What is e-challan?
Obtaining goods and services has been there from the initial times of human existence. But paying for those has started only after the currency has come into existence. However, it would be incorrect to say that there were no payments before the currency got into usage. There was off course, payments, but they were not monetary.
‘Goods in exchange of goods and services’ was popular in those days known as the ‘Barter system.’ But as we all know, time brings many changes in every form of life, and the payments system has also evolved from the barter system to today’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an instant real-time payment system. Convenience, necessity, proof, and quantification are the key elements driving modern-day payments. One such payment format is e-challan and an e-challan role in today’s life is important to understand to get into today’s financial activities.
Contents of e-challan:
We have been using the challan for a long time, and most of us visiting banks are aware of its concept. Precisely, a challan is a format of payment that specifies the details of the payer, receiver, purpose of payment, date of payment, name of the bank or the authority, etc. Similarly, an e-challan is an electronic format of our very old challan, which is a formatted document used for depositing or sending a stipulated payment amount to a bank or an authority’s treasury containing the details of the payment.
Uses of e-challan:
E-challan proved to be an innovative idea to eradicate the hassles of hard cash used to reduce the cash usage and hope this answers the question "what is e-challan?" in an easy manner.
A challan is usually popular with traffic policies system. The police officials would issue this document to the traffic rules violators as a penalty to be payable in the form of cash instantly. Though this was meant to regularize traffic with a fear of penalty, this has not been a fool proof method in imbibing discipline in people. However, this was instrumental in increasing the bribery as people started bribing the officials for violation of rules. The advent of e-challan has brought tremendous reformation in the penalty system for violation of traffic rules. The violator pays the fine through an online transaction which is valid proof making it a cashless transaction with the officials.
How is an e-challan Generated?
A device is in place to generate an online receipt bearing a unique identity number, amount of fine, date, and other details, making it simple to pay online fine. The system brings transparency in the system undoubtedly.
E-challan’s Introduction:
Few Indian states that are technically ahead of other states have initiated the e-challan system. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are amongst the top states to introduce the facility across the masses. The states have also facilitated their people with respective websites to check the documented traffic violation incidences registered against them. People can find the offense description, the amount of penalty they need to pay, etc., on the official website.
E-challan’s Existence:
Indian Traffic police have brought the e-challan into existence to regulate the traffic violation to pave the way for the smooth flow of traffic. It tried to bring awareness across the public as to what is e-challan and how it works! Hand-held machines are being used to spot the violators of traffic rules, and these machines operate on VIOLET (Violation Prevention and Regulation Enforcement), an android based economic platform. Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad are the initial cities to host this feature and are being evaluated at Mumbai and Pune.
Must Read: All about the Gujarat RTO.
How does an e-challan work?
The electronic challan system in place traces the traffic violation ticket issued by the local traffic police when the public violates the traffic rules. The e-challan service uses handheld machines for instantly fining the violators and issue a printed receipt to the individuals. The traffic police will penalize a person violating traffic rules by taking a picture of the violation at the time of the incident. The violators can find their challan online and pay their fine through the official website at the convenience of being at home.
Experts suggest the government introduce the challan system in many other departments considering its ease of usage and success. In this world of pace and technology, the e-challan can be considered as a boon to many. Insurance companies also evaluate the e-challans issued by the traffic police department while evaluating the driver’s history in fixing up a premium. With this, one can understand that what is e-challan and what it can set in the payment’s domain.
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