THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI: Even before Panaji can get anywhere close to becoming the much-touted smart city its politicians, babus and the state government have been tom-toming for long, the company formed to make Panaji smart is introducing a universal smart card for transactions in the capital.
The card - Goa Universal Smart Card System (GUSC), its concept and how it will work were explained by Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) on Wednesday at a session for city residents and merchants at the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The CEO and MD of IPSCDL Swayandipta Pal Chaudhuri said the card will be issued at zero cost to the residents and the point-of-sale (PoS) machines will also be provided to the traders and service providers free of cost.
The smart city cards will be issued from June 30 onwards.
Chaudhuri said, these cards will not have the conveyance fee that bank debit cards sometimes entail.
"It will be mandatory for government offices in Panaji to have the PoS machines but for traders, the choice rests with them," Chaudhuri said.
Chaudhuri said IPSCDL expects every citizen living in Panaji to get the card, and had logistics in place to issue 60,000 with 10,000 to be rolled out at the start.
Around 50 traders attended the session many of who were skeptical and had a lot of questions for Chaudhuri and the team. Some others seemed enthusiastic, asking Chaudhuri where and how the smart city cards would be made available to citizens.
The cards will be issued at the Adil Shah Palace, Maquinez Palace, the EDC complex and Pharmacy College from June 30 and Panjimites will have to present some proof of residence as well as an accepted KYC document.
Residents of areas that fall directly under the jurisdiction of Panaji City would be issued the cards first, and the IPSCDL plans to later move on to areas in the outskirts.
Panjimites will be able to charge their card for a minimum of Rs 100, and go up to the limit of their bank balances. The card is rechargeable online and its purpose was to replace cash with cards.
"Citizens will go for it once they begin to see its advantages," Chauduri said, when it was pointed out that it was no different from a debit card.
Under the smart city project, the IPSCDL is launching many new initiatives in the city of Panaji, like the smart city cards, the surveillance cameras around the city, the free shared-bicycle project, and many others. Panaji is among the several cities in India which the Narendra Modi government had identified for upgradation as smart cities in its first year of office.
