Govt to promote use of biometric devices

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said 1,000 biometric devices will be distributed to the traders in Vijayawada soon to promote Aadhaar- enabled payments in the city.

He said biometric device costs Rs 2,000 only and the government will give subsidy of Rs 1,000 to the shop owners as
part of the efforts to promote cashless transactions.

Naidu visited Sweet Magic shop and restaurant at Labbipet here on Saturday on a surprise visit.

The CM personally verified the functioning of the device and payments made by the customers with the help of Aadhaar- enabled system and said that biometric device is easy to use with help of Aadhaar card.

The Chief Minister said only 110 biometric devices are in Vijayawada and another 1,000 devices will be supplied to the traders in next two months.

He expressed satisfaction over the use of biometric devices by Sweet Magic shop owners and said that less than 10 per cent are cash transactions and rest cashless.

He also said Aadhaar-enabled transactions are the third most popular after debit and credit cards.

Later, speaking to newsmen, Naidu said that government is trying to make Vijayawada a dust-free city and praised the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation for planting saplings on the dividers of the main roads and laying new roads with advanced technology
mixing the tar with plastic to
increase the durability of the roads.

He said Vijayawada is a unique city with three beautiful fresh water canals and added that efforts were on for beautification of these canals.

He said the State government is planning to make the State-Open Defecation Free by 2019.

Earlier, he visited Rose Garden in Gurunanak colony and checked out the roses.

The CM handed over Rs 10 lakh cheque to the organisers on the occasion and enquired about the roses grown by the Rose Society of Andhra Pradesh.

Ministers Dr Kamineni Srinivas, Devineni Uma Maheswara Rao and other officials were present.