Budget 2019: Government to push ‘One Nation One Card’ to enable seamless mobility

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on July 05 extolled the benefits provided by the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), launched in March this year.

Dubbed as 'One Nation-One Card', Sitharaman said: "The NCMC standard developed is an inter-operable transport card allows holders to pay for their bus travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping and withdraw cash."

The indigenously-developed card runs on Rupay. It is issued by banks on debit/credit/pre-paid card basis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during the launch, the country is "no longer required to be dependent on foreign technology".

Here are the key point you need to know about the ‘One Nation One Card’:

> The mobility card can be issued in the form of debit, credit or prepaid card of a partner bank.

> The card is similar to any RuPay debit/credit card, which will be available with more than 25 banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI).

> The card can be used for making payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, smart city and retail shopping.

> The card can also be used for paying at toll plazas and for parking.

> The card offers cashback on bill payments and more than thousand other offers.

> A cardholder can also avail 5 percent cash back at ATMs and 10 percent cash back at merchant outlets while travelling abroad.

> It is supported by indigenously developed Automatic Fare Collection Gate ‘Swagat’ and an Open Loop Automatic Fare Collection System ‘Sweekar’. Both ‘Swagat’ and ‘Sweekar’ were launched by PM Modi on March 4.