The government announces a ₹1,435-crore PAN 2.0 project

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The government on Monday (November 25, 2024) announced the ₹1,435-crore PAN 2.0 project to make the Permanent Account Number a ‘common corporate identifier’ for all digital systems of government agencies.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has cleared the Income Tax Department’s PAN 2.0 project with a financial outlay of ₹1,435 crore, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

The PAN 2.0 project enables a technology-driven transformation of tax registration services and aims to provide easy access and fast service delivery with improved quality.

One source of truth and data consistency; environmentally friendly processes and cost optimization; and security and infrastructure optimization for greater flexibility are the other benefits of the project.

“The PAN 2.0 project resonates with the government’s vision enshrined in Digital India by enabling the use of PAN as a Common Identifier for all digital systems of specific government agencies,” an official release said.

PAN 2.0 Project is an e-Governance project to redesign the business processes of taxpayer registration services through technology-driven transformation of PAN/TAN services for enhanced digital experience of the taxpayers.

“This will be an upgrade to the current PAN/TAN 1.0 ecosystem that consolidates the core and non-core activities of PAN/TAN and the PAN Validation Service,” the release said.

Currently, around 78 crore PANs have been issued, 98% of which are to individuals.