Odisha to Install 350 PoS Machines to Enable Cashless Registration Services

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is set to introduce a cashless payment ecosystem in registration offices across the state as part of its broader push towards digital governance, improved service delivery and greater transparency in public transactions.

The initiative was reviewed at a high-level meeting held at Lok Seva Bhawan under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, where officials discussed implementation timelines and operational preparedness.

As part of the rollout plan, 350 Point of Sale (PoS) machines will be installed in phases across all Sub-Registrar (SR) and District Sub-Registrar (DSR) offices. The devices will be supplied through Indian Bank and allocated according to the registration workload handled by individual offices.

The Revenue and Disaster Management Department will finance procurement of the machines to support seamless adoption of digital payment infrastructure across the registration system.

The first phase of implementation will begin in registration offices located in Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and Sambalpur, which have been identified as priority locations for the initial rollout.

To ensure continuity of services and minimise disruptions, the government has also planned a five-year Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for maintenance and technical support of the PoS infrastructure.

Officials further decided that after receiving government approval, a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) would be prepared to guide implementation of the new payment mechanism. Training programmes will also be conducted for registration officials and staff to ensure effective adoption and operation of the system.

The department said the transition is expected to encourage wider use of digital payment modes among citizens while making registration services more efficient, accountable and user-friendly.

Officials clarified that while digital transactions will become the preferred mode of payment, cash transactions will be discouraged and permitted only under exceptional and unavoidable situations.

The review meeting was attended virtually by the Inspector General of Registration, along with representatives from the Finance Department, Directorate of Treasuries and Inspection (DT&I), Cyber Treasury and senior officials of TrraCIS Technologies Limited.