New Government Notification on UPI Payments: No Commission Up to 2000 Rupees

Significant changes have occurred in the working system of millions of outsourced workers employed in government departments in UP. Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the launch of a new structure through the Uttar Pradesh Outsourcing Services Corporation, which will directly affect the salary, insurance, EPF, ESI, employment guarantees, and other working conditions of the employees.

A key aspect of the new system is ensuring that employee remuneration is paid between the 1st and 5th of every month directly into their bank account. Furthermore, according to government statements, outsourcing agencies will no longer be able to withhold service charges from the portion of funds belonging to the worker. A ban has also been introduced on the agency making unilateral decisions regarding an employee's termination.

Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath noted that the creation of the Uttar Pradesh Outsourcing Services Corporation will benefit over 350 thousand outsourced workers in the state and indirectly may affect about 17-20 lakh people from their families.

The government's goal is to transition from viewing outsourced workers as temporary human resources to integrating them into a system where everything from salary to social security is tracked digitally. For this purpose, the UPCOS platform and website have been launched.

A large part of the problems faced by outsourced workers stemmed from a system situated between the agency and the government department. The employee worked in the department but received payment through the agency, which meant that if they filed a complaint, they had to visit either the agency or the relevant department. The Prime Minister stated his intention to change this scheme. It is planned to connect the three parties—the government department, the outsourcing agency, and the employee themselves—to a technological system. The employee will be able to view information about their work activities, attendance, payments, and deductions on the portal, as well as file complaints online. This will eliminate the need for the worker to visit official offices or agencies to clarify the payment amount or deduction size.

The greatest relief for outsourced workers is the timely payment of salaries. The Prime Minister emphasized that remuneration will now be deposited into a direct bank account between the 1st and 5th. Additionally, contributions to EPF and ESI will be made regularly. The government has provided for the payment of the service charge to the agency, which means banning the agency from withholding its service charge from the employee's salary. This step is critically important because most complaints among outsourced workers concerned payment delays and salary reductions.

The new system focuses not only on financial aspects but also on job protection. According to the Prime Minister, no outsourcing agency can fire an employee directly. If termination is required, the agency must first notify the government. Further action will follow after the case is verified. This will give workers confidence that they cannot be suddenly dismissed due to a complaint, dispute, or arbitrary action by the agency.

Another important element of the new system is an extended accident insurance policy for outsourced workers. Mentioning a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with SBI, the Prime Minister announced that under various circumstances, outsourced employees will receive accident insurance coverage ranging from 20 to 40 lakh rupees. Thus, in case of an accident, the employee's family will be protected from financial hardship. Additionally, assistance up to 10 lakh rupees is mentioned for fire incidents and up to 5 lakh rupees for emergency medicines. In emergencies, assistance of up to 10 lakh rupees is also provided for air medical evacuation.

The scope of the new system is not limited to the employee alone. The Prime Minister also discussed several financial protection measures for the family: assistance of up to 8 lakh rupees for a son's education and up to 10 lakh rupees for a daughter's education. Support ranging from 8 to 10 lakh rupees is also provided for the wedding of two daughters. In the event of the worker's death, their relatives can immediately receive 50 thousand rupees through the bank. These benefits will be provided according to the established qualifications and regulations of the Corporation.

The health of outsourced workers is also part of the new system. The Prime Minister stated that free medical care in ESI hospitals will be ensured through ESI contributions. If the necessary service or treatment is unavailable in these hospitals, there is an option to connect to Ayushman Bharat. This allows the employee and their family to receive medical insurance coverage of up to 5 lakh rupees. Thus, the new system for outsourced workers includes not only monthly salary.

It is anticipated that the UPI system will feature a powerful function allowing AI agents to execute the full cycle of operations, from purchasing goods to making payments. For instance, a user could instruct an AI agent to buy groceries within a weekly budget of 2000 rupees, after which the agent would select items according to specified conditions, check prices, and make the payment via UPI, eliminating the need for separate approval for each transaction.

According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the government is working on creating such a mechanism that will allow AI agents to conduct small digital payments on behalf of users through UPI. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is involved in developing this system. The proposed Unified Agent Protocol is scheduled to be presented at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai next week. NPCI has not yet commented on this Reuters report.

In the proposed system, users will be able to grant the AI agent limited payment authority. This means the user will predefine when the agent can make payments, how much it can spend, and what types of transactions are permitted. An example is provided where a user can task the agent with buying groceries within a set budget; if the purchases meet the specified conditions, the agent can complete the payment independently.

The report states that NPCI may also provide infrastructure that sellers can integrate directly into their systems. The initial application of the agent payment system is likely to focus on small amounts and frequent transactions, such as grocery shopping. E-commerce platforms may also quickly adopt this technology, given the increasing role of AI agents in online shopping.

AI agent functions will go beyond simple product searching or price comparison. They will be able to recognize discounts and offers, place orders based on user instructions, and finalize transactions when a set price or other condition is met. Thus, the role of artificial intelligence may transition from a consulting tool to a full-fledged agent performing purchases and payments.

Existing payment mechanisms, such as UPI Circle and Reserve Pay, could form the basis of the proposed system. Within UPI Circle, the primary account holder can grant limited payment authority to another user, and similarly, an AI agent can be authorized to pay within established limits. Furthermore, through Reserve Pay, a customer can pre-block funds for future debits. Currently, banks allow fund blocking up to 10,000 rupees for a period of up to 90 days. Changes to these limits regarding amount and duration may be considered for agent payments.

If AI agents are allowed to make payments through UPI, it will have a significant impact. According to Reuters, 24.51 billion transactions were conducted through UPI in August, totaling 29.82 trillion rupees. Google Pay and PhonePe accounted for about three-quarters of the monthly transaction volume. AI agents' access to this vast network of digital payments could accelerate the development of agent commerce in India.

This move comes as major global payment companies advance towards AI-based commerce. Mastercard and Visa are working on various agent payment capabilities in India. In June, Mastercard successfully conducted the first authorized agent transaction in New Delhi. Meanwhile, Pine Labs launched its P3P agent protocol this year, which allows AI agents to complete UPI payments after initial authorization.

Since AI will gain the right to make payments, security will become a critical issue. The proposed system is expected to include mechanisms such as spending limits, identity verification, audit trails, and accountability frameworks. However, it remains unclear who will be responsible in case of an erroneous payment or fraud committed by the AI agent—the user, the bank, the seller, or the company providing the AI agent.