Cashless India - A scam or step toward Future!

A lot of talk regarding that is the move to go cashless is scam? 

What's App flooded by various forwards, former FM Chidambram calling it a scam too. 

Let's try to understand what it entails: 

1. Cashless transactions not only includes the mobile wallets and card payments. It also includes other modes like IMPS, NEFT and the recently launched UPI and NUUP. This way you will not pay any commission on transaction. I agree that these ways are new and not very popular but in time they will get popular. 

2. Like the Govt has reduced transaction fees on card currently till 31 Dec 2016, you can expect similar measures in next calendar year also, thus reducing the commission out of the merchant's pocket. 

3. You can even expect Govt to reduce commission when transacting from the wallets but we will have to have patience for that.

 

4. What Modi Govt is trying to do? You can get an idea from the website below. If this scenario comes true which I think it will, (otherwise such a drastic step of Demonitization would not have been taken) everyone one in the country will have a very good life and won't have to worry about taxes and departments. 

http://arthakranti.org/proposal/proposal-benefits

5. Cashless transactions will benefit the corporates which have invested in them but will also solve problems for general public. 

Eg. Two decades back when mobile phones where launched, Airtel and Essar were given the licences. It made huge benefits for these companies but resulted in convenience for the general public also. If you are told to live without the mobile phone, I'm sure it will be unthinkable. 

6. Modi govt is trying for a scenario where only 2 taxes will prevail and you'll be saved of harassment of filing too many returns and harrasment from the departments as well. 

7. This most important factor in cashless economy: I think that 'Cash' and not money is the root cause of all problems. If we eradicate cash from the society it will have a ripple effect benefits like decrease in crime rate, virtually end of corruption and malpractices, less instances of terrorism, no selling of drugs, no money being spent on liquor and chicken during elections, just to name a few.

I urge you to understand that it's not a scam but a move towards future. And we should always gather pro and cons of a move and analyse it over a period of time. A month isn't long enough to judge it. Kindly have patience for 6 months and you'll see a whole road map in front of you.

Currency 500-1000 are paper!

At 8.30 PM on 8th November 2016,        PM Modi banned old 500-1000 currency notes to be replaced by new 500-2000 notes a day later. Of course we all know the features of the scheme but I'll try to jot down a few pros-cons and what to expect in future.

Pros 

1. Black money specially from the UPA time lying with politicians and their pawns will have to come in mainstream banking or else it will be useless. 

2. This will sky rocket the money in circulation in our country. We may also know our real GDP on 31st March 2017.

3. Terrorism will take a major hit as it's funded by cash from across the border. 

4. New currency notes should be having more features to terminate or at least make it difficult to counterfeit. 

5. Citizens will be encouraged to use more from bank accounts rather than cash. 

Cons 

1. Minor trouble to law abiding citizens for a few days as they'll have to encounter problems and long queues at banks and other institutions.

2. Trouble at retail to shop as confusion is bound to persist on the acceptance of old notes till new ones arrive. 

3. Policy does not clearly states as to what a vendor will do on 9th November when new currency is unavailable and old one is invalid because not all own plastic money. 

4. Small and fairly uneducated poor class might be hit with their small savings. Not having enough knowledge, few people will take advantage of them and return less on their currency. 

5. Liquidity issues to remain with people dealing more in cash as withdrawal will be limited. 

6. The already under stress real estate market will take a strong hit. It might take 2-3 years to come to the current level. 

 

Future expectation 

1. ₹2000 denomination may be only for interim period of few months to reduce the stress on changing notes. They may be discontinued in relatively near future. This will discourage and make it difficult to hoard black money.

2. PM Modi has achieved an unprecedented unpredictability. This will go a long way in his fight against corruption and black money. 

3. Expect that in future similar announcements can be made in making a higher denomination defunct, encouraging not to hold and try to amass black money. Eg. He may announce a year later that ₹2000 currency notes will not be valid from a certain date and later for other denominations. 

4. People may have trouble explaining the source of funds deposited in their accounts in this period. 

I think it's a master stroke from the government and it will prove a shot in the arm for our economy. However I don't see this stopping here and we might in few years come to a point where everyone will be forced to use plastic or virtual money for all our transactions. This will not only result in growth but also massively reduce corruption. 

Is Gandhi still the Father of our Nation?

Indian Army conducts surgical strikes in POK and the nation rejoices. 

Whatever our age might be, we all know Gandhi Ji as our Father of the Nation, because of whom we got our Independence from the British Rule. A lot of us might disagree with it, whereas for some, it’s a fact like the leaves are green.

But isn't it time we asked ourselves that do we actually agree with his philosophy of non-violence? 

So let's start by knowing about his philosophy. I've not done a thesis on it, but what I've gathered over the years through textbooks and hearing about it, is that it forbids every type of violence, even for self defense. This, we gather by the famous dialogue: "If someone slaps you on one side of your face, turn the other one to him."

So, do we agree with it? And if not, why do we still think of him as our Father?

Whether we agree or not can be judged by our reactions when we heard of the surgical strikes. If you felt proud and vindicated that it was just a retaliation for our martyred soldiers in Uri, then you are really not a Gandhian follower. Conversely, if you condemn the action India took, well then, you are a Gandhian. 

So we are standing at a crossroads, where we need to ponder over the following questions. That if we don't believe in the philosophy and ideology of 'Mahatama' Gandhi, do we still need him to be our Father of the Nation? Do we still need to celebrate his birthday as a national holiday? Should we follow someone who advocated non-violence and not putting up fight, lest it be potentially violent, even in the face of a threat to our life or our nation?

Having said that I do think that non-violence should be followed to a large extent but even our law clearly states that everyone has the right to self defense when we fear for our lives. 

Of course, Gandhi had opinions other than this, but he is world renowned for 'Ahimsa'. But I believe that even his ardent followers would react differently if their own child or parent is threatened.

 

Gandhigiri in daily life..

Made famous by the movie 'Lago Raho Munna Bhai' the word Gandhigiri has become a synonym with a non-violent protest. It did garner some results and was widely applauded all over the world as a re-generated philosophy, which could be practiced to solve world problems. But, except for a few isolated incidents, it failed to live up to its initial furore. And, do we think that Gandhigiri can work with fanatic terrorists and hardened criminals? 

So when surely it will not work with them and hardly with others, do we need this thought process? Is it something that can be remotely practical or just a political diplomacy? 

Again, I'm not advocating violence, only advocating against non-violence for self defense.