Knowledges in Economics
Choose your interests from a vast range of topics
IS INDIA READY FOR A CASHLESS ECONOMY ?
One question that faces our economy today is, if we are prepared for the transformation to a completely cashless economy. IS INDIA READY FOR A CASHLESS ECONOMY ? Firstly, what exactly do we mean by a cashless economy? An economy where we do not use the traditional methods of making payments with the help of notes and coins , and rely completely on the digital platform for all transactions, big or small. Demonetisation had initially given way to this. The benefits of such an economy are as follows Cost reduction- Cost needed to store the cash or even transport it. Check on black money-Since all the transactions are digitalised, we can keep a track on all of them, we can check where the money came from and where it went, with no anonymity of identity, as is prevalent in the traditional method of payment. Risk free- It is a hassle free task to directly make payment with the phone, transfer money to other person’s account, get money from them etc. Given way to many new companies-We all know how Paytm had rose to importance right after demonetisation. It is today standing as the top most player in the UPI area, other players being PhonePe, BHIM etc. However, given all these benefits, there is still a lot of scepticism around the fact if India is fully prepared for such a transformation. The reality pf the matter is that the majority of the population still resides in the rural sector and hence it is alien for them to ditch the traditional method and adopt a digital platform for their transactions. Even in the urban households, most of our domestic workers do have a smartphone today but would not accept a salary transfer vis Paytm. These things have to be considered. A large portion of the urban sector also fears using computers or mobile phones for fund transfers or transactions, especially when the amount involved is large . This fear is escalated with the news of scanning, theft, cloning e6tc coming in on a daily basis, preventing people from using this medium on a 100% basis. We cant let go of the reality that many top notched people in the cou8b6try, employed in different sectors are often involved in illegal activities or under the table practices that cannot take place if our physical money is completely replaced by a digital medium of payment. This was also one of the major reasons why demonetisation as introduced. Hence, eve though a cashless economy is the mist appropriate future for our country and also being accepted slowly but surely , however it is difficult to say if we are at a position where we can educate and ensure our citizens enough, to let go of the traditional mode of payment altogether.
Bhawna Gulati
sez
sy planning planning pratices
pooja bodkhe
Arshjot Kaur