IS INDIA READY FOR CASHLESS ECONOMY

India is the second most populous country in the world with more than 40% of its citizens falling in the
BPL category. Internet penetration is not even throughout the country and poverty still dominates the
streets. Considering the standard rate of growth from past years trends India is absolutely not ready for
a cashless economy.

Till date the government is not successful in its attempts to electrify the rural areas and schemes like
Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojna are still prevalent. What will be the method of transactions for
such rural places if the cash system is scrapped out? In my opinion such a scenario will be a complete
disaster.

Even if government implements electronic money transfer units or modules in rural places the adoption
of technology will be a major challenge considering the literacy rate of such places.

In the union budget 2020-21 a substantial amount has been allotted for the upliftment of ST’s as they
still follow archaic methods of living without any usage of technology. The major challenge here is to
encourage the use of basic advanced amenities and thus making such a community accept cashless
transactions is a far fetched goal.

Currently India still is tagged as a “developing nation” and there are many fields where major work is
required for the upliftment of its citizens. Thus rather than bringing about such drastic measures which
can lead to economic turmoils it will be advisable that we focus upon the undergoing initiatives so as to
reach our aim of becoming a “developed country” where every citizen has basic needs fulfilled.