The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill which enables employers to pay wages through cheque or by crediting it to bank accounts.

The existing provision of payment in current coin or currency notes will remain in place.

The Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill was passed by the House after the reply of Bandaru Dattatreya, Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

"The Prime Minister's aim is to curtail corruption through cashless transaction. We have so far opened 48 lakh bank accounts of labourers and it can be taken forward with the help of state governments. We want to respect labourers," Dattatreya said before the bill was passed.
 

The Bill was introduced on December 15 last year but could not be taken up for discussion. Later, the President issued an ordinance on December 28.