Aizawl: The Mizoram government and the State Bank of India (SBI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable Village Councils (VCs) to collect their own-source revenue (OSR) through digital payments using the SAMARTH portal and payment gateway.
The agreement was signed on Tuesday in the presence of Rural Development and Administration Minister Lalnilawma at his office chamber in Aizawl. RD&AD Director Lalngura Tlau signed on behalf of the state government, while SBI Deputy General Manager Manish Uppal represented the bank.
Lalnilawma said Mizoram was the first state in the Northeast and the third in the country to sign such an agreement with SBI under the SAMARTH initiative.
He said the digital payment facility would allow village councils to collect taxes and other revenues online, with transactions recorded and monitored through the SAMARTH portal.
The minister said stronger OSR collections were important for making village councils financially self-reliant and supporting rural development. He added that village councils with better OSR performance would be eligible for performance grants under the 16th Finance Commission.
Under the Mizoram Village Council Act, 2025, village councils are empowered to collect various taxes and other revenues from residents.
Lalnilawma said the initiative was also expected to encourage competition among village councils to improve revenue generation and contribute to the objectives of Viksit Bharat 2047.