Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) Scheme till December 2025, expanding its coverage to include sound box instruments and Aadhaar-enabled biometric devices. The scheme aims to promote payment infrastructure in smaller regions and currently holds a corpus of Rs 1,026.37 crore as of November 30, 2023. Operational since January 2021, it focuses on deploying payment acceptance technology in tier-3 to tier-6 centers, North Eastern states, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.