment online to visit the Aadhaar Seva Kendra in Saharsa, Bihar—something not everyone knows you can do a day in advance. When I arrived today, the fee for an update was 125 rupees.
However, when I went to pay, I was shocked to find that they do not accept UPI. It made me think: we constantly talk about a "Fully Digital India" and celebrate UPI as one of our nation's biggest achievements, yet a government office doesn't even accept UPI payments.
Realizing I needed cash, I went to a nearby printing shop where a young guy—who seemed to have more knowledge than the actual officers—helped me out. He charged a 5-rupee commission to provide cash.
That got me thinking: with around 150 to 250 people visiting the center daily, and roughly 100 of them lacking cash, that printing shop makes about 5,000 rupees a day, totaling around 1.5 lakh rupees a month just from this loophole. When you multiply this across similar government offices nationwide, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers end up paying these extra, unnecessary charges.
Is this really the fully digital India we talk about and promise? While 5 rupees might seem like a small amount, when you look at the scale of how many taxpayers are forced to pay extra, it becomes a major problem.