The government of India has recently announced various benefits under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana in the wake of the lockdown enforced to contain the Corona Virus spread in the country. These benefits are to be transferred in the form of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) into the bank accounts of the citizens.
The benefits include payment of Rs.500 to women PM Jan Dhan Yojana account holders, PM Kisan Yojana Payments, payment of enhanced LPG subsidy, payment in various social security schemes, etc. While the payments are made in the bank accounts, the citizens might face difficulty in their withdrawal due to the restrictions on travel or on crowding.
Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS) is a service offered by the Post Office through the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to provide withdrawal facilities to customers of other banks through Post Office. In this service, a customer can
withdraw upto Rs.10,000/- per day from his/her account standing in any bank that has Aadhaar number registered with it. For the same, the customer has to visit the nearest Post Office with his/her Aadhaar Card and a mobile phone. The customer has to provide the mobile number on which he/she will receive OTP. This OTP has to be provided to the official doing the transaction. After taking proper sanitization measures, the customer has to provide the Aadhaar number and the name of the bank where the account is situated and provide fingerprint on the biometric device. Post
successful authentication, the customer is paid the requisite amount.
Apart from cash withdrawal, other facilities available on this platform are balance enquiry, checking mini statement and Aadhaar to Aadhaar fund transfer.
Currently, there are no charges for these transactions. The customer can also request the transaction at the doorstep by calling the nearest Post Office. The facility is available for the account holders for all the major banks in the country however the customers are requested to check with their respective banks for the availability of the same.
Postal Department is working with district administrations to ensure streamlining of these payments. This facility would be especially helpful in the rural areas where people have to travel long distances to reach the bank.
The following are Branch wise transactions and disbursement details through AePS during the period of lockdown in the Region.
Name of Branch     No. of AePS transactions Amount of AePS transactions (in Rs.)
Akola – 4,314 59,70,005
Amravati – 5,582 64,16,015
Bhandara – 1,898 25,54,249
Buldana – 2,955 46,35,903
Chandrapur -2,594 33,10,621
Gadchiroli – 298 3,05,600
Gondia – 4,255 43,92,379
Nagpur – 3,248 52,37,448
Wardha-Â 2,768 55,30,746
Washim – 342 5,11,255
Yavatmal -6,626 80,72,303
Total -34,880 4,69,36,214
Total 34,880 needy public in Rural Areas were serviced with AEPS and an amount of Rs.4.69 crore disbursed and the same will be continued. Shri Ramchandra Jayabhaye, Postmaster General, Nagpur has requested all DBT beneficiaries to avail of this facility to get payment at the doorstep in order to maintain social distancing during the lockdown. The citizens are also requested to strictly follow the social distancing norms and other guidelines issued by the government
while conducting these transactions. Helpline numbers of each district are enclosed herewith for customers to contact between 10 hrs to 16 hrs on all working days for the purpose.
District wise list of Helpline   Numbers District Helpline Number
Akola – 0724-2415039
Amravati – 0721-2662067
Bhandara – 0712-2721527
Buldana – 07262-242557
Chandrapur – 07172-250224
Gadchiroli – 07172-250224
Gondia – 0712-2721527
Nagpur – 0712-2560708
Wardha – 07152-243499
Washim – 0724-2415039
Yavatmal – 07232-243263